Richmond High School - Shield Yearbook (Richmond, CA)

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a | Si ssc ey ic ae : tap os ROP RET OI Bs at IIS A iskenbietene AGA he Nein ies Pat tex FALL The wanton wind with soft caress Had stripped the slender branches bare, Had left them naked ‘gainst the sky, Their stark bare branches lifting high. — Pratt. Seven

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Sux SONG OF THE WEST I sing a song of western lands; Of western seas, and western skies; Of purple misted mountain tops, And broad green valleys poppy sown. I sing a song of happiness; Of new-born love of-freedom wild; For here in these far-western hills, Gold-crowned in frames of azurite, I found my leisure free to roam Along the rims of fields of grain. My song is tuned to western hills; To poppy, oak and lupine blue; To purple waters studded with The lace-like foam of unborn mists. —Robinson McKee.

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OPENING OF SCHOOL On August 13, 1928, eight hundred and sixty-six excited students rushed into a new and splendidly equipped Richmond Union High School building. The exterior of the buildings presented a facing of geometrically arranged brick, in which were set many large windows. A tower with its tiled roof marked the main entrance. Three buildings were visible from the front: the main administration building, including the great auditorium; the science and domestic science buildings at either end, joined to the main building by graceful archways. Hidden behind these were the shops, commercial building, which also housed the school’s heating plant, and the building containing the boys’ and girls’ gymnasiums. A wide, sweeping, well- planned lawn completed the picture. Inside the great plant chaos reigned for the first day, and even after a week had passed, confusion still lead senior and sophomore to do foolish things. Ex- ploring and curious heads were poked into rooms, questions concerning every object in sight flew, and everybody was happy. Wonder after wonder unfolded before eager eyes: the new steel lockers, the shining linoleum floors, the ramps in place of stairs, the clean and well-equipped shops where many boys were to prepare themselves to be experienced and skilled craftsmen, the new type of desk that would not slide, to the sophomore’s chagrin; the steel-spanned height of the gym, the massive grandeur of the auditorium, with its huge stage and charming decorations ; the delicate artistry of the tiles forming decorative backgrounds for the drinking fountains, the spacious grounds of more than nineteen acres. including the fine athletic field—a true campus! Most inspiring of the school’s decorations and architectural features was the shield set in the north wall of the foyer. That school shield represents the ideals, accomplishments, and hopes of our school. The name Richmond Union High School appears as the foundation for the legend of the emblem. On each side are Roman fasces, or bundles of rods contining an axe. The rods signify the Senate and Assembly bound together by the school constitution. The protruding axes are badges of authority. The upper portion of the shield has upon it the three emblems which typify the nature of our education. The winged foot, an ancient sign of speed, denotes athletics. The lamp signifies all education by which we may equip ourselves for the world and our life work. The liberty cap stands for citizenship, liberty, equality, and justice. This figure occupies the central space at the top, its position indicating that it crowns and binds all together in perfect union. In the center of the shield appears an open book upon which is inscribed the words “Education is the key which unlocks the storehouse of wisdom.” The rising sun about and above the book symbolizes the light that education sheds on life in dispelling ignorance. The shield is a fitting symbol of our school, and wherever it appears, in the foyer, on the walls of the library, on the books of students in the form of seals, on the cover of this book, it represents to the eight hundred students, who entered this institution, the accomplishments of the years to come in the field of sports—in all fields, the fulfillment of ideals, and the realization of hopes. After all features of the new buildings had been thoroughly examined, commented upon, and marvelled at by the students, faculty administration opened the new term with the trial of a new program which made a longer school day. Eight