Thomaston High School - Owl Yearbook (Thomaston, CT)

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SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE I believe that keeping democracy strong is not only extremely important for you as a student attending and graduating from Thomaston High School, but should also be high on your list of what you want. When our nation was very young, it established public schools for the purpose of making democracy strong. Democracy, “we the people”, has never before been of such significance in our lives. Democracy in America and abroad is being confronted with unbelievable challenges of the gravest nature. Your individual efforts will help a strong democracy resolve these issues that are emerging in every direction. Democracy will continue to operate as long as you live if you have learned in school and at home, to respect the rights of others, to meet your obligations, and to solve problems through open discussion and compromise. You have a responsibility to keep democracy strong. This responsibility becomes ever so much important now due to the complicated problems facing democracy, and our decisions at the polls will have greater impact than at any other time in our history. Your decisions on problems need to be based upon broad facts, not narrow prejudices; on sound information, not misinformation; on clear thinking, and not emotions. If your decisions are based on the above, democracy will be strengthened and will keep working for you. Dr. Marvin H. Yaffe Superintendent of Schools PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE You, the CLASS of 1967, will be graduated this June. As you leave Thomaston High School you will have earned a diploma and will have achieved a certain freedom. Some of you may judge yourselves to be completely free. Today we are constantly expected to relate freedom to civil rights, to undeclared war, and to many individuals who are involved in particular situations that become front page news. Any of us may become confused as we honestly try to analyze these crucial matters. Let us examine a few definitions of freedom. J. S. Mill states, “The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs or impede their efforts to obtain it.” C. Kingsley states, “There are two freedoms, the false where one is free to do what he likes, and the true where he is free to do what he ought.” Hamilton Wright Mabie states, “Real freedom comes from the mastery, through knowledge, of historic conditions and race character which makes possible a free and intelligent use of experience for the purpose of progress.” From these definitions of freedom, I would point out at least three limits to each of you in this Senior Class. First, your freedom is limited by your not having the right to interfere with the freedom of others. Secondly, your freedom is limited by laws. Thirdly, your freedom is limited by the amount of knowledge you have of conditions concerning you in the present as well as in the past. In your school life you have been taught to respect the rights of all your classmates. Also, you have been required to abide by necessary school rules and regulations. While you have attended school you have had opportunity to gain knowledge, and now you are required, in order to compete and meet standards of our present day society, to continue your learning and to increase your knowledge either formally or informally. Therefore, you should basically understand what freedom you have as you move to new challenges in life. Congratulations on all your achievements to the present. I do wish you continued success and happiness in the future. Always value your freedom highly and accept its limits willingly. Herbert W. DeVeber Principal 6

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OUR OWN MR. REYNOLDS 5

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Come writers and critics Who prophesy with your pen And Keep your eyes wide . . . For The Times They Are-A-Changin’! Bob Dylan