Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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SAMARA 3 meet her with a welcoming hostess sort of smile, she looked down upon me and said somewhat austerely, I should like to see the Principal, Mrs. Buck ,— or words to that effect! I never felt more inadequate! Well,— that was a long time ago. Since then I have learned to be less frightened of grandmothers— also of school girls. I still think, however, (I can give away this secret now) that it was your critical appraisal which required more living up to than anything else, and you have taught me much. When I go from Elmwood there are so many things that I shall miss; most of all perhaps will be the Morning Assembly for prayers. I have never ceased to feel the peculiar thrill which facing you all gathered before me each morning gives. There always came to me, and I hope to you, a sense of renewal and strength from that service which brought us together to start the day with the worship of God. It will be one of my most lasting and precious memories. My warm gratitude goes out to all of you in that long succession of girls who have made the walls of this place ring with your gay laughter and brought so much happiness into my life. I want to thank all the many who have remembered me with a happy greeting year after year at Christmas, and at many other times. My great regret is that I was not able to write a note of thanks to each one of you, but I look forward to having much more leisure in the near future to do things which I have perforce omitted to do in the past. This I think might be a good place to say hopefully that my new address will be 99 Kenora Street, Ottawa. I trust that many of you will find your way there. I do not need to add how warmly you will be welcomed. Before closing, there are a few special thoughts I should like to leave with you. One is that Canada ' s contribution to history will depend upon the loyalties and ideals of her people. It will depend largely upon what you and the generati on to which you belong can contribute. What we give to life is the measure of what we shall get in return. I should ask you all, Old Girls and present girls alike, to keep ever in mind that the school is so much greater than any one or all of us. We who have taken a part in its fashioning can have no greater privilege than to continue to serve it in every way that lies within our power. The true prizes of life are not material advantages, but honour, influence, and opportunities for usefulness with the power to be of service to others. I hope that your years at Elmwood will have set your feet on the path that will lead to the achievement of these things, and that you have found Elmwood, as I have, a place rich and pleasant in companionship where we have sought together for the things which are true and lovely and of good report , where we have learned the beauty of service, fellowship, and fair play. May the seeds planted here come to a happy flowering in your Affectionately yours,

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My Dear Girls, It is now many years since I first became your Principal, and as the time draws near for me to say good-bye to Elmwood, I feel that I should write you a special message of farewell. Instead, I fear that this letter is going to be a collection of disjointed thoughts and reminiscences, because I find myself thinking back through the years of all the memories that we have shared, of all the happy times we have had here, and of all that we have tried to do together for Elmwood. I wonder if those of you who knew me in 1920 ever suspected how full of trepidation I was at the big task I had undertaken. I was a very raw Head Mistress in those days and rather frightened of everybody, but I hope that I was at least clever enough not to let you know that. For one thing, I wished that I had been many inches taller so that I could look the part better. I recall particularly one occasion when the grandmother of one of you, whom I had not previously met, came to the school. As I went to

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4 SAMARA For the original Governors of the school it is very nearly impossible to consider Elmivood apart -from Mrs. Buck, who has guided its destinies for so wany years. The young Miss Button first came to Elmivood in 1911 to teach iji association with Mrs. Philpot, and when the founder, Mrs. Philpot, left for England in March, 1920, Mrs. Buck— who in the interval had 7narried— assumed the position of acting head mistress. In September of the same year we were pleased to appoint Mrs. Buck head mistress, and have always felt that Providence guided the choice. Mrs. Buck has watched the school grow from a very modest beginning to fill its prese?it place i?i the community , and has given personal attentiofi to the smallest detail. We have never ceased to marvel at the interest she has shown in each individual pupil, and the strong loyalty to the school which her girls show. We know that graduates will not easily forget the subjects studied with Mrs. Buck. Her special love is the teaching of history and scripture. We were proud and gratified to learn that a former Elmwoodian, now a graduate of one of Canada ' s most noted universities, had declared that no history professor whose lectures she had attended had, in her estimation, excelled or even equalled Mrs. Buck. In the early days of Elmwood Mrs. Buck also taught mathematics and here demonstrated the thoroughness which was her outstanding characteristic. To her academic qualifications Mrs. Buck added the administrative, and we have been amazed to discover her knowledge of all that concerned the every -day management of the school. She supervised carefully all departments, and showed her personal interest in the health ajjd welfare of each and every one who had any part in the school life. Mrs. Buck has earned the heartfelt gratitude of the Governors, who offer their best wishes for ?nany years of a life of happiness a?id coiitinued usefulness, which we know would be her desire. We extend our warmest thanks for the manner in which she has filled a position of great trust without thought of self and for the benefit of many. Ethel W. Fauquikr LlIJAS SOUTHAM Cairine R. Wilson