Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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SAMARA 27 However will I find some words that link, And are the proper words to fit the rhyme? But all the words that come to mind in time Are always ones that are not de rigueur, But rather ones that poets would abjure. I therefore wish upon my lucky star That these sad days and nights are very far, Or never, when my task is to compose A poem; for I much prefer the prose. Sheila A ' IacTavish, 6M. A Display of Fireworks The night was dark and silent. There was no breeze and none of the sounds of nature that are common to the ear. The mountain was quiet, much too quiet. In the small village, at the foot of this gigantic mound of rock, the villagers were going about their way, as usual, laughing, sing- ing and fighting, some of them having con- sumed too much liquor. None of them seemed to notice the peculiar silence that had fallen on the mountain, and why should they?— for it was Saturday night and they had all just been paid and their work was over for the week. They were making the best of it, as they always did on Saturday night. Even the little children, who were usually in bed at this time on week days, were running in the streets, laughing and playing with balls and games. Suddenly there was a rumble, like the sound of far-away thunder. The villagers all looked up from what they were doing. Why, it was too lovely an evening for a storm and there were no dark clouds in the evening sky. Many thoughts must have raced through their minds at that mo- ment. Then, as if their minds were all com- bined, everyone ' s eyes rose with a searching glance to the mountain. The dirty, blackish smoke which rose every day was not there any more! A red crimson mass of flame had taken its place. The villagers, all terrified, turned and ran for their homes, but before many of the people reached them another rumble came, another and then another. It was on this third rumble that the hot pit of molten rock blew up. Scalding hot boulders and pieces of rock went hurtling hundreds of feet into the sky. Hot lava was spurting in all directions. The mountain had split in three places and these places formed enormous cracks stretching from base to peak of this fiery pit. The molten lava came flowing through these cracks like water running full speed from a tap, smothering the whole village. An enormous flame had now risen from the steaming pit, fifty times as big as the crimson mass seen before by the villagers. This flame was shooting sparks so high that they were lost into the night. The village that had once been so gay and carefree was now gone— smothere d by a red-hot blanket, almost as if it were sheltered from all the cold and dark of the night, lying still, as it would for years to come. But the old mountain would still be there, cracked as it was, waiting, waiting for another time to ruin and destroy, for the elements of the earth are very unreliable. Caroline Massey, 5A A Queer Name This is a true story of how Canada ' s big, famous copper mine in A-lanitoba was named. The name of the great mining town is Flin- Flon. Today many minerals such as copper, zinc, cadmium, gold and other rare metals are produced there. This story takes place around the time of the first world war. It is about some prospectors who came upon an old trapper ' s cabin. In the cabin, among other things, they found a cheap paper-back novel entitled the ' Sunless City ' . One of the characters in the novel was a man called Flinotin Flonneroy who had discovered a treasure. The prospectors took turns reading the book, and when they had discussed it, they thought it might be a good omen, so they de- cided to search for gold nearby. They were successful, as we know, and the town that grew up where the gold and copper was found was called Flin-Flon, a shortened form of Flinotin Flonneroy. Kit McMeans, 4A.

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26 S A AI A R A defeated nations in tlie two world wars. Some of these were known as mandates under the now defunct League of Nations. Finally, the sixth main body is the secretariat which has a working staff of from 3-4000 persons adminis- tered bv the secretary-general and eight prin- cipal assistants. Most of the secretariat works at the U.N. headquarters in New York but many others are employed at the European headquarters in Geneva, regional commands and information centres of the world. In addition to the six main organs there are twelve lesser branches followed by various commissions. These other bodies are designed to carry out the policies of the six main organs. Some of them that are better known to us are: the World Health Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, the International Bank and the International A4onetary Fund. These organizations bring food, medical sup- plies, machinery, teachers, new methods of agriculture and training to all sorts of under- developed countries. There have been many problems that have plagued the U.N. in the years since its be- ginning. Canada has played a fairly large part in the solving of these problems. She has sent troops to Iraq and Jordan (as part of the U.N. emergency force), Suez and the Congo. The gravest of these problems at the present time are Berlin, Laos and the Congo situation. The person on whom the weight of all these prob- lems falls is the secretary-general. When Triegve Lie was the holder of that office from 1946-53, the post was not as impor- tant as it subsequently became when the late Dag Hammarskjold was in office. When Mr. Hammarskjold was elected to that post in ' 53 he was little known in world politics. But in the eight years since then he has raised its prestige and significance. He himself, smoothed over many explosive disputes between the eastern and western powers. When the U.N. decided to send an emergency force into the Congo last year to preserve law and order, as was requested by the Republic of the Congo, the Soviet bloc demanded his resignation. He said that he would resign only if the other member countries wished it. They didn ' t, and A-Ir. Hammarskjold remained in the post. After that the Russians tried various methods to have him ousted but failed. Their last effort was to introduce the troika to replace the one-man secretariat. This troika would give the leader- ship of the U.N. to a three-man committee. One man would represent the Soviet bloc, another the Western nations, and a third the neutralist countries. As each man would have a separate veto, this would defeat the whole purpose of the U.N. In September of this year, while Mr. Hammarskjold was on his way to Ndola to negotiate the settlement of the Congo crisis, his plane crashed, killing all aboard. When the news of his death was announced on the front pages of the newspapers of the world, nations were stunned by the shock. People wept openly. The man who was the best known symbol of peace was dead. At first the U.N. was in chaos and it was doubtful for a time if the organization would survive without this great man to lead it through its trials and tribulations. It was thought that the U.N. would never again regain its former status. However, now the U.S. and Russia have agreed on a candidate from Burma for the position of secretary-general, and it is slowly getting back on its feet. United Nations Day is both a symbol and a challenge. It symbolizes the partnership of peoples working together for the common good. The U.N. is the world ' s only hope for a lasting peace, and its challenge is to make the partnership so effective that peace and pros- perity shall prevail. Susan Arnold. Otle from a Frustrated Poet Oh! for a muse of thought that I may write This poem that was assigned to me tonight. My weary thoughts have wandered far and wide From morning light to evening shade I think- To find a topic I could view with pride.

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28 SAMARA The Storm It was a few minutes past noon. The water lay still in an uneasy calm. Then, like a child awaiting his first snowfall of the season, it began to grow impatient. Small angry ripples began to form and then rapidly they de- veloped into turbulent waves. The water began to swell and it htoked as if it w ould break loose from the invisible bonds that held it in place. The waves were crowned with white-caps which appeared to be mocking the murky waters with twisted grins. The crashing noise made by the waves was like an orchestra with- out a conductor in which all the instruments were playing as loudly as possible. Suddenly the waters began to tire of their sport and diminished quickly into small sleepy ripples which lapped gently against the shore. Peace had returned and once again the ocean slept. Brigid Martland, 6M. The Longest Day I Can Remember The year is 2050. I have just been sent up by the Royal Canadian Air Force Time Machine Division, so here I am, floating out over the gigantic map of hundrdes of yeai ' s ago and the not too distant past. In 1961 I can see the first struggling efl: ' orts of the Russians and the Americans to try to put one human being on the moon. How silly can you get! The moon ' s only a short distance away from us! Now we have settlements in Mars, Venus, Saturn, and a small colony on the Sun. Oh well, struggling young scientists will be like that! 1920 was really a fabulous time it seems. The Charleston looked like fun, but it must have taken an awful lot of energy to do it for very long. I love the dresses they wore, with all the fringes on them. They were the rage again quite a while ago, I believe, in 1983. 1890 seemed to be a time when children had to be very well disciplined. The high- buttoned shoes and starched white collars really looked smart though. Suddenly my time machine jerked or some- thing and I went back a while longer. I saw some poor man with his head in a wooden contraption. I left before I saw anything, but I can guess what happened. I saw colourful gypsies in their caravans, noisy markets in tiny villages, men ploughing their rich, brown fields, and many other in- teresting things, as I flew over this wide map of history. It was so interesting that I just hated to leave, but when the small purple button next to me banged the chime which signified I must leave, I was not really too sorry to go. I guess I ' m just an old homebody. The day seemed long because I went so far back into history, but if I ' m ever called to do it again, I think I would. Would you? Debbie Duval, 5C. Christmas One thing we can be sure of on Christmas Day is a full-scale battle between the turkey and my father, with odds on the turkey. Father plans the attack first by sharpening his sword. Next he surveys the property and picks the quickest and easiest way through, so he thinks. However, the turkey is a wise bird and keeps himself in good shape— full of sinews. The sword is plunged into the enemy but it recoils from the tough mass it hits. Father strikes again and yet again, but alas, the sword is blunt. It is sharpened to an extremely fine point. After several attacks and retreats— a victory! One drumstick is Hfted carefully from the platter and placed on the plate by a beam- ing head of the family. Judith Carter, 5A. Pride What is pride? According to the dictionary it is in- ordinate self-esteem or a high and overweening opinion of one ' s own qualities, attainments or estate . One man defined it as a pleasure