“The fourteenth annual commencement of the Nemaha high school was held in the opera house Friday night,” according to the Nebraska Advertiser, June 1, 1906. The Advertiser, which dated from 1856 in Brownville, was by 1906 being published in Nemaha by William W. Sanders.
The Advertiser proclaimed the ceremony “the best commencement ever held in Nemaha. The program was carried through without a break of any kind. Not one of the graduates had to be prompted or hesitated in their delivery. The instrumental duet by Mrs. McCandless and Mrs. Frazier and the instrumental solo by Miss Sadie Fick were fine. The vocal duet by Misses Daley Clark and Lena Maxwell was excellent. The singing of the male quartet, Messrs. G. E. N., G. E. and John P. Sanders and E. L. Paris and the lady quartet, Misses Sadie Fick, Dora Clark, Lela Argabright and Mrs. T. L. Fisher were hard to excel.
“The commencement address by Rev. Geo. I. Wright of Nebraska City, on ‘Opportunity,’ was one of the very best, ever delivered in Nemaha. John M. Clark, in delivering the diplomas, made some excellent remarks to the members of the class. The orations by the graduates, E. Roy Liebhart on ‘Success,’ Richard R. Knapp on ‘When my Ship Comes In,’ John Harry Hacker on ‘America’s Greatest Man,’ and Miss Grace E. Peabody on ‘Buried Treasures,’ showed careful preparation and much study. . . .
“The order during the exercises was the very best. There was no disturbance of any kind until near the close, when the storm came up and a number left the house on that account. The opera house was filled but was not uncomfortably crowded.
“The graduates received great piles of handsome flowers, and also a number of books and other presents. The hall was handsomely decorated with the class colors, scarlet and cream. A Greek cross covered with cream bunting, with N.H.S. in scarlet letters stood on the platform. Above was the class motto, ‘Not Ended, but Begun,’ in scarlet letters on a cream background. The graduates, the teachers, the school board and the patrons may well feel proud of the best commencement ever held by the Nemaha high school.”
