Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

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THE STONEHAM HIGH SCHOOL AUTHENTIC If you can force your heart and nerve ! and sinew I To serve you long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will whicli snvs to them : : “Hold on!” I If you can talk with crowds and keep i your virtue, i Or walk with Kings — nor lose the ' common touch, ! If iicither foes nor loving friends can ' hurt you, I If all men count with you hut none ' too much ; | If you can fill the unforgiving minute I With sixty second’s worth of distance run. Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, I And — which is more — you’ll he a Man, my son! pitumite | Anne E. Buzzell j In reviewing the world’s progress for the past few years, one is impressed and : somewhat bewildered to note the many lines into which progress divides itself. To mention only a few will recall to our minds with what great speed we are at- : taining the things which were consid- i ered impossible a few years ago. Some called these “fool ideas,” but we are now enjoying them and could hardly do i without them. Who does not enjoy the i radio, the automobile, the telephone, ] and the rotogravures of the daily pa- j pers? Soon, in all probability, we will i be able to see the party with whom we j converse on the telephone. Through the aid of science, therefore, new ideas are being sought and old ideas improved and perfected. As familiar illustrations of personal achievement let us consider some lead- ing persons in the various fields of sci- ence, business, athletics, and aviation. One of the greatest surgeons during the World War, Alexis Carrel, spent his life studying and discovering new aids to save human beings; AndreAv Car- negie, a prominent philanthropist, made millions of dollars through honest busi- ness investments and gave much to help mankind in establishing libraries. One of the famous Marathon runners of to- day, Clarence DeMar, has run the equiv- alent of the distance around the Avorld, and runs each year about twenty-five hundred miles to keep himself in condi- tion ; Charles Lindbergh, our popular air hero, entered the New York to Paris flight with the sole purpose of achieve- ment, unspoiled by the sordid thought of financial gain. There are many oth- ers, too, Avho have likewise achieved their goals through determination and endurance. Achievements are the results of the combined efforts of many men and wo- men. To my mind the thought or idea is 011I3’ the starting point. If the thought is left dormant, it does not ma- ture. It must be brought to a conclu- sion in order to be called an achieve- ment. To have the ability to start with a sketchy idea, to pursue it through to completion, and to accomplish a useful result is the purpose for w’hich our studies have been arranged. They pro- vide the means for clear thinking and broad conception. These two assets combined Avith good home eiiAuronment build a solid foundation for happy use- ful lives. It will not be given to all of us to ac- hieve the most useful accomplishments, but each of us can, AAuth this back- ground, become useful in whatever niche AA ' e choose for ourselves. Some Avill be satisfied in the future, as in the past, Avith trivial honors. The presi- dency of the class Avould appeal to a fcAv; the captaincy of the athletic team Avould appeal to others; the honor of Ijeing acclaimed the most popular pupil in school AAmuld appeal to a still larger percentage of the student body. These aspirations are commendable only when pursued Avith friendly riA’alry and in the spirit of the “best one wins.” Self- promotion at the expense of others is a Aveed that leaves neither room for ideals nor the healthy groAvth of a loA’able per- sonality. Whatever task we undertake, Ave must resolve to do it to the best of our abilities. Taking only credit that belongs to us, giving credit AA ' here cred- it is due, striving to correct our own faults, overlooking other’s faults are achievements Ave all can obtain. It is noAv strictly up to ourselves whether we progress or whether we discount our op- portunities. The outstanding point is that in phys- ical as Avell as mental achievements, one must first of all acquire the right at- titude, sense the true values, do all the work to prepare oneself, and finally, depend upon one’s OAvn efforts and ac-

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GRADUATION NUMBER l vtsxhtnVsk bbress George E. MacNeil, Jr. You have gathered here this after- noon to witness the closing chapter in the High School career of the Class of 12-’27 and in b’ehalf of that class it gives me pleasure to welcome you all at this time. A day such as this one would not be complete without a last tribute in ap- preciation to those who are and have been responsible for our training dur- ing the past four years. To have taught and guided us in preparation for this day and future days to come required patience and encouragement. These things were never found wanting in the faculty at Stoneham High. They were patient when we became impatient, and encouraging when we became discour- aged. The high standards they held be- fore us to live from were examples and shadows from their own unquestioned characters. To-day will go down in the history of Stoneham High School as a unique occasion, because this will have been the second Senior class to graduate from Stoneham High School within a week. One week ago to-day the Class of 13-’27 received their diplomas. Ow- ing to the adoption of a new high school system it became necessary to graduate the two upper classes the same 3 ' ear. As both classes had gone along inde- pendent of each other, it was found im- possible to join them as one for this final occasion. Thus separate gradua- tions were granted by the School Com- mittee. On graduation there is a triumphant and victorious feeling, but over-shadow- ing it there is a feeling of regret. A realization dawns upon us that we are leaving — not to return. Several weeks ago we gladened at the thought of this day, but as the path narrowed and our goal came into view, the truth of de- parture from that temple of learning burned within us. Classmates: This is our last gathering ;audu juj iCnm -snoiios sb from one another, but the friendships we have formed are the kind that are not easily broken. As time drifts on and the years separating us from our High School life grow more numerous may we remember each other as class- mates. We have taken for our motto, “Not merely to exist but to amount to something is life.” Let us ponder sometime in the future and remember that what we do or wdiat we may be- come is a reflection on our school. Let us chisel its honor and do only the things that will bring it credit. All of us may take counsel in the famous words of Kipling’s “If;” If you can keep your head when all about you Are loosing theirs and blaming on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you. But make allowance for their doubt- ing too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies. Or being hated don’t give waj to hating. And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise. If you can dream and not make dreams your master. If you can think and not make thoughts your aim. If you can meet with Triumph and Dis- aster And treat those two imposters just the same ; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken. And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools. If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch and toss. And lose, and start again at your begin- nings And never breathe a word about your loss; [ 11 ]

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GRADUATION NUMBER cept victory or defeat, as may be, with the satisfying consciousness that he has given his best efforts. These ideals applied in scientific pur- suits professional callings, or in the or- dinary routine employments will carry us on to the ultimate personal achieve- ment — to make the world a better place 111 which to live, “Let us, then, be up and doing. With heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing. Learn to labor and to wait.” Raymond J. Dodge College sports were started as volun- tary games by those who enjoyed them. Attracting more and more attention first among the students and later among the sport lovers of the world, they became more and more expensive. ' They outgrew the capacity of the stu- j dents to manage them. They became ' great spectacles, attracted vast audien- ■ ces, returned large gate receipts, and re- | quired elaborate coaching systems. Some few years after it began, foot- ball was abolished, because of its bru- tality, from many of the colleges of | this country. Popular demand was, | however, so pressing that the rules were modified, and elements were introduced to produce thrills and to regain for I football its immense popularity. It is | these thrills, brought about mainly by the forward pass, that have retained this popularity until at present with the occasional exception of basketball, ! football is the only paying college si3ort. Almost simultaneously with the be- ginning of intercollegiate rivalry arose a blast of pedagogic disapproval. This feeling has centered itself on football as the game most needing reform. The faculty’s disapprobation is not against the game itself but against the evils arising from and supposedly connected with the game. The evils with which athletics are charged are many and varied. The fundamental ones are over-organization, super-coaching systems, luxurious equip- ment, and chief of them all, the fact that comparativelj ' ’ few men receive the benefits fo the exercise. From these other evils arise: Organized scouting, hiring of players, distracting of atten- tion of team and students alike, stress and strain on the players, preposterous financial outlay, and the adulation of men simply for physical prowess. The blame for most of these faults may easily be traced to the interest of the alumni in their Alma Mater and not in any way to the students. When a man graduates, he takes it upon himself to personally look out for the welfare of the college. He feels that, in order to succeed, a college must have success- ful teams, and he will spare no time, money, nor effort to make them suc- cessful. For this reason some of the college alumni have considered inter-collegiate sports as a big business or commercial enterprise. To them, athletic teams are an excellent means by which to gain “new business ” and to this end they have overlooked these evils as merely part of the price of something desir- able. They maintain, in their own de- fense, that the salary grievance is uni- versal, and, moreover, that a coach, who brings in more “new business” than the gentleman who makes a first-class translation of Pindar, should, of right, receive more remuneration. And Pin- dar (whom most of you have probably never heard of) was an ancient Greek poet who gained much of his fame by his skill in celebrating the athletic tri- umphs of his contemporaries. It is on- ly fair to say that the professor, after years of preparation, receives a salary that is a mere pittance compared with that of a successful coach, who, until the last few years, required no special training. Gradually, however, the so- called thug coach is disappearing and it is now imperative for the mentor to take one of the many courses in coach- ing. Besides the several summer schools the University of Michigan has added a course in coaching to its curriculum. If the alu mni have made inter-colleg- iate teams a business proposition, the players certainly have not. There are few ill any sport who have a finer ama- teur spirit than the average college ath- lete. There are, of course, exceptions, but I am referring to the majority. And organized scouting, or hiring of players does not fit in any too well with the true spirit of the game. Most of the college presidents do not want sports abolished, but they do want to remedy the chief fault of present day sports, the fact that comparatively few are benefited by the exercise. The [ 13 ]