Windsor Locks High School - Herald Yearbook (Windsor Locks, CT)

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4 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. WELCOME AND CLASS ORATION Parents, instructors, members of the School Board, superintendent and friends, it is with great pleasure that I in behalf of the Class of 1920 greet you this evening. Parents, you who have made it possible for us to obtain a high school education; in¬ structors, whose patience and untiring in¬ terest we sincerely appreciate; superin¬ tendent and gentlemen of the School Board, who have always stood ready to give us your time and good council; friends who have taken such an interest in our school and its activities; I wish to extend to you all a most hearty welcome. “Build for Character, Not for Fame” This year we, the Class of 1920, have chosen a motto written in English rather than Latin or some other foreign language, because we think that good as other tongues may be, the people of this country should do their thinking, writing and speaking in good plain United States. So we have chosen these words written in a language that everyone here tonight can read and under¬ stand. Never has it been so necessary that in America we have unity of ideas—of purpose —and of language as a means to that end. And never before in the history of the Unit¬ ed States has there been such need of co¬ operation in the support of our government. Many foreigners have been entering our country in recent years, not for the purpose of becoming good loyal citizens, making permanent homes here and supporting our government, but for the purpose of obtain¬ ing wealth—and these men are continually instigating underhanded and base schemes to further their selfish ends. This has been proven during the past three or four years by the acts of alien radicals who have tried their best to overthrow our government. Thanks to our officials in charge, this disas¬ ter has been prevented. What we need, now, is a second Abraham Lincoln, to set the example for the whole country, a man who “builds for character and not for fame.” Let me explain here ex¬ actly what is meant by our motto. Character and fame are quite often asso¬ ciated in our thoughts, but there is really a vast difference in the meaning of these two words. One may often deservedly gain fame by working hard to build a good up¬ right character, but it is very seldom that a person can build a character who has gained fame without the foundation of char¬ acter. I have spoken before of the matchless ex¬ ample offered us by one man who all his life built for character and not for fame— Abraham Lincoln—one of the greatest Americans. It would be a waste of time for me to review tonight the numberless events of his life, because we are all fa¬ miliar with his career—how he strove on, regardless of the dark clouds which con¬ stantly lowered over his path. He could not be influenced by any human agency to deviate from the course which his conscience told him was right. He just pressed for¬ ward with a grim determination, to see his duty and to do it, as he himself expressed it, “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.” In direct contrast to Abraham Lincoln stands a man who worked for fame alone— and who has gained infamy. In August, 1914, this man started out to conquer the world. For what purpose? To show that he was a mortal man with a character of great strength and moral justice—or was it to win fame, for himself and himself alone? All humanity can answer this question to¬ day, and all humanity knows the deserved result of his acts. His selfish greed drove him to think he could conquer the entire world. He did not realize that it takes a man with a charac¬ ter to gain fame such as he desired, and he did not possess such character. You will find many in this country with as little character as that of the kaiser, though their greedy ambition may be on a smaller scale. Now is the time when we must weed out these individuals and either cure them of their pernicious ideas or send them away from America. In other words, we must make this a model progressive country instead of one which is sliding backward. Are we sliding back¬ ward? We are in danger of it. Why? The answer is our thoughts, our ambitions and our interests are entirely centered about ourselves and our own fame. That is where our grave mistake lies, and this mistake must be overcome; we must climb out of this rut and each of us feel an interest in our nation as a whole, in its character and in its true worth. In school we can see danger signs if we only look for them, for there are individuals of that “I don’t care” spirit even in school. Many come here, not for the purpose of studying and trying to make something of

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CLASS ODE (Tune: Orange and the Blue) The years have come and passed away Since we as classmates met, Delightful years of work and play That we cannot forget. We’ll always think of pleasant days Spent at Windsor Locks High, Now we must go our separate paths Where’er our duties lie. ’Tis hard to say the parting word, That little word, farewell; The heartfelt sorrow that it brings, None but ourselves can tell. Farewell, our Alma Mater dear We ' ll cherish mem’ries sweet, Thy doors shall close behind us soon, Our life tasks then we meet. But courage! though the waves dash high For the world’s a stormy sea, Our Father ' s hand shall guide at last Into eternity. There, through the gathering ages, In that day’s unfading light Our songs we’ll sing to merrier words, Than the sweetly sad, “Good Night.” Margaret Root, W. L. H. S., ’20. hkhkhkh hkhkwj h hkhch $ h jchkh hkhwshkhh

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5 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. themselves, but just to avoid harder work and (ret alone a easily as they can. They usually do not remain in school any length of time. Some of them managed to drag through to the end of the year, but they didn’t pass. “The teacher didn ' t like them,” is their favorite explanation. They start out in life no richer either in character or in fame than when they entered school. There is another class of pupils who like to make a show of what superficial knowl¬ edge they do get. When the. e finish high school they seldom attain the same heights in life as an ambitious grammar school graduate who has gone deeply into all his work. They dream of a rosy path filled with ease and luxury—fame. But they will not buckle down and carry their load. The crowd goes on, but they follow in the wake. Occasionally one of these is thrown into the lead by circumstance, but he does not re¬ main there very long, because he is unable to get down below the surface to the real fundamentals of life. He has been building for fame, his part is to receive the praise while someone else bears the respon ability. There is still a third class in our school, composed of those pupils who work not only to attain high marks, but for what they can really get out of their studies. When a difficult problem confronts them, they ana ' yze it, instead of just glancing at it, and stepping over it. An opportunity is never mi-sed by which advancement may be gained and gained honorably. These are the ones who step into Life ' s School unhesitatingly and make progress in life. Classmates: Let us strive on, as we have in the past four years, and remember that in the building of our characters every single day counts. Build today then strong and sure, With a firm and ample base; And ascending and secure Shall tomorrow find its place. Carl Larson, ' 20. HISTORY We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart thi’obs. He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. So in life and so in school, as classes and as boys and girls we live in deeds, in thoughts and feelings; therefore the history of our class, as of every class, though ar¬ ranged in order of years and events, is really the story of our thoughts and feelings for four years. From the time we entered the Windsor Locks High School as freshmen in nineteen sixteen, nineteen in number, quality predom¬ inated. That is why our number was dimin¬ ished each fall when we returned to school after our summer vacation. We are truly a shining example of the “survival of the fittest.” As we now look down from our present lofty position, as dignified seniors, upon our freshman year, it is hard to realize that we were ever so small and verdant as the little children who entered last September. Did we ever feel so bashful or so awkward? Were we ever timid in looking for our vari¬ ous classrooms ? If we were less honest we would deny the modest and fearful shrink¬ ing from publicity that characterized our freshman year, but, truthful we always were, we admit the charge. During our freshman year we were too occupied mastering algebra and Latin to think much of social affairs. We gave our time and attention wholly to school work trying to adjust oui-selves to our new en¬ vironment. When we returned in the fall as sopho¬ mores we became ambitious. Just to give something, to do something, was uppermost in our minds. Having settled into our prop¬ er niche in the Windsor Locks High School, we were ready to go on and work for our class and our school. But we were informed that the upper classmen were to have the preference, so we had to watch and wait, curbing our laudable ambition until the proper time for action. Yet we did make one more or less public appearance. In English II we had read, as thousands of classes have before us, George Eliot’s “Silas Marner,” and for one of our rhetorical per¬ formances we dramatized the story. Not to boast too much, we felt that we had some dramatic ability, and we were all the more eager to do something to earn money and show our class spirit. W ' hen but seven of us returned to “carry on” as juniors we were resolved to work hard toward the goal of graduation. So we decided to give a military whist on Feb¬ ruary 17, clearing $33, which we thought a good sum to start on. Our minds then became occupied in writ¬ ing for the Junior Prize Essay Contest. We were going to give the judges no easy time