Wayland Central School - Hi Lites Yearbook (Wayland, NY)

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The KICK-OFF 1924 VALEDICTORY AND ESSAY: “PROGRESS” We, who stand tonight at the meeting between a happy past and an unknown future, have reached not the end, but the Commencement of our lives. Our High School years are merely a foundation on which to build our future career and if the foundation is solid and firm enough the structure will be large and beautiful but if it is weak and uncertain it would be impossible to hope to build anything worth while. Under- graduates, this is advice worth striving to follow, for you are just build- ing your foundations and you have every chance to make them strong and endurable and as a result a great future will be in store for you. 1 have spoken about the future but let us look back over the past and watch the progress our ancestors have made in the last century. When an American- spoke of his country one hundred years ago he al- ways spoke of it in the plural number, having it in his mind as a union of separate sovereign states. lie could not yet grasp the fact that he was a citizen of a continental nation. When he bounded the United States he bounded the territory of 1783 and nearly always left out Louisiana, although that enormous region had been added many years before. The relation between the United States and foreign countries was very distant. The American Revolution had come when liberty was the fashion in Europe and with France as our ally, our struggle had attracted the attention of the civilized world; but the painful struggle of the new nation to stand alone afterward was not an inspiring specta- cle and received little notice. It was not generally believed that we could stand alone. Our second war with England received very little attention even in England itself, and still less on the continent. There were many intelligent Englishmen who had never heard of Andrew Jackson even after the battle of New Orleans. The Englishman saw us as a nation of uncourtlv manners, poor conversationalists and with no taste in architecture and ornamentation. A century ago between New York and Philadelphia, the two chief cities, there was more travel than between any other two points in the country. Four stages started from either city for the other daily, except Sundays, the fare was usually ten dollars and seven passengers could be carried. There was also three steamboat routes between New York and Philadelphia. One boat left New York at five o’clock in the morning, the passengers breakfasting at Elizabethtown, dining at Trenton and arriving at Philadelphia in the evening. The fare was eight dollars. Let us compare this with the present day railway lines stretching far and wide like a huge cobweb throughout the country, and the steamships racing back and forth across the ocean make a spectacular comparison with the crude Clermont which slowly made its way up the Hudson from New York to Albany on that memorable September 2d, 1807.

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The KICK-OFF 1924 Josephine Lawrence, a resident of Springwater, attended district school on “Buffalo street.” For the past six years she has been regu- larly going to school here, never tardy even though she has a two mile walk. Goldena Bill was born in Wayland and upon reaching school age entered our school. It has never been at all difficult for her to progress with her various studies and tasks. Helen Alpaugh is our class artist. She comes from East Spring- water. Every morning Helen rides a horse nearly seven miles to school. She is surely earning her education. Clare Maginley is a farmer lad from Sparta. He came to Way- land for a high school education. He is a member of the track team. Jessie McClarrie is an Atlanta girl who came here during her Sophomore year. Next year she is going to Atlanta Training Class to tit herself for a teacher. Ward Carpenter is one of Wayland’s own boys. He has furnish- ed our class with amusement for the last four years by his witty re- marks. Arthur Clearwater is also a Wayland youth,the son of a furniture dealer. Arthur was interested in athletics being a member of the bas- ketball, football and track teams. Addie Weidman is a country miss, who entered high school here. She is the first one to take advantage of the four year domestic science course which W. II. S. offers to their girls. Clark Wallace is a resident of Wayland. He was manager of the basketball team during the past season, president of the athletic asso- ciation and also our Senior class. Charles May was born at Webster Crossing. He attended Springwater school until the past year, then came to W. H. S. He is going to become a great baseball star, a second Babe Ruth. In April Mr. Gould asked us what we thought about putting out a class annual. As there had never been one edited in our school before we were entirely ignorant of what it would be like. He called us to- gether and explained what it was like and what it would be necessary to do to have one. Everyone was much in favor of the annual. First an appropriate name was chosen, it being called the “Kick Off.” Then committees were appointed for the various kinds of work. Each Seni- or did his bit and for some people it was a great deal, especially for Clark Wallace, Ward Carpenter, Goldena Bill and some of the others. We hoped it would be a success and did our bit to make it so. We gave a dance and had a benefit movie so that we might raise sufficient money to spend a week at the lake together before we left our dear old school and go out into the world for ourselves, to be separated from many dear friends whose friendship we formed during a pleasant four years spent in Wayland High School.

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The KICK-OFF 1924 The foundation of our national prosperity was land, and good land was abundant, consequently there was a great deal of speculation in spite of the fact that there were no important inventions till 1821 when McCormick’s reaper came into use. Five score years ago the spirit of Americanization was manifest- ed everywhere. The President should not become a king as other coun- tries had, but a chief executive with certain powers and duties, a chief, as no other country had. The government must be our own in all res- pects. The same spirit went into lesser things; nothing was acceptable unless it bore the American stamp. Dictionaries, the very language, novels, poetry, plays, even art, education and churches must all be American if they were to find favor and success on this continent. Ah! Let me pause and repeat- All must be American if it were to find favor and success in this country. Wlmt remarkable patriotism! Today, is it the lack of patriotic emotion or is it the broadening of narrow and prejudiced minds that leads us into the desire of introducing foreign customs and habits into this glorious country of ours? If it is the first it is disastrous and we dare not think of the result. But if the latter we hope that in broadening our minds we do not neglect the reverence and honor that we owe our flag and nation. We, the class of nineteen twenty-four, sincerely regret to leave our Alma Mater which has so completely built the foundation for our future, but on leaving our only wish is that we may so beautifully mold our careers that they may not only glorify our Alma Mater but that they may prove to be a great factor in promoting the welfare and success of our own dear country, the United States of America. G. S. B. THE CLASS WILL (1924) Upon behalf of the graduating class of 1924 of Wayland High School, we have assembled here to listen to her last will and testament and receive from her hands the few treasured gifts which she leaves to us. Listen then, all whom it may concern, to the written document, which has been drawn and sworn: Item: The class of 1924 wills to Prof. Gould a mortgage on their future victories and defeats in their battles to come. Item: The class of 1924 gives to the most beloved faculty all that valuable information, which occurred on all examination papers throughout the year, and with the hope that they may use it in the future. Item: The class of 1924 bequeaths to next year’s Seniors the seats which they occupied in Miss Peabody’s study hall, when the early birds get the rear seats.