Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute - Breezes Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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miracles never cease? They all got through their parts splendidly however, but at a heavy cost—to the teachers. One at least lost fifty pounds in weight during the first act. Then came the spectacular entrance of the major-general’s daughters all of whom were beauties (?), and what, with the falling and clattering of compacts and combs, it sounded like the “Thundering Herd” in full stampede. But all good things come to an end, and amid the deafening applause of the cheering multitudes, the curtains descended—part way—but Thursday being their off night, they refused to budge, until a vast army of scene-shifters, prompters, electricians, stokers, and deckhands brought their mighty intellects to bear upon them. By Friday night some of the general’s daughters found the strain telling upon them, and, to reserve their fast-ebbing strength, leaned on the scenery and nearly crowned a few teachers with it. This catastrophe was averted by the masterful brain of Walter Burns and the Herculean strength of Miss Hickson, who grabbed the wavering wings and bore the forest and the sky upon their mighty shoulders. Instead of a comic opera, the play just escaped being converted into a tragedy. Through the neglect of the property man, the pirate king’s pistol was not loaded, and when, in his fits of uncontrollable laughter, he pointed the gun at Frederic and pulled the trigger, mighty reverberations like unto those of a pop gun could be heard. This dis¬ appointed the audience greatly; but, politely, they hid their feelings under a screen of hilarious laughter, and the property man was told not to neglect his duty again. However, a further disappointment was in store for us; for the king, overcome by nervousness, forgot to pull the trigger. The horrible tragedy of Saturday was the melting of P. C. Kenneth McLean’s moustache. It ran down his face until it resembled the Amazon river. However, the water buckets proved large enough to catch the overflow, and another tragedy was averted. Speaking of overflows, we should all be thankful for escaping an untimely death, for Frederic, escaping the clutches of Mabel, and leaping in his playful way from the window, took a generous handful of the ocean for a support, and leaned against the island on the other side. Thanks to the kind of ocean manufactured by Mr. Mountford, we eluded the confines of a watery grave. Somebody’s face must have been “perfect gallows.” After the last performance, cake was served to all, and the remainder of the evening was spent by the pupils “in agitating their legs with a cold fury which was distinctly unpleasant.” This is just an inkling of some of the things that go on—behind the scenes. —Saul Cohen, Room 19. A visitor at a country village went into the postoffice and, with the object of getting into conversation with the postmaster, asked him what were his views on vegetarianism. “Haven’t any views of that kind,” was the reply, “but I’ve got some fine postcards of the new viaduct, the church and library.” 7

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THE ORATORICAL CONTEST In the school the final contestants were selected from a large number of competitors. These were John Leishman, Katherine Queen, Helen Lowe, Fred Gilbert, Katherine Elliott, Gordon Brooks. The merits of these six were very equally balanced. The judges, Mrs. Mathers, Mr. H. Macintosh and Mr. W. A. Cuddy, decided upon Miss Helen Lowe, Room 61, Grade XII, to represent the school. Second and third places were given to Kay Queen and John Leishman. Briefly we may sum up the qualities found in each. Helen Lowe made a definite appeal to her audience. She had excellent poise, rhythm of speech and harmony of time. Her voice was pleasant, balanced, modulated, and infused with emotion. Katherine Queen was more of the argumentative and persuasive type. She was a strong speaker and showed wonderful control. John Leishman was quite colloquial, which made it easy to listen to him—a little explanatory. Gordon Brooks, may be called the poet of the group—his treatment was so imaginative; but numbers are hard things to remember! Katherine Elliott thrilled her audience with her beautiful soft voice, which was quite dramatic, especially at the close of her speech. Gilbert had a pleasant voice, and a strong personality. Nervousness probably accounts for his slightly forced attitude. With such orators in our midst we may feel justly proud and we expect to hear their names in the future. In the provincial finals, April 22, at the Walker Theatre, a splendid group of contestants was gathered. We may compliment our repre¬ sentative on her excellent performance. Simone Landry, the winner, has once again won high honor by obtaining second place in the Dom¬ inion finals. The first place was awarded to an Ontario boy—Fred Hotson. — D.G. IN MEMORIAM Marjory Waugh, of Room 12, passed on at seven o’clock, May 19th. Our sympathy and that of the school is extended to her family and friends. “Death sits on her like an untimely frost, The sweetest flower of all the field.” PIRATES OF PENZANCE “It’s comedy to some folks, but it’s tragedy to me.” This saying repeated itself over and over again during the performances of the “Pirates of Penzance” by the leading characters of the back-stage. Back-stage was a scene of much hustle and bustle. The lassies, for once, came into their own and donned the make up— assisted by the teachers, who proved to be masters of the art. As for the lads, Lon Chaney had better look to his laurels. Finally, on Thursday the curtain scrambled up; and lo! All the fearsome pirates were in their places—behind their moustaches. Will 6

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Manitoba’s ninth annual Musical Festival closed Saturday night, May 7th, after a very successful two weeks. On Thursday, May 5th, the Girls’ Glee Club carried off the honours in the class for choruses from senior high schools, retaining the Hon. James Cox Aikens shield. The adjudicator (Dr. Staton) praised the choir highly, and complimented the work of the conductor for the expressive quality of her left hand. They also gave credit to the pianist (Lillian Furney) for her discretion and skill in “managing” the accompaniment. Being the winners in this class the choir was obliged to sing on Friday, May 6th, for the Earl Grey trophy. This was the grand finale for school choirs competing in the Musical Festival. There were nine competitors in this class, the Daniel McIntyre being the winner, with 92 and 94 respectively as the marks for their two pieces, Elgar’s “My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land” and Rossini’s “Swift as a Bird.” The adjudicator said that in the first piece the choir had a shapely start, a pianissimo , the right colour and mood and that there was a fine detail of expression; and the second was an outstanding performance with a joyous rhyhm. Students must also be congratulated for their success in the solo and duet classes. In the boy’s solo, Jack Dryborough was chosen from twenty-six competitors to sing in the finals, his marks being 81 and 79 respectively. In the duet for equal voices, Lola Smith, Eleanor Tennant obtained second place with 88 marks. Ethel Hubbard obtain¬ ed high honours by winning first place in the junior soprano solo, her marks being 82 and 85 respectively. Great praise should be given to the girls who sang in the junior vocal duets, winning first, second, and third places for the Daniel McIntyre. The winning duets were: Ethel Hubbard and Irene Carter, Eileen Christie and Frances Fox, Marie Daniels and Nadine Lush. In the junior contralto solo, Irene Carter was very successful, being picked out for the finals. Not only were the students in our school successful in the vocal classes, but also in the instrumental classes. Fred Grinke was the only competitor in the entire festival who obtained full marks. He won this in the sight reading class for senior violin. George Poliak received high marks in the senior violin class, in which he came second, his marks being 92 and 92 respectively. In the piano intermediate duet, Helen and Louise Templeton were second in a fairly large class. Our club was not only honoured by the winning of the shield and the Earl Grey trophy, but by being requested to sing at the final Saturday evening concert, May 7th, when we were treated to an excellent concert by the various competition winners .—Lola Smith. 8