Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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18 SAMARA Bap of iiappmesg THERE was dead silence after the bombers roared away into the night, leaving lurid flames lighting up the frail framework of a building. Then, as the building toppled, a crash of brick and mortar broke the silence. A little girl stood like a small statue in the midst of chaos. ' Ere, wot yer doin ' ' ere? called a busy air raid warden. Mopping his head and care- fully picking his way over the debris, he made his way towards her. As if by a sudden impulse the small statue shivered all over and fled into the deep shadow of an alley. ' Ere, repeated the air raid warden. Wot yer doin ' ? Well, blow me daown, she ' s a queer ' un and no mistake. Guess she didn ' t have nothin ' t ' do with this show. He stumbled away to continue his work. The grey morning light filtered through the over-hanging roof of an alley way. A small shape kneeling on a piece of sacking rose and walked away, down the alley, looking at all the disaster that surrjDunded her. As she walked down that dingy little street, her eyes were sad. Her parents had been all the world to her, but they had been des- perately poor and she had had no moment of real happiness in the whole of her nine years. Now her parents were happily out of this world but she wasn ' t, and she was going to make this day the happiest she had ever had— just this one day, free and happy. The dirty buildings swam as she thought, Be happy, be happy. Now she was getting into broader streets and a cleaner part of the city. Her tears dried slowly on her face as she walked along, for the day showed signs of being superb. Even now, the grey cobwebs of dawn were fleeing the sky. Later, she stood on the curb of a road. The day was a golden day with clear sunshine and a wind-swept blue sky. All the passers-by were gilded by the sunshine of good will. A steady stream of passengers poured into a bus that was headed for the country. On this perfect day there was surely no need to pay. The conductor, busy with other passengers, didn ' t see her slip on the bus. The seat by the win- dow was soft and cushiony; the bus was like a stage with each passenger a play in himself. There was one typical, little man wearing a quiet, brown suit, with a plain, inconspicuous face— yet he might be a millionaire, a criminal or a spy. The bus stopped with a jerk. She opened her eyes and saw a sight so beautiful that it made her gasp. Her slum eyes had never seen anything so lovely,— those cottages, gay with window-boxes, the rich chocolate-brown earth and the stone house with a magnificent copper beech, each leaf burning like a separate sun. She descended in a sort of trance. Off the road was a worn path leading into a dim and whispering wood. The rays of the sun pierced through the leaves and tiny motes danced in their beams. A little pool, sur- rounded by delicate green ferns and blue-bells in clumps like blue shadows, formed a haven of refuge. A peaty brown brook ran into the pool chattering by a long, grey rock. Here the little girl sat, listening to a bird singing to its mate on the twig above and twining a wreath of snowdrops. A sound of whistling broke the stillness as a soldier pushed his way through the under- brush. He didn ' t look happy for his eyes were bitter and full of irony against the world. Nobody understood him. His parents had died when he was very young and, since he had no relations, he had grown up in an orphan asylum. When the war began, he joined the armed forces and this was his first leave. But where could he spend it? He had no friends. The whistling stopped dead as he came to the

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SAMARA 17 Cabet Motts THIS YEAR many of us joined the Rock- cliffe Gadet Nursing Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade which was organized by Mrs. Buck and meets at Elmwood. We have nearly fifty members. Rockcliffe girls who do not attend Elmwood are also invited to join. At present there are nine of them, and we very much hope that this number will increase next year, because the inclusion of outside members widens our interests and is of great benefit to us all. The first meeting took place on November 1st, when Mrs. Buck, as Lady Divisional Superintendent, gave us a talk on the great traditions and historic background of the Order. She emphasized the fine ideals of the Cadet code of chivalry, with which we open every meeting, and the mottoes of the Order which are Pro Fide , and Pro Utilitate Hominum . Soon after we were organized we were visited by Miss Elsie Burn, Lady Divisional Superintendent of the Rockclif fe Nursing Division, to which the Cadet Division is attached. She welcomed us into the Brigade and brought us greetings from our older sisters of the Nursing Division. We are striving hard to become efficient in First Aid and Home Nursing, a large number having already obtained both certificates and some, their senior. Through the courtesy of Colonel J. D. Eraser, Commanding Officer of the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, Ser- geant-Major Rodger and Sergeant-Ma j or Mitchell come and take us for foot drill. We hope that their inability to express themselves in what we believe to be the traditional man- ner of sergeant-majors, while drilling the young ladies of Elmwood, has not been too great a strain upon their patience. The Home Nursing Classes have been taken by Miss Marie Pavlasek, whose father is the Czecho- Slovakian minister to Canada, and she herself a graduate of the Montreal General Hospital. There is great competition to qualify as N.C.O. ' s; the following are on probation: SERGEANTS: -Paula Peters, Pauline Coul- son, Anna Cameron, Gretchen Mathers. CORPORALS: -Janet Caldwell, Joanna Rowlatt, Margot Peters, Martha Bate, Jean Blakey, Norah Cameron, Philippa McLaren, Heather Cumyn. We are very proud that two senior Elm- woodians, Betty Caldwell and Joan Paterson, have qualified as members of the Nursing Division and we think that they look very smart in their St. John uniform. During the latter part of May we are look- ing forward to inviting our parents and friends to a demonstration of First Aid, Home Nurs- ing and Foot Drill. Through our Cadet membership we learn to value the service we can render to others, particularly in time of emergency, and to understand the full meaning and importance of the Cadet ideal, To do my duty to God, my King and to all mankind. The organiza- tion has been such a success and has been en- joyed so much by all that no doubt it will be a prominent activity of Elmwood from now on. OFFICERS OF THE ROCKCLIFFE CADET NURSING DIVISION Cadet Divisional Surgeon— Dr. G. P. Howlett Lady Divisional Superintendent- Mrs. C. H. Buck Lady Cadet Officer— Miss Muriel Dixon Lady Cadet Officer— Mrs. E. N. Rhodes SPRING IS A FAIRY Spring is a fairy Soft and green, Simimer is its mother Who looks like a queen. Fall is its granduiother, Bright colours has she, Winter is its grandpa He ' s as cold as me! Sheila Madden, Form 3, Age 9

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SAMARA 19 Excuse me for interrupting. You aren ' t a water-nymph, are you? he said half ironically. Of course not. Water-nymphs are much prettier. But do come and paddle. To his own surprise, he did. The water was cold and clear, and together they tried to catch the darting minnows in their palms. Using leaves as boats was fun and their laughter rang clear through the wood. He showed her how to play ducks and drakes, and they watched the smooth stones leaping over the pool ' s bright surface. When they felt the pangs of hunger, they wended their way to the village and had their meal under the shade of the old copper beech at the stone house. The soldier teased the old lady who owned the house and, as they left, she presented them with a bunch of violets. Through the air came the deep sound of a church bell, and they made their way to the - little grey-lichened church. It had an old- fashioned, creaking gate and the stained-glass windows made patches of colour on the floor. This was perfect happiness and they felt as though they had been there all their lives. Spring flowers spread a perfume over the church. In the village general store they bought some packets of food. The little old man who owned the store thought, What a happy pair! Have they ever known sadness? Supper was eaten in a farmer ' s clover field, honeyed and downy. They watched the gangly colt, with his soft, woolly coat, frisk- ing about at the end of the field on his un- steady legs. The spring lambs next door played together without knowledge or thought of the future. Towards sunset time a farmer came along with a rumbling cart, his horse looking for- ward to home and bed. He stopped and offered them a lift, which they took although they didn ' t know where they were going. They got off at a deserted farm house, that was still in good repair and made themselves comfortable for the night. It was a warm night, and outside, as the earth went to sleep. the pine trees sighed. As they fell asleep, they both thought it had been the happiest day of their lives. Late at night, a lost German bomber strayed from its course and dropped a bomb on the cottage, blowing it to bits. Nobody knew who had been there. They had been given a space of happiness in their drab lives and now had gone to a better, happier world. A wilted, brown snowdrop chain lay by the brook next day. Anne ProtheroEj V C Keller FOOLED Whei2 an April day in February shoivs a stmling face, Entirely out of character and sweetly out of place, Whe?i all the birds start singing and the sun begins to shine, And all the breezes hum a tune when I had thought they ' d whine. Then 1 wonder, ' ■ ' ■A?J7 I dreaming? Can this lovely day be true? Shall I find sovie pavement, or the terrace breaking through? Will sticky buds be fooled as well, and break through bark of trees, Or daffodils awake too soon ajid rouse the sleeping bees? ' ' When I wake expecting winter and think spring has come instead, Vm April ' s fool who looks and finds that winter is ahead! Anne Chisnell, V B Keller