West Salem High School - Neshonoc Yearbook (West Salem, WI)

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SENIOR CLASS POEM And what is so rare as a class like ours ? Seldom, if ever, you find one so knowing. Each has been as the striving flower In the garden of knowledge growing. Whether in sunshine, or whether in rain, We have done our work and reaped the grain. Now is the high-tide of the year, The time when we our books put away, When spring calls us from school so drear To its realms of happiness and cheer. Some rejoice, but others regret That our high school days are over, But may we never deign to forget The happy years we have spent “in clover. To our teachers we owe our gratitude, They who stood by us thru thick and thin. For 'tis clearly shown by their attitude That they are aware of our vigor and vim. Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how; Everything is happy now, Everything is upward striving; Tis easy now for the heart to be free For we have acquired the knowledge key,— Oh, dear followers, it's worth the diving! Fond remembrances our hearts will fill Of the old brick school house on the hill, Of the happy years we have spent together. Never dreaming that so soon we must sever. Farewell, dear school days and classmates kind. May true friendship our hearts ever bind; And may our class and the school ever thrive Though scattered far and wide.

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by the wild fancies conceived only in the minds of the Freshmen and the Sophomores, will you devote yourselves to study, duty and your Alma mater?” He spoke, and straightway we were busy in seeking pennants with which to decorate the walls and mixing punch to serve to the assembled multitude. But as the pendulum having swung to one extreme usually returns to the other, so we, the scape goat in our Sophomore year, became the favorite child in our Junior year. But even so our sisters, enraged by what they deemed an unfair treatment were soon whirling at or concerning us many angry words which neither lowered our standings nor wounded our sensitive hearts. At the beginning of our Junior year we were nine strong. But during the course of the year Leveme Smith feeling the responsibility of a large farm resting heavily upon him, withdrew from the class. This left one boy for seven girls. One-seventh of a man's affection we agreed would be worse than none, besides the law in Wisconsin holds bigamy as a crime, and the bib'e regards it as the extremity of evil, in prove whereof I refer you to Isaah IV: I. Therefore we drew lots for the prize and fortune favored one, but alas! for the six disappointed hearts and the six pillows wet with tears that night. Six maidens in time forgot their sorrow and disappointment in search for other prizes. One still smiles at the decree of the fates, but the world sighs as it beholds the one boy and says from a friendly heart: “Alone, alone 1 am never alone In the midst of my feminine sea For teachers, Sophomore, Junior boys Relieve a desirable agony. Recently we received the title of Seniors. As Freshmen we stood in awe of it as something that we might attain, in the dim future years, by persistent effort, a symbol of power and supremacy. As Sophomores we detested it as signifying snobbishness, as Juniors we envied it as an emblem of privilege, but as Seniors we cherish it as a token of respect and devotion. For it is certainly a mark of distinction to be privileged to select the choicest melons on the vine and to have the smaller children take what are left: to be able to breath aloud at times and not have secret sessions in the office in consequence. Then be glad, you Seniors of 1913, for you are entering the best year of all. Although perhaps I have related in the tale more of wars than love and feasts and more contentions than pleasure: as we stand surveying the past I am sure that we can say with sincere hearts, We are glad that we have had these years together. K. G., ’12.

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CLASS WILL We, the class of 1912, being about to leave this sphere in full possession of sound minds, memory and understanding, if we ever were, do make and publish this, our last will and testament, hereby revoking and making void all former wills by us at any time heretofore made. And first we do direct that our funeral services shall be conducted by our friends and well wishers, the faculty, only enjoining that the funeral be carried on with all the dignity and pomp our station in the high school scale has merited. As to such estate as it has pleased the fates and our own strong arms to give us, we do dispose of the same as follows: We give and bequeath to the board of control, restful nights and peaceful dreams. No more will they be pained to refuse us. It has been hard to have our fondest wishes thwarted, it must have been hard for them to refuse such fair pleaders. How much easier it would have been for them and for us if they had said, “Yes, especially to our request to present the annual play at Mindoro. We give and bequeath Harry Kirmse's fondness for the Miller to Tracy Shane, and Myrtle Miller's monopoly of the one male member of our class to Mildred Vick. We give and bequeath to Elsie Miller, Edna Sprain’s post office box so she may never have trouble again in having other people open her letters. We give and bequeath to Mr. Sanford all the false hair of our class. If it doesn't match he may send it to a hair dressing establishment and have it colored any shade he may prefer. To the class of 1914, as a whole, is bequeathed the supervision of the electric clock and bells and Leverne Smith is appointed special manager of the same We give to the Freshman class the following advice, the acceptance of which will lead them to glory: Just copy 1912. Learn to work if not to win, development comes sooner through learning failures than through successes. It isn't fun, but look at 1912 and be encouraged. We give the Senior seats on the south side of the assembly room to the class of 1913. May they be as fond of the front seats as we have been this year. Let every member show their gratitude for the gift by being promptly in their seat each morning. We give and bequeath our unusual financial success to the publication of the annual to the class of 1913, All the work, the glory and the