Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-06-20
Scenes in Connection With
Graduation at The
High School
MR.. BRENT's ADDRESS
Audience Singers star-spangled Ban.
ner at Close Amid the Greatest
Enthusiasm

Upon a stage resplendent with thu
patriotic co1ors Of "Old Glory" drap
ed in the background and the colors
of the cadet corps, the flag of Vir.
ginia and another flag of the United
States. erected on either side, the
thirteen graduates of the Alexandra
High School went through the cere,
monies of the fourth Alexandria High
School graduation last night in the
auditorium of the new building. The
thirteen members of the graduating
class of 1916 to whom diplomas were
presented at last nights commence
ment as a reward oc their for.' years
of endeavor were. Ashby Edward
Bladen, president of the class,Ja
JndSrn Goodwin, jr., vice pr,s.den-
.nolaJlG Willard Gsined, secretary
treasurer, Miss Dorothy Marthina
Callahan, Miss Mildred Roberta Cal
lahan, Miss Anna Maria Hook, Miss
Elizabeth Hantzmann, Miss Ruth
St Clair. Miss Louise Bender, AL
bert Vickers Bryan, William Louis
Schaf.i jr., Vernon Norwood Var
field, SIC James Morton Duncan. jr
The 1;1mal speech of presentation Of
the diplomas was made by the Rev.
John Lee Allison, pastor of the Sec
ond Presbyterian Church, and the
names of the graduates were read
out by Captain William H. Sweeney,
superintendent of schools.
Stanley G. Blanton, vice principal
IF the school, presided over the exer-
cises in the absence of Conrad John
son, the principal and the invocation
was spoken by the Rev. j. w. Duffey,
nastor OF the NJ. E. Church South.
The award of prize for the best
essay on poets of the nineteenth cen
Jury, offered by C. T. Ryan. profess
sor of English in the high school, was
made by C. A. Burrus, principal OF
the Washington School for Boys, on
behalf of Mr.. Ryan, to Miss Dolly
Callahan.
The salutatorian was Albert v.
Bryan, and the valedictorian, Ashby
E. Bladen. Commonwealth's Attor-
ney Samuel G. Brent, made the ad-
dress to the graduates. Among 9TH
er things. Mr.. Brent said that AL
exandria had always been proud of
her institutions of learning but that
practically all of the private insti-
tutions. had given away to the great
er power of the public schools, and
that with the advent of the Alexan-
dria High School upon the local edu-
cational threshold, the enrolment OF
the schools in this city had been in
creased from about 1900 to l,96O.The
speaker spoke of the progress that
had been made by the High School
in its five years of existence, from
the time when it was founded, with
only three years course, with ar
enrolment, of So pupils and four
teachers to the present time, wher
the school is established on firm
footing, with four-year course, 8
faculty of nine, more than two hun
dred pupils on its rolls: and a magni'
fcient new building, for which the
graduating class and every pupil il
the school, he said, owed a debt o.
gratitude to the community, which
it could never repay.
Mr.. Brent ended with words O.
friendly advice to the members O.
the graduating class, his final state
ment being, "Be honest, be just, b.
true, and you will be successful"
Singing of "The Star-Spangleo
Banner by the audience and the A
H. S. chorus brought the ceremonie
to close. DR.. Allison pronounce,
the benediction. The numbers on tn
program were interpersed with selec
tions by the chorus, among them be
ing the "Anvil Chorus" "Santa Lu
cia," and "Auld Lang Syne" Fol
lowing the exercises an informs
dance took place.
The motto of the graduating clas
Is "Be% Square" the class flower, Ki