Salem State University - Clipper Yearbook

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Elklrulig nf 1112 Glnllvilf 2 r 1 i 1 VERNA B FLANDERS FLORENCE B. CRUTTENDEN B.S., M.S. B.S., M.A. Social Science Socml SCIBIYC6 MILDRED B. STONE GEORGE F. MOODY B.S.Ed., M.A. B.S.Ed., LL.B., M.A. Mrztloematics V Director of Traiaziug, Edzzcrztiofz

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'l1P 1Hrnaihvn1'a Hivaaagr Etymologically, a pilgrim is a wayfarer, and in this sense we are all pilgrims. Life is an adventure upon which we have embarked. The earth where we dwell presents a perpetual challenge to our capacities. We move from one experience to another. We gravitate in various directions. Wfe become alternately introspectiife and gre- garious, deliberate and impulsive, virtuous and gross. It is impossible to escape the inexorable clutch of circumstancef' Our lines are cast in sundry places when destiny throws the dice. No necromancy can chart the future, no miracle can undo the past. Truly we are pilgrims in a very literal interpretation of the word. Where are we going? This is a perfectly natural question. Even irrational crea- tures satisfy a purpose. It is idiotic to assert that we are no more than Wanderers whose journey is terminated by death. Such a statement implies that man's mag- nificent faculties were devised for transient ends, and are exercised only in the pursuit 'of illusory goals. It means that every expenditure of energy, every manifestation of enthusiastic behavior accomplishes no useful result except perhaps the attainment of personal pleasure by the hedonist or the production of a healthier environmental climate by the ascetic. We must recognize the existence of more enduring objectives if we concede the dominion of an omnipotent God. I have reached an age at which many people begin to realize that the most im- portant thing in life is preparing for death. It is remarkable that very few acknowl- edge this truth in adolescence, and it is equally amazing that some never accept it at all. We speak glibly of eternity, but to the average person, eternity is a nebulous state to be shared by disembodied spirits in a remote and shadowy hereafter. Reason dictates that we should bring ourselves at an early age to a comprehension of the reality and inevitability of a future life, and identify it - whatever creed we profess - as our ultimate destination. The Pilgrim Fathers fled from England to escape political, religious, and economic persecution. They established on American soil a colony fashioned according to their own concepts of morality and justice. Not everything they did was defensible. But they were wayfarers with an ideal, adventurers with a will. Their voyage typifies the span between the beginning and the end of life. The landing at Plymouth sym- bolizes the fulfillment of a dream. They left us a heritage which we would do well to preserve, an example which we might profitably imitate. They were a courageous, persevering, and conscientious people, undaunted by adversity, humble in success. When danger threatened, they invoked God's help, when harvests were plentiful, they gave thanks for His bounty. These very qualities drew them, like a lodestone, to the rock- bound shores of Massachusetts. So shall the- motivation of good character steer us safely to port when we, like the Pilgrims, sail beyond the far horizon to a new and happier life. While I was writing this message, I heard the news of Joseph Stalin,s death. As you read these words, it will be almost three months since the ostentatious travesty which the press calls his funeral. For days the inert body of one of the 1'1'1,0St feared rulers in history lay stretched on a resplendent catafalque, flanked by the trappings of Muscovite pageantry. An interminable procession of faceless millions Hled by the gaudy bier in a bizarre tribute to a dead miscreant whom they had virtually deified in life. Stalin was a pilgrim, too. He was like the rest of us in origin and design. The record indicates that his objectives were perfidious and foul. The adulation which marked his passing was in inverse proportion to the quality of his pilgrimage. Where was he going? Where is he now? 0

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MIRA XVALLACE B.S.Ed., M.Ed. Physical Education LILLIAN M, HOFP B.S., M.A. Speedo LEON H. ROCKWELL B S., MA. Education GERTRUDE BURNHAM B.A., M.A. Evzglisfo