The following undated, unidentified newspaper article was found in a copy of Helen Craft's Scrapbook at the Lowell Public Library:
Commencement
The seventh annual commencement exercises of the Lowell High Schools were held at Spindler's Opera House last Friday evening. It was a highly interesting and entertaining affair throughout, and Prof. Heighway and his excellent corps of assistants deserve great credit for their excellent work the past year. The stage was beautifully decorated with flowers and presented a very fine appearance and in front of the gas lights was a beautiful array of red, white and blue bunting which added toward the completeness of the occasion. The class motto, "Thus Ends Our First Lesson," was a beautiful banner of white back ground and pink letters and hung directly over the heads of the graduates. The house was crowded to its utmost capacity it being impossible for all in attendance to get seats. At 8:30 o'clock the class of '95 headed by Prof. Heighway, followed by the other teachers, Revs. Bennett, Bruce and Ball and President [of the] Board of Education, marched to the stage and took their places; the instrumental music in march time on a piano being furnished by Miss Anna Ward, A member of the Amphion Quartette, of Valparaiso. After the invocation by Rev. J. Bruce, which was delivered in well chosen words and a vocal solo "The Muleteer of Tarragona," by H.L. Butler, of the Valparaiso Amphion Quartette who is one of the very most cultured base singers we ever had the pleasure of listening to, Miss Ebert then in a sweet voice delivered the salutatory and her oration "Bright Days of Youth are the Seedtime of Life." It was a well rendered production and bore evidence of earnest work. This was followed by Miss Daisy Dinwiddie in the oration "Shall we Plant Thistles of Shall we Plant Flowers," which was an excellent production and bore evidence of much preparation on the part of this young lady. The Mandolin Club composed of young men in this city then favored the audience with a fine selection of music "Waves of the Danube," which elicited a hearty applause, after which in clear, distinct tone of voice an oration "Rowing or Drifting" was delivered by Miss Maude Hill. In this production the young lady showed marked ability and succeeded admirably in the pleasing of her large number of admirers. The next on the program was a fine oration "One Hundred Years Into the Future" by Miss Zada M. Ackerman; the well chosen words by this young lady were distinct and clear and she may feel proud of her ability on such an occasion. Now comes "The Flower Girl," a vocal solo by the accomplished Miss Sylvia Dwyer who is the possessor of the sweetest soprano voice and a great favorite among the music loving people of this community. "Act Well Your Part" was the title of an oration by Miss Anna Johnson. She did act well her part and was heartily congratulated in the effort she put forth toward the completeness of her subject. In the oration "Hitch Your Wagon to the Star" Miss Mamie Hill acquitted herself nobly; the line of thought in this rendition was to be on the lookout for something higher and if possible perch yourself on the top round on the ladder in all your undertakings all of which showed very careful preparation on the part of the speaker. After an extraordindary fine piano solo "Bolero" by Miss Anna Ward, the oration "Great Men of the World" delivered by Miss Ethel Nichols was attentively listened to by many admirers and like the preceding orations this showed that the speaker had given her subject careful thought. The oration "There is a Tide in the Affairs of Men" with valedictory was presented by Miss Alice Ebert who succeeded in effecting a favorable impression on all and the feeling words with which she spoke to her class associates is and should be very highly commended. After a beautiful base solo (a) "Thou'rt Like a Lovely Flower," (b) "Once in a Purple Twilight" by the favorite Harold L. Butler, Rev. E.P. Bennett then gave the class address. It was one of his best efforts, the language being forcible as well as eloquent; he complimented the teachers, graduates and those on the program for the completeness of their work; he congratulated the audience for being favored with such fine weather to make the occasion such a grand success in point of attendance and gave us some good advice, which, if heeded by the rising generation they will be the better off in the end. Mr. Bennett is certainly one of the most able orators of this day and age. Prof. Heighway in a brief but well directed speech presented the class after which C.E. Nichols president of the board of education with appropriate remarks presented the graduates with their diplomas. The class color, pink and cream, was a pleasing feature, being presented by four pretty little girls dressed in Pink and Cream and carrying bouquets and wreaths of flowers to the graduates and other favorites upon the stage. The Mandolin Club then played a delightful piece of music when Rev. T.H. Ball, of Crown Point, in kind words pronounced the benediction.