Robert E Lee High School - Leeway / Record Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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« Salutatory Mary Eagle AT RONS, teachers, and fellow students of Robert E. Lee High School, I am proud to have the honor and privilege of welcom¬ ing you here tonight to share with us the thrill of the attainment of our hard earned goal—Graduation. Eirst let us see what the word means. To some of us it may mean a series of good times broken by periods of hard study or “crams,” then the hnal pull through by a hair’s breadth. To most of us, however, it means the final attainment of the goal for which we have persistently striven during the four years of our high school careers. However, graduation here is not the end of our education ; it is only the be¬ ginning or the foundation for later attainment. Some will pursue further their education, while others will obtain positions; hut no matter which we choose our education will still continue. What then is education in its broader sense? It does not mean merely the assimilation of facts from books, though this is also desirable. The ideal condition is hook knowledge combined with the ability to apply it. A person who has obtained hook knowledge but cannot make use of it finds himself sorely lacking in this age of common sense and reason. A person who has obtained a high school education according to the modern rules of schooling should be eciuipped to meet his problems (unless he had failed to take advantage of his opportunities) and should not have to say, “This which I might do is made hopeless through my want of weapons.” However, I do not mean to belittle the scholastic side of school life, for I realize its value. Bacon says in his Essays on Studies, that studies perfect nature and are themselves perfected by experience. They serve for three purposes (e. g.) delight, ornament, and ability. However, if used too extensively for ornament they become afi ' ectation. W’e should remember when we sometimes wonder, “what’s the use” that “natural abilities like natural plants need pruning by study.” Our school here, above all else has endeavored to prepare us for life. It has done this by furnishing us with a liberal education. It has striven to promote our general knowledge, to stimulate our interest, and make us think for ourselves. Our school has also proved a character builder. We have had ideals set be¬ fore us by our teachers, which we have tried to follow faithfully. The social side of our school life has also played a large part in moulding our characters. Through daily contact with fellow students we have learned the meanings of the terms “leadership,” “followership,” and “codperation”—three essential qualities of the social life of which we are, some day, to Iiecome a part—and a useful part if we have taken advantage of the educational opportunities offered us here. So in the years to come let us work with zeal and courage, ever loyal to old Lee Hi and to its teachings. Class of ’31, I salute you, truly believing that each one justly merits the place he or she nou ' occupies, and on your behalf, extend a most hearty welcome to our friends here this evenimr. o i )

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Valedictory (jUy F. Sutton, Jr. S WE, the Class of 1931, stand tonight on the 1)oi ' der of real life, that imaginary line which separates preparation from action, we are hlled with varied emotions. Sad, indeed, we are, to leave such congenial surroundings and associations; eager, however, to test our ability in life’s struggle; apprehensive somewhat, as to the trials that await us; hut overjoyous, to have attained our hrst stepping-stone towards life’s ultimate goal—Success. One can easily understand the sadness of our hearts, as we, who have been an integral part of old Lee High, depart from it forever and leave the corridors and the classrooms nevermore to echo and resound with our youth¬ ful voices. But though we are leaving, we are not forgetting and the physical aspect of our dear old High School will dwell forever in our hearts and minds. May we pause to bid a sincere farewell to our teachers, those who have so faithfully worked with us and ever set before us an exemplary type of patience and perseverance. They know, and we know, that our debt to them is so great that it can never l)e paid except by our attaining the end for which they have so nobly trained us. l ellow classmates, we shall soon hid each other farewell, an external farewell to he sure, for the character and personality of each of us have imprinted a fond and indelible image in our hearts that not even Time, the greatest of destroyers, can erase. W ' e have hnished our first period of apprenticeship and are about to part; each to betake himself into his separate field and pursue his own course. Though each of us has a different temperament and amlfition, we are all about to seek, to strive for, the main goal of man’s life—Success. Some may measure success in terms of wealth ; others in achievement; hut in the final analysis, one cannot gain anything without first making something of himself. As has been said, “You must l)e something before you can be anything,’’ and the one who makes of him¬ self that which he desires, will have achieved something far greater than mere wealth. In striving for success there are several factors that we must consider if we wish to attain it. T should like to believe that all men are created equal and have equal chances to ol)tain the highest and noblest in life, but if we cannot grant this we believe as Emerson says, “In the nature of the soul is the compensation for the inequalities of condition.’’ Opportunity is not wanting, there is a place and means f(jr all, hut in order to grasp and utilize our opportunities we must have will power, faith, hope, and above all an aim and purpose. Greater and higher things remain to he done than we have yet accomplished. With the careers of such men as Homer, Napoleon, Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln as glowing examples let us not he disheartened but remember that every man has his chance to succeed. With a clean heart, a clear mind, and a firm purpose, a man’s power is inestimable. However, in advancing along life’s highway, there are certain fundamental rules for us to remember. It is especially important for us to select a definite career, develop an admirable personality, employ perseverance in all our undertakings, and he modest regarding our accomplishments. With these things in mind let us go forth into the world prepared to do our best. And now, along with our last good-bye to our teachers a.nd friends, let us leave this promise with our school, that, though we forget many things, we shall always remember these immortal words— “This al)() c all : to thine ownsclf he true, .And it must follow, as the night, the day. Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

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Class Prophecy HAT special Fate which watches over, as some express it, the lame and the lazy, had indeed turned her benevolent countenance upon Henry Turnage; he had quite unexpectedly fallen heir to the tidy sum of three million dollars. He was not long in possession of this wealth before he l)egan to acquire the restlessness which is not uncommon among many ionaires, and which is inevitable among those having an insatial le curiosity, such as his. Consequently he took up aviation. As soon as he began to inquire into the subject of instruction, he drew ' the notice of Thomas Hassett, advertising manager for Lamer Fields, Inc., (named after Randolph Lamer, the celebrated engineer who constructed them). Mr. Hassett immediately referred him to the well-knowm instructor Robert Foster, and the famous navigator Alaxwell Whitlock. With such zealous ardor did he recommend these famous aviators that Mr. Turnage went to them forthwdth. It was not a great w ' hile after these long separated school-mates w ' ere brought into contact with each other until they began to w ' onder wdiat had I)ecome of the remainder of the class wdiich had graduated from Robert E. Lee High School with them ’way back in 1931, nearly twenty years ago. Now, w-hen curiosity like that which these four possessed, once gets under way, it gathers impetus much like the proverbial rolling stone. It would then follow that they should launch upon a search for the missing class members, and so it was. Shortly thereafter, they read in one of the large dailies, an article wudtten by the famous lady-journalist Elizabeth Moody, setting forth some of the miracles of modern surgery performed by the eminent brain specialist, Dr. Guy Sutton, as¬ sisted by his capable wife and nurse, nee Jessie P ear. As they passed a new ' s-stand, the name of Jethro Manly, the w ' ell-known author of scientihc hction, glared at them, emblazoned on the cover of a popular magazine of world-wide fame. It required little investigation to disclose the w-hereabouts of Edwdn Anderson, serving his government in the capacity of Con¬ sul to Cuba. Likewdse, Helen Row ' an, secretary to the president of the LTnited States; Nellie Reeves and Marjorie Hall, secretaries to the Honorable Houston Herndon and Leonard Chittum, senators from Virginia. While attending a theatre, Mr. Foster was privileged to see Thomas Hawq e on the stage. With his droll antics and inimitable drawd, he had made for himself a w ' arm spot in the hearts of the American people; a spot much like that occupied for many years by Will Rogers. There was no effort entailed in locating Maurice Parker and Bernard W’hite, who, working together, had taken the place as sports dictator at Notre Dame, wdiich had been occupied lyv Knute Rockne while they w ' ere starring for Old Lee High many years before.