Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC things are possible, — he can win no matter how he begins, — and armed with a fixed idea and fair ideals, impelled by a worthy motive there is no limit to the future of the bright progressive Ameri- can youth of today. Paul Lester Keenan. The Ultimate Good to be derived from Athletics SECOND HONOR k- From the time of the early Greeks, athletics have held a prominent place in the lives of men. The Greeks were the first to take a great interest in athletics and to develop them to a high degree. Later when the number of athletes in Greece be- came small, interest declined and a period of dissi- pation and moral laxity came over the nation, followed by its conquest by Rome. The Romans during their success and triumph, took great inter- est in athletics. But again with diminishing inter- est came their downfall. The next athletic period came with the age of chivalry when for the first time a spirit of courtesy toward an opponent was shown. Athletics of modern times have combined all the good qualities of the older periods and have elimi- nated most of their objectionable ones. About one half of the human body is made up of muscles. These muscles are developed by games and athletics, hence it is easily seen how great a benefit physical sports may be. Their greatest benefits, however, are manifest when they are en- joyed by all, not by the few. Contrary to common opinion the professional athlete does not derive the greatest good from athletics, for they are beneficial only when they are indulged in as play, and become harmful when taken up as a business. A general interest in athletics tends to make a nation strong in moral character and in physical health. Again, athletics are democratic. Anyone going into them, no matter what his social standing, must show himself superior to all other candidates before he can make the team he is trying for. Moreover, an athlete must recognize discipline, for after mak- ing a team he must undergo a certain amount of training, such as keeping good hours, abstaining from rich foods and other luxuries and being under the authority of a coach whom he must at all times obey. It is the duty of the coach to show his athletes how to keep in proper condition to play their best game. Therefore a boy in training is keeping him- self physically fit, and recognizing the good it is doing him is apt in later life to know what a bene- fit clean living is. Then most athletes learn to play a game square. To take advantage of every misplay of the oppo- nents, yet not to use unfair means to cause the mis- play. If a boy does not have honor enough of his own to teach him to be fair the spectators soon im- press it upon him in a way not soon forgotten. In all games quick thinking is a prime necessity. In order to use to its best advantage the strength gained by careful training, the athlete should know where, how and when to use it. Oftentimes in a football game an unexpected attack on a supposed strong point will gain what a continued attack upon a weaker point will not do. In the same way, some strategic move on the baseball field will stop an opponent’s rally, or a well-placed bunt will win a game by its total unexpectedness. Thus athletics certainly furnish excellent mental as well as physi- cal stimulus. Lastly, in all athletic games there is need for courage — courage perhaps in several forms. First, the courage to stand up and take defeat and yet fight back. Many a game is won by a team which is “ hitting the line hard,” taking advantage of all its opponent’s misplays and giving back only inch by inch when hard pressed. Then also there is the courage necessary to play a game as long as one can stand up and help the team. This quality is probably shown mostly in football and running. Finally there is the courage to play steadily in spite of the jeers of a critical and hostile crowd who are anxiously waiting for some pretext to find fault and to lay the blame for defeat upon innocent shoulders. Youth is the age of sport, when moral character is being formed and all experiences make lasting impressions. So a boy who trains faithfully and plays the game hard in athletics will take care of his health, will face adversity bravely and will play the game of life squarely and well in later years. Nelson William Dempsey. Class History k- In September, 1908, forty-four boys and girls en- tered Stoneham High School as freshmen. Out of that number only fourteen remain to graduate ; these, with the thirteen who have joined from other

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THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC VOLUME XXVIII STONEHAM, MASS., JUNE 25, 1912 NUMBER 2 Problems Confronting the High School Graduate Each Year, a few months be- fore graduation, there arises in the mind of every prospec- tive High School graduate this question, “Shall I seek further education at at some higher institution or shall I now go forth and at- tempt to win my way in the world ? ” The importance of this ques- tion, which vitally concerns every boy in our schools today, cannot be exaggerated. Upon this decision depends the future of the boy ; the success or failure of his entire career, for every one is es- pecially suited for some particular vocation, and upon the boy’s ability to select the right vocation, depends his success or failure. With the majority of graduates school life now ceases and they must surmount many obstacles be- fore attaining success. Life is both a race and a struggle ; whatever prize we win, we must contest for ; and whatever victory we gain, we must fight for. Although many avenues of life are open, those who immediately enter upon business life have great difficulty in selecting an occupation for which they are especially adapted and hesitate before making a decision. But even harder is the proposition which con- fronts the boy who continues his education. Shall he follow a technical course at some scientific school, as the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy, which results in employment as an engineer or shall he pursue an academic course at some classi- cal college, as Harvard, which broadens his general FIRST HONOR education but fits him for no particular occupation ; or shall he begin his professional studies at once and attend a Law school, a Dental school, or a Medical school. Before a decision is reached, there are several things to be considered, the most important being, “ In what particular line has the boy thus far shown the greatest ability to excel ? ” But when one re- members that today boys graduate from High School at the age of eighteen, seventeen, and even sixteen years, it is not strange that they have shown no marked aptitude and have no definite idea of the practical side of these vocations. Hence it is not strange that many boys choose professions for which they are entirely unsuited and in which they can never achieve success. Before deciding whether or not one should seek a a college education, we should compare the posi- tions, financial and social, held by those who have received college educations with the positions at- tained by those who entered business life imme- diately after the completion of their High School course. If the latter are more desirable, there is apparently nothing more to be said ; but if the for- mer, then we must judge whether the difference in the degree of success is large enough to warrant the spending of four years of ones’ life and the out- lay of hundreds and even thousands of dollars to secure this higher education. From this comparison, it is seen that the latter, sometimes and even often, command higher salaries and hold more responsible positions than the for- mer. But the advantages derived by a student from the books are minor to the other benefits con- ferred by a college education. The general broad- ening of the mind and sharpening of the intellect enable a college graduate to grasp more firmly and see more clearly an entirely new idea. He is taught to disregard details, to cope with any emergency, and to be prepared for any situation. A boy with the moral courage to go through college unharmed, comes forth in every sense of the word a man and a desirable citizen of our country. Every boy for whom it is at all possible should acquire some form of a college education that he may be more com- pletely equipped to surmount the obstacles of his career. But in either case, — college-bred or self-made, as the boy may be, he should remember that all

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THE S. H. S. AUTHENTIC schools and classes, comprise our present class of twenty-seven members. We immediately drew up a constitution and elected Mr. Mann class president. We had considerable discussion as to what our class colors should be, green and white, or blue and gold. We finally decided upon blue and gold. What two colors could be more appropriate for our royal class, than these ? We also decided upon our class pin, which you see represented. Our class is the last to have class pins, all other classes from now on will have school pins distinguished only by class numerals. Business matters being attended to, we turned our attention to studies. Every class has its faults, one of ours was whispering. It took Miss Sherman just three days to fine it out. Then she said, “ that if we persisted in acting like kinder-garten children we must be punished accordingly,” so many a noon the front seats in Room 2, were occupied until half past one, by such of us as could not get over our childish ways. About the middle of December we thought it would be nice to hold a social, but Paul said we ought to wait until the Xmas shopping was over, so we delayed until the last of March when all, except the hoodlums, met one fine evening at the home of Miss Duplin. There were several that stayed at home. So with a little studying and a little whispering, we passed our first year as High School students. When we returned as Sophomores and entered Room 11, which is on the same floor as the Junior and Senior room, we felt that we were indeed an important part of the school. We had no socials or good times this year except what we got from our school work. One study which we enjoyed immensely was Physics. Especially the stereopticon lectures in Room 14, which we all so well remember. It was strange how a boy who was sitting in one comer of the room when the lights went out, was found sit- ting beside a certain girl on the other side of the room when the lights went on. It certainly was a case of rapid transit. We also began the study of French at this time and Ruth one day translated the verb embarrasser as meaning “to kiss.” Upon being corrected by Miss Kellogg she indignantly replied, “that she guessed she knew what to kiss meant,” and we all agree she does. The Junior year is the most strenuous of all, for this is the time of flower parties. For many years, it has been customary for each boy to see some feminine member of his class safely home after the party. Our boys wished to follow the good exam- ple of other classes and decided to do the same. But it was strange how all the boys wanted to go home with the same girl. Marion certainly had great difficulty in choosing her escort ; we noticed, however, that Carroll was usually the favored one. All boys like sweet things, so we girls always brought fudge. But it wasn’t the boys only who liked sweet things. Doris liked a certain “Sweet” so much that he was always on hand to walk home with her after the flower parties. We worked hard at these parties, but felt amply repaid for all our labor when at graduation time, we heard so many people say that the decorations were the prettiest seen at a graduation for years. In behalf of the Class of 1912, I wish to thank the Juniors for these decorations. We realize the work you have put into them, and sincerely hope that you have enjoyed making these for us as much as we enjoyed making ours for the Class of 1911. Although we had a great many good times this year, we studied, and studied hard. Some of us even burned the midnight oil, a thing we had never done before, nor since. I think our hardest study was American History, but we enjoyed the recitations, especially when we had a new teacher and Mann and Dempsey ex- changed names. We were sorry to lose two of our best teachers this year, Miss Robinson and Miss Fuller. When we returned as Seniors we were surprised to find that Miss Kellogg, also, had left us. Some teachers take our hearts by storm, others creep into them before we realize it. This was the way with Miss Kellogg. We never knew how much we loved her till she left us. Again we were sorry when Miss Ruggli left us at the beginning of the new year. It was suggested that instead of having our ban- quet and reception, we all go to Washington. We thought it a good plan and voted to go. We held one food sale, and the proceeds from the play, “ Messmates,” was also to be used toward the trip. Although we were successful in both undertakings we had far from money enough for all the class to go, so the trip was abandoned. We held our banquet at the Parker House, May 21, at which many delightful toasts were given. Miss Fuller said that she thought we were very fortunate in having a man like Mr. Emerson for our principal. A gentleman who visits many of the surrounding schools said to me, that he never knew of a school