Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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THE YOUTH OF TODAY During the past year, prominent men and women have shown much concern about the future of the Youth of America. The general opinion seems to be that the hoys and girls of today are thoughtless, selfish, and pleasure- loving, that they do not appreciate the efforts of their parents to educate them, and that they will fail to uphold the principles upon which our country was founded. The Debater does not think that this opin- ion is (piite fair. In the first place, youth has always been thoughtless. This is a fault, of course, and commonly causes disaster, but it is a fault which is no more apparent now than it ever was. It is true that the majority of young people would rather go to a dance or a moving-picture show than to a lecture, but so would the young people of yes- terday, if they had been given the opportu- nity. They did not indulge in pleasures such as movie shows and automobile rides, simply because these forms of pleasure did not exist. Every youth partakes of the pastimes of his day. I do not think that there is any danger of his becoming a slave to those pleas- ures, because I think that he will learn to enjoy them just as people all through the ages have become accustomed to the particular pleasures of each age. Secondly, the youth of today is more serious than he appears. Nearly every boy and girl, no matter how mirth-loving he or she may be, has an ambition to be somebody in the world. That these ambitions are not idle dreams, and that these youths, in all probability, will make a success of their lives, is proved by the pres- ent records of scholarship in the schools and colleges. Never have the standards been so high as they are now. T. repeat it, I am confident that the Amer- ican Youth of Today will come out on top. K. C. Lest our readers will not fully appreciate our cover design and the desigits for the cuts placed at the head of the different depart- ments, we will give a brief explanation of them. If the reader examines the cover care- fully, he will find that the unit used is a con ventionalized form of the Mayflower, and that the unit of each of the other designs is also a conventionalized flower form. This gives us the key to the theme of all the designs used, namely, the state flowers of the New England states. The state flower of Massachusetts is the Mayflower and is, therefore, the form used for -the cover design. Most of us are familiar with the delicate trailing arbutus with its evergreen leaves, bristling shoots, and clusters of fragrant rose-colored or white blossoms. This plant is found most often in the sandy or rocky soil of the western part of the state and of Cape Cod. An examination of the cut at the head of the Editorial Department will reveal a. conven- tionalized forml of the violet, the state flower of Rhode Island. Perhaps no flower is a more general favorite than the modest, fragrant violet, which comes in the early spring, be- fore other flowers have appeared. The clover is used in the design at the head of the Alumni Department. In flower lan- guage it means, think of me and is, there- fore, very appropriate in this place. The clover is the state flower of Vermont. It is not generally known, I think, that this flower was the badge of the Second Corps, in the Army of the Potomac, in the Civil War. A little farther on we find the members of 15

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the High School Battalion marching down the page with the Pine Cone, the state flower of Maine, at their head. The pine is a stately tree and worthy to be a leader. Who does not recall the story of Daphne and Apollo, and the slender graceful laurel tree that sprang up in the path of Apollo in his mad pursuit of Daphne; and the laurel wreaths, which, since that day, have crowned the heads of heroes? If you do recall this pretty story, you will not be surprised to find the Mountain Laurel, the state flower of Con- necticut, at the head of our Athletic Depart- ment. All honor to the boys who played the game even in the hour of defeat. Last, but not least, we have the lilac, the state flower of New Hampshire, at the head of our Joke Department. This flower has a very interesting history. It is a native of the north- ern part of Persia. From there it was carried to Vienna in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Later it was taken into England, and from there it was brought to America by the Puritans, who, while fighting Indians, and clearing away forests, found time to plant lilac bushes beside the kitchen door. K. BABR, ' 23-. own, there will be less temptation to careless work. K. C. HONESTY IN THE SCHOOL The mysterious disappearance of articles from desks in this High School makes us won- der if there are some among us who do not recognize that honesty is the best policy. Of course, the use of one desk by two or more pupils has caused these pupils to look upon the contents of the desk as common property, which they have every right to use at their convenience. Many students fail to realize that, to use the book reports of their friends, or to bor- row their classmate ' s translations, or to copy the shark ' s Algebra problem is dishonest. Perhaps a higher mark is obtained at the time, but no real benefit is derived from copying. If some of the pupils of the High School would spend all their available time in real, honest concentration on lessons, instead of lazily depending upon the misplaced generos- ity of a more industrious fellow student, their scholarship would be greatly improved. However, we are glad to state that this criticism applies to a comparatively small number of pupils. Most are doing honest work. When we are settled in our New High School, each with a desk and locker of his NO SENIOR PARTY For the first time in many years, the Sen- iors did not have their annual dance, for well-known reasons, which it is not necessary to discuss. This punishment, for it was in- deed a punishment, whether merited or not, certainly taught a lesson to everyone, and especially to those w T ho bear the blame. It is easy to see that it is unfair for a few, in a moment of fun, to deliberately rob their class of one of its greatest pleasures. Doubt- less, thoughtlessness was the chief fault of those who broke the rule. However, it is hard to excuse thoughtlessness i a matter which concerns the whole class. K. C. OUR EASTER OFFERING Word has come from France of a little orphan boy, by the name of Louis Viens, who is much in need of help, and the pupils of the Wakefield High School propose to send their Easter offering this year to him. Louis ' s father was a postman, who died from exposure during the war. Louis ' s mother died soon after. He is the youngest of eight children. His brothers and sisters have taken positions as servants, and are doing what they can to support themselves and him. The French Government gives Louis five hundred and seventy-five francs a year, which hardly pays for his food and clothes. The money sent by the boys and girls of Wakefield will bring a great ileal of pleasure into a lonely little boy ' s life. K. C. A GIFT OF BOOKS Mrs. Samuel K. Hamilton, widow of the late Samuel K. Hamilton, for many years an linn ored citizen of the town, has presented the Charles II. Howe Memorial Library with a part of her late husband ' s library. It was Mrs. Hamilton ' s wish that the books be divid- ed between the Wakefield High School and The High School of Waterboro, Maine. Mr. Hamilton ' s native town. The task of dividing the books was given to Miss Ingram, head of our English Department, with the understand ing that Wakefield should receive the larger part. This collection, numbering at least ii e 16