St Johns Ravenscourt School - Eagle Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 81 text:

MR. SIMPKINS THE CAST Patch, afool .Gary Jacob Mr. Simpkins, an Old English Sheepdog . . . Frank Jakovic ADjinn .Mark Bredin Rougebucket, a herald.Gordon Finlay Sir Fenimore.Kurt Barkmann Sir Battledore .Graham Barrit Lady Fenella.Donald Guest Drusilla, a hag .Douglas Clark The Yale.Richard Klassen The Unicorn Knight .Allan Beech The Pelican.Peter Wood Basil, A Basilisk .Chris Dornan Costumes.Kathy Allen Properties.Hilda Ward Grant Ubell Prompter .Fred Young Lighting.Bernie Beare Sound Effects .Malcolm Cowie Mark Flett Set designed and executed by .Desmond Bevis assisted by . . Jim Hjartarson Ken Taylor Richard Krueger Joel Kobrinsky Trumpet played by.. . . Kent Stewart Make-up.Sheila Maurer Peggy Glegg Joanne Bevis Beth Beare Mollie Penaluna House Manager.Bruce Jackson Secretary .Ramona Brown Director.Harry Shepherd

Page 80 text:

KING PATCH AND On the night of January the thirty-first, a Djinn was rescued by a court jester from a tree, in which he had been trapped for five hundred years. Thus begins the fantastical voyage of KING PATCH AND MISTER SIMPKINS, put on by Mister Shepherd and the boys of the Lower School. The casting, which was done early in the school year, was excellent, as could be seen by the superb way that each actor fit his part. Many hours were spent during lunch and after school working on scenes, and I am sure that Mister Shepherd’s patience held, as it always does. It is hard, after seeing such a fine performance, to give credit to only a select few of the total cast and stage crew, but special recognition must be given to Gary Jacob, as Patch, Frank Jakovic, as Mister Simpkins, Donald Guest as Lady Fenella, Chris Dornan, the Basilisk, Kurt Barkmann, as Sir Fenimore, and Graham Barrit, as Sir Battledore, must also be given extra praise. Many thanks must be directed to Mrs. Allen, for her beautiful costumes, Mrs. Ward for all the properties, Mr. Beare, for the time he spent on lighting, Mr. Cowie for the sound effects and to Mr. Bevis for the time he spent on sets. Mrs. Mauer, Mrs. Glegg, Mrs. Bevis, Mrs. Beare, and Mrs. Penaluna must be given praise for their efforts in making up the actors. Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Brown cannot be forgotten for their roles as house manager and secretary respectively. Next year Mr. Shepherd will be hard pressed to match this year’s performance—congratulations to all involved. (I v. W V v i! ■1 mi 1 76

Page 82 text:

THE MOST DANGEROUS FIRE IN THE UNIVERSE We were millions of light-years from our galaxy and our destination was another star system similar to our own. Our ship was exploring the least known sector of the universe and it made one feel lonely and helpless just to stare out at it. We were conquering the last frontier for it was our dream. We were there to fulfil an ultimate goal and if successful, it would be a fantastic achievement. Our tiny ship pushed on relentlessly, day after day, month after month, year after year. Th e monotonous hum of the reactors seemed to put me into deep trance for just the thought of them forced me to produce a sleepy yawn. Even in our experienced captain one could notice a slow down for time began to take its toll. But after a while, I suppose one would become used to the drowsy mood of the environment. Our technology, however, was not advanced enough to construct a spacecraft to overcome the light-barrier and thus the journey would drag through a span of over two hundred years. Each day I gazed through the telescope at our target and wondered what awaited us, another civilian? No one could even attempt to guess, the only thing to do was wait and that wasn’t difficult for I often sat in my quarters staring out through the window at the wonders of the universe, speculating as to what we would find. Soon, however, it became evident that our journey was reaching its completion. Finally after an almost indefinite period of two hundred and thirty-six years, we burst into the outer limits of the galaxy. We analyzed thousands of stars and solar systems, but the one which interested us the most was a tiny, yellow star situated in the outer realms of this island universe and although relatively small it possessed a family of nine planets. It seemed to emit an irresistable attraction for us, as if something strange was awaiting our arrival. So our ship turned toward this peculiar phenomenon with gathering speed. Suddenly we came in visual contact of the first three; they were cold, forbidding worlds, dead and silent. Thus we passed these globes of frozen ice unheadingly, and turned our eyes toward that warm, golden star with its gleaming light ruling this system. Then, unexpectedly, we came across two giant bodies much more inviting than the other three but still possessing unwelcoming qualities. Thus our course remained unchanged as we passed into the inner sector. There we found a tiny blood-red planet. However, the atmosphere readings proved this to be a hostile world as well, and once again we turned inward with the hope of success hanging on a thread. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere a blue-green disc came into view. As we neared this body we noticed great swirling masses of creamy, white clouds embracing this globe and that it was capped by sparkling ice at the poles. This world proved more than interesting and life conditions were ideal, so a landing party was immediately appointed. Once on the surface we discovered something even stranger than clouds. There were cities here, a civilization, but we noticed something else, also. There were giant craters completely covering the land and the huge structures in the cities were severely damaged. But the thing that rea lly impressed us was that there wasn’t a being for miles; it was as if the whole planet was dead. Then I began staring around desperately. Immediately my vision caught sight of something, some markings on a piece of oxidized metal. I picked it up anxiously and fumbled it between my fingers like a child with a new toy, then quickly brushed the dirt off it. There were three distinct markings on it that looked like U.S.A., but I couldn’t make anything out of it. Suddenly, clicks started coming in on the “radiation” meter. Just then the answer to the puzzle of what had occurred here flashed into my mind. It had been staring at me right in the eyes all the time. Nobody in sight, extensive damage, craters, radiation, that was it! This civilization had discovered the most dangerous fire in the universe and like a boy who had been playing with matches, carelessly burnt itself. Frank Jakovac 7EW NIAGARA FALLS Niagara Falls is a city to which every road leads. To the east is magnificent countryside. There are rolling hills past the meeting point of the sky and earth. To the south, across the Niagara River are the United States. To the north is the timber country and the west reveals its most famous area — the Great Lakes. There are many beautiful streets but the most beautiful is the one which runs along the mighty and ever rumbling Niagara River. The south side or side which runs along with the Niagara River is the most beautiful. The indescribable carpet of grass is always glistening from the cool but refreshing spray of water leaping off the top of the falls and plunging to the bottom. There are many magnificent trees along the side of the river as old as the city itself. The other side of the street doesn’t contain as many natural sites as the other side, but instead, it contains many natural substances combined to make man-made edifices. From this road you can see the city’s skyline which has one tall building towering above all the rest; this is the Skylon, a two-story disc shaped building atop a many hundred foot 78