Winchester High School - Wildcat Yearbook (Winchester, IL)

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MR. ALLEN H. LIGON Principal Culver-Stockton College B.A., University of Illinois M.A., University of Nebraska. MRS. LOUISE HIERONYMUS Assistant Principal Western Illinois State College B.Ed., Northwestern University M.A. Principal’s Message These are times that test the capacities of all people. There have been few periods in American history more uncertain and more disturbing to students than the present. This is being written in December, at a time when United Nations forces, 90 per cent of whom are American, are retreating in Korea because of the overwhelming number of Chinese Communists that have been put into the battle. The speeches of our leaders seem to indicate that World War III is inevitable, that the major problems are concerned not with the staying out of war, but with where and when the conflict should be fought so that Russia would be at a military disadvantage. In May, five months after this is written, it will be read. There is no better measure of the uncertainty of the times than trying in December to visualize the world situation in May. All we can do is guess and wonder and worry. Guessing and wondering and worrying about one's future is not good for anyone, but it is particularly disturbing to young people. Their emotions do not have the jelling influence of experience. Their plans for the future are ambitious and optimistic under normal circumstances. What are we to do about the abnormal circumstances present today? Let us answer that question by asking another, Is there anything else we can do but accept philosophically any changes in our carefully-laid plans, and proceed with the courage and determination that has ever been the dominant characteristic of American young people? The answer is obvious. We all learn sooner or later that change is inevitable in our lives. The person who contributes most to society and who achieves the most in personal peace of mind is the person whose emotional stability and sense of purpose is such that those changes are met with a clear-thinking determination to make the best of a situation which could be better. My sincere best wishes go to each senior. You have had the good fortune to be brought up by intelligent parents and in an environment of good churches, good schools, and some of the finest people to be found anywhere. As long as you live by the principles you now have, I have no fear for your future, come what may. 7 ALLEN H. LIGON Principal