Temple University School of Dentistry - Odontolog Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 21 text:

To the Class of 1941: It is my privilege to write you this letter on the day of your graduation. I have been happy to associate with you for these four years during which you have worked so diligently to prepare yourselves for the practice of dentistry. You are made of good stuff or you would have become discouraged in the Freshman year when ihe professors were laying on the whip in the basic sciencies of Anatomy, Physics and Chemistry. These were necessary for the cultural background of your profession. This is a red letter day or turning point in your lives. Something has been done. The future is beckoning to you. The community welcomes you to a part in its social structure. The things that have been taught here and the knowledge that you have gained must now be woven into a fine piece of the texture of ability and sold to your neighbors who will evaluate its worth to them. Fortify, enlarge, strengthen and build on the things you know by reading good books, attending dental meetings, and talking seriously with men in the profession who have been progressive. Anyone of them will always be willing to look at your models and roentgenograms and give their opinion of mode of procedure. Join heartily in all the community activities wherever you may locate. Help carry on the health program. The children will require fillings in their teeth. They may not want to pay much for this service, but do it anyway. A tooth that is lost injures the patient and can never help you pay your rent. Please do not look on military training as a great hardship. The discipline is a good thing for all of you and if you do not get it in the army, you must get it elsewhere. I fervently pray that none of you will ever have to face an enemy with guns. Very truly yours, THEODORE D. CASTO 7