Stoneham High School - Wildlife Yearbook (Stoneham, MA)

Page 23 text:

Graduation Address in these countries because each nation is proud of its heritage and deserves to perpetuate its own culture. Nevertheless, we do have an oppor- tunity in welcoming to our colleges and universi- ties, teaches and other leaders who may study here and take back to their homelands whatever of our philosophies and practices will be of value to them. We can help restore school build- ings, equip them with text books, laboratory apparatus and machines. In all our building let our foundations be tolerance and good will. Thus far we have considered opportunities in areas that may seem vague and distant. Let us now be more personal. Americans as well as Europeans have been scrambled. Our soldiers quartered in India, North Africa, and China are seeing, most of them for the first time, life and cultures very foreign to their own. For the most part this life is extremely simple; too often it is one of abject poverty. Pearl Ruck warns against the superficial understanding which these soldiers will glean from their limited contacts with peoples of these lands. Unable to understand the language, and being far removed from their customs, our boys may discourage efforts to- ward cooperation because they have judged people on too little evidence. We who read their letters and hear their first hand accounts will do well to bear in mind that a deeper and broader knowledge is needed than can be gained through a few months or even a year by soldiers stationed there. In our country boys from the East hive seen the rugged beauty of our western mountains, the great variety of western plains. Boys from the North have sensed the lasting bitterness among some southerners whose grandparents defended a lost cause in the Civil War. Boys throughout the nation have had their sympathies or re- pulsions deepened bv contact with our soldiers of various creeds, races, and colors. Most of these boys recognize in our democracy problems which press for solution. “There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the Hood, leads on to fortune.” Of one thing we can be cer- tain — the status quo can never be maintained. It is for us to determine whether we will ride the tide or whether we will, in an attempt to re- sist it, be dashed on the shore. It is for us to determine whether our faith in democracy is sufficiently secure to extend its r ' ghts and privileges. What is our answer to the colored soldiers who ask, “Shall we enjoy in the future the democracy for which we are fighting?” In this world-wide struggle of the common man for a leveling off of economic privilege; can we in America save the best in our economic tradition and yet not glorify its faults? The impact of war upon our educational system has been heavy. Great concern has rightly been expressed over the accelerated programs stripped of all but the bare essentials and heavily weigfited by science and mathematics to meet war demands. Yet this sudden change will force us to restud) ' our entire system; from this study should come valuable changes. The war on the other hand offers great edu- cational advantages through the training pro- grams in the armed services. Many boys have entered college who would never in normal times have been encouraged to continue their studies. With the immediate goal of ratings in view they have learned how to study effectively and have come to appreciate that qualities of industry are necessary for personal advancement. After the war there is a probability that the government will pay the expenses of young men and women who wish to continue their college careers. Pro- viding educational opportunities for those who really want them would be further evidence of the democratic process. Because of wartime necessity the dignity of labor is again being recognized. As debutantes and people trained for professions work as weld- ers and machine operators in war plants, the stigma sometimes »elt toward manual labor is re- moved. Through the victory gardening cam- paign many people are once more getting close to the soil and farming is looked upon as an im- portant and enjoyable occupation. Because of a shortage of domestic help many housewives are finding, in the necessity of doing their own housework, a certain pleasure that accompanies honest work. New scientific developments accelerated by war offer to many employment in the fields of plastics, electronics, aeronautics and synthetics. Scientists estimate that more than 200,000 products entirely new to man have come from the chemical laboratories in this one gener- ation ...” Production of these products on a large scale will absorb thousands of men and pro- vide new comforts for living. In speaking of the youth of the last war Josiah Royce, professor of philosophy at Harvard, said, “You have the honor of belonging to a gener- ation whose lips are touched with fire . . . “When you are old . . . however memory brings back this moment to your minds, let it be able to say : . . . this world in its crisis called for volunteers, for men of faith in life, of patience in service, of charity and of insight. 1 responded to the call however I could . . . 1 studied, I loved, I labored, unsparingly and hope- fully, to be worthy of my generation. RORERT TOWSE

Page 22 text:

Graduation Address WE FACE THE FUTURE As far back as history has recorded men’s thoughts, each generation has said, “The peak of scientific development has been reached ; man ' s ingenuity has spent itself. So it was when the automobile sped over rough roads at the alarming speed of fifteen miles per hour; and again when the airplane proved that it could resist the pull of gravity in a Bight from coast to coast. Even more hopeless has been the attitude toward problems growing out of human relation- ships. Newspaper clippings telling of the irresponsibility of youth, of the moral degener- ation of the age, can be read with the same sad shaking of heads today as when they were first printed in an earlier century. How convincingly history has proved the skeptics wrong. Man’s inventiveness is spurred to greater achievement as the needs become im- perative, especially when there is a war to be won. The suffering in total war reaches out over the globe, but so does the sympathy for those whose lives are caught in the maelstrom. We today are likely to see only the dark and unpromising side of our future. Yet with prob- lems of war come unprecedented opportunities. Let us consider several areas in which lie challenges great enough to demand all the courage and idealism we possess. At the outbreak of hostilities diplomatic re- lations between many countries were broken and representatives were called home. All diplomatic relationships must be resumed as progress of the war permits. To safeguard itself each nation may well consider by what principles these re- turning diplomats will be guided. Can there be peace if every nation seeks its own self interest? Can there be peace if diplomats stoop to deceit and shady bargaining? Can there be peace if nations, blind to their own faults, insist that they have found the right way and force that way upon others? Those who represent us in international con- ferences will have it in their power to shape the course of events. Controversial issues will be many ; such as, access to natural resources, national and international defense, trade, air bases, and the control of aggressors. If all sides of these issues are studied with the objective candor of the scientist and with the will to find fair solutions, open conflict can be held in check. Perhaps no one of vour class will serve as a foreign ambassador, but we will all be among the citizens for whom they will speak and we can influence the thinking of our time. We must send to the conference tables men of intelligence, in- tegrity, and tolerance. They must be students of the historv and culture of those nations whose problems are common with ours. They must see beyond the present. More than half the world today is hungry; just how hungry, we in American cannot appre- ciate. These people should be fed and quickly. As one of the leading food producing countries, we can provide immediate and temporary relief. We can help them to help themselves by pro- viding them with modern implements and by teaching improved methods of farming. As Doctor Carver taught the people of his race to make a living from the peanut, so others devoted to research can discover secrets for wresting from the soil livelihoods for crowded nations. Of those who fear that our generosity is too costly we ask if it is not less costly than further wars growing from seeds of hatred in the souls of hungry people who feel themselves forgotten. The devastating accuracy of our air forces and the thoroughness of the destruction by armies have actually wiped out many towns and cities. These must be rebuilt and herein lies another opportunity to restore hope in tired people. We may provide materials, tools, and even trained men. We may expect to be paid so long as our price be fair; exploitation of people who have suffered so terribly could only result in smolder- ing hatred to threaten us later. More than the landscape has been changed. The Dutch friend of Edgar Mower, correspond- ent for the Globe has said, “Hitler has revolu- tionized this continent from the bottom, x ' enewed its outlook, confounded its traditions, scrambled its peoples.” Europe cannot become again what it was, and there are many evidences that it does not want to. In many men is growing a de- termination to live peaceably with their neigh- bors. Hopeful indeed are all attempts at inter- national cooperation : the food conference of forty- three nations, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the Inter- national Commission on Education and the plans of the International Labor Organization. Know- ing that isolation can no longer protect any nation from the spreading infection of discontent, ignorance, and actual want, leaders in these movements seek the best judgment of many countries in the solving of common problems. It is the less hopeful side, however, that most challenges our ingenuity. A generation in coun- tries in Europe have learned to cheat and to steal, and even to kill in order that they may exist. While many have learned to hate Facism, others have been steeped in its doctrines. How can the thinking of this generation be changed ? It is not likely that great numbers of foreigners and foreign ideas will be enthusiastically welcomed

Page 24 text:

Class History AN OPEN LETTER At this reunion on the tenth anniversary of our graduation, Connie Shaw suggested that I read a letter 1 wrote to her in 1950, since it re- calls many of the highlights of our four years in high school. You probably will recall many more as 1 read the letter. 556 East Fortieth Street New York City, New York June 15, 1950 Dear Connie : Look at the date on this letter ! Do you real- ize that six years ago tonight we graduated? It dawned on me as I was glancing over one of my old diaries. A conglomeration of hilarious and memorable events came back to me in a whirl. Remember the May Dance when you were crowned queen and Frank Martin king? Weren’t those dances a scream ? Our efforts to appear grown up only succeeded in making us seem more silly. It seems to me Barbara Magrath was presi- dent and Joanna Waite vice-president when we were freshmen. And wasn’t Hermione Stoum- belis secretary? Apparently there was a short- age of men even then. The Dramatic Club put on “Smilin’ Through,” remember? It was lovely. In the fall, Miss King presented her last A. A. Show, “The Frolics of 1940.” Into this production she put the same zest and spirit she had put into her others. Weren’t Ruth Grant, June Karlson, and Buddy Landers in it? While we were freshmen, the Blue and White Club was organized and we had our first winter carnival. Everything was complete from the sports program to the gala carnival ball. Speaking of sports, remember the blizzard just before the Thanksgiving Day game ? The players, along with Bill Miller and “Doc”, shoveled until late that night to clear the field. Their real school spirit was rewarded by the heartv cheers of the spectators who watched the game from snow- banks and icy bleachers. Didn’t it seem great as sophomores to be able to enter into the senior high activities? In sports our classmates took part in many of the victories we reaped. Wasn’t the Thanksgiving Day game wonderful? Who could forget that one touch- down making the score 6 to 0, and we the under- dog team, too! Well, it shows what adrenaline can do. How did you like the snake dance in the square? It was quite the thing, wasn’t it? Some of our talented football and hockey play- ers also began to blossom as sophomores. “Captain Applejack” was produced that year by the Dramatic Club with our own Joyce Hale in one of the leads as Poppy Faire. Boy! Weren’t those young pirates, Johnny Clemens and Ray Sorenson, dashing? There were two other important events on the calendar for our sophomore year, the winter carnival with its varied sports program climaxed by the crowning of the king and queen at the ball, and the girls ' basketball tournament. Although the juniors beat us 17 to 14, we felt proud that we had come closer than any other sophomores to winning the game. You should have had geometry with us that year. When we took our tests after schcol, Mr. Davis’ room sounded more like the cafeteria. The crunch — crunch — crunch — of potato chips could be heard much more often than the scratching of pencils. 1 wonder why? Did you hear about the fund we started for our yawn- ing nightbirds? In the A. A. Show “41 Fiesta” the football squad should really have taken a bow. They executed their ballet number with the most dainty grace. Our orchestra came into the limelight that year for sure. Under Mr. Tapley’s direction they made an almost professional presentation at the Town Hall. Several of the members, Bill Clemens especially, contributed to its success. It was so late in the spring when our class caught up with itself and elected its officers that it was decided to let them serve the next year, too. Bill Clemens, Ralph Truesdale, Jean Andrews, Donald Murphy, and Grace Chase made up the slate. Our junior year was an eventful one, wasn’t it? The A. A. fall show and dance, called the “Victory Promenade,” proved to be another good time, which set the year off to a good stall We were rightfully proud of the football team on which many of our class played. We won three games, tied two, and lost two. The most outstanding game to me was our defeat by Win- chester. Yes, it was a defeat; but it was a victory, too! Losing in the last fifteen seconds, when we had outplayed them all through the game, was heartbreaking. Hiking over in a body we were confident of our team ; coming back we were even more so. We knew they had what it takes, and, from what the newspapers said, others thought so, too. Don’t you think that it was the most memorable event in our history? Do I need to tell you, Connie, how victorious we juniors were in the girls’ basketball tourna- ment? Our snappy entrance stole the show for us from the beginning, didn’t it? My! How those scores climbed whenever Pat Morrell or Twinkle MacLennan supported by fine team work, got the ball.