St Stephens Academy - Academician Yearbook (Port Huron, MI)

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■ The Portal • SALUTATORY Rev. Fathers, Faculty, Parents, Classmates: The great honor has been bestowed upon me, by my “Alma Mater,” of bidding you welcome here today. For this privilege, I am very grateful, but still, as I look around and see your faces, marked with expression of wisdom and experience far exceeding our own, I cannot but feel that the words should come from you. Nevertheless today, we, the graduates of 1931 are entertaining you officially as a class. Our school, to which we bid you welcome, is in reality your school, the one you planned, built and proudly watched grow. It is your St. Stephens which represents the investment in the children of the future. You have sacrificed to place at our disposal the advantages you felt would help us attain the standards set by Our Holy Father in his encyclical on Education. We do not wish to boast as we know we will doubtlessly make the mistakes in- cidental to youth and inexperience yet we want you to know we have profited by the opportunities afforded us, and we hope to be able to show you that as men and women, we will have kept and realized some of the high ideals that are ours today. In a very short time, we will be out in the world awaiting your welcome, then we will be joining you in that wider field of progress which make up active life. There much of our success will depend upon you and the way we are received. But today, you have expressed your interest in us bv being present on this our class day, and partaking in our happy nonsense, and for this we are very grateful. To you this may be just another happy occasion to be enjoyed and then for- gotten, but to us, it is one of the greatest days of our life and will always carry pleasant memories to us. Looking back over the epoch of our high school years, we can truly say that we have done our best to make use of every opportunity offered us. To be sure it has been a very poor “best” at times but was truly our highest effort. There are so many, many times in life wdien w e are forced to admit the inade- quacy of mere w r ords, and this is one of those occasions. Something of what Tenny- son had in mind when he said: “I would that my tongue could utter the thoughts that arise in me,” comes to me at this time when ray tongue refuses to express the true significance of that one w ord, “Welcome.” As every tiny seed is the glory of creation, in every blossom the promise of a future possibility, we, as a class, like these are pushing out from the seed to grow upward into perfection. We ask you, dear friends to be glad with us and for us and as we enter upon this program of the hour. You are all here on the invitation of some of the class of 1931. You are parents and friends, interested neighbors, and members of under classes, but one and all of you are actuated by friendships and regard for us. For the past few weeks we have been entertained by those social functions which are the happy occasion of graduates. Now the days before our graduation are growing fewer and the class day has arrived. Y e cannot express our gratitude at having you here today and we trust that in after years, when taking a retrospec- tive glance over your past life, that the hour you spent with the graduates of ’31 will linger as a pleasant picture on memory’s wall. Jean Muoan, ’31. Pa ge T teen ty- th ree

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: — = The Portal =: r — VALEDICTORY Reverend Father, Kind Sisters. Parents and Friends: Together for twelve years we have been striving to attain this goal. The thought of our success brings joy but mingled with it there is a feeling of sadness and regret because we must leave behind the places and persons so dear to us all. We have at last come to a bend in the river of life. Here we stop and ask the question, “What awaits us around this bend? We know there will he windings, and turnings, there will be evil rocks and shoals and the tangle of seaweed. Rut placing our trust in our Divine Guide and His Blessed Mother we will go forward and con- quer them. Our God, who calmed the sea of Galilee will do the same for us, and Mary, Our Heavenly Mother will he our “Star of the Sea” as she has been for countless others. We have been very fortunate in obtaining a wonderful Catholic training, which solves the question of “right, good and infinite.” Thus, fearlessly we approach the widening vista of our life. Nicholas Murray Hutler of Columbia University once said. “School is not a preparation for life, school is life.” We have learned as many things informally outside the classroom as we have in it. Theories we learned from l woks but civic responsibilities, little plans of cooperation, contests where our repu- tation as students was at stake, all these have helped us to realize the part we are to play in the broader stream of life’s endeavor. We have been well taught. Rut now we must put into practice the principles that seemed so easy and natural in the atmosphere of our schoolroom. We have called our year book, which we shall ever treasure for the memories it contains “The Portal.” Only seaworthy ships are allowed to pass the portals. We have satisfac- torily passed the tests of the educational authorities. We must now conduct our- selves in such a manner that we will achieve the hopes of our parents and maintain the ideals pointed out for us bv the faculty. Today we review fondly the patience, love, and kindness of our parents, our pastor and the Sisters. They are responsible for the smoothness with which we have glided over the water. Always sheltering, always guiding, always warning, they kept us from the barriers that meant ship wreck. Today words cannot express the feelings of love, of reverence, and of gratitude, harbored in our hearts for those true friends. Classmates, we have now received our chart and our compass and each must travel on alone. We leave St. Stephen’s now as students, but, as loyal members of the Alumni, we shall ever be interested in every school activity. We shall watch with keen interest the class functions and contests of the other classes with whom we have associated, and be the first to pass on the encouragement we received from that fine body of men and women, known as St. Stephen’s Alumni. Though as a class we may be forced far apart, let us always place our trust in God, let us ever keep our green-and-gold before us, and let us face the duties of the unknown waters bravely and boldly. Then, shall we sail true to our God, our ideals, and our Alma Mater. Howard Gobeyn, 31 . Page Twenty-two

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The Portal class SONG 1. Dear St. Stephen we salute thee Friend of student daps, You forever help us onward Thru journeys o ' er the reaps. 2. To thee we bid a fond farewell As from your doors we pass , Knowing we shall never forget Our High School Days ' sweet spell. Chorus: So we sing of student days. Friendship made to live always; To instructors of the truth In St. Stephen ' s of our youth. We are proud that with the fold JVe may cheer the Green and Gold; Happy scenes that ne ' er will fade, High School Days, dear High School Days. Noreen Mara, 31 . CLASS POEM Classmates, pause here a moment, while our life is yet at morn; Let us voice the new emotions that of this great hour are born. ' Tis the time which all has led to, since we heard the first bells call . Calling us together in the old familiar hall. Faithfully we ' ve toiled and striven, pressing on w ith higher aim. Thinking of each other, imitating men of fame . O commencement ' s not the ending that it seems to all our strife. But the gate that opens outward to a bigger, broader life ! Classmates, may the crescent promise of our spirit never set. But the fount of inspiration gush through every fancy yet. Let ' s let it fall on our dear school, on every friend we know. Let us clasp each hand and whisper “ Good-bye , Classmates as we go. Martha Rondeau, ’ 31 . Page Twenty-four