Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN 13 of them were so neat and tidy, others so jolly and happy-go- lucky, with things in riotous confusion — and others just medium I Being a just medium myself, I appreciated them, too. A mysterious excitement seemed to be in the atmosphere, for it was the night of the Annual Hallowe ' en Masquerade, and all sorts of marvellous feminine concoctions peeped from unexpected corners. In one room we found piles of the daintiest and most original hand-painted programmes, and the Editor wished she had been asked to the party, and the Methuselah feeling came back, and she heaved a tiny sigh. In the gymnasium, which is connected with the house by a covered passageway, busy girls were tacking up jack-o ' lanterns, and draping sheets on Judys to give a gruesome ghost-like effect. I looked at the smooth hardwood floor and thought that many, perhaps all, of the dainty little feet that would trip over it so blithely that night, would trip at many a more brilliant social function, but, I venture to say, never at a happier one. We went back to the house, and, on the way out, peeped into the girls ' sitting-room, where needles were flying through mysterious garments, which were — Only pari of what I ' m going to wear, and you ' ve no idea what it ' ll be like! We also peeped into the drawing-room. The part I saw, which was the amount we opened the door (about seven feet by three inches), was very- grand, but we retreated precipitously on finding we had tracked the aspiring vocalist to her lair! When I was once more wending my way across the bridge I had another attack of the Methuselah feeling, but the heartache was not as bad, for I could love the new Branksome almost as well as the old. Let us all wish it, and Miss Read, every success in the fresh endeavors to have the word Branksome stand for all that is best and truest and noblest in the women who will take their places of various degrees of responsibility in all parts of the world — from Formosa to Alaska, from Australia to Paris — and, most of all, right here in our own Canada. Our best wishes go, too, to our beloved Honorary Principal. May she never have cause to be ashamed of one of her Branksome Girls !

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12 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN And oh! those perfectly delicious surreptitious dances in the conservatory at recess, when we should have been inhaling- fresh air ! My, how we adored the creamy, dreamy waltzes and the rollicking two-steps, — unless we were some of the poor unfortu- nates who hadn ' t finished their Latin and were cramming for dear life in a corner with ears tight shut not to hear the music. And do 3 ou remember the Art room, with all sorts of startling- likenesses of man — I mean girl — and beast, and studies in still life ( ' mostly apples and grapes) ; and the gym where we learned to improve our fig-gers ; and the — but oh! what ' s the use? It makes the heartache worse. These were my melancholy cogitations as I passed along Bloor and over the Huntley Street Bridge the other day. I had just reached the heartache part, and was indulging in it freely when I arrived in front of the New Branksome Hall. Editors are really very brave, but I did feel sort of quaky as I opened the gate. The huge red brick house with its grand white stone porte- cochere was tremendously awe-inspiring. I had only gone a few steps up the walk, however, when a joyful medley of sounds from several pianos, accompanied by evidences that an aspiring voca- list was soaring to heights unknown (probably high C) took all the quakiness away. I might give a list of the various selections I ' oating forth, but should hate to have guessed wrong. I rang the bell, and after a few moments of suspense (accom- panied by said sounds) a neat maid, also new, ushered me into the hall, and led the way toward the office. I was waylaid by the sight of one of our esteemed school editors, a smudge on her otherAvise immaculate nose, hauling ghosts by the neck in the direction of gj mnasium. I tried to encourage her in her noble efforts and then passed on to speak to Miss Gardiner, who kindly consented to take me over the premises. First we visited the bright, airy class-rooms, in the new wing added at the back of the original house. I began to feel like Methuselah when we came to the tiny seats and desks of the wee tots, and yet in a way it doesn ' t seem long since I was seven and had a bran new school- bag. We then went upstairs to see the girls ' rooms, and that ' s where you reach the heart of the whole house. Oh, those rooms with their little blue cots, and gay pennants and photos! Some

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14 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN Our Fourth Annual Alumnae Meeting, which we held last June, was very similar to that of the preceding year. As there were about one hundred girls present, the members of the executive were called upon to give much time and thought to the luncheon, which they gladly did. We were honored by the presence of Miss Scott, Miss Read and nearly all the Branksome staff. The graduating class of the school, as well as many out-of-town Alumnas members were also with us. The gymnasium was very prettily decorated in honor of the occasion with the school colors, each table having a centrepiece of ferns, surmounted by a tall basket of flowers tied with red ribbons. After the luncheon the following toasts were proposed : — 1. ' ' Their Majesties, proposed by Jean Morton. 2. The School, proposed by Olive Kinnear, replied to by Miss Scott. 3. The Principals, proposed by Rita Chesnut, replied to by Miss Read. 4. The Absent Members, proposed by Marguerite King, replied to by Marie Thompson. 5. The Branksome Babies, proposed by Hilda Rutherford, replied to by Mrs. Hawkins. 6. The Future Alumnae, proposed by Mrs. Plant, replied to by Marie Parkes. After the toasts to The School and The Principals, Miss Scott and Miss Read were presented with bouquets by the Alumnag. Our Retiring President, Ethel Ames, also received a bouquet given by the members of the Executive as a token of appreciation of her untiring services for the Association. We very much regret Ethel ' s decision to retire from active service, and wish to tell her how much we have enjoyed working under her for the past two years.