LEWISTON – Drawing on lessons to be found in fruits and vegetables, each of the five honor part speakers of the Edward Little High School Class of 2008 emphasized values such as persistence, patience, flexibility, courage and hospitality at the school’s graduation exercises Saturday night.

The speakers were among 207 students to graduate at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee.

Valedictorian Zachary S. Dumont explained the historic significance of pineapples as symbols of hospitality and noted that students of the past 10 years have had many chances to welcome people of different cultures to the Twin Cities.

Salutatorian Renee A. Dufresne-Dixon chose the tomato to offer advice on risk-taking. She said that less than 200 years ago the tomato was thought to be poisonous until in 1820 Robert Gibbons Johnson stood before a crowd in New Jersey and demonstrated that he could safely eat one.

Christopher W. MaWinney and Leah M. Costlow, who shared the third honor part address, began with a clever exchange of dialogue suggesting they were fighting about how to present the talk. They pointed out how American Indians worked together to grow “the three sisters” – squash, beans and corn. They concluded by saying in unison, “Let’s break the soil together in a spirit of cooperation.”

Kristen J. Erickson, fourth honor part, talked about the lessons learned from onions. Since onions grow underground, she said, it’s necessary to have patience and faith in the harvest. She also mentioned the flexibility of onions in many recipes and told her classmates that their lives have layers like onion skin, and “as you peel away the layers, it can bring a tear to our eyes.”

Esther R. Schlotterbeck, fifth honor part, told of the apple tree in her yard that she watched grow over the years until it finally bore fruit a few months ago.

She said she wondered over the years if there ever would be apples on the tree, and she told her classmates that their day of graduation “like the harvest of apples, has been a long time coming.”

Principal James H. Miller III recognized dozens of seniors who received awards and scholarships. He told the graduates to “be active, not passive,” and to “go, go, go.”