Renville High School - Renvillon Yearbook (Renville, MN)

Page 9 text:

Transportation was setting the pattern tor the American way of life The country became a mobile society with dec trie trolleys, automo- biles. farm machinery, and bicycles, all the rage Along with the accessibility of travel came a new era of nationalism A World War called upon the nation's young men to unite and fight After the war in Europe, the nation putted itsdf together and industry flourished once again A carefree America bur- ied war memories in the new moving pictures, telephones, light bulbs, electric generators, stock market ticker tape machines, phono- graphs and a wealth of inventions from the fer- tile minds of its young inventors. Baseball be- came the national sport and prohibition was law. Black Thursday. October 24. 1029, saw the American stock market crash to the lowest level in history Panic set in as the unemployment level skyrocketed. The country was in its worst economic crisis. Slowly, but surely, the wounds of the crash, the dust bowl, and poverty healed RATION! STAMP NO. 46 RATION STAMP MO. 47 The steel industry geared up for the revival while rumors were whispered in the Roosevelt administration of another impending war. The nation s leaders scoffed, until December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Industrial production reached a peak during the war years. Upon their return from four years of battle, the veterans forged ahead with an eye on a 'better life for everyone. Several mod erate recessions in the 50 s and 60s reminded cautious citizens of past decades Nearly 100 years of strggling for civil liberties were realized when President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law The Act outlawed segregation in any form. The seventies shed light on a new trouble for the nation as it approached its 200th birthday The world's energy sources and natural re- sources were being used up faster than they could be replenished Americans once again waded into a new frontier The energy crisis and ecology were prominent words in the language Ways to save nature from the neglect of mankind and ways of preserving precious fuel without damaging that balance of nature were the objectives of Americans across the country. vvO'-'w' » Huge strides were being taken in the scientific field Television became a part of every family's life National events weTe household topic — while they happened — thanks to the new medi- um individuals and groups were seen on the tube as they advocated new social reform, or justice, or special causes of their own TV gave individuals and political systems power greater than ever before. Audio-visual journalism had made its impac t Earth's crises spurred Americans into further pioneering This time outer space. Ameri- can astronauts were the first on the surface of the moon and the U S. was first to build a ’sky- lab' for more scientific study American is still learning and growing after a mere 200-year infancy. The original determina- tion of our forefathers was told again in the words of Neil Armstrong as he made the first step on the moon a small step for man but a giant step for mankind

Page 8 text:

CHAPTERS OF AMERICAN HISTORY The Stamp Act of 1765 was an attempt by Eng land to tax items that were wholly American The colonists reacted in seething resentment which erupted into angry protestations. The first blood of the American Revolution was spilled during one such incident at Boston in 1770. Several Americans lost their lives over a snowball thrown at a British sentry. In the fight to achieve commerce equality, the United States found itself in a naval war over shipping lanes. Fort Mi Henry was henocally held during a British naval bombardment, and the stars and stripes still flew after a night of hard fighting The next morning Francis Scott Key penned the immortal words of what would become the national anthem Settlers had to have permanent access to the new lands, so canals and bridges were built to carry stages and wagon trains loaded with machinery destined for settlements in the West. The pioneers foresaw great wealth in the cheap acreagethat was available Frontiersmen cleared the wilderness, built set- tlements and drove back the Indians. The Pony Express and the telegraph became primary means of communication Agriculture was the wealth of the country. American inventions of the time were often re- lated to working the soil. The McCormick Reaper, mowing machines, textile looms and the cotton gin were instrumental in the settling of new frontiers. In 1848, James Marshall found gold in the race of a sawmill he was building for John Sutter at Coloma, California. The lust to get rich quick'' was the force behind this biggest and gaudiest gold rush ever While gold rush fever gripped the country, states were increasingly more divided on the slavery issue. Civil war broke out in the East. This Brothers War was bitterly fought and. though the scars remain even today, slavery was abolished. Cities grew at an alarming pace, often without regard to the limits of safety The great Chicago fire of 1871 burned the bustling cattle market empire beyond recognition. But the pioneer spirit was not broken. Chicagoans began re- building and preparations were underway to celebrate the 100th birthday of the country The Iron Horse. carrying homesteaders, greatly helped settlement of the new country The first transcontinental railroad connected the country at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10. 1869.

Page 10 text:

U'ly proip«c1or p nniO| tor cold ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD COMP orrn rou sals ONE MILLION ACRES OF SUPERIOR FARMING LAND8, IM FARMS OK 40,80 A-160 acres and upwards at from $8 to $12 per acre T ZiANDil AKK WOT SC«P19NED BY AWY IK THE WORLD. THKY LtK Al OWf THE WHOLE LINE OF THE CENTRAL ILLINOI8 RAILROAD, or kl o« LOHQ CUD IT. SHORT CttHDIT and for CASH, U»r on tStuaud bwTOWJI» VTLLAOE9. SCHOOLS and CHURCH US. f