The GE Apprentice Alumni Button

The GE Apprentice Alumni Button,
That you wear on your lapel.
Would reveal a wondrous story,
If only it could tell,
Of the struggles you've encountered,
And the sacrifices made,
When you buckled down to business,
And decided to learn a trade.
When the Apprentice Course first was founded,
And some boys right here sure know,
Ten hours a day and four long years-
They must have gone real slow.
When friends proclaimed you foolish
For attempting to endure,
In the chasing of a rainbow
Of which you were never sure,
When others took the easy road,
And sought out fields anew-
You grimly took the harder course,
And said "I'll see it through."
And that little Alumni button,
That you wear on your lapel
Is sort of a proclamation,
Designed the world to tell
That you're at last a journeyman
At your selected trade,
Working for the great GE-
And now you've made the grade.
So your little Alumni Button,
That you wear on your lapel,
Is the Croix-de-Guerre of business,
And denotes that you've done well.

A. L. Whitaker


Last Modified 12/19/00