The Chemawa American, February 20, 1929, Image 1

OREGON STATE LIBRARY
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WAY 1 8 W29
CHEMAWA
COLLECTION
AMERICAN
P r in t e d a t C h e m a w a , O re g o n , a n d D e v o te d to th e In te r e s ts o f In d ia n E d u c a tio n
>1. X X X
W ednesday, Feb. 20, 1929
I A PPR EC IA TE M Y A DV AN TA G ES
By MAYME CONTWAY, Chemawa Student
We should all strive to get a good education, because
by doing so we are equipped for life; that is, we can
have the higher opportunities of life, and one made
dependable. It should be the aim of every nation to
afford to every citizen an equal opportunity to make
the most of himself, and to make its people self-gov­
erning. Education must be widespread, and must
develop the power of self-direction. It must train
leaders, and enable the people to choose their leaders
intelligently. To be safe and efficient, every one must
have a reasonable education to put him on the same
footing with people all around him, and that educa­
tion must be the kind that will fit a person to play his
part well in this world.
It is a part of the business of education to fit every
citizen to earn a living, and to be self-supporting and
to contribute effectively to the productive work of the
nation.
It seems we are always much happier when we can
satisfy our own desires, and can choose wisely just
what we want, and we see higher things in life which
we should strive to reach and accomplish.
The United States government has done everything
possible to fix things so I can get an education easily,
and I should try to grasp everything that is put be­
fore me, because later on in life everything learned
while in school will be a help in some way.
While young people are spending most of their time
at school, their parents are usually chiefly occupied in
making a living or earning money. Children as a
rule are wholly dependent upon their parents for a
living, but during that period they are gaining skill
and experience in school and industry which later will
enable them to earn their own living and that of others
who in turn become dependent upon them.
One should use his education for the betterment of
his community, and every Indian pupil should feel the
government is interested in his individual prosperity
and happiness. While we are educating ourselves we
are causing all the people around us to feel the result
of our efforts. We should live up to the highest stan­
dards of life because it is always the best that gets the
best, and by doing so, we will never become a burden
on society.
By having a good education we are equipped for
No. 17
life and can enjoy the comforts which may come to us
more than if we didn’t have it. We should always
try to help people who never had the chance, that our
lives may teach them to secure the higher advantages
of life.
If we once get a good education it can never be
taken from us, and if we use it in the right way, we
are always sure of making good.
“V A L E N T IN E ” ID E A NOT M ODERN
Just how some customs get started is a mystery.
We carry the custom on and on, year after year, and'
never pause to consider just why we do so. We take
it for granted that ‘ ‘ours is not to reason why. ’ ’ Well, ’
so far as the observance of St. Valentine’s Day is con­
cerned we admit that it is a “ lovely” custom and does
no harm. A few pit-a-pats of the heart, more or less,'
will harm no one, but to some of our readers a little
data now and then is of interest. A recent Associated'
Press dispatch sent out from New York throws some
light on the subject and it is as follows:
Just as for the last 2000 years, maidens tonight
were entertaining pleasurable expectations, for to­
morrow is St. Valentine’s Day. Youths who dis­
patched dainty messages to the ladies of their choice
were following a custom which according to some au­
thorities, had its origin in the time of Romans, when
the youths of that day on the feast of Februata Juno
used to draw the names of girls to whom they were to
devote themselves during the coming year.
The tradition that the day is sacred to lovers may
have arisen from a conventional belief prevalent in Eng­
land and France during the middle ages that on Feb­
ruary 14 the birds began to pair.
The question of which St. Valentine gave his name
to the day is debatable. At least three St, Valentines
are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the
date of February 14. Eittle is known of any of them.
As the custom of sending Valentines progressed it
changed somewhat. The present trend seems to be
away from the frilled lace, heart-bedecked creations of
a few years ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Mason motored to Monmouth on Sun­
day afternoon for the express purpose of returning
Miss Flora Dexter to the State Normal school, as she
is attending that wonderful institution. Accompa­
nying the party were Miss Josephine Sommers and
Mr. John Dexter.