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

Page 27 text:

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.

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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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i gain the newspapers aided the work of recounting the class of 19v l, when they published the account of the latest legal victory of I’urnley J rockenl)rough, America’s foremost lady attorney, who, unaided, had defeated the eminent crimi¬ nal lawyers, Swinton Steele and Robert Rurnett. In the same article reference was made to rulings of Federal Judge William Goodloe. In the Congressional Library, where Margaret McCue was Head Librarian, tbe four who were re-assembling the class, found an intere sting volume. It was a journal by Alary Eagle, giving an exceedingly fine account of the experiments of the great Physicist and Electrical Engineer, Malcolm Reid. They presently brought to light the fact that Alaurie Alarple had entered the field of Automotive Engineering, and had distinguished himself by several valu¬ able contributions to tbe safety of the automobile. At this time in the search it was learned that Isabelle Lumsden and Jacob Hevener were happily married, and having accumulated a modest fortune by thrift and shrewd investments, had retired to a modern farm where they could indulge in their long cherished desire to raise the finest race horses in the world. Ry an intricate bit of tracing it was found that since they had last been heard from by other members of the class, Eleanor Gayhart had become Superintendent of the women’s department of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Raltimore. That Cath¬ erine Johnson had continued the study of her music, and was rapidly becoming one of the world’s foremost composers of operatic music. That Virginia Driver had married a Polish nobleman, and was making her home abroad. That Sarah Wilson had graduated from the Aledical School of Virginia, and was specializing in children’s diseases. That Virginia McGuffin had become Dean of the Women’s Department of one of the large universities. Not long after this, Mr. Turnage received literature from the famous jewelery firm of Taylor : Dove, and upon investigation, found that the members of this firm were none other than Frances Taylor and Alargaret Dove, who had developed singidar ability in the field of commerce. Through correspondence with them he learned the whereabouts of several members of the class whom he had thus far been unable to locate: Rebecca Smith and Ann Rradford were leaders in Social W elfare Work in Greater New York; Relva Rowe was editor of the Department of Home Economics of the ITouion’s Home Companion; Lois Crickard was Pur¬ chasing Agent for Rosenbaum Rrotbers Department Stores, Incorporated, with headquarters in Roston. The Sunday Post contained several wonderful articles by tbe well-known journalist, Robert Matthews, who has been called the second Graham AIcNamee, one of which gave minute details of the fancy dress ball given by Dr. Allen Ayers, the costumes for this social function having been designed by Virginia Weaver who was an expert in this line of work. The advent of these articles brought to a successful close the efforts of the four gentlemen to account for each member of tbeir graduating class of 1931. Now when they had finished, they made a summary of their search; as they did this, they did not fail to notice that without exception every one of their class¬ mates had achieved success in some worthy field. This fact might have been coincidence, but all the four believed—and having a knowledge of the splendid workings of their Alma Alater, had reason to l)elieve—that the success of the graduates of Lee High was l)y no means coincidence, but the result of the thorough training received during their high school days.