Waltham High School - Mirror Yearbook (Waltham, MA)

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Class Prophecy of 1909. NORMAN WILEY. Lsnnzs Asn GENTLEMEN oF Elms:- The great pleasure of speaking to you on this occasion is one that I shall always cherish and remember. This pleasure is two fold : first, I am glad to be again with my friends and former classmates, and to feel once more that mutual good-will and brotherhood which I have missed so much in the many years that have passed since we were pupils of the Waltham High School g secondly, I feel that it is a great honor to have the privilege of appearing before a gathering of people who are morally, intellectually, and physically the superiors of any on this earth, a people who will occupy, in the minds and histories of unnumbered generations to come a place side hy side with the children of Israel and the Pilgrim Fathersg a people, who, in the short space of ten years have established a government and social order that is a model for, and the envy of, the whole world. I have been requested to review to-night the history of this republic, and was chosen to write this account, not because of any deserving ability on my part, but because, being a foreigner, it was thought that I should feel freer to present the facts of this history as they are. This I have endeavored to do to the best of my ability, without either elaborating or withhold- ing anything of the slightest interest or importance. But to my task. 1Vithin the memory of all of us, or, to be more nearly exact, less than twelve years ago, the whereabouts of the Garden of Eden was one of the great mysteries of the world. The second chapter of Genesis states that four rivers, the Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates, flowed from the Garden. That, of course, located it in Armenia, somewhere near Mount Ararat, but, as no one had been able to find it, the general belief was that it no longer existed. Q In 1915, this fabled beauty spot was discovered by Warren Glancy. Several years before, Glancy came to the conclusion that women were useful articles, and decided to have some. Accordingly, he became a Mormon, and in less than two years had twenty wives. He found, to his grief, that women were more than articles, deserted his wives to become a Mormon missionary, and was sent to Armenia, where women were plentiful. It was while he was flee- ing from some bandits, whose wives he had tried to convert, that he stumbled upon the Garden of Eden. He immediately realized the great possibilities of the place, and his fertile brain quickly evolved a brilliant scheme. Throwing up his job as missionary and getting divorces from his twenty wives, tfor he could always get anything he wantedl, he came back to Mass- achusetts and set to work on the details of his scheme. ' A reunion of the class of '09 was to be held on New Year's Eve, 1915, and it was here that he decided to launch the undertaking. That reunion was one of the most important events in the annals of history. Fortunately, the entire class was there, with the exception of myself, and, of course, I wasn't wanted anyway. Even Tad H Bartlett and Charlie King were pre- sent, trying to sell their goods, Bartlett's famous two cylinder T. D., and Konig's,' luxurious ti

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statesman, we found, as everyone has found, many qualities which touched a chord in our 0W11 hearts, and which for that very reason could be of especial help to us. In the tirst place, he was a man born from our own soil, a fact which made him even clearer to us. Moreover, he was one of us in that he belonged to the common people, and was not an exalted being whose character we could admire but not love. From log cabin to White House is merely another paraphrase of our motto. Although Lincoln failed in some things and had many difficulties to overcome, he struggled on, and at last succeeded in bringing peace and union to our nation. The centenaries of other great leaders have occurred and will occur this year, but our thought has been directed to these three in particular. In their lives, we have a great deal of material for reiiection. If we do reflect, and use the lessons brought out there, we shall be- come Stronger and better men and women. It is customary, and far be it from us to break away from this custom, for the valedictor- ian to thank the teachers, the parents, and the friends, in behalf of the class, for all that they have done toward our education and upbuilding. We do appreciate their efforts, and desire to show our gratitude in the lives which we shall endeavor to live. To the under-graduate, too, we extend our best wishes for succcss in all that they may undertake. And now, classmates, let us resolve to profit by the lessons which we have learned from Milton, Poe, and Lincoln, so that we may be an honor to the Waltham High School. Trust- ing to Him Who gives aid to all who rightly will, We shall gain strong, noble characters, then, as we meet again in future years, it will be with lives made more complete by faithful Service. Class Officers : 1909 PRESIDENT, BENJAMIN W. ELA VICE PRESIDENT, AGNES RHODES SECRETARY-TREASURER, ANNABEL CARTER l9lO PRESIDENT, GEORGE P. DAVIS VICE PRESIDENT, GRACE SWAIN SECRETARY-TREASURER. INEZ WHITTIER l9ll PRESIDENT, ROY STEVENS VICE PRESIDENT, EDITH STOKES SECRETARY-TREASURER, FRANCES CUMMINGS l9l2 PRESIDENT, HENRY REED VICE PRESIDENT, NELLIE BARRY . SECRETARY-TREASURER, ATHERTON MUNROE 5

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