London Normal School - Spectrum Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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NORMAL, SCHOOL HAPPINESS Some seek thee in fame, And some in wealth. And some in bloody warfare. But are you there, will-o ' -the-wisp? Ah, no! You must dwell elsewhere. Fame flatters one ' s self-vanity, And wealth indulges senses, And bloody warfare causes woe, And makes of humans, wretches. You shine out in the baby ' s face, And in the lovely flowers, And in the songs of happy birds, And all of Nature ' s bowers. —Ethel Frame. REMINISCENCE. With sweet elation and contemplation, I often think of those Normal days, The trials and pleasures, now priceless treasures Come back through memory ' s misty haze; Each teaching hour, a special flower, Within my Garden of the Gone. Each day of school a precious jewel Of dew, upon its grassy lawn. Each social function, and dainty luncheon. Each literary afternoon Recalled with longing, come upward thronging, A tremulous, entrancing tune; Then Friendship ' s golden hours, beholden Through the softening veil of years, Arouse a yearning, a sweet heart burning That moves the soul to tender tears. Page Twenty-four LONDON ONTARIO TO OUR STAFF Here ' s to the staff of the L. N. S. The finest in all the land; The masters, who, the whole year thro ' , Have offered a helping hand. They are always ready and willing To aid us in every way; Patient, kind, and courteous, Giving their best each day. Each putting his life in this work, They train us day by day, In methods new, yet ever true, That help us on our way. Then, let us thank our masters, And may this prove the rule; That their standards will ne ' er be lowered In that little country school. —Viola M. Squire. ADIEU, L. N. S. September last, the road seemed hard and long, That rose from where we stood to teacher ' s state. We had but passed the Collegiate gate, With wish to join the pedagogic throng. Then step by step, we neared the mountain ' s crest, Where wells the fount, at which we thought to find Solutions for all problems of mankind; Our goal attained, then would we ever rest. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, For at this fount of wisdom having sipp ' d We shall go out not wholly ill-equipp ' d For struggles hard, which life to us may send. — Estelle ]. Haycock.

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OETSXT PROLOGUE As here you pause a while, dear friend, To read some line, a quip or jest, Give heed to this, our sole request; Scan with no censuring eye, nor bend A critic ' s mind to thoughts unschooled By life, but immaturely young; Let all the chaff be widely flung, To find some kernels we have pooled. Knight Autumn comes with all his brilliant train, To woo sweet Summer in her verdant dress; His subtle smile and golden wizardry, Beguile her fulsome heart in warm caress, Till languidly her drooping head takes rest In sweet content, upon his scarlet breast, And trembling lips in love to him she yields; Then, sprightly dancing elves, sly witnesses, On wings of love take hurried flight to fields, And beg pale gossamer, the milkweed ' s down, To spin the snow-white filmy wedding gjwn. AUTUMN Ah, but thou wert a ruthless traitor, knight! Thy faithless breast, a keen-edged sword concealed, Whose hilt with frosted jewels, sparkled bright And for her sanguine death, thou didst it wield; See! ' neath this oak, their tender trysting place. Great drops of Summer ' s warm life blood they trace; The trembling birches on the hill are pale; From that dread scene the sun hath hid his face; And all throughout the day, the pine trees wail While plumed golden rods stand stark and gray, Since thou, Despoiler, marchedst down the vale. And stole the life of their dear Queen away. — Estelle Haycock-

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Games lubricate the body and the mind. — Franklin. It is exercise alone that supports the spirit and keeps the mind in vigor. — Cicero. IT WAS not long before we boys and girls were acquainted with one another, and in response to this stimulus, our esprit de corps mani- fested itself. The Second Term Athletic Executive consisted of: Robert Moffat, President; Annie Switzer, Vice-President; Grace Slaght, Secretary; and Clarence Cress, Treasurer. GIRLS ' BASKETBALL Cicero said the beginnings of all things are small, and such it was with the girls ' basketball team, but we began at the bottom and worked our way to success, due to the co-operation of the team, the aid of the coach, Mr. McKone, and Mr. Prendergast. We cannot say we obtained honors in every game, but the team did its best throughout the season. Miss Mildred Campbell was unanimously elected as the manager of the girls ' team. She filled her place very well, arranging games and seeing that all members of the team were present at these. We wish to thank Miss Campbell for the interest she took in the team. Inata Babcock was chosen captain of the team. She was an excellent player, having played on the St. Thomas Collegiate Institute team before coming to London Normal School, and filled her place as jumping centre very successfully. She also had the ability of dropping the ball in the basket from any angle on the floor. Marion Prentice was an extremely good player, and scored many points for the team. A bounce and in, was Marion ' s motto and perhaps she found that a successful way when she played on Tillsonburg High School team. The shortest member of the team was Alma Townsend, a very quick and good forward. In her early ' teens she learned to play basketball at Windsor Collegiate Institute, and was later a member of the second school team there. That tall straight guard was Fanny Cook. Yes, she had played basketball before, on the Essex High School team. Her fast, straight pass toward the forward line brought many a score to the team. Jean Fry also came from Windsor Collegiate, where she was a very good guard, and none of her enthusiasm left her when she came to London Normal School. She played the game, never wearying, and always looking on the bright side. Good girl, Slattie! — could always be heard. Grace Slaght had played on Woodstock Collegiate Institute team, and she showed her ability on the Normal team. She was a clean, steady player and a good defence. Flossie Cox, Edith Bunclark and Marion Ellwood were our never- failing substitutes. They could play any position on the floor, either forward or defence, and were always ready to fill in when needed. BOYS ' ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES. Our boys, with Knox, London Life, Northern Life, Western U, and Westervelts organized the Oxford Street Gym. League, with John Allan, President. The first series was a succession of snappy games,