West High School - Senior Occident Yearbook (Rochester, NY)

Page 18 text:

Senior Annual Board Editor-in-Cliief: James M. Spinning. Associate Editor: Avadna G. Loomis. Assistant Editors: Business Manager: Carlyle Kennell. Assistant Business Manager: H OVV A R D T. CU M MING. Advertising Manager: Edwin V. Paaschen. Assistant Advertising Managers: Frederick R. Cross, James Dunigan. Ruth Leonard, Frances Moore, John M. Colt, Azel Gay.

Page 20 text:

Je jj Class History A history of the Class of June, 1909! What an incomplete thing it will he! It cannot describe our feelings when we entered, our strivings and disap- pointments while we toiled through what now seems four short years, and can much less portray our sorrow at leaving the High School which we all have learned to love. There were over one hundred and fifty of us when we entered in September, 1905. One hundred and eight have persevered and are about to receive their diplomas. This forms a very high per cent. Now what shall I write of first and what next, as Virgil says: “Quae quibus anteferam? Before I relate some of the achievements of our class, let me explain to the world our unique position. We are the first class to enter West High School as freshmen and to be graduated after pursuing a four years course there. Other classes have been graduated before to be sure, but we are the first class which has had all of its preparatory training in West High School. We are the artists’ proofs, so to speak, from the West High School studio and we are determined, by making those proofs worth something to the world, to bring honor and glory to our Alma Mater. In our freshman year, the class of June, 1909, was a somewhat extraor- dinary organization. We were alive to say the least. Our first class meeting was so well attended that standing room was at a premium. And our meeting was so enthusiastic that we gained the notice of the dignitaries of the school. Our meetings have become more orderly in late years, that is true, but our old freshman interest and spirit are still there. In our sophomore year we started doing things. Before the year was over, everyone realized that the Class of 1909 would have a bright future. Evidences of strength and prowess were not only exhibited on the athletic field but such stars as Root and the Kennells were beginning to show their possibilities in the class room. And that is wherein the Class of 1909 is a characteristic West High output. It is well balanced and well rounded. It is not a class of grinds, nor a class of one sided athletes. It is a class of America girls and boys who can work while they work and play while they play. An this spirit of wholesomeness whether in play or in work is but the following out of the principles and precepts which our teachers have ever taught. For