The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1944-05-25
UNsCHEDuLED FEATURE

ONoSHLDOLED Il Efh ~ lNE
In last Thursdays paper this
column looked forward to the pleas
ure we knew was in store for us
the following night at the Com
mencement of the Juneau High
School senior class. Today we re-
port that the event turned out to
lie just as enjoyable as we'd guessed
would be the case.
We felt proud indeed of the con-
tributions TO its success made by
Margaret F'emmer tvaledictorian of
the class, Erna Meier, Mary Hotf-
mann and Lane Rolf, all members
of the USO Girls Organization.
Each of them was assigned an i'm
portant job to do in representing the
class of 1914 Each certainly made
good. as scheduled. This year, as
probably never before, the members
of all High School graduation
classes the world over are being
called upon to meet heavy respon-
sibilities as they leave their high
school days behind them. Our
young Juneau friends acquitted
themselves very well in meeting
their final scheduled responsible
ties at school. We had reason to
be proud of them, you may be sure.
But you would have searched
your program in vain for the COM
mencement incident that was the
most heart-warming of all, the big
moment of the evening for lot of
us. No, it wasn't scheduled-or at
least it was hidden under the SOL
emn-sounding item, Presentation
OF Diplomas" The Clerk of the
Board of Education had already
nearly completed his task of hand
ing out these long-awaited certifi-
Gates. Reading each name in turn
he made the presentation very
simply and with dignity.
And it was with no less difgified
formality that each student had
accepted his or her diploma. At
least this was the case until, near
the end of the list, he called out
in the same uniform. rather matter
of-fact tone of voice the name of
the next graduate: Audrey Rude. !"
Now, it had been all very well with
Audrey if her classmates saw fit to
act formal as each one came to
this browning moment of his school
career. AS for her, however, she
deemed it appropriate to be just a
bit more demonstrative; and as
the gentleman once again made his
customary solemn presentation bow,
Audrey accepted the diploma with
moments dignity-then threw her
arms about him and gave him a
most affectionate and entirely in
formal kiss!
And no one in the big audience
seemed to regard that kiss as any
thing less than just about perfect
Gas did the gentleman who received
IT'D because you see this gentleman
happened to be DIR. j. o. Rude, not
only Clerk of the Board, but also
Audrey's father.
This incident happened at that
emotlOnally- crucial moment in the
Commencement exercises 1--WE as
sumo that there is such a moment
common to commencements every
where) when each senior student
up on that platform and all the
members of his particular family
down in the audience found them
selves keyed up to such a point that
they felt that they or someone else
ON their behalf-just about anyone
else-simply must give expression to
their pent-up affections for each
other
On Friday night at that crucial
moment Audrey Rude found herself
faced with the opportunity to do
lust that-and she made the most
OF it. This was a lovely and heart
warming thing to do, and it deeply
touched big crowd of people: and
It was done by girl who invariably
ut has long seemed to us) may be
counted upon to do the thing that
IS fine and right and that warns
the heart. That is what Audrey
did on Friday. We are prouder of
her now than eyer heforet