West Jefferson in Days Gone By - series 163 by Charlie Miller
W. J. H. S.'s first commencement continued in 1883
Rewards of Labor—Anna Beach
Oliver Cromwell—Frank W. Hoe
Music—Reception March—Miss Anna Beach
Personal Responsibility—Alice McNeal
Natural Law—J. C. Hambleton
Music—Misses Burnham and McNeal
Models Necessary to Culture—Hattie Seymour
Thought—Valedictory—Clara Slagle
Address—Prof. J .E. Hanna
Remarks—Prof. W. E. MacKinnan
Presentation of Diplomas
Class Song and Benediction
-Etta (Henrietta) Chenos – Always known as Etta, she was born July 12, 1896, and died November 29, 1965 and is buried at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. She was a graduate of West Jefferson High School, Class of ‘16. On June 29, 1918, she married John Chenos, who had immigrated from Samos, Greece, in 1909. He worked for the railroad when they elevated the tracks through West Jefferson in 1911/1912. Etta’s father was born in Ohio, and her mother was born in Germany. She immigrated in 1880.
It’s a shame that most people who will read this never knew her. Her graduation picture showed that she was very pretty, and her daughters took after her. I guess you could say that she was kind of a character. She was intelligent and could appear rough at times. I liked her. She spoke her mind, and you probably liked her or didn’t. She once ran for mayor. She could give village officials fits. She had gotten a WWII jeep, painted it blue, and drove it everywhere. In 1952, she, her husband, and several sons tore down the old Union School House, which was brick and two stories with nothing but the jeep, crowbars, and sled hammers. She saved enough bricks to build at least two houses. I always said that she could outwork any man alive.
The following is a presentation made by Mrs. Etta Chenos at the 1965 Alumni Association Banquet:
“Alumni, guests, and seniors, it is an honor for me to be here and especially to welcome you, the Class of ‘65, into one of the greatest alumni ever to be organized. These 81 receptions given by the Jefferson alumni have always been enjoyed by our graduates and have been the means of assisting in the educational awakening in our village. You owe your success first to your parents, who have given you the opportunity of an education through sacrificing their time and labor. Second, to your teachers who have guided you through all of your eventful school years. Third, to yourselves for having put forth the great effort building a firm foundation for your future to rest upon. As you think of your future tonight, many of us are thinking of our past. I wonder how many of us can remember the turn of the 20th Century. Listen to my poem, and we will see.”