Ray Waller Commencement Speaker At Corsicana State Home Exercises By TALMADGE CANANT Daily Sun Staff Ray Waller, president of Navarro Junior College, delivered the principal address Friday night before a packed auditorium as commencement exercises for 26 graduates of the Corsicana State Home were held. Waller’s theme was “Getting the Most Out of Life,” and his formula for it was to “serve your neighbor and your fellow man—do something good or make something good and you’ll be getting the most that you can.” Plan and Purpose “God has a plan and purpose for each of you sitting here tonight,” Waller continued. “Youth is being called upon more and more in the world today, and each of you graduates has a part to play. Perhaps we can’t all be pioneers in the sense that Stephen F. Austin or other Texas settlers were, but there are worlds around us to conquer that are just as important as the ones they conquered.” He cited as an example the field of soil conservation, and expressed the wish that one of those before him might turn out to be an outstanding farmer. “We need to conserve the soil and save it for coming generations, and at the same time make it profitable to us.” “the call nowadays is for youth,” Waller reiterated, “but it is also for ladies and gentlemen. Regardless of what field you are in, there is always an opening for those who are honest, and dependable. There is always a demand for people who are well-prepared, and to be well-prepared, each facet of the character must be developed. When there is no spiritual side developed, one “cylinder” of man is “missing.” “If you graduates resolve to do the thing before you to the best of your ability, you’ll be doing the right thing.” Deliver Addresses Madeline Bromagen, salutatorian of the class, delivered the address as the first of the evening, and she was followed by Frankie Fore, who delivered the valedictory address. Processional was played by Miss Oma Lee Campbell; Dr. Erwin F. Bohmfalk gave the invocation, and the senior class entertained with a song “Forever and Ever,” followed by a rendition by the junior girls quartet of “Among My Souvenirs.” Superintendent Moyne Kelly introduced Waller. Following Waller’s address, W. C. Murdock, assistant superintendent, made special awards. Special awards went to students who had completed work in the various special vocational divisions of the State Home curriculum, including mechanics, secretarial, cosmetology, typing. Murdock then made the awards to the class favorites. They were Beverly Belschner, Joe Dan Wells, Cleophus Downey, Lucille Fowler, Delia Dowell, Dorothy Carl, Emma Alford, John Erzen, Madeline Bromagen. Awards of free tuition to any state school were made by Murdock to the three highest scholastics om the class. They were Frankie Fore, valedictorian, with a 95.2 average; Madeline Bromagen, salutatorian, with a 92.3 average and Albert Taber, with a 91.2 average. Short Story Awards. Dr. L. E. Kelton, Jr., made the annual Kelton Short Story Awards. The winners this year were Lucille Fowler, first place; and Juanita Cass, second place. The awards have been set up as a memorial to the late L. E. Kelton, Sr., who served the State Home as physician and who started the award a number of years ago. E. C. Watson then made the official presentation of the senior class. Superintendent Kelly and Assistant W. C. Murdock then handed diplomas to the following graduates as they filed across the stage: Beverly Belschner, Emma Alford, Eugene Bryant, Joyce Alford, Lloyd Cross, Frances Madelline Bromagen, Cleophus Downey, Dorothy Carl, John Erzen, Doris Evelyn Carl, Joe Dan Wells, Della Inez Dowell, Treamon Elrod, Lucille Fowler, Luther Rodgers, Ruby Herrington, Albert Taber, Frieda Hilgenberg, Roy Taylor, Frances Irene Lynch, Jimmie Martin Turner, Dovie Lee Pillows, Mary Katherine Scott, Charlene Thixton, Pansy Kathering Reed and Frankie Laverne Fore. Dr. Bohmfalk closed with the benediction. The Corsicana Daily Sun - Saturday, May 21, 1949 - Submitted by Diane Richards