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

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30 THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD In offering a shelter to refugees, we are not entirely unselfish because from these so-called immigrants, we have obtained new blood — new ideas, arts, and inventions that have added much to the richness of our heritage. From these people have come great men and women, writers, physicians, mu¬ sicians, inventors, and mathematicians—all giving their contributions toward the culture that is America. Truly, America is the melting pot of nations.’ Here nations are molded to¬ gether to form our vast country with its high aims and ideals. Here men from all walks of life have fought to preserve those aims and ideals. Men and women have left their beloved country to prevent other powers from threatening our safety. Today, in far-flung battle fronts our men and women are still fighting for liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They know that as long as America exists, they will have something to fight for — something to protect and defend — something to cherish forever. In the future, through the grace of Almighty God, may America always be the home of those who flee from terror and tyranny. May nothing interfere with the American policy of receiving people from all nations, all religions, and all corners of the earth, and helping them to regain their self-respect and confidence. May America always be the America that we know today. Geraldine Cagnulari ’45 THE CLERGY IN THE NEW WORLD Of all the builders of the world of tomorrow—the veteran, the worker, the refugee, the statesman, and the student—the clergy will have an important place, for it is the clergy who must keep up the morale of the builders and guide them, through religion, to the accomplishment of their best work. The clergy is well prepared for this work in the postwar world, since all through the ages the clergy has sought to teach men freedom and democracy which include the belief that all men are created equal and should be treated as such. Missions, established by the clergy in all parts of the globe, are tangible proof of this belief. Morality and personal liberty—the highest principles of mankind— these are what the clergy has always stood for. Furthermore, the clergy has stood for education, which teaches men how to use personal freedom. It has fostered education, not only for the rich, but for the poor as well. For many centuries it has carried on its education of the unfortunate through its missions all over the world. The part of the clergy in war is a very important one. The chaplain has not shirked his duty to the serviceman but has given him the courage and the peace of mind, which is so necessary to our fighting men. The chaplain has also helped civilians during wartime. In 1942, through the heroic efforts of two Catholic priests and a Protestant minister, thousands of Jewish children in France were saved from German brutality. Since the clergy has played such an important part in war and in peace, is it not logical to believe that it will play an equally important part in shaping the post¬ war world? In the new world, the clergy will continue to educate and to guide the world to a better life. Aileen Rouleau 45 CM CO Page

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 29 Graduation Night Program SALUTATORY THE VETERAN IN THE NEW WORLD Parents, Teachers, Members of the Board of Education, and Friends: It gives us great pleasure to welcome all of you to our graduation exercises. We wish to express our sincere appreciation for your cooperation and interest in our activities throughout our school years. As we shoulder our responsibilities in the World of Tomorrow, we shall try to prove to you that your efforts have not been in vain. The Post-War World, as we all know, will be different in many ways from the world in which we have been living. The task of reconversion and rehabilita¬ tion in our nation will be a great one. To be successful in this undertaking we must have the cooperation of each and every American. Probably the largest class of people who will help to reconstruct the country will be the returning service men. Many will come home with definite ideas about the future and the type of work they will do. Some may desire to resume the occupations they held prior to their entrance into the armed forces, while others may wish to continue in trades they have learned in the service. Others will enter new fields such as plastics, synthetics, and radar which will be developed in the post-war world. Upon everyone, however, will rest the responsibility of help¬ ing these returning veterans to regain their places in life. But, what of the many who will not return? We know there are those who will have no share in the improvement of America, for they have given their lives for America. We owe them a great debt—one that we shall never be able to repay fully. However, the best way in which we may honor them is to uphold the prin¬ ciples and ideals of our great democracy for which they fought so valiantly. As Lincoln so well expressed, It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. Therefore, there is a tremendous task facing us, but we Americans must be prepared to meet it, with the same courage and spirit as Americans before us have met their problems in our nation s history. Erma Olivi 45 THE REFUGEE IN THE NEW WORLD From the time that the Pilgrims set foot upon the soil of the New World, until the present day, America has been the home of refugees and the haven of op¬ pressed people from all over the world. The Pilgrims were the first to open a new life for themselves here in this land of plenty. Since then have come French Protestants, Jews, Italians and countless others from nations across the seas. Endless streams of refugees knock at our doors seeking a new life. These oppressed peoples have learned the futility of struggling against hatred and fear in the Old World; but in the New World they turn their faces toward a new day—a new sun.

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THE HIGH SCHOOL HERALD 31 THE WORKER IN THE NEW WORLD Unsung, but not forgotten—these are the workmen of the world. No statue is erected, no tribute is paid to the builders who have given their all. Rather, they have helped build their own memorials—the pyramids of Egypt, the citadels of Rome and Greece, the great wall of China, the progress and decline of civilization itself have depended in part upon the ceaseless labors of the working class. But we do not try to idealize them—we say that the working men have con¬ tributed to civilization—they have been the dynamic force behind the minds of our great leaders of history. Ever since men first organized themselves into states, there have been wars, and the undecorated heroes of these conflicts have been the workmen who supplied the armies and helped supply the very forces which would destroy what they had already helped to build. And for all this toil, throughout the centuries, the masses have often lived and worked under bad conditions—the masses who have borne part of one of the costliest and gravest burdens of all history. For this, the working men remain obscure. It is needless as well as unnecessary to go into detail about the role tne workers have played—from the earliest stages of the development of world society they have become part of the backbone of the modern nations of today. We all realize that what we have at present is merely the product of periods of struggle which have resulted in progress and enrichment. But the importance of the individual must be stressed. If we become too proud, the individual will be sacrificed for the state—and there marks the end of democ¬ racy. Economists and writers of all nations have continually urged better under¬ standing between the capitalists and his workers. The idea of a perfect society is still a dream. In the postwar world we shall have a chance to go one step farther towards a Utopian state. Though many writers and poets have sought to express the importance of the worker, perhaps Berton Braley did so as well as anyone when he wrote: Back of the beating hammer By which the steel is wrought, Back of the workshop s clamor The seeker may find the Thought— The thought that is ever master Of iron and steam and steel, That rises above disaster And tramples it under heel! Evelyn Faganelli ’45 THE STATESMAN IN THE NEW WORLD • Today we follow, Tomorrow we lead. I believe that this motto is most appropriate, not only for the class of 1945, but for many classes to come, because these young people are the executives, the statesmen of tomorrow. It will be their responsibility to carry on the work planned by our great statesmen of the world today. It will be their job to preserve the peace that we hope will be established at the close of the second war to end all wars. CO CO Page