The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-06-21
Graduation Exercises Draw
Large Audience to
Auditorium
FORCEFUL ADDRESS
BY MILO B. HILLEGAS

AuSC1le EIlze5 AWaIueds the tourth
Being Divided Honor List of Glass
es of Undergraduate - Graduating
Glass Roll.
The graduation exercises of the
BrattlebOro high school class Of 1916,
held last evening in the Auditorium,
were attended by an audience that, as
usual, filled the theater. Interest, as
always, was directed towards the an
nouncement of the Austine prize win
| ners and the honor pupils Of the sever
al classes, while this year there was
added interest in the fact that Milo B.
Hillegas, who has been chosen commits
sioner of education of Vermont, was
the speaker of the evening. Mr.. Hille
gas is professor in Teachers college,
Columbia university, New York.
George Bernard Chase, a son of Will
| E. Chase of West Brattleboro, was the
winner of the first prize. He viii en-
| ter the University of Vermont this
| fall. Besides winning the first Austine
prize he was the winner of the Univer
| sity of Vermont scholarship Of $780,
Miss Lamoille Clark Langworthv won
the second Austine prize. She is a
| daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. R. NJ. Lang
worthy Of Hinsdale, y. H, and is an
| accomplished violinist, a member of the
| high school orchestra.
Miss Hazel Dorothea Wentworth,
| daughter of Mr.. and Mrs William T.
| Wentworth of BrattIeboro, won the
| third Austine prize.
Miss Ruth Marjorie Hale, daughter of
Mr.. and Mrs. d. NJ. Hale of East Do
yer, and Miss Mary Elizabeth Moran,
daughter of Postmaster and Mrs. NJ r.
| Moran of Brattleboro, were announced
as joint winners of the fourth prize.
In addition to these prizes Miss
| Gertrude Mary Austin, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. James Austin of South Main
| street, was awarded a University of
Vermont scholarship of 800 for the
highest average for the college prepara-
tory course.
While Leitsinger 5 orchestra PLAYED
a march Principal f. Burr Smith con
Iducted the speaker of the evening, Mr.
Hillegas, to a seat at the left of the
lstage and was followed by the mem
lbers of the school board and the faeul-
lty of the high schol
The marshals, Howard Holland
lThayer and Dwight Beeman Fairmau
of the junior class, conducted the mem
bers Of the graduating class to their
seats on the right side of the stage
, and the orchestra played the overture,
Raymond, by Thomas. Rev. George Z.
. TomkinsOn, pastor of the First Baptist
church, invoked the divine blessing
and the high school glee club, under
the direction of Miss Lucy A. Proctor
supervisor of music of the public
. schools, sang My Dream, by Waldteu-
fel, selection considerably out of the
ordinary for high school clubs and one
remarkably well rendered. In fact the
= musical part of the program revealed
= an important advance in this branch
of the school work.
. Principal Smith then briefly intro
duced Mr.. Hillegas, whose subject was
Development of Personality. Mr.. Hill
egas mentioned some of the elements
/ essential to a fofceful personality and
2 showed by apt illustrations how they
!. could be developed. It was a clean
e cut and logical address and dealt with
I some commonplace things in a very un-
Q usual and impressive manner.
Prof. Hillegas's Address.
n Mr.. Hillegas said in part: Some
IS years ago it was my duty to select
l. teachers for school system. soon
b, found that l tended to express my
/, judgment of candidates in brief,
4 though conclusive, form by saving that
either liked or did not like their per.
sonality Later / had the privilege Of
training teachers. ! found that other
principals and superintendents like
wise based their judgments upon per
Sc sonality. What is true of these meI
is also true of other professional mer
and of business men generally.
r Judgments based upon personalit,
al are always given with such finalitA
~ that one might suppose that personal
"a itv. like finger prints, is unchangeable
es 1t would be cruel fate if a weak per
r sonality were joined to an individual
II at birth and he must take it to hi
rs grave, suffering al the limitations ans
"a defeats which its possession imposes
vet unable to improve or change thi
IS, essential in his equipment. 1t wOul,
f be almost equally distressing if tn
Of ono who is credited with a strong per
ur sonalitv had TO feel that he is stronl
of merely by accident and that he canno
improve.
IN 8eThe truth is that personality ma.
m be analyzed into certain well define
en- characteristics. Each of these factor
Sc is capable of marked development
of Hence, personality, so far from bein
.e- fixed and unchangeable, may be mod
20 fed at one IS will / shall hope I
bring to the attention of the class o
1915 important features of personalit
and to indicate ways of developin
each.
''The first essential in a strong pc
sonality is knowledge. This must il
ne clude knowledge Of men and affairs a
11ol well as knowledge of facts gained frol
ne books. There is no end to example