Havergal College - Magazine Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Havergal College Magazine Just the ones who are fortunate enough to have a worn-out boot or dull skates are allowed to enter. The others wend their way to Portage, to see busy people going to business. Then back they come and wait patiently — or impatiently, as the case may be — outside Uncle Bob ' s door until the more fortunate ones join them. Inside, he has a counter and stool, with stacks of boots, all sorts, sizes and colours, littered over the place. Everything is on a miniature scale, with the exception of Uncle Bob himself, who is a big, fat, jolly, talkative old Scotchman with a very broad accent. Indeed, his bright, cheerful countenance puts you in a good temper for the rest of the day, even though he never has your boot ready when you call for it ! In fact, Uncle Bob has become quite an institution, and in days to come, when we look back on old times and Havergal memories, our morning calls to the friendly cobbler on Smith Street will not be forgotten. Margaret Thompson. A FRAGMENT. (After Hiawatha ] In the classroom called the Fifth Form, Called the Lower Fifth, Big Schoolroom, Dwelt a class of twenty maidens, Twenty-two in all their number , Twenty-two not always present ; Girls of thirteen up to sixteen, Varied in their age, attainments, Figures, faces, forms and fashions, As the wild flowers on the prairie, As the leaves that fall in autumn. At their head an English teacher, Tall, severe and stern of feature, Very strict and very English ; Giving bad marks for a trifle — Coming late or leaving early — Talking when there should be silence- Silence when it is not golden — Careless work, neglected duties — Dirty blackboards, desks untidy. But for all they were united, 50

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Havergal College Magazine After this we had only two more miles to drive, and soon saw the mission. I was much surprised to see so large a place, as one rather expected to see tents scattered about, and a hut for the missionary. There was, however, a two-storey house for the residence and classrooms, a large stable, a hospital and other buildings, besides large fields for sports. The missionary could not take us through the residence, but we went up to a large room where he kept his Indian things, and he showed us some lovely beadwork. At eleven o ' clock we went to church, and when the bells chimed, in came the boys and girls, two and two, and took their places, some in the choir, some in the band, and the rest formed the con- gregation. They sang in English and used The Book of Common Prayer and Hymns Ancient and Modern. After the service we stayed in church while the band played to us. Their music was written on a board, and they used instruments something like a flute and a drum, and very peculiar music it was. The girls were dressed very queerly. Some had summer dresses and winter hats, and others winter clothes, straw hats and white shoes and stockings. Their style of hair-dressing was funny, too. The smallest girls had their hair done up on the tops of their heads, while the big girls left theirs loose. After church we had dinner, and had to start almost at once for the long drive home. It was an enjoyable visit that I shall never forget, and I hope to go again some time and see over the buildings we omitted to inspect. Adelina Henderson, Lower Fifth Form. UNCLE BOB. The Havergal line may often be seen taking their constitu- tional down Smith Street to Uncle Bob ' s. This is a morning walk, as it is not very far. Uncle Bob is a cobbler, well patronized by our girls, who generally visit him with a badly-damaged boot under one arm and skates under the other. When we say visit, we do not mean that we all go into his shop, for Uncle Bob ' s place of business is very small — some- what resembling a rabbit-hutch, and we would have some difficulty in getting in. 49

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Havergal College Magazine Loyal to their form, their college, Peaceful dwellers with their neighbours. On their left, the Upper Fifth Form, Upper Fifth, Matriculation. Very pleasant were these neighbours, Very pleasing were their voices, Heard both in and out of season, In the passage round the doorway. Very tropical their classroom, Radiators, shut-up windows, Heat abundant, fresh air scanty. Long they lingered after school hours Over desks and round the doorway, Sauntered fondly down the passage, Gossiping at every form room. Smiling, sociable and pleasant Was their Nova Scotian teacher ; Very tenderly she led them Down the crooked paths of fractions, On to Algebra and Euclid, Up to Higher Mathematics, Till they smiled upon their problems As she smiled upon their labours. On their right hand was the Shell Form ; Foes and fighters were these neighbours. They would seize the chairs at prayer-time, Spill the ink, and drop their papers, Borrow books and shift the ink-wells ; Till at last, by numbers greater Grew they than the noble Fifth Form, And by virtue of their numbers They by strategy and cunning Seized the classroom called the Fifth Form, Called the Lower Fifth, Big Schoolroom — Thus they robbed the noble Fifth Form Of their birthright and possession. Will they ever make atonement? Shall the Fifth regain their birthright? Wait and see! said Premier Asquith. Wait and see! the Fifth Form echo. Thus they wait, and in the meantime They have made their new form glorious, With their Chaucer ' s Pilgrim Pictures, With their maps and plant and goldfish ; Thus they triumph o ' er their hardships, Thus they vanquish o ' er the victors. 51