Yakima High School - Wigwam Yearbook (Yakima, WA)

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'I' II lil W l G W A M 31 alehifturp THE LAND OF By HENRY The dark, black hills seem small and far away, When night is nearing with the lonely star, Then oft I think upon the saddest day, When last I saw the dearest shores the're are. I sadly watched my country fade beyond the sea. . How dear it was I'd never felt hefore. But to the West the ship moved silently, And bore me onward to a distant shore. It is with just that feeling that many an emigrant leaves his native land. As I look back to that day when the transatlan- tic liner slowly moved away from the bank of the river and thence on to the wide Atlantic. I can still sec the passen- gers crowding to one side of the ship to cast a last glance toward their friends and relatives. Finally. when only a small strip remained above the horizon, all eyes were turned in but one direction un- til that too had disappeared. Not till then did they realize the full significance of their departure, and not till then did they see what would await them in the New World. It is with just this feeling that we are bidding farewell this evening, emigrating. as it were, from this High School to enter upon a new era of our life. For although we may have said that we dislike school life, yet now, as we turn away, it offers many things that are dear to us. We look back and see much that we are sorry to leave. much that we did not fully appreci' ate until now, much that we shall always remember. As we are leaving tonight wc are thinking of these advantages and THE FUTURE. Kvrsraa. privileges, and are sorry to turn from them. However, this mood of regret will not remain long. As the emigrant who soon forgets the sorrows of his departure and begins to make definite plans for the fu- ture, we too are even now engaged in deciding our course. We too are embark- ing on a wide sea,the sea of the future. The course may lead straight ahead, or it may take us to and fro, but finally we shall reach port, our landing place, as it were, from whence to take up the work for which we have been prepared. Think of the immigrant as he finally sees the shores of his future country rise above the horizon. Think of the emotions which must stir his soul as he watches those shores come nearer and nearer, what he must feel as he puts his feet on the land of promise. At last he has reached the country of his dreams, and is where he may make those dreams come true. As he looks forward he sees pros- perity and good fortune which will be his. He sees the freedom which he has long desired-to live his own life in such a way that he may develop the very best of which he is capable. and that he may make himself a power and force in this land of Promise. Eagcrly he looks for- ward to the time when he will be a citizen of the land, enjoying the privileges which it has in store and in turn answering every call to defend and aid the nation. A wide world has opened before him and every- thing that is high and noble calls him on- ward. So he goes forth into this great country, answering the many opportuni-

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. -iii? a ff, ,as-. - 30 THE VVIGYVAM balutaturp WE, Tl-IE YOUTH OF AMERICA. By Honace GiLnEnT. You, who are our fathers and mothers, and you who are our teachers and friends, we are proud to greet you-to declare to you rejoicingly that we have successfully completed our high school education. And, in so doing, we feel that you are receiving our salutation as sincerely as we give it. ln a sense we are more than your sons and daughters. We are also the youth of America, who have Liberty as a mother and justice as a father. From them, even in our present youth, we are inheriting their great burdens. So it is the youth of America that greets you. ls it not hard for you to realize that we, who but recently sulked, or mayhap cried, because you would not let us go to a party on a school night that we are to be the leaders of this nation. lt is not easy for you to stretch your imagination to such an extent, however, it is even more difficult for us, whose minds are childish as you know, to grasp in a serious light these heavy responsibilities. Thus, when it is impressed on our minds that we are to be the millionaires, the politicians, and the leaders in every line of industry and thought, what must be our opinions? Seldom is a youth found who is able and willing to disclose the philosophy ol' his generation. A boy philosopher,-what an unusual person! Still, would it not be interesting to listen to him? Yes. Aris- totle himself would listen profoundly. We realize that we are going to he the future rulers of the world, and we promise that our every effort is going to be ex- pended in making it a more perfect world. We shall perhaps see the results. Every- one of us feels his pulse beat faster with proud zeal when he entertains thoughts of the future. This castle building seems fantastic beyond call for recognition: still, with certain limitations and explanations, it is the mental realm in which we live. In the first place, we, who will be the rulers of the world tomorrow, are going to go to college or university. We do not heed the cries of the demagogues, those mind poisoners, who so vehemen- ently impress on us the responsibilities that rest on our age, but who err in defin- ing the means whereby those duties must be met. lt is their hollow voice that draws so many out of the far reaching road ex- tending from the avenue called Training. on to the blind, twisted road of Luck. We accept the responsibilities handed down by the preceding generation, but not just yet. We wish to finish our training. We are going to close ourselves in a strong cocoon, and live a student's life. Study shall be our vocation, school social activ- ities, our pleasures. Listening to the tal- ent of the world shall be our recreation. Narrow-mindedness shall be a vice. Progress shall be secured by making the theoretical possible. Practicability shall bind us to the past. A general, ex- haustive mental training shall be the basis on which we shall build our life work. This is our attitude,-we who are Americans, one generation more American than our fathers. This is the ideal of our youthful philosophy. When we unfold these innermost, most sincere ideals to you, we feel that you listen to them patiently, that you respect them, and we know that you will aid us all that is in your power. Thus when you tell us of our responsibilities, we do not hesitate to give our hearty acceptance of them, But this is our reply: Nothing can influence us into taking up those du'ies until we have fitted ourselves for lhcm. Then, when the results of our ideal training are applied, we hope that you, our fathers and mothers, may test their nobility and take pride in us for being their source. This is the greeting the Class of l9l9 gives to you. This is the salutation of the Youth ot' America.

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32 'I' ll ll W ties which it offers, and finally stands out as a leading force in the nation's affairs. Members of the Class of 1919, after the changes which have come about during the last four years, the responsibility weighs heavier than ever, and it is our duty to give our very best. Today Amer- ica holds a position among the nations that she never held before and because of this, the position of her citizens has he- come more important. Because of this our value is reckoned in terms of what we can and will do for democracy, that it may extend farther and farther into the world. The realm of our opportunities is great and wide if we face the future with l G VV A lil .1 determination to succeed und realize thc duty which we owe society. Some of u see our work in this community while others will leave to take their work up elsewhere. But no matter where we go, each one of us will be performing his task in the great workshop of a nation which is playing a leading part in bringing dem- ocracy to the rest of the world, As we separate, fellow class-mates, each one of us following his own course, let us always remember the motto of our class: Carry On. If we will but carry on the spirit which has brought us here this evcn- ing,-the spirit of determination to be and to do our utmost, we cannot fail to find unlimited honor and power in thc future, im , fs., i, f X iii: ' , f-31-J I Witte ' N-ig? X wi