Siskiyou Union High School - White and Gold Yearbook (Weed, CA)

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YOUTH TODAY, LEADERS TOMORROW SECOND PLACE ESSAY This country will need trained minds to carry on, both during and after the war. The future of America and the larger world to which she belongs will soon be in the hands of the so-called younger generation. They must be capable hands. To see that they become so is the most important responsibility of youth itself at the present time. This will not be an easy task. There are many things to take into consideration. Crimes, discontent, and juvenile delinquency are foremost problems on the list. But they must be faced and eradicated. It is the patriotic duty of every boy and girl, not only to take every subject in school which may be of help to him and to his career in the future, but also to comprehend and to make full use of his learnings. He must develop to the highest possible degree his natural capabilities. He must acquire knowledge and develop skills. The development of good-citizenship traits should be especially stressed in his education along with the development of the qualities of self-confidence, reliability and initiative. To indulge in an uninterested or a defeatist point of view about education in the present emergency is to permit opportunities which can never be recaptured to pass. For these are the years when young people should be trained to realize the full creative satisfaction of their inherent capacities. The peoples of the world yearn for the security that democratic freedom promises but they will need the training that is required for its wise exercise to be successful. This is where a full education presents itself. This is no time for any of us to sit back, willing to be uninformed and disinterested. Neither should anyone in a democracy feel that all wisdom rests with those who are in public positions, or in those who he may feel are better informed or better educated than he himself. The main issues involved in planning for peace are simple, fundamental ones that any one of us can understand. Everyone's cooperation in community, national and world-wide affairs is needed desperately to help prevent further wars. Everyone's cooperation in such affairs will actu- ally help to assure world peace. In the years to come, the country will be governed by the tallest, strongest, and the healthiest boys and girls of any American generation. Our courage is undaunted, and in the words of Youth, We will succeed. MILDRED BoYEs '45, WEED HIGH SCHOOL. MY FAVORITE OAK HONORABLE MENTION As I was walking through the woodland, a huge form caught my eye, And I found it to be a huge oak towering toward the sky. It semed to me to be nature's most splendid creation, And I stood gazing at it with the greatest of admiration. It towered toward the heavens in an almost perfect form, And its body was marked with many scars from many a lashing storm. It seemed to be a giant of many years of yore And it stood as the king of the whole forest floor. It seemed as though its limbs were like mighty arms All extended forward to guard its body from many seeming harms. It seemed to be a silent sentinel planted there in the ground To guard the many other trees that were all around. As I stood there in admiration, I hoped that I would again see That huge, splendid oak that had just meant so much to me. And as I last gazed at the king of all the woodland trees, Its crown was gently being fanned by a softly blowing breeze. RAYMOND BLANCHARD '47, YREKA HIGH SCHOOL. 20

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YOUTH TODAY, LEADERS TOMORROW FIRST PLACE ESSAY We, the youth of today, have facing us the most diflicult of any tasks that have faced our nation thus far. We have the responsibility of molding and welding together a world of peace and security. It is up to us, the youth, the citizens of tomorrow to see that this nation or this earth is not plunged into another world conflict. We must prevent a third world war. In our schools, homes, and private lives, we must prepare ourselves for the task of leading this nation on the road to world solidarity. At the close of this war there will be the jobs of land settlement, reestablishing of the smaller countries' governments, and building up trust and friendship between the different races and creeds. The United States is going to play a leading role in this program. Who from the U. S. will take part in this? Some will be the youth of today, but regardless of who does it, it will be up to us to enforce and cherish the ideals and provisions of the International Peace Conference. Upon the shoulders of the youth of America and the world rests the responsibility for the shaping of the world of the future. Shall it be one of bloody wars, treason, hate and hard times or shall it be one of peace, and tranquillity, justice and friendship? I believe we can begin now, in school, to prepare for these future years and the re- building of the war-torn nations by taking a course in The Social and Economic Inter- dependence of Nations. Another gesture would be to study the treaties of peace writ- ten in the past century or two and decide why they failed and how they benefited the people of the earth. I believe with such a policy in effect a lasting peace could be pro- vided for. Each individual should be taught to act on his own initiative and not depend upon someone else to do his thinking. Much must be done to make the next peace a lasting one. It has been said, at the close of each war This is the last war, but there always has followed another war. Why should this earth be plunged into a war every twenty or thirty years? We must make good the statement This is the last war. I believe it can be done. It is up to us, the youth, to govern the future condition of the world. It is a huge and difficult task, therefore let us begin now! V ELwooD Rose, McCLoUD HIGH SCHOOL. THE WILD PINTO FIRST PLACE POEM Across the fields and plains he steadily goes Making tracks in the land-his home. It is his, whether in summer or great snows On and on over hills and treeless divides. The herd follows him right at his heels Trusting that he will guide them away from harm. On he goes not knowing the feel of pulling a wagon with wheels Over the roads and trails of man. He knows that food lies ahead for him and his band Food that gives them strength to go on Food that was never touched by a human hand The hand that would take from them, their freedom. He watches over his herd from cliffs above He guards them as if they were his prisoners But they are not, it is just his strong love For his heart and for the great west. He has loved this land since he could see He and the band have trampled the land Now and forever will they be free. HAZEL ROBERTS, HAPPY CAMP HIGH SCHOOL. I9

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SAVED FIRST PLACE STORY Our family was very large and we always counted on the crop each year to see us through the next. Sometimes we were disappointed though, because a farm in the sand hills of Kansas is not too prosperous. Nevertheless, we would always start over again, not even thinking of moving to a richer or more fertile land for at least not wanting to, because we had always lived there as had our ancestors from way backj. During this particular year, we were very much in need of a good crop. The year before, a sandstorm had come suddenly, blowing the seeds from the ground, and the season was so late that the second crop we planted didn't even come up. Yes, we were desperately in need of a good crop. Dad decided that we would plant early this year, so if necessary, we could get in a second planting before it was too late. The planting began in the latter part of March and kept us boys out of school for nearly three weeks. Of course we didn't mind. Jed, the oldest of us, drove the tractor and plow. The rest of us-John, Bill, Jerry, Mark, and I-planted and sometimes traded off with Jed. Father wasn't too well and we wouldn't let him do much of anything. After a couple of months of good weather, the crop was doing fine, and bright green sprouts showed up all over the field. They seemed to grow very rapidly during the next month, and the field was beautiful to see, with the wheat swaying to and fro in the light summer breeze. Even mother, who rarely had anything to say about the crop, remarked to dad, Ed, I believe this will be the best one we have ever had, don't you? Looks like it, but don't count on it too much. The hot weather has 'ust begun I S and you know what that means. I agreed with mother, this was far the best wheat in the whole country. On many an evening I would wander out into it, breathing in its fresh, clean smell and dreaming ahead for the future. Father wasn't kidding when he said the hot weather had just begun, because in less than two and a half weeks the flowing fields of green had turned a light golden color, even more beautiful than the green had been, and it had grown at least two feet. As the days passed, the heat became almost unbearable. One morning we boys all went out with out shirts off, and within three hours our backs were blistered. It showed on the crop, too. Instead of ripening slowly, it nearly burned up. and we were reallv worried. Father went around saying, Why does this happen to us? not realizing all the farmers around were going through the same thing. Mother prayed for rain all the time. You see, it really meant a lot to all of us. To Jed, it meant going to college to become a lawyer: to us boys, it meant having an old car to drive to school instead of the horse and wagon. To Dad, it meant new tools and machinery, and to mom, a nice Sunday hat, supplies and many other things. Then one day it was so terribly hot that we all stayed in the cellar, the only cool place around. The wheat looked as if at any minute it would shrivel up and fall over. There wasn't even enough wind to blow it over. We were sitting around, not even talking which was very unusual with six boys around, when we heard a rumbling noise which scared us nearly half to death. We were sure, as the sky turned dark, that it was a sand storm brewing, but when I saw a flashing streak of lightning, I knew it was a rain Storm instead. Mother cried, Halleluja, my prayers have been answered. I told you this was the best crop we had ever had and this is just what we needed to make it so! ARLENE NELSON, MT. SHASTA HIGH SCHOOL. 2l