Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

Page 10 text:

8 SAMARA At last, after an hour and a half ' s wait, we had our first glimpse of the procession — two policemen on motorcycles. Then a police car — then the dragoons, and next would come the Royal Carriage. The sus- pense was terrible. All of a sudden there they were bowing to cheering guides and scouts. It was almost too good to be true. As they drew closer and I could see them more plainly, I had the funniest feeling inside me. Just to think that after all our waiting they had come. The Queen looked simply beautiful. She was dressed in a lilac shade with all accessories to match. Over her dress was a light brown fur cape. She had a little flowery hat with a veil hang- ing from it which made her look even more beautiful. The King had on the uniform of a Field Marshal, and he looked very handsome indeed. The Queen ' s jet black hair showed up her beautiful white skin. Over their Majesties ' knees was a black and white rug, and beside the Queen was a lovely bouquet of flowers which were presented to her on her arrival. We could no longer see them now as the carriage had gone under the arch at the entrance to Rideau Hall, but they left an unforgettable picture in my mind of two very charming people. The Queen looked as though she had stepped out of a Fairy Book. No camera can portray her real beauty. For the first time I reaUzed how proud I was to be a British subject with such gracious Sovereigns for my King and Queen. — Mary Wurtele, . Fry House WHAT A WEEK-END! WHAT a week-end! Flags flying, bugles blowing, bands playing and troops marching in their colorful uniforms, and Elmwood well to the fore!! Canada is more than honoured this year at having the King and Queen of the British Empire in our country. Their Majesties stayed with us here in Ottawa for three days. Thousands of men, women and children flocked in the streets where they would pass, all seething with excitement and joy at seeing their King and Queen. Parliament Hill was a magnificent sight at the Trooping of the Color, and all Canada was deeply impressed when King George unveiled the National War Memorial. The three days in which they were in Ottawa literally flew by, and when Their Majesties departed from here, we all felt how sad it was to see them go, and could only wish them as much happiness on their journey through this country as they had given to us. — Gloria Vaughan A BOARDER ' S LETTER HOME Sunday, May 21st, 1939. Dear Mother, Honestly, I don ' t know where to begin! What a weekend! I guess I ' ll begin with Friday. After seeing her Majesty ' s arrival, we dashed home for dinner and dashed back again to see them leave for Parliament. Just as the Queen was opposite me she turned and waved and smiled. I was standing in the front row so there was no one to smile at — what I mean is she naturally looked at the people in the front row and there I was! She looked straight at me. Next morning [Saturday] we got up at some unearthly hour and went in taxis to the Parliament Buildings. We had the Senate ' s Smoking Room for the Trooping of the Colour. .... Then we headed for home. We bought some balloons [I am enclosing one for Timmy] and blew them up in the street-car. We were the only ones on the car and the conductor was a dear. He stopped it and rummaged for some string, then we all marched up to School in a line with balloons trailing after us. We grabbed lunch and then the Blacks came. I went out with them We went to the Chateau and wandered through to the station, had a look and wandered back. We found out what door the King and Queen were arriving at [it was the ballroom] and then went and stood as close as we could. We got there at 6.30 and stood till 8.00 p.m. Then they came. Again we were right in the front row and as close as possible and saw everything. We saw Mackenzie King shaking hands with them and everything. We had heard that the Queen was going to appear on the balcony at 5 to 8 before dinner, so we dashed towards the front. We got to the

Page 9 text:

SAMARA 7 The Visit of Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Ottawa THE trepidation natural to literary amateurs who attempt expositions on situations of national importance is momentarily dis- pelled by the vast feeling of enthusiasm and emotional expansion unanimous amongst British subjects, possibly more than ever before. Never, certainly in the memory of the younger generation, has national and international interest been so focussed upon one central point. The visit of their Majesties, our King and Queen, has served to bind us more closely to themselves as individuals; for, excellent as is the service of our newspapers and movies, their great and indescribable charm cannot be translated by any medium. And their presence has done more than this — for the first time in several years, war and disaster have ceased to dominate our front pages. Dictatorship and rearmament have been dismissed from our conversation. Dur- ing the transcontinental tour, troops are much in evidence, but only as symbols of law, order and our homage to the Mother- land. It is significant that, not only throughout Canada, but from coast to coast in the United States, people of all types and ranks have sunk their differences and their very individuality, to unite in a continent ' s spontaneous acclaim. Sincere and heartfelt, a great roar goes up from America: God Save the King and Queen! — G. Z. E. GLIMPSES DURING THE ROYAL VISIT CHATEAU LOBBY . . . people in evening dress, hurrying through the building at 2.30 p.m. ... A flash of colour as a Mountie goes on his way. . . . Men and women trying to get into the hotel and others trying to get out. Both parties trying without much success. . . . Whispers flying through the air at intervals. . . . Will they come through the lobby to-night? . . . . No. . . . later. Did they go through? . . . . Yes, and I left this place to go out- side! .... An elevator-boy bursting with pride because he took the King and Queen up. . . . Women carried in fainting from the street. Outside ... a wistful-eyed dog running from one person to another. . . . Bands play- ing .... sunlight beating down .... binocu- lars focussed on the R. C. A. F. men lining the route. . . . My, aren ' t they good looking! .... People massed all around the station and down Elgin Street. Thousands of them. .... At the unveiling, necks craning towards a speck of white moving amongst the crowd .... and from it cheer upon cheer is com- ing People standing in the rain watch- ing the fireworks .... pushing past the barriers of bayonets. . . . good-humoured and laughing . . . and all across Canada they cheer themselves hoarse. — W. Cross Keller THE ARRIVAL OF OUR KING AND QUEEN ON the morning of May 19th, we were hurrying excitedly to get our first glimpse of our King and Queen. As we walked down the street we saw that every house had some kind of banner or Union Jack. The Airforce looked very smart in their blue-grey uniforms, guarding the front gates to Rideau Hall, while the Mounted Police guarded the others. At Rideau Hall, people were waiting to be presented to the King and Queen. We saw some of the rooms where their Majesties were going to entertain. They were decorated beautifully with flowers, so that when you entered the room you almost felt as though you were walking in a garden. From an upstairs window we could see guides and scouts marching to their places on both sides of the avenue leading up to Rideau Hall. The view was lovely from here. Away off in the background were the hazy Gatineau Hills and the river. The trees were budding, the birds were singing and though it had been raining earlier in the morning, the sun was struggling to shine as though it too, wanted to see the King and Queen.

Page 11 text:

SAMARA 9 edge of the sidewalk to where the taxis are and they would not let us go any further. Of course, there were dozens of people there already. However, we broke the line and made a dash. We got in the middle of the sidewalk on the other side of the taxis and could get no further. We were in the middle of the crowd and we met one of the mistresses with two other girls, so we all started cheering. Mother, I have never had so much fun in all my life. Here we were in the middle of the biggest crowd I have ever seen, yelling We want the King! and ' ' We want the Queen at the top of our lungs. We also sang Tor they are jolly good fellows , It ' s a long Way to Tipperary , and There ' s a long, long trail awinding , and we shouted hooray and yelled for the King and Queen. This went on till about 10.30 p.m. The King and Queen were out at last but a platform had been built so that they could just come out directly in front. As a result all we saw was their hands waving, but some of the other girls had the most wonderful view. We decided we had better head for school then, but all the traffic was stopped so we stayed awhile and watched the fireworks. We got to bed late and as I had the huge balloon blown up underneath my bed I expected to be wakened any time during the night with it bursting. However, it didn ' t. We had to get up at some unearthly hour again this morning and we had the beauty parlour at the Chateau looking over towards the Monument. We saw the King and Queen drive up in the car [with the top down] and we heard the King speak. We had programs and we saw a lot. After it was all over we waited for the King and Queen to drive away, but do you know what they did? They walked all around the Monument and then gaily started walking down the road amongst the crowd, paying no attention to the car that was waiting, and talking to all the people. We could not see them very well but the Queen wore white which was wonderful because she stood out against everyone else and you could always see this white spot moving about. After they had walked for quite a piece their car drove up, they got in and did not sit down — they stood and the car drove very, very slowly. Then they sat down and the car went faster, but Oh Mother, it was just wonderful. We then walked through to the station, got our taxis and came home. The minute we got in we asked Miss Estrup to ' phone Mrs. Buck and beg her to let us go down to Government House and see them off at 2. She said we could. It was then 1 o ' clock, dinner was not ready and there would be thousands of people. We started dinner at 5 past one and we were through at a quarter past and were down at Rideau Hall at 25 past. We had to walk all the way. We got marvellous places. Right in the front row on Sussex Street, just a little piece from the corner. It was better than standing around by the gate because we were closer. I had my camera and I think I took a good picture. However, that remains to be seen. Mother, I saw them both just marvellously. The sun came out and we were right beside them and Oh — well, no-one could see them any better. I took the picture, took a good look at them and then ran all the way down to the Bridges beside the Car. I didn ' t look where I ran — I just ran! Mother, did you see them very well? On Frida y when the Queen smiled at me I almost died. She was just gorgeous. And on Saturday night in a glorious white dress with sparkly stuff all over and a short fur cape — and he — well he is more like his pictures than she is. And Oh yes, I had been so disappointed because every time I had seen him he had looked so grave and serious, but this afternoon he was smiling. But I ' ll never get over how beautiful she looked in her wonderful diamond tiara and white dress, with full, full skirt and sparkles on it, and everything, as she stepped out of the car at the ballroom of the Chateau and turned to smile at the press man in the road taking a picture. Hope this letter doesn ' t bore you, but I had to tell you everything we did. Best of love, Susan.