Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

Page 28 text:

26 THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN One is struck with amazement as one walks through the wrecked portion of the town to-day, that many, many more were not killed. How miraculous must have been the escapes from death ! It will take only a few years to make the place itself look as it was, indeed much improved; but a lifetime will not serve to blot out the sorrow which many sustained by the loss of loved ones ; and the experiences of some of the survivors will never be forgotten. BEATRICE BAKER.

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THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN 25 It was about four-thirty in the afternoon when the cyclone struck Regina. In a few moments the air was full of dust, flying pieces of timber, and all kinds of debris from the houses. Sud- denly it became perfectly dark. My sister, her friend and I were in my bedroom, and were not able to get out of it before we heard the windows crashing downstairs. I shouted to the girls, but they could not hear me, so I took hold of them, and dragged them into a clothes ' closet in the room. The roar was deafening. The house seemed to rock on its foundations. Then it flashed on me that probably the house would collapse, and we should be buried in the closet, and per- haps smothered to death ; I turned suddenly and shoved the door open. The worst of the storm was over, though only a few min- utes had elapsed, but it was still quite dark, and the remains of blinds, curtains and glass, blew into the room with every gust of wind. The air had a peculiar odor and the rain came pouring down. As we ventured out of the room we discovered that the door was smashed to slivers, and there was quite a pile of boards in the hall. We went on down the stairs. All the windows were broken, blinds, curtains, and screens, were ruined, pictures and many other things were missing. We were not alone long, as many of our friends, who knew that just the three of us were at home, came to see if we had escaped. They brought us accounts of other people who were very much worse off than we were. Some houses were badly damaged, some upside down, and others razed to the ground and their occupants buried beneath the ruins. The after-experience was worse than the actual three min- utes of the storm. People with their faces cut and bleeding, rushed up and down the streets, calling for axes and saws to begin the work of releasing those who were buried beneath the collapsed houses. Ambulances were lined up t)TL the side streets ringing their bells to direct the rescuers carrying the injured or dead from the scene of the disaster, church bells tolling and fire whistles blowing, all added to the horror and confusion of the scene.

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THE BRANKSOME SLOGAN 27 Salman QDanit rg in lltctoria During my trip to the Coast this summer, one of the most interesting and enjoyable days was spent in Victoria. We were anxious to go through a salmon cannery while there, and a iriend of ours who was verv kind in showing us the .sights of the town, drove us out early in the morning to withinl half a mile of one of the canneries. This half-mile we had to walk, along a railway track in the pouring rain. (Victoria, we were told on good authority, has very little wet weather, and we just hap- pened on an unfortunate day.) On entering the cannery we found the atmosphere extremely fishy, so much so that we were doubtful as to whether our strength of mind would prove sufficient to keep us there for the appointed time. Fortunately we became more or less used to the overwhelming fragrance, and were able to follow the foreman around and see pretty well what was going on. That morning they had had what they called a small catch, something like twenty-seven hundred fish, but to our unsophisticated eyes it seemed an immense quantity. When the fish are brought in they are left in a big pile on the floor at one end of the building and are taken up, a few at a time, and held in a machine which cuts off the heads and tails, and splits open the bodies. The insides are taken out and then the fish are sent along a moving belt, past a number of large tubs, where Indians wash them. When one of the workers is ready for more fish, he just opens a little wooden door at the top of his tub and this blocks the progress of the fish on the belt and turns them off into his tub. When he has enough he shuts the door again. After being washed, the salmon are passed on to another row of workers, who cut them up. Then the pieces are taken to tables, where they are put into cans with the skin laid next to the tin. The tins are taken on large trays to a machine that has little brushes for cleaning off the grease and then they travel along, single file, on a belt to another machine, where the tops are placed on and soldered. Next they are put in ovens and steamed for half an hour. After that the cans are dropped in boiling water to find out if there is any air inside. If there is air a little hole is punched in the top of the tin to let it out, and then it is soldered up again. The cans are now put back in the oven and steamed for an hour at a temperature of 240 degrees Fahrenheit.