Steele High School - Annual Yearbook (Dayton, OH)

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Page Twenty STEELE MAGNET well, and yet give it no expression. It must be felt by him himself in order to give the true meaning. Then in doing the greatest thing of all, in giving the work to others, he must give this impression as he feels it. He never thinks of those who are listening. He is in the land of wonder. He is the great central figure of it. He understands the pain and sorrow or the joy of it all. He sees all the beauties of nature, all the Wonders of creation. His hearers feel and see as he does. They do not know he is singing or playing. They are wandering with him through it all. When the music ceases, it seems as though they have passed through a dream. The artist is conscious of this when he has finished and he feels proud to think he has done so much for them. He may have turned some Wayward one's thoughts, or he may have brought joy to the hearts of some sorrow- 1ng. In order, then, to make a musical production successful, the spirit of it must be reflected. This is accomplished by a thorough study of the composer's life, also by a study of the time during which the composition was Written. The Work is now only half completed. The production must be applied to the artist's life, and if he sympathizes with the theme, and understands, then he ca.n give to others by execution a something which will be appreciated. In this way, the aim of all song is accom- plished. Q JIM S GIFT INEZ R. SHEPHERD O-MORROW is Ma.ry's birthday, said Rose. Jim did not reply, and Ma.ry thought perhaps he had not heard, but when she saw his face she knew he had heard. Jimi looked up as Mary dropped her spool of thread, and, gazing at her, he said, I wish I could give you eighteen beautiful diamonds, one for every year of your life. At this he slipped out of the room. Jim was twenty-one and Rose was sixteen, but somehow Mary had been the head of the family ever since their mother died, three years before. Mary almost wished Rose hadn't mentioned her birthday, because she knew it troubled Jim to think he had no money to remember birth- days. If mother and father had lived, everything would have been so different. She would have been a girl among girls and celebrating her birthday in a girlish fashion. Now she seemed only a housekeeper, who had to shoulder the duties of a woman. She had to plan their food very economically and often lost her appetite in the planning. Jim had to work hard from morning till night to earn enough to support the three of them, and Rose must be kept in school until she could graduate and start teaching. Rose was studying now and Mary was doing the family

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STEELE MAGNET P380 Nineteen Many are attracted by Steele's location, and it would be hard to find a better located building. It is on the main street of the city and easily accessible to tl1e greatest number of students, it might be said that all important highways lead to Steele, and no visitor ever got lost hunting for Steele. From Steele's many windows one can obtain a fine view of the Miami River, Main Street Bridge, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, and Van Cleve Park with its pride and heirloom, the old log cabin. S0 many fine points of interest all within close proximity to Steele contribute to its grandeur and appearance, and there is more interest attached to the Park, for it cannot only be seen, but students have access to it and may stroll along the bank of the river and enjoy recreation of both mind and body. Every one is now considering the brilliant future before Steele, for the plans for improvement which are being made will remove all grounds of possible complaint and will make Steele the magnet for students of talent and ability. Last, but not among the least, we may speak of the friends of Steele, always in the majority and steadily increasing, for none ca.n frown on a school which gives so much to those who give so little. HOW THE SPIRIT OF SONG IS REFLECTED MARGARET GUY T is said that, no matter how savage man may be, music always has a charm for him. It does not fill its mission, however, unless it con- veys some impression to the hearer. No true musician plays just to play, he aims to place a picture or cause an emotion to arise in the minds of his hearers by putting his interpretation of the music into it. The same may be said of musical verse. Although the words are there, they must be interpreted well to make the song a true one. Thus the aim of all song is not to entertain, but to give a true, definite meaning that really counts for something. If this meaning is rightly conveyed, a thorough study must be made of the composition. The life of the composer often sheds great influence on his productions. One certain event may have caused the writing of the song. Thus it is necessary to study the composer's life closely and carefully. The time during which the composition was written may have had much to do with its production. In the case of our own Star- Spangled Banner, the spirit of the time made it wonderful. Whatever ca.used the piece to be such as it is should be sought in order to under- stand more fully the piece itself. After the composition has been thoroughly studied, if it is to be properly interpreted, it must be applied to the art.ist's own life. If he can find nothing in his life to which this piece applies, he cannot successfully interpret it. Any one who is able to play or sing may execute a piece

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STEELE MAGNET - Page Twenty-One mending. Altogether, they managed to get along, but there was very little for extras in the way of birthday celebrations, and to-night Mary longed for some of those extras. She finished her mending, however, and then took up her knitting. Jim came home and went to bed early. It was evident that the shadow had not lifted. The girls talked for awhile, and finally they went to bed. Jim always set his alarm and called Mary on his way down stairs to build the kitchen fire. But on the morning of her birthday, Mary slept long and late. When she Hnally awoke, she saw tha.t it was half-past seven. She was amazed and wondered what could be the matter with Jim. She hurried to her brother's room, but his bed was empty. When she rushed through the hall again, she found that Rose had wakened and was as much puzzled as she. They dressed hurriedly and ran down into the kitchen. The kitchen was warm and comfortable. There was a pot of coffee on the back of the stove, a dish of oatmeal keeping warm, and some eggs ready to be cooked. The table was set for breakfast, however, a little more awkwardly than Mary set it. But Mary's attention was attracted to the floorg it had been scrubbed and was even whiter than Mary ever had made it. When Mary turned over her plate, she found a note with her name on it in Jim's handwriting: DEAR SISTER MARY: I started to come downstairs for something last night and couldn't help hearing what you said to Rose. It hurt me because I wanted to do so much, but felt helpless. But your words made me think of something I could do, so I got up early and did it. I hadn't realized before how unpleasant it must have been for you. The cleaning and the breakfast, as far as I could get it, are my birthday gift to you. Don't fret about me. I have gone to work with a good break- fast if I did get it myself. uJIM. ' This made Mary feel unworthy of either of the other two, but yet that it was worth while living for both. DJ ALONG THE JAMES C. L. L. IGHMOND, Va., is a name which occurs very frequently in our nation's history. It was the center of the struggle in nearly every war in which the United States has been concerned. Even at this late day, its citizens can point to living descendants of Poca- hontas, and the museums of the city are filled with relics as old as the nation and as recent as the Civil War, full of interest to every patriotic son of the soil.