C. F. VIGOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1958 - 45TH REUNION

AUGUST 23, 2003

ALMA MATER

OUR STRONG BAND SHALL NE’RE BE BROKEN, 
If you thought this meant the Green and White marching band with drums and horns and prancing Wolfettes, you’d be wrong.  But, you may very well be a Vigor alumnus.    

IT SHALL NEVER DIE!
The fact that we’re all here tonight is evidence of that!  We are bound in a seemingly endless relationship; back then, WE WERE INVINCIBLE!!

LOYAL HEARTS AND KINDRED SPIRITS,
If you thought this meant not ratting on your buddies when you got caught with the booze at the sock hop, you might just be a Vigor alumnus.

SEALED BY FRIENDSHIP’S TIE!
Distance and time have not resulted in lost friendships. The ties that bind are flexible and they stretch over the miles and the years, so we remain friends. The spirit of the Wolf pack is sealed and lives on!

FAITHFUL, LOYAL, BRAVE AND TRUE, WE SHALL EVER BE;
If this makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, you just might be a Vigor alumnus:

HAIL TO THEE OUR ALMA MATER,
 If you’re thinking how grateful you are for the nurture and care of an institution and a faculty that gave you the tools you needed for making a life for yourself, you just might be a Vigor alumnus.

VIGOR HIGH SCHOOL HAIL!!
Nurturing Mother, we your foster children honor you tonight!       

ALMA MATER

What does it mean anyway?

The original meaning of the term “Alma Mater” was in the Latin phrase meaning nourishing or foster mother applied by the Romans to various Goddesses, such as Ceres and Cybele the Goddesses of agriculture and nature.  Used in England as early as the 13th century, it was first used in reference to Universities such as Oxford, which were thought of as nourishing or fostering their alumni.  Originally meaning nursling, or foster child, the word alumnus conveyed a feeling of attachment and gratitude toward an institution that was more personal than the word graduate.

Harvard started an Alumni Association in 1840.  Today, it is the Alumni (or Alumnae) who return to their Alma Maters for reunions, many at times of commencement.  Those who return include leaders who did something for the institution and those, whether leaders or not, who felt the institution did something for them.


Adapted by Edward C. Kotis 2003

Return to Home Page