Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 18 text:

16 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN One of the most interesting: trips to tourists travelling throngh Holland is that to Yolendam and Marken, the former a small town, and the latter an island in the Zuyder Zee. In both these places the native ccstumes are worn; and very few fail to take this trip as it gives a splendid idea of Dutch peasant life. Early one beautiful morning we left Amsterdam for Volen- dam. Our first stopping-place was Brock, which is said to be the cleanest town in the world, and, as one looks down at the flagstones and at the pretty green and white cottages with their well-kept lawns, one can well believe this. Not long ago the good people of Brock washed their streets with milk, but now all their milk is used for making cheese, which is the chief industry of the town. We visited a farm where we were initiated into the mysteries of its manufacture. We found the church in this quaint little place very inter- esting, too. It is about one hundred and fifty years old, is white- washed on the inside, and, instead of pews, has rush-bottomed, straight-backed chairs, which seem very uncomfortable, and would certainly not tempt one to go to sleep during the service. Thej have a very unique way of taking up the collections — bags, adorned with bells, are passed on long sticks. Under the floor of the church, which is of cement, many people have been buried, and on the grave -of a tailor a huge pair of saissors has been carved.

Page 17 text:

THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN 15 Miss Read very kindly took the chair during the election of officers for the season 1912-13. The results of the elections were as follows : — Editor of the Slogan — Hilda Rutherford. Business Manager — Joan Stewart. Assistant Business Manager — Rita Black. Honorary President of the Alumnae — Miss Scott. President — Rita Chesnut. First Vice-President — Mrs. Plant. Second Vice-President — Grace Morris. Secretary — ' Marguerite King. Assistant Secretary — Margery Kilmer. Treasurer — Jean Morton. After a considerable amount of social intercourse and many good-byes the meeting broke up. It was voted a huge success by all. Hilda Rutherford has since found herself unable to keep her position as Editor of the Slogan, and Jean Morton has very kindly consented to fill the position. For the coming season we are planning a series of talks by well-known speakers. We are hoping to get our members inter- ested in the various present-day movements and we also hope that the Alumnae will be able to take an active part in helping on some one definite work. As this is the year of the Dickens ' Centenary the Committee was very fortunate in securing the services of Mr. F. M. Bell- Smith, who gave us one of his famous Dickens ' talks at our open- ing meeting. It has been decided to make our February meeting an en- tirely social one, at which we will entertain the Branksome girls. We are hoping in this way to interest them in the Alumnae, and make them more anxious to become members of it when they leave the school. RITA K. CHESNUT.

Page 19 text:

THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN 17 Our next stopping place was Voiendam. The Yolendamers dress in the quaintest costumes. The men wear long, full baggy trousers, jackets ornamented with large, white china buttons, and tie ' ht-fitting caps. The women wear full skirts and aprons made from two different kinds of material; their hair is cut short, and they wear caps with wings, which are very pic- turesque indeed. The chief industries of the town are duck-raising and fishing. The Island of Marken is about half an hour ' s sail from Voiendam. This island has a population of one thousand three hundred souls — nine hundred adults and four hundred children. It also boasts of four trees and one policeman, who is deaf. Their costumes are somewhat different from those of the people of Voiendam. The men ' s trousers are short and full and they wear sweaters and close-fitting caps. The women wear a great number of petticoats to make their dresses stand out. The more petti- coats one wears in Marken the more stylish one is. Until the age of seven years the girls and boys dress exactly alike, except that the boys have a circular piece of cloth sewn in to form the top of their caps, while the girls have not. At the age of sixteen years a girl has all her hair cut off except enough for two curls, which hang down at either side of her face. Just as we Avere embarking to go back to the mainland we saw a bride and groom. (It appears that, for two weeks after the wedding, the bride and groom keep walking around the island almost continually.) The costume of the bride was very pretty, being beautifully embroidered and trimmed with lace. It is always carefully put away after the wedding and honeymoon and is handed down from generation to generation. The groom ' s costume was very funny, consisting of the short, full trousers and