The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1908-05-29
THE TWENTIETH CLASS
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES RE.
cElVE DIPLOMAS.
A SUCCESSFUL COMMENCEMENT

Small Class.
A class of ten, seven young ladies'
and three young men, graduated at
the twentieth annual commencement
exercises of the Norfolk high school.
In numbers the class of 1908 is one
Of the smallest in years. Last years
class held the distinction of being the
largest that ever completed the pub
lie school course. Few commence
ment programs have had more merit,
however, or have been better carried
out than the exercises which closed
the high school life of this years Sc
niors at the Auditorium Friday even
ing.
The attractive picture made by the
single semi-circle of graduates was
enhanced by a pretty arrangement of
class colors, pink and green, on and
about the Auditorium stage. over
head the class numerals were dis
played in an electrical effect Potted
plants lined the front of the stage.
The young ladies were gowned in
white and carried flowers.
This year the individual graduate
was not pushed to the background by
a score or more of other graduates.
Fewer numbers brought each member
of the class into the spotlight" and
there was no one in the Auditorium
audience Friday evening who was will
ing to admit that there had ever been
a pretter picture formed on a Nor
folk graduating stage.
On either side of the house in the
theater boxes were members of this
years Junior class, made high school
seniors by the evenings exercises.
The theater decorations had been left
to the junior class.
Invocation was pronounced by Rev.
Edwin j. Booth, pastor of the First
Congregational chruch.
Miss Lydia Brueggeman, who shared
the class honors with Miss Bessie
Richey, opened the senior program as
salutatOrian. Her address was pref
tily worded and we'll spoken. Miss
purpose of the evenings exercises
and outlined their connections with
the high school life just ending and
with the out-in-the-world life Just be-
ginning. Different lines of work that
might lie open to the graduates were
discussed. The grace with which the
salutatOry was spoken established
Miss Brueggeman's place at once with
her audience.
A pretty vocal solo, "If | Were a
Rose" was sung by Miss Edna
Loucks. She proved to have a very
sweet soprano voice of unusual quail
ity for a high school girl. Miss
Loucks was highly complimented by
music lovers present. She was ac-
companied by Miss Verna Coryell.
Hon. w. E. Andrews of Hastings, a
former south Platte congressman but
now auditor of the United States
treasury, delivered the graduating adj
dress. He was introduced by Presi-
dent Viele of of the board of educa-
ton and spoke on the subject, Build.
ers and Their Models"
Mr.. Andrews attitude was the op-
timistic attitude. All material works
came, he said, from the model held
firm in the mind of the builder. Civil
lization was a moving picture, con.
tinuous picture from the beginning to
the end of the journey of the race
1t was a journey forward.
Progress, Mr.. Andrews made clear
lay in the native and acquired endow'
ments of the human soul.
The speaker traced the change in
the various important models, such as
government, held in mems minds
through the centuries. He paid trib
ute to the newer models, to the ideals
of the later centuries.
Mr.. Andrews encouraged the grad
yates to ambitious efforts. The peo
pie who had made Nebraska high
schools possible had found a "great
American desert" and had turned II
into land of plenty, of beauty and
of unbounded wealth. Each graduate
should hold the determination to be
anu wv SOlllCNliiSo III NilS WIZ III VI IilCll
heritage.
Some of Mr.. Andrews words were
personal to the class. He paid a
pretty compliment to the young ladies
of '0S. He commented on the fact
that the ratio between the number Of
young men and the number of young
women in the class represented the
exact ratio of men and women en-
gagged in public school teaching.
An honest pride, he said, should be
| felt by the graduates in their high
school diplomas which they had wor
by the efforts of four years. He re
GREETED that so many had fallen by
the wayside.
After the address of Mr.. Andrews
an eight-hand piano piece was very
capably rendered by Misses Lydia
Brueggeman, Agnes Matrau and Verna
CoTyell and Claude Ogden.
The word of farewell was spoken
by Miss Bessie Richey, class valedic
torian. Miss Richey reviewed the high
school associations of four years now
committed to memory. She told OF
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