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

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U f Xf ff! ' l b 1 It X I ,a. '-I J 5 e f Wg, 1 nit X es fe Wilt 'Sr M Zi rg THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM The Keys of the Kingdom written by Dr. A. J. Cronin is undoubtedly the most important novel of 1941. It takes its title from Christ's words to St. Peter and I will give thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven . The central figure is Francis Chis- holm, a Scotch Catholic priest. It tells of his Tweedside youth, of his education, and how a tragic event urged him to become a priest. He is possessed with the great virtues of endurance, humility and unselfishness. When his idealism makes him a failure in the eyes of his superiors, a bishop who understood him, gives him a vicarate in China where he spends thirty-six years, a thousand miles inland from Tientsin. There he succeeds in establishing a mission where he struggles against civil war, famine, dis- couragements, hatred and plague. How- ever, he creates warm friendships not only with the poor Chinese converts and their children, but with the nuns who come to his mission, a heathen Chinese merchant, an American Protestant mis- sionary, and an atheist doctor, a com- rade of his childhood. The Keys of the Kingdom has the power to stir our feelings to such an ex- tent that it would be justified as a novel on this merit alone. However as we glance through the pages, reading Fa- ther Chisholm's philosophies, we con- sider it a really wonderful book. Here are a few passages well worth remembering: There is one thing most of us forget, Christ taught it, the church teaches it- though you wouldn't think so to hear a great many of us today. No one in good faith can ever be lostg no one- Buddhists, Mohammedans, Taoists, the blackest Cannibals who ever devoured a missionary! If they are sincere accord- ing to their own lights, they will be saved. Another : 'There is no Caesar nowadays-only financiers and statesmen who want diamond mines in Africa and rubber in the slave-driven Congo. Christ preached everlasting love. He preached the brotherhood of man. He did not climb the mountain and shout, Kill, kill, Go forth in hatred and plunge a bayonet into thy brother. -BETTY SCHUMMER MY FRIEND FLICKA A new and very interesting novel about companionship between man and animal is My Friend Flickaw. Written by Mary O'Hara it is modern in every sense o-f the word and has been praised highly by critics. The story c-entres around a family of four who live on a ranch. Ken, the hero, is a dreamy lad with a delicate consti- tution. His stalwart brother, Howard, received a great deal of admiration from his father. Since Howard had a colt,' Ken too wanted one but because of his poor grades at school his father hesitated to grant his son's request. Then Ken's mo- lContinued on Page 771

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THE ORACLE Harry and George, John, Bill and Don, Captured more points as our total soared on. Billis running as usual was really superb, And at least in the relay, we had the last word. Dear students and pupils, we have not forgot The honours to us that Bruce might have brought, His speed that's so brilliant fit comes from a sail,J But he tucked in his shirt. That's the end of that tail. There was Marie and Eleanor and Evelyn B., Who added more points for our victory, They ran, and they jumped, and they took part in throws, In all these events they were up on their toes. In the Girls' Relay we always take pride, A first or a second we're never denied. The Junior and Senior, we won both with great ease, The Inter' we lost, but it was a tight squeeze. We were undecided to this or to that, Some went to the game. Some just chewed the fat. Then off down the road with a grind of a tire, The bus had its nose on the way to Elmira. We picked up two airmen, those poor lads in blue Were all smiles and giggles when their ride was through, Their ears were both ringing, their heads were both splitting, For the terrible noise we never thought quitting. The ride on that bus-no one will forget, They still knew next week where the pins they had met, The ones in the back seat, and some others, too, Were feeling like sieves where the pins, they went through. Mr. Hardyis' hat, rain soaked, and all dripping, drooped, While around its black ribbon a huge feather was looped, As we strolled down the streets of Kitchener fair, One look at that hat made everyone stare. Then off to the show where we lost a few pair- They didn't want us to know they were there- And after the show we went to the Grill, For Harry and George it was quite a thrill. The last treat of all was a trip through the store, The fives and the tens and a little bit more. John and Bev, in a generous mood, Bought gifts that were funny, if just a bid rude. Away on the bus, and as we neared home, The noise was terrific and Mr. K. groaned, The trip was successful, I'm sure you'll agree, And when there are more that's where we'll all be. -B. VICE AND B. SHURLY

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Y Q' 5 it? ll W ft A I l 'l Q 5 Q 9 ' L Q-, , t M' 1- 1:91 --Af! T THE CHRISTMAS DANCE . Christmas had come again and E.H.S. buzzed with plans for the Christmas dance. The decorating committee got into a huddle and came out of it with the lovely idea of tiny Christmas trees, bright and sparkling like the big one. to be placed along the balconies. Of course the traditional large tree was to stand in all its glory at the front of the gym close to where the sweet music of Bob Donnell's orchestra was to origi- nate. Lanterns hung from the balcony, were to tell everyone tl1at this was E.H.S. All in all it promised to be an evening packed with fun for everyone and, speaking from personal opinion and from comments heard after the dance was over, I can tell you, folks, it really was! .- THE HALLOWE'EN DANCE The night of October 30 is a night on which most of us take a trip to fairy- land and many of us find our feet lead- ing us to the High School for the Hallowe'en dance. Last Hallowe'en the gym was dressed in orange, and black streamers hung from the ceiling and on the windows. The stage was a corniield complete with a huge yellow moon and a black witch riding merrily past. Around the room the Dionne Quintup- lets, cowboys, farmerettes, lovely ladies, Supermen, tramps and even a Hawaiian dancer whirled about. The Bugle Band fat least we believe it was our Bugle Bandj marched about for us, and other features of interest were initiation, sign- ing the register fa few people were a bit shocked by thisl and of course lunch. We could go on for hours, folks, about the fun we had but we'll be look- ing for you next year to find out for yourself. THE WEIN ER ROAST Well, folks! No doubt you have heard about our Weiner roast held on Septem- ber the twenty-fourth. We met at the schooland then all proceeded quietly to Hoelscher's Gravel Pit. The cheering crowd was entertained by each form in turn. The Salesmen of Grade X with their marvellous offer of Skunk Blossom Soapi' and Commercial with their No. 777777 Sticky Fly Paper, might, if need demands, get a '4job with the manufacturers of washing ma- chines. Even Grade XII with its Little Miss Muffetn supplied merriment for a surprised crowd. Then came the hot dogs and marsh- mallows too! What delicious morsels! That lunch committee certainly deserves praise. After the completion of the main event-the hot dogs-the hollow echoed and re-echoed with the singing of the National Anthem and the shouting of the school yell. We then drifted homeward in groups of four's, three's, and two's. .11. June Weichel: fhelpfullyl There are still more sandwiches but the coffee is almost exhausted I'm afraid. Lorne Bolger: Yes, it seemed rather weak to me too.