Elmira District Secondary School - Oracle Yearbook (Elmira, Ontario Canada)

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16 THE ORACLE shout of command, I, Hannibal, or- dered Mago, Dave Rowland, to pre- pare a raft to ferry us across the river. When all completions were made, we endeavoured to get the elephants on the rafts, but the clumsy creatures fell into the wa- ter. The fright of death made them swim to the other side. On we pressed towards the Alps, whose dim shadow we saw before us. From out of a cave, a band of sa- vage Gauls, under the captaincy of Jack Strong, sprang upon us. But under the magic glances of Donald Freeman, their fierceness was sub- dued and we advanced. At last the 'foothills of the Alps came into view. A rest was order- ed. We slept, and, during an inter- val of sonorous snores, a change took place around us. When we awoke, we found ourselves in a tourist camp. To our dismay, our pack-horses and elephants refused to stir. The Cities Service Station agent, Laverne Miller, informed us that the animals needed refuelling. We filled them up with Ethyl, no- knee-nok gasoline for perfect knee action. We refreshed ourselves with cokes and cream buns. We cranked the elephants' tails, and, spreading their ears, we took off. Up we soared and, receiving a wire- less message that the enemy was below, we released the high explo- sive water bombs from the trunks of the elephants. When we reached the summit, we stopped to visit the Hermit, Doug. McKay, who in- formed us of a short cut which had to be taken on skis. We set the elephants on long marks and went down the declensions covered with snow. With an Active Voice, I shouted On to victory l We slid right down to Lake Trasimenus where we barged in on a beauty contest on Bovis Beach. We decided to stay awhile and get acquainted with the contest winner, Bruce Ruppel. While we were having a regatta on the lake, along came Fluminius, Bill Arnold, an-d his shock troops under the joint leadership of Sum, Esse and Fui, in other words Don- ald Weichel, Louis' Klinck and Keith Keller. When Fluminius came out to en- gage us in hand-to-hand fight, we despatched an envoy for consulta- tion with the result that he imme- diately agreed to join forces in a drive to buy War Savings Stamps. Was it War Savings Stamps I heard? My wounded eye was not blind but there seemed to come to my ear-drums a present day, fam- iliar hum. It somehow savoured of a classroom. Dimly there seemed to still linger the Perfect Active of fero , melodiously recited by Mary Howard. Now was I sure? No! Fero was over and done- what I really heard was Flaminius pressing on his drive to sell War Savings Stamps. But lo! Flaminius took on the familiar form of our Principal, Mr. Currie, praising our patriotic Grade XII for their splen- did response in buying stamps, and thus I awakened from my Latin dream. MARIE WEICHEL ELEANOR ARNOLD STANLEY BEISEL BRUCE RUPPEL GRADE XII. FOR I DIPT INTO THE FUTURE By NORMAN HATHAWAY f W inner Second Prize Prosej Yes, it's truly amazing lg I am walking along North Arthur .Street of the Elmira of 1961. My, such drastic -changes have taken place! The high school looks the same, but

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THE ORACLE 15 my native troops. This account would: not be complete without the Italian version, eminating from Rome. The Italian army has won a great victory against a superior force of British troops, over seven- eights of which were seasoned white troops. The British were forced to withdraw from the im- portant city of Moyale in Kenya, leaving much valuable military equipment to us. Since this episode, the British Ken-ya army has been reinforced, and is now in a position to take the offensive against the Italians in East Africa. . LITERARY Seven , said the ancient sage, is a magic number. Probably very few of you high school stu- dents feel that any magic is attach- ed to room seven, the library and English room, and yet, here is the entrance to a wonderful world, a world of romance and beauty, of heroism and adventure, of 'history and science, of fairy tale and le- gend. And he who would wander along its enchanting paths needs no gold, for the gateways are books, and the keys ?-the desire to read. Many of you, however, have not learned to appreciate the delights of the book world. O student read- er! is your key dull? Then bring it to your librarian, and together let us polish it until its brightness adds keen pleasure to your life. Early last fall, when Dorothy Thompson introduced the Let's Face the Facts series of radio talks, Canadians were thrilled by the oratory of this well-known American writer. On Christmas Day, the perfect English of our beloved king delighted us, and every now and again, a Winston Churchill or a President Roosevelt holds us spellbound through the power of his words. We may not all be orators, but it is becoming more and more essential in the business and professional world to be able to express oneself clearly and forcibly. Realizing this, the educational authorities have increased the amount of time devoted to English study. Are you taking advantage of the opportunity, boys and girls, to become masters of written and oral language? Your smart cloth- ing, ideal manners, perfect typing, ability in Latin and French, scien- tific or even domestic skill will be rendered less effective if thy speech bewrayeth thee . 1 --KATHARINE B. MACVICAR ll..l Across the Alps With Hannibal Dear Editor, It was very unwise of Stanley Beisel to bring his diary to school because he might have known that someone would get hold of it and that's just what happened. Nobody noticed that, one day, Stanley became terribly bored with the hum of vocabulary being said in a monotone, but this is what We found in the diary January 13, 1941. This was a very exceptional day in my school life. There I sat be- tween serene sleep which had come over me, due to the skating 'party the night before, and the slow, stately, ponderous gerundive Ele- phantorum traiciendorumn which withdrew the last spark of con- sciousness from me. When my brain started to mani- pulate once more, I found myself upon the back of the leading ele- phant which now stood before the bank of the Rhone. There, with a

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THE ORACLE 17 take a second glance at all those new houses and streets built around it. , Strolling north, I stop at Ernst Street corner, and who should I see but L. Robertson Klinck, E. of S., the manufacturing magnate, step out of his Kuldesac Emperor . It is really too bad I can't speak to him, for he was an old pal of mine. Candi boy, what we didn't get into ll As I pass the park, I notice a group of small children playing on the ancient cannon. Pray, little fellow with the brush-cut, what is your name ? David, sir, David Rowland Jr. My papa is a Colonel in the Army, he replies. , And my name is Mildred, cries a little girl with a toy gun. Walking farther down the street, I notice the difference the town affords. A large, modern theatre shoulders its way between A. Ru- dow's Tinsmith Shop and the Li- brary. In the post-office, behind the wicket, is Mr. Ross Weichel giving Policeman Oscar Z. Schedewitz his mail. And, there before my eyes, stands my dear old acquaintance, Bruce De Vitte Ruppel. Why, hello, old friend, he cries, How is everything going ? Oh, so-so, Bruce. By the way, what are you doing for a living ? Oh, I'm running the store, and Leonard: is helping me. Sort of a partnership, eh ? Well, not exactly. He takes care of the business end, I look after the .girl-clerks. Ha, ha, you know. Sure, I. understand perfectly. But now, tell me about some of the gang. Okay, I'll just tell about any of them here anydrthere. First of all, 1 Stanley Beisel is a professional boxer, and Marie is his manager. The former Betty Y. is living out by the creamery and June Weichel is in the States, most likely in Hol- lywood. She made her first picture recently. Eleanor Arnold married -well, you know whom she would marry. Really I'm sorry, I must get to the store. Business, you know. Bless me, that looks like Wayne Pettie walking down the street. He must be in the air force, judging by his appearance. That little fellow riding on his shoulder is sure hand- some-black hair, flashing dark eyes, and a countenance covered with smiles. Well, well, how are you, Earl ? Howdy, brother, don't stop me now. In a big hurry. Say, do you know what I didn today? I was down by the railroad bridge, when I saw a weak girder. As the train was coming, there was naught to do but to hold up the bridge by the girder and let the train pass safely o'er. Well, got to be going-big hurry, you know. Must see the chief about my permit. Same old Earl, same old Brox. Hello, this must be a beauty Shoppe. On the door it says, Monsieur Pettie, H.D. I guess old Junior is in his glory. My, look at all the femininity in that shop! That looks like Ja-mes Alfred Vice hurrying down the street in the derby. I suppose he is operating the foundry now. Heavens above, what in the world is that unearthly racket? What-well, starch my suspenders, but it's an old black and yellow Ford tearing down the street! Who could be in it? It must, be-well, I'll let you guess. -NORMAN HATHAWAY