Cathedral High School - Orbit Yearbook (Hamilton, Ontario Canada)

Page 44 text:

SOCIAL First Row ll. to r.J - D. Chennets, C. Kelleher, D. McKay, B. Forrester, I. Kondrat, M, L. Thili, J. Lawrence, G. Maravto. Second Row - A. Healy, R. Lanza, A. Jarabek, R. Fitzsimmons, M. Curran, J. Pelissier, J. Nowacki, J. Tazzeo. Third Row - G. Billings, B. Allard, J. Giedraitis, R. Pelissier, S. Vickers, L. Coglan, P. Chesla. St. Pius X Club St. Pius X Club is the new name given to the weekly dances which are held in the boys' cafeteria. The idea behind the St. Pius X Club is to provide a place for all young Catholics to gather, even those who don't attend the school. The dances ran every Friday night until Christmas and continued after Christmas to the first week in Lent. They were resumed after Easter. The turnout this year was excellent but has been slowly fading since Easter. The social committee has accomplished wonders with the assistance and guid- ance of Father Duffy. They decorated the cafeteria beautifully for the dances at: Thanksgiving, Hal- lowe'en, Christmas, Valentines Day, and St. Patricks Day. The highlight of the year was the Spring Prom. Music was provided by lim Philips and his Orchestra and the place was decorated on the theme of Fantasia. THE MISSION SOCIETY The Christian charity of the boys at C.H.S. is quite evident in the mission collections. Throughout the school year, collections are taken up in the class- rooms. More money is always needed so Father Dentinger, the mission director, holds draws, rattles, stamp sales and receives commissions from the sale of the play tickets or tickets for other type of school activity. Last year through the collection of Dominion Store sales slips the school was given a television set. Up until now, around six hundred dollars has been collected for this year. This money plus some money that was on hand last year has been divided up and sent to needy causes. Our thanks to all those who make this charitable job possible. M. DEMERS, 11-4. The Orbit, 1957-1958 THE RETREAT The first few days of school, after the Christmas holidays, were spent, as usual, in prayer and medita- tion. The retreat was given by three of our own diocesan priests, Father Cerald Hill, Father Vincent Pickett, and Father Philip Duffy. For some seven hundred boys, the cafeteria became a chapel. The Crade 13's made a closed retreat at Loyola Retreat House. This retreat offered to the students the chance of new resolutions of Fidelity and love for Cod. M. DEMERS ll-4. GROUP LEADERS Front Row I. to r.J - E. Hardman, G. Billing, D. Sidorkewicz, J. Cote, D. Cunningham, R. Agro, F. Basilio, V. Slaney. Second Row - S. Morelli, R. Bowman, G. Keller, R. Heimler, J. Sfainsby, P. Williams. Third Row - R. Ambis, J. McCabe, E. Safranyos, F. Gahagan, N. Bakyta, D. Garbas, R. Alfano. Page Forty-three

Page 43 text:

LITERARY We are indebted to all who contributed to this section of the Orbit. Much fine material must re- main unpublished for want of space. To the authors of these, our regrets, and to the authors of the follow- ing, our congratulations. The Editors. CITY A place: Of sprawling streets, Busy feet, Buildings tall, Condutcors call, Buzzing stores, Revolving doors, Movie shows, Sun and snows, Of spire and steeple But most of all A place: IV here countless people Labour, pray, and dwell. M. SOMERS. --o--o-o- MURDER IN THE LABORATORY The grade twelve student at Cathedral this year is faced with countless difficulties, one in particular being chemistry. It isn't that the subject in itself presents such a program but rather the exasperating experiences it may entail. Let me take for an example one period last fall. It was a beautiful day, one of those days when every one is bursting with enthusiasm and loving every one and everything-until chemistry class. Sister passed out what appeared to be a harmless red powder, which only goes to prove just how disa illusioned students can be. We proceed to heat this substance, as instructed, and carefully observed its reactions. When heat was applied it turned black, but if it was removed from the flame and cooled it turned red again. Thus far every one was happy, and had we concluded the experiment right then and there we would have been safe too. But as fate would have it we continued. We heated the test-tube to the point where its contents vaporized, and for a while we were actually under the misguided impres- sion that we had seen the last of the red powder or anything to do with it. However, a closer observa- tion proved our undoing. Before I proceed any further, I believe an explana- tion is necessary. Chemistry, unlike any other subject known, is fascinating. There is a certain quality about it that captivates human interest, and causes persons to become so involved in the process that they inevitably ignore all the rules of common sense- Page Forty-two which, in all likelihood accounts for the ordeal that took place at our table that fateful day in autumn. Unknown to us up to this point, we had been following the method to produce mercury. When, at last we discovered the tiny, silver ball at the bottom of the test-tube we proceeded to dump it out, as was only natural for the normally curious human being. Sister must have anticipated this tendency because she left us to examine the peculiar substance for some time. Now girls being girls and mercury being mercury, it followed that a name be chosen for our new friend, so we dubbed him Herman . Herman was enjoying a satisfactory existence too, until I decided it was my turn to exercise the ritual of rolling him around in my hand. I didn't mean to drop him. The result was horrifying-millions upon millions of baby Hermans scattered over a ten-foot radius. We knew it would be a futile task to even attempt to reconstruct poor Herman in entirety, but we also knew we would have to show something to Sister, who was already beginning her tour of inspection down one row and up the next. Unless you have experienced the same thing per- sonally, it will be impossible for you to imagine just how frustrating it can be trying to unite even two balls of mercury: and to accomplish such a feat on a hilly floor, as was our lot, proved to be an exastperat- ing experience to say the very least. There we were on all fours, desperately taking pot-shots at mercury balls, and Sister adds to our misery as she warns, Whatever you do, don't drop them! However, to make a long story short, we did man- age to accumulate the larger balls. We slid them onto a piece of paper, which I might add was a feat no less cumbersome than bringing them together, and finally, we hoisted Herman's remains to the top of the desk and carefully placed him in the test-tube from whence he came. Sisted seemed satisfied with our effort, and perhaps if I hadn't written this commentary she would never have known about that beautiful day last fall-the day we killed Herman. Editors Note: Due to the fact that this student has one year to go at Cathedral, she wishes to remain ananynzous. -o-o-o- TALE OF THE TREE Near mountains in a barren land, Parched by waste and arid sand By a plain, near a river, A seedling, here grew tall, And was picked from all For the axe of an old woodcutter, Dragged, then, to a nearby town: Cut and fashioned, roughly hewn, Formed to plank and bar, Carried then to a shallow mound, Outside this sacred, walled town, CContinued on page 44D The Orbit, 1957-1958

Page 45 text:

H ix E ., f d 51 EHEUHH R A , , ' ..L5.f r63 ,,,,,,? -. 1. 4.