Spencerville High School - Echoes Yearbook (Spencerville, OH)

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Valedictory Members of the board of Education, faculty, parents, and fellow classmates Each day is a fresh beginning Each morn is the wcrld made new. Tonight - Commencement! To some it seems the end - to others but a beginning - a. time to try the strength of our character. 'Tis true, it is the end of years of work, play, joys and, perhaps, sadness of close companionship in the class-room, in sports and social contacts as a class, but is the beginning of something greater, something bigger than any of us. Yes, examinations and tests have caused us anxiety in school. Now, as we go to face life, will we be able to stand. each test and solve each problem satisfactorily? Have our predecessors proven their skill? We may answer this by observing the useful things about us. Take, for instance, our electric lights, radios and automobiles, which have become so commonplace as to have ceased to excite wonder unless we stop to reflect. Yet many members of the audience l- am addressing can remember when these things were not in existence. Many fields includ- ing television, medical scientific research, plastic experimentation and world air power offer us a challenge! Is it inevitable that these fields will advance with amazing rapidity? We, the youth of today, must sponsor these enterprises. The world moves forward on the feet of its citizens, We cannot stop thinking. Each of us owes a debt to mankind, regardless of the fact, that we do not like to admit such a responsibility. If we do not make the world better by our being here, we break faith with those who have lived and died before us. Can we, the class of 1944, accept this challenge? Several of our boys have already. They have taken their place in the armed forces. Their mettle will be proven on the far flung battle frclnts of the world. We, on the home front, will have more choice in our vocations. We may choose to enter higvhier -educational institutions, to step into the field of agriculture or to work in a defense factory to hasten the advent of world peace. Hundreds of fields are open to us if we wi-sh to continue our educa- tion. Alhough many new miracles have been performed in medical science, there will always be diseases to conquer. The new sulfa drugs are saving the lives of millions of soldiers, and sailors and marines, but nothing has been developed to cure cancer. Sister Kenny has alleviated much of the fear of infantile paralysis, but we cannot trace the common cold germ. What a boon to mankind if some individual might bring forth a simple cure for the ravages of this disease. The chemical laboratory has brought us such things as synthetic rubber, cloth made of milk and plastics made: of coal and soy beans, but as yet chemists have merely scratched the surface of new discoveries. Page 18

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Seniors Bonnie Rhodes ushortyn Hore's a lass with lot of wit, Her scholastic standing high, In the crowd she-'s quite :1 hit. But to some-one else- My! Band twirler 2: Mixed Chorus 1. 2, 3, 4: G. A. .L 3, 4: lf. H. A. 1, 2. 3. 4: NVee Er-hoes 3: An- nual 3: Senior 'Pest 4: Honor Banquet 3, 43 Prince of Peace Decla- mation 3: Class Play 4. Roberts A goorx q ater with pret eyes. Ont- of t e finest of 0 D S. 'l'eac'he:3 he girls how to ska T-hi-jew to llelplios for - i ate. I Athh-tsi.cs 1, 2, Mixed Fhorus 1, 23 Class Play . nnual 4: Reception - mmittve 3: Baselsallm X41 W'aiter 2. Herbert Schimmoeller nllerk-yn Herky answered his frountry's call, Never hesitated a minute. XVQ1 can he sure of Victory. XVith Herky out there in it. I . I . A. l, 2, 3. 41 Uhorus l, 2. 3. 4: Eis- tt-rlclforl 3. Sarabelle Simindinger H Sara!! . Brown hair. blue eyes :intl quiet, Has this Si-nior of 4-1 Her gentle ways we'll ' remember. XVhen our school days, are o'er. Q Girls' Chorus 1: Mixf-tl Chorus 2: Reporter for VVet- Echoes 4. age 1 7

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VALEDICTORY-Cont. Argicultural possibilities are truly great. The Future Farmers of America must learn to preserve fertile top soil and rebuild that which has been depleted by erosion due to the ignorance of our forefathers. In the past a farmer tilled his land until the fertility was used, then moved on to new frontiers. These having disappeared today, we must build and pre- serve the worn of our land. The factory workers will soon have a huge task facing them, namely conversion from war time to peace time materials. Great machines which are now producing guns, tanks, and planes must change to producing automobiles, reefrigerators and electric appliances. This transference will call for ingenuity. Teaching is another attractive profession with a future for service. Young minds must be trained to search for more knowledge. Not only should it be obtained, but it should also be used wisely. We see many college graduates who have been failures because they cannot use their learning sensibly. Now is a good time to enter this field as 120,000 teach- ers have left since Pearl Harbor. They have entered armed forces and found better paying jobs in defense factories. Although the salary seems small, it is steady even in times of depression. It is estimated that 400,000 more teachers will be necessary for an adequate post war school program. The actual work varies greatly. There are subjects ranging from science and mathematics to English and foreign languages, With these new worlds to conquer, with this clear-cut challenge be- fore us, have we truthfully reached the end? The years ahead will give the answer. If some of us do not grasp the meaning of this immediate task, today is the end. For those who are enthusiastic for the future, this is just the beginning. True pleasure comes from accomplishment through service: therefore to us who would succeed: The things that haven't been done befofre are the tasks worthwhile today. Are yo-u one of the flock that follows, or are you the one that shall lead the way? Are you one of the timid souls that quail at the jeers of the doubting crew? Or dare you, whether you win or fail? Strike out for the goal that's new? And now-Fellow Classmates: Our days in school are ending, Our lessons in pad and text. But problems now beginning, will test our skill the best. The success in our occupations The future alone will tell, Now with sincere' congratulations We say to you- Farewell Page 19