Forrest had an excellent athletic program with many successful seasons in which IHSA hardware was won. The best of these was the 1920-21 and 1921-22 track seasons. Can you say STATE CHAMPIONS! The thinclads of Forrest High did in those two years. That is right, two state championships.

 

The Forrest High kids also brought home some IHSA hardware (www.ihsa.org) in basketball, though on a smaller scale. We believe Forrest may have also competed in baseball and possibly football. Forrest Township High School was a member of the Vermillion Valley Conference. If you have any additional information regarding the athletic program at Forrest High, please send us an e-mail.

 

The following article is the content of the 1933 valedictory speech given by Velma Swing at Forrest Township High School's graduation ceremony. The actual paper the speech was typed on is viewed in the photo to the right as contributed by Megan Montgomery, granddaughter of Velma Swing.

 

"                               AFTER HIGH SCHOOL –WHAT?

 

"The subject I want to talk about tonight is “After High School, What?” and since these times make it impossible for many graduates to go on to school, Iwish to discuss that side of the subject.

Seniors suddenly find themselves graduated from high school and wonder with a panicky feeling, “What will I do now?  Some are hoping to go on to school to gain a higher education. Others feel that for lack of funds or some other reason they must remain at home while the others go on. These feel they are accomplishing nothing. But if they would look around them they would realize that most of the influential men of the community merely graduated from high school. The people who go on to college fit themselves for positions higher up in the world and leave the old home town. However, someone must stay behind and take the places of the present community leaders.

The question here is, “What can I do for service in the community?” Naturally one has to work his way up. There are many vocations in any local community that will broaden one’s life and that of the people around him. There is, for instance, farming. Some people say, “You don’t need a high school education to be a farmer.” Possibly not, but high school does help because from association with teachers and classmates you learn the lesson of fair play and to tolerate the views of others. A college graduate, unless he is a graduate of an agricultural college, would never be satisfied to live his life on the farm. He would feel that he was fitted for bigger things.

The girls can not all become business women. Some must stay at home and become the future housewives and mothers. The greatest service to the community is rendered by the homemakers because the foundation of American happiness is the home.

Then, too, just because the student has graduated and can not go on to school, why must he stop learning? If you look at it in the one sense, you can still study and learn. Going to college is not necessary for that. And, in the other sense, you will always be learning because life is a study and each incident a lesson. There is no need for a person to sit down and give up hopes for the future just because he can not go through college.

The seniors who go on are considered more fortunate. But I think college is just a continuation of high school on a larger scale. Seniors will become freshmen once more, then sophomores, juniors, and seniors again. There will be another graduation and then the student will have to go out and break his way into the business world. True, he will have his college diploma to aid him but he must show his worth just as much as the high school graduate or there will not be a place for him. Of course, if he is really good he will eventually succeed and be well-known in his world. But is it not just as good to be well-known in a small community as in a large one, if you are rendering a service to your fellow man?

Altogether, whether the high school graduate goes on to school or goes into the business world immediately, I think it is all very much like a jig saw puzzle and each person is a piece asking, “Where do I fit in?”