Roosevelt High School - Bwana Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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BWHNE THE ROOSEVELT SPIRIT To Theodore Roosevelt, Hunconquered worlds held an appeal which engaged his noblest efforts. His indomitable will, his aggressive spirit, and his thirst for the new, the unknown, kept him ever entering upon the uncharted course. New worlds to conquer are ours. True, much has been accomplished in many new fields of activity in recent years. But there remain just as many fields to be opened for exploration as have already been conquered. A few years ago, the possibility of a conversation between a person in New York and one in London seemed fantastic. This feat has now been accomplisheclg and before long, through the use of television, we shall be able to see the person to whom we are talking. Medical science, too, has progressed to a point undreamed of. Forty years ago Darius Green and His Flying Machine caused mirth wherever mentioned. Today, men like Lindbergh and Post have flown over the ocean and around the world. Regular airplane passenger service is maintained between distant points. But there are many battles yet unfought and frontiers yet unsubdued. We are just beginning to learn the secrets which the stratosphere holds. We may certainly expect that there will be as great progress in the fields of transportation, science, and wireless communication in the coming years as there has been in the past. Q We at Roosevelt would do well to strive for that desire to do, that desire to explore the new, that desire to achieve which was so firmly possessed and so eloquently expressed by him whose name our school bears. We may, by reflection upon the events of that life so full and eventful, gain for ourselves a spark of the Roosevelt spirit. NORTHCUTT COIL Q ' U 'I' Ol JN: A 1 E rghteen 935

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93 EWZHH UNCONQUERED WORLDS VERY exclamation point was once a question mark: every astounding fig: jfs? , . . . . fx discovery, a baffling mystery. Those marvelous discoveries which are the results of courage, of faith, and of fierce energy have done much for humanity. But it is the baffling mysteries, those eternal, madden- ing question marks, that are the salvation of the human race. Our generation should be thankful that there still remains so much to be solved, for, if the world ever erases the last challenging question mark, it will probably die of boredom. It is natural for us to desire that which is out of reach. It is true that we are forever seeking the mysterious things that elude us. But, after all, which is more marvelous-the possession of the object which beckoned us, or the thrill of the chase? Too often we learn that the moon which glowed as an enchanted fairyland of radiant of light is only a cold, dark body covered with extinct volcanoes. If a scientist were able to reach Mars, he might be painfully disappointed by the planet itself, but would he ever forget the thrill of his mad whirl through the stratosphere? Why have explorers chosen such lives of danger? What will be their reward? Certainly not the gratitude of a nonchalant world which in a few years will look upon their achievement as a matter of course! Explorers exist simply because of those same accursed-yet, oh, how blessed-question marks, those beckoning, challenging mysteries that have driven men insane, that have claimed human lives, and that are still so wonderful because they have kept the world from becoming stale. No one has ever been given a chance to live until he has been challenged, no one has ever truly lived until he has accepted. Let us not become so satisfied with the achievements of others that we overlook the defiance in the unconquered worlds about us. It is easy to loll in satisfaction, but it is not thrilling. How stupid to say that there is nothing left to be discovered when a million moons are glaring their challenges! It is to these beckoning, mocking moons, these symbols of untamed perils, these lands of fascinating mystery, that the youth of today owes its chance for an adventurous and active life, spurred on by the insistence of determination. And it is to these eternal, maddening question marks that the 1935 BWANA is dedicated. A A AUDREY THYSON Iga K - Seuenteerz

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935 BWENH UN CON OUERED WORLDS INCE time immemorial, there have always been worlds to conquer.. ln the beginning there was so very little known of our surroundings magical that the thought of conquering the realms of the land, the sea,--yes, even the sky, must have been bewildering. Then, gradually, the world, like a moth, came out of its cocoon to try its wings. Think of the courage and stamina of those first pioneers in the fields of exploration on land and sea. It is difficult to realize the fears of Columbus upon starting on his unforgettable voyage, the anticipation of hardships by the Pilgrim fathers and other founders of our country, and the anxiety of pioneers such as Daniel Boone. After our country had been explored and settled, did not our people go on conquering worlds in the sense of trying to solve problems of government? Let us not forget Raoul Amundsen and Commodore Peary, brave adventurers, who explored the north pole. To cite a still more recent example, what of Colonel Lindbergh? Was he not helping to conquer the realms of the sky when he succeeded in crossing the Atlantic Ocean by aeroplane in 1927? Rear-Admiral Byrd has certainly added to our knowledge of the world in which we live by his marvelous work in Little America. Surely we can take these examples of courage and bravery as models in our daily life. When it seems to us that everything has been fathomed, we must realize that our knowledge, in comparison to the mysteries which still lie before us, is comparatively small. Most of us today have neither the ability nor the inclination to go down in history as great navigators or as explorers of a new land. However, each of us must attempt to conquer his own world in his own small way. We must set a goal and allow no obstacle to intervene until that goal is reached. Let us conquer our own world. DOLORES PITTS inf' 44' ' , ,. 'fi Nineteen