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

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 29 sistently, industriously, hopefully and patiently, so that if there is any¬ thing unusual about your talents it will turn to account, if you keep your patience and do not forsake that vocation just because the path leading to success is not strewn with roses. Only, if you are a loafer, forsake that line of life as soon as possible, for the longer you stick to it, the worse it will “stick” to you. The second step in reaching honorable success is patience, w hich is really the art of waiting. How’ many persons would have been successes instead of failures in their life-work, if they had only known how to w ait? Patience is a homely virtue alw ' ays timely and alw’ays indispensable. The great world is in pressing need of this quality and all those wTio possess it, have found or w ill find in the end, “Success Crow ns Patient Effort.” Mary Griffin, ’33. “SCUM O’ THE EARTH” “At the gate of the West I stand, On the isle where nations throng. We call them ‘scum o’ the earth!” Many of the foreigners who come into our country are ridiculed because of their dress or manner. We Americans do not remember that these people are human, that after all, they have ideals and dreams w’hich are rudely shattered w’hen they enter the most ugly part of our country and are treated as “scum o’ the earth.” Because a Spartan youth is poor and ragged should we forget that he comes from the land of Socrates and so many of the Grecian athletes? He is just as much a part of his country as the greatest hero whom we admire. But w r e always forget that fact, and treat this poor immigrant with scorn. Then there are the Polish people who come to find a new home only to be exiled because people do not realize that they come from the land of Chopin and Dvorak. These Polish people are different from the great musicians because they have not made a name for themselves. They are poor so they are called “scum o’ the earth.” We all admire Columbus because he w as so courageous. He left his land to discover a new one. We do not realize, how’ever, that the young Italian boy had to have courage to leave his home and come to a place of which he knew nothing and where he would be an absolute stranger. When we see a fruit peddler selling his wares on a street corner, we laugh. It all seems to be a joke. But a few moments thought w ill make us remember that perhaps this man was descended from one of the grelat Italian mu¬ sicians or sculptors. To us he is “scum o’ the earth.” Christ was a Jew. We forget this when w e see Hebrew’s whom w”e disrespect, attempt to cheat, and make fun of. Who are w r e to be ridiculing these people? After all, aren’t we foreigners, too?

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28 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD There are numerous undeveloped natural resources and bevies of articles to be manufactured in spile of the cries of over production. There are thousands of needy who could take over the surplus that is being purposely wasted or destroyed. The trouble seems to arise from the fact that the dollar has been made into a deity to be worshiped by all who would live on this earth. Such are the conditions in which the present generation finds itself. If the future generation is to solve the problems arising from such condi¬ tions, it evidently needs different standards and ideals by which to mold its life. And as that new generation is now in the country’s schools it is up to those institutions to furnish worthy standards. The school can teach its pupi.s to live more for others, and to do away with the selfish, grasping greed which puts a dollar bill before a human life. It can do its share in eradicating the idea of that terrific competition which breeds jealousies and brings about hatred of one man for (another. Finally, each individual person who has ever in his life attended any school whatever must be taught the true value of his citizenship and how to use it. It is somew hat terrify¬ ing to realize that in a short time many of the members of this very class will be helping to rule our country and that we know practically nothing about how this should be done. If the schools can send forth the youth of America equipped with higher ideals, a more democratic interest in its fellow-men, a thorough knowledge for exercising its citizenship, and the habit of doing as well as dreaming, certainly that youth will be royally equipped to meet the problems which it shall encounter. Anna Shykula, ’33 ESSAY. Motto: “Success Crowns Patient Effort.’’ What is Success? In my opinion, it is doing what you can do well w ithout thinking of fame. Ther are two kinds ot success: first, there is a so-called success which is to be avoided. To acquire wealth or fame by sacrificing moral principle is always an unfortunate venture. If after completing his busi¬ ness career all that a person can show is money or pleasure, he is an object of pity rather than of congratulation; for he has paid too much for what he has gained. True manhood and womanhood are far greater than riches or fame, and if these are obtained, life is not a failure though one lives in poverty. On the other hand, without these all the wealth and fame in the w’orld are worthless possessions. The other kind ot success is that which comes through honest means The first step in reaching this type of success is to select (a vocation and apply yourself to it. Application is “sticking to one’s business ” Note the men in every community who have great ability but w ' ho never get ahead It usually turns out that they are the ones who never stick to any one occu¬ pation long enough to be promoted. Pursue the work you have chosen per-

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30 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD We despise them, we trample upon them, we hold them back, these immigrants who have come to our country because they w T ish to be a part of it. We do not allow them to join our activities. It is only in time of war or necessity that we call upon them. And then, are they given credit for what they have done? In most cases the answer is “No.” We say it was merely their duty to protect a people who do not recognize them as brothers. Can we Americans, living in a free country, reasonably say that this is fair? If we do, we have a warped sense of fairness. So why not, in the future, try to treat our foreign people as a part of us and not make them feel that they are not wanted here? “Newcomers all from the Eastern seas, Help us incarnate dreams like these. Forget, and forgive, that we did you wrong. Help us to father a nation, strong In the comradeship of an equal birth, In the wealth of the richest bloods of earth.” Mary Gandolfi, ’33. THE IMPORTANCE OF ATHLETICS. Various forms of athletics throughout the Universe have from the beginning of time, played a major part in developing the body, as well as the mind. The wholesale exercise which is derived from athletics has equipped men and women with increased vitality and a keener mentality. Sports are not new to the world. If we go back through history we shall find that, the Greeks, as well as the Romans, held games of sport during which time a legal holiday was proclaimed to insure the privilege of everyone’s participating or looking on during the games. The word “athletics” to the average person means: baseball, basketball, football, tennis, golf, hockey, and swimming. The question is sometimes asked, “Of what importanceare athletics? Does one derive a benefit from them ?” The first thing most people say is, they are of no importance because they tire a person mentally and physi¬ cally. This is not whoMy so. It is true, however, that over indulgence in athletics will tire and fatigue a person, but no more so, than overeating will make a person sick. On the other hand athletics teaches us sportsmanship, that quality which is a valuable asset to each and everyone of us. They teach us to treat our neighbor fairly and to give him an equal chance in every contest no matter what the prize may be. When we engage in athletic exercise in school we are doing so for the glory and success of a team or a squad, not for self-praise. We soon realize that we must give help to the other fellow while training ourselves to meet the trials and ordeals which everyone at some time in his life, confronts. Athletics should create a friendly attitude in us because we learn to take victory as well as defeat, with a smile and a persevering spirit