Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1906-05-02
The waIhalla Graded Schools Close.

The Walhalla Graded Schools closed
their fourth annual session last Friday,
April 9th. Public exercises were held
in the morning at IL O'Clock in the I.u-
theran church. The sermon was
preached by the Rev. w. M. Duncan,
pastor of the Buncombe Street Methodist
church, Greenville. His subject was
"Self sacrifice" or "He who would be
first In the kingdom of heaven let him
become least among men," His dis
course was foroible, logical, and interest
ing from the beginning and the entire
audience was held in rapt. attention
throughout the entire service He was
assisted by DR.. John G: Law and Rev. H.
G. Grossman, who, in few we'll chosen
words, welcomed and introduced Mr..
Duncan to the large congregation pres
ent, due, no doubt, to the fact that the
stores had all closed for the occasion.
Suitable music was rendered by members
from all the ohoirs in the town which
made material addition to the impress
siveness of the service.
At half past 8 O'Clock in the evening
the exercises of the graduating class
were held in the Court House.
After the ushers, Messrs. Fred Thode
and Loe Gaillard, had seated the audi
ence in all available seats and found
comfortable standing room for many
who. came too late to get seats, the
chairs, arranged on the stage in a semi
circle, were allied by the graduating
class, Rev. 81. y. Grossman, pastor of the
Trustee of the Graded Schools, DR.. j. II.
Moore and Major S. P.sDendy, the two
remaining members, boing unavoidably
absent, Dr.. Henry Louis Smith, President
of Davidson College, and Prof. David r.
Nicholson, Superintendent of the Graded
Schools.
1t was beautiful and impressive sight
as the eight members of the graduating
class, the young ladies all dressed in
aisle and took their places on the ros-
trum.
The Superintendent made brief re-
port in which he called attention to
few important points in school work.
Among other things he said: Accurate
scholarship will as necessarily follow
strict discipline and perfect punctuality
as the night naturally follows the day.
Not one single tardy mark was against
the graduating class for the entire four
years of their High School course.
There was not single tardy mark
made by any pupil from the second to
the tenth grade inclusive during the ses-
sion of eight months just coming to
close. A more detailed report will be
published later.
The names of the graduating class, to-
gether with their essays, are as follows:
Miss Gertrude Biemann-Brutus or
Cassius.
Miss Helen Fant-Hamlet, the Hero.
Miss Mamie Harrison-Mark ANTHONY,
the Friend of Caesar.
Lewis Harrison-Education.
Charles Holden-Twentieth Century
Ideals.
Miss Olive Maxwol.-Rosalind and
Celia.
Miss Anna Stribling Effect of the
Italian Renaissance on English Litera-
ture.
Miss Frances Stribling-A Brief Dis
cussion of Mathematics and its Impor-
tance.
These essays were not written to be
read as graduating theses, but were. pre-
sented at the school az a part of the
regular course in English Literature.
Despite the shortness of time for their
preparation they were uniformly excel
lent and reflected the minds of thought
full and painstaking students.
At the conclusion of the essay reading
DR.. Henry Louis Smith, the brilliant
President of Davidson College delivered
the annual literary address to the gradu-
ating class. His plea for the old ideals
of the South was the most eloquent
speech, the one eloquent address heard
in Walhalla for many years. Though
laboring under the difficulty of speaking
during down pour of rain, he none the
less captured his hearers in his opening
sentence and held them willing captives
throughout his address and on to the end.
He encouraged the young to be success
full in this age of the South's wonderful
material development, but admonished
them to cling to the beautiful and sacred
trad tions, the good old days of mans
chivalric devotion to womanhood and
love for the holy Sabbath. DR.. Smith is
scholarly gentleman and Christian
educator of the highest type, and the
people of Walhalla were particular for
tunate in securing his services through
the efforts of the Superintendent of our
schools.
At the close of the address the GER
tificates of graduation were presented by
Superintendent David f. Nicholson, as
Major s. p. Dendy, the Chairman of the
School Board, was not able to be present,
after which the benediction was pro-
nounced by Rev. III. G. Grossman and the
friends shook hands and congratulated,
some with smiles, others with tears, the
:enth grade, whose course with our
schools is ended, but whose influence and
usefulness in life, we trust, has just
begun, and whose hearty cooperation
will ever be a potent factor in our midst,
and then the goOd-byes were said and
the first chapter, which was begun four
years ago, was ended.