Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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The Branksome Slogan 25 edit several anthologies of veise. Again, through books, Ontario has oegun to realize the importance of her sister province because of Joan iVeilson ' s masterpiece, ' ' A Complete History of Nova Scotia in ten volumes. ' ' Ruth Jennings, Cynthia Maxwell, and Patty Parton, have banded together and bought a toothpaste factory. Betty Osborne, having suc- cessfully finished with teeth-straightening and the dentist, has a contract with the factory for advertising, and her sparkHng smile appears in all the streetcars. Just look up there and see it. Joan Hutcheson, always mterested in the Paratroops, learned how to parachute, and now has gone to New York. She adds a spectacular interest to the sky-line by jumping daily from the top of the Empire State Building. Joan Irwin and Libby Matchett seem to be the only others of our class who, like me, have settled down to a quiet married life, And did you know that our Mayor Owen Money is in financial difficulties, and, to relieve this situation, is going to marry Nancy Jack. And, Cynthia Smith loved Toronto so much that she stayed right here doing odd jobs. At the moment she is running the merry-go-round at the Exposition. Exposition ! The word recalled my purpose in getting on the bus. I looked out the window. Why there it was! I tried to cut short Dodie ' s stream of chatter. She didn ' t seem to hear my interruption, but babbled on. I couldn ' t wait. I rushed to the door of the bus and stepped down, down All went black. I opened my eyes. My Virgil was lying on the floor. I glanced at the clock. It was midnight. But what of this strange tale? Could all this have happened in the past few hours? It seems so. That is why I failed in Latin. The Christening She is here before me, this grey ship. She is high and sleek and swift; proud, alert, alive. She is born, ready to begin her life, I am here beside her, alone, high above the crowd, here to name this ship, to bless her, to give her freedom. Soon she shall sail over all the waters of the world. She shall sail on moonlit blue champagne, and she shall sail on blood. She is born out of hate and strife and agony, a world at war. She is built to fight, to kill, to wound, to destroy, and she is beautiful. Her body, like a bird poised for flight, rests in the curious crowd, their homely, labourers ' faces proclaiming their pride in her existence. They have made her. Something of their hardiness has been projected into her by their strong, gentle hands.

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24 The Branksome Slogan But a rather sad fate has come to Pat McConnell, Mary Jean Hall, Boo Scarlett, and Peggy Cowie. Inseparable always, they started on a trip ' around the world together, but, unfortunately, they were robbed of all their money and they are now trying- to work their way back home. Poor Dorothy Carringfton found by chance a strange food, one bite of which made her grow another two feet. But she has some slight compensation in the fact that she now holds the title of ' The Tallest Girl In The World. ' ' And Mary Shenstone, unhappy g irl, is an inmate of the Provincial Penitentiary and is working hard for her good conduct certificate to shorten her sentence, Aileen Stinson is the warden there. Women do almost everything- these days! Another sad case is Sally Pitfield. Driven to desperation at Branksome when she was forced to write a French story for the Slogan, hei mind cracked and she is now Autumn Picnickers m the insane asylum imiagining herself to be a crepe suzette. And, worst of all, I ' m afraid that Mary Alice Burton must have gone mad also. She has written a baffling, impressionistic novel called ' ' Man Flies Through The Weeping ' Sun. No one can understand it and Virginia Tory, who is a noted psychologist, spends all her time trying to psycho- analyze Mary Alice, to find out why she wrote it and what it means. Mary Bastow and Pegg-y Trow have gone in for charitable work, and devote lall their time to the upkeep of a hospital for homeless cats. Oh! and Ann Woodrow is the Spanish translator for a number of our stores which trade with South America. Kay Thomas grew to love that infirmary atmosphere so much while at Branksome that she has become the chief bandage-maker for the Toronto General Hospital. Oh yes, Ann Archibald has just written a book which everyone is reading — The Art of Writing Interesting Letters , and Polly Ann Haden has not been content to merely quote poetry, but she has gone on to

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26 The Branksome Slogan Beside them, stand the men who will man her. They are young, thes sailors, young- and expectant, and they will love this ship as a man can love no woman. Stalwart and strong, they will care for her, guide her and keep her. In her they will know death and heart- break and fear much worse than death, fear so great that the most courageous must tremble and pray for a steady heart. They will tend her engines, scrub her decks, and fire her guns. They will stand long hours on watch, in summer nights under la cool, dark sky, and in winter when the wind pierces the inmost soul, and salt spray bites the flesh. They will live and die on her. They will gamble with death in every second of the fight, and her clean grey decks will be splashed with blood and torn flesh. Her guns shall rip the metal of enemy ships and take life after life. Her bullets will send enemy planes plummeting into the sea, spitting flame. These men will ha e no mercy. But they will dream of love on her; of women and little children waiting somewhere far away; of homes, soft chairs, and firelight; of comfort and shelter from a merciless sea; of safety from fear, and a belief in a kind, loving God. Their disillusioned young faces will lighten for a moment with remembrance, then darken as the present returns. They will love this ship. A wife ' s, a sweetheart ' s rival, she will enter into their hearts, their soiuls, to remain forever. They will love her long grey body and her sharp, clean bow which churns the waves into madness. They will love her throbbing engines, her bristling guns, her snub stern and her woman ' s disposition. She Vvill be theirs to work for and to love. For months together. She will see every ocean of the world, this ship: the dark, secret waters of the Orient, the Mediterranean, flame-coloured by a hundred thousand torches in the sky, the South Seas silver in the moonlight, and the frosty jewelled riplets of a calm, Arctic bay. She will sail proudly. The crowd is cheering now. I step forward. Red and white bunt- mg flaps against the blue of the sky. The high grey form before me is poised. I raise the bottle in my right hand — I christen thee and smash it with all my strength. The crowd is wild. The world IS bright through tears. ' ' God bless this ship and all who sail in her! PEGGY DREW.