Widney High School Valley Branch - Valiant Yearbook (North Hollywood, CA)

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I LET SPRING IN I opened the door to let spring in And breathe the soft, warm air, I saw a blue bird on the wing And green things everywhere. The air was filled with fragrance sweet Of flowers and fresh-turned sodg I opened the door to let spring in And opened my heart to God. Cameron Faircloth fThis poem was awarded second prize in a poetry contest spon sored by the Los Angeles United Cerebral Palsy Assoclatlon in April, 1951+-7 RR

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sk, MY BANTAME By Patricia Erickson On my twelfth birthday, I was given a trio of Jungle Fowl Bantams Ccom on stock, from which I sold hatching eggs. I received five cents per egg and thirty-five cents for little bantam chicks. At the end of two years I had saved twenty dollars in net profit from my original bantams. In 1950, Dad took me to the San Fernando Valley Fair and got me interested in show stock bantams. He said it would not cost any more to feed and care for show stock than it did for the common stock. He also told me my biggest expense would be in purchas- ing my foundation stock. However, in time the returns from this stock would be considerably more than I had been receiving in the past with my present stock. Therefore, I took fifteen dollars from my savings and purchased a trio of Mille Fleur Bearded Bantams. The Mille Fleur Bearded Bantams, an ornamental variety, origina- ted in Asia from a pair of one-time long-tailed Yokahama and an impor- ted white Burmese bantam. In 1887, the offspring from this pair were sold into Germany where they were known under the name of Gold Porce- lains. They were very popular in Germany, England and Belgium. The name Mille Fleur CThousand Flowersl was adopted by the Belgian Spe- cialty Club. They were introduced to the United States in 1911 and were admitted to the standard breed in l9lh. They have proven to be a very popular addition to the bantam fanciers. From my first trio of Mille Fleur Bearded Bantams, I have builti my flock to approximately seven dozen show stock birds. In addition, I now have also two other breeds of show stock bantams, the Black Rosecombs and the Buff Cochins. The Black Rosecombs appeared in Eng- land in the middle of the l800's. They are a distinctly proud and stylish type, and are known as the aristocrats of the bantam world. The Buff Cochins have long been a favorite breed in North America, due chiefly to their gentle dispositions. My Buff Cochin hen won first prize at the San Fernando Valley Fair in 1953. Altogether, I have won twenty-one ribbons in showing my bantams in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles County Fairs. R7

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PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED STUDENT M MBER OF IWWA Thomas J. Cum ins is a graduate of Widney High School. Tom has been writing for the International Wrestling Writers Association. In one of his articles in the magazine, Wrestling As You Like It, he was supposed to cover a certain match. He covered part of the match and then explained why he saw only part of this particular wrestling match. nThe reason I saw only part of this match was that I was attending a graduation ceremony. This was a very special graduation, and if you'll excuse a diversion from wrestling on my part, I'd like to tell you why it was special. The graduates were the Class of Winter, '5h, Dr. Joseph Pomeroy Widney High School, in Los Angeles. What made it unusual, is that every one of the graduates had a physical disability of some sort. This is natural, since Widney High School is especially for students with physical handicaps, who are unable to attend one of the regular high schools in the city. I believe it is the only public high school of its kind in the United States, operated as a part of a city school system. A Special Courage HMost of you see courage of one kind or another almost every night in a wrestling ring, but the special kind of courage required of these boys and girls must be seen to be believed. Thirteen were in attend- ance for the graduationg of these, three were able to walk only with aid of crutches, three were confined to wheelchairs, the rest were able to walk only with difficulty. Two were afflicted with the dreaded spastic paralysis, which made every move a major project. Yet these three girls and ten boys pursued their educations to the fullest extent, overcoming disadvantages sufficient to crush the average person, doing so with honors. HNone of the graduates of the Class of '5h at Widney High will ever be able to wrestleg most of them will consider it a monumental triumph if they can eventually lead nearly normal lives and earn their way in the world. Yet they did not seek charity or beg public sym- pathyg they wanted only the chance to make themselves worth while cit- izens. This graduation was the culmination of their struggle to do that, and to see that was worth missing any wrestling match. For these kids have won the greatest wrestling match there isg the contest against their handicaps. nwhat was my particular interest in the graduates of Widney High? Well, you see, I was one of the thirteen who were on the platform to receive their diplomas on Wednesday night, and I will always be proud of the achievements of my classmates of the Class of Winter, '5k.n CPermission to print part of this article was granted by Thomas J. Cummins, and Dick Axman, editor of Wrestling As You Like It., 59