Lord Selkirk School - Maroon and Grey Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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THE MENACE FIRST PRIZE pOR THAT SCHOOL GIRL complexion look, try X Lumpo Soap,” the enthused announcer declares. If the advertising agencies for Lumpo Soap ever con¬ templated that “school girl complexion look”, they might have to make a drastic revision in their advertis¬ ing claims. What girl has not stared deep into the mirror the night before the big prom, only to discover one of “those” things poking out its ugly head? Such was the situation in the life of Eustacia. Her first reaction to this major catastrophe in her social life was to bury the unwanted creature under several layers of pancake make-up. Most unfortunately, after the covering had been applied, she found that she could not open her mouth without cracking her face. Obviously, this method of treatment would have to be abandoned. Frantically, Eustacia began to peruse the magazines for advertisements concerning her drastic condition. During her search, she came upon an outstanding adver¬ tisement which described in a masterpiece of lyrical prose the dreadful occurrences associated with Eustacia’s condition. Your friends would hate to be seen with you. Your social life would end completely, and you might just as well be dead. Fortunately, however, this company put out a cream which would end all your worries and troubles. Besides actually removing all traces of skin blemishes with a miracle ingredient pos¬ sessing “drying qualities”, this cream was also capable of a complete transformation. A studied glance at the Before-and-After picture revealed that this cream had even benefited the girl’s figure. This cream was definitely a “must” for Eustacia. The advertiser had thoughtfully attached a small coupon to the bottom of the page. This coupon would enable you to obtain FREE (upon paying 25c to cover mailing costs) a sample tube of miracle cream. As a further precaution, the cream would be sent to you in a plain wrapper in order to avoid embarrassment. The coupon was cut and in the mail within a matter of seconds. Three months later Eustacia’s sample arrived. She excitedly tore open the large box and searched for the sample. To make up for the absence of his name on the wrapper, the manufacturer had placed his name on half a dozen circulars within the box. At the very bottom of the package, Eustacia discovered the tiny tube of cream. According to the instructions, you had to remove all make-up and then meticulously apply the cream, being careful not to get it in your eyes. After allowing it to remain on your face for an hour, you sponged it off in order to reveal your beautiful new face. The manu¬ facturer had thoughtfully put the cream out in a skin tone. The fact that the skin tone was that of the Ameri¬ can Red Indian did not seem to faze Eustacia’s en¬ thusiasm in any way. Since privacy was obviously highly desirable for this delicate operation, Eustacia drew up an ingenious plan whereby it would be possible to evacuate the house of its occupants for the period of an hour. Upon their departure, she furtively rushed the miracle cream into the bathroom. On her removing the protective cap, the pungent odor of ammonia assailed her nostrils. Only the thought that “a thing of beauty is a joy forever” sustained her. After thoroughly covering her face with cream she discovered that the supply in her sample tube was exhausted. The circular urged the customer to be sure and apply the cream several times before giving up hope. It was immediately apparent that Eustacia would have to go out to obtain some more cream, but by this time the “drying qualities” in the cream had given her face the appearance of a crust of stale bread. She completed her treatment with what little cream she had. Although the circular stated that an hour was sufficient time to make the cure complete, Eustacia decided that if the cream remained on for another hour, it would undoubtedly add that extra “something”. She was halfway through the second hour when she heard Mother coming in at the front. Frantically she bolted the bathroom door, disposed of the equipment, and began to sponge off the cream. It came off easily and quickly and it wasn’t until she was nearing the com¬ pletion of the removal process that she discovered that the cream had also removed her skin with it. She could not possibly let Mother see her like this, but she would have to pass Mother in order to reach her bedroom. Picking up a Kleenex, she held it to her nose in a vain effort to conceal her scarlet face, as she attempted to rush past. At precisely the same moment, Mother looked up to discover what appeared to be a Red Indian descending upon her. Eustacia had anticipated the effect her new beauty would have on the family. The effect on her mother did not exactly live up to her ex¬ pectations. Unhappy explanations followed at the end of which Mother placed Eustacia on a sugarless diet, and instruct¬ ed her that under no condition was she to so much as sip a soda. After suffering this ghastly treatment for several months, the “condition” still showed no signs of retreat¬ ing. Obviously this was no matter for a mere mother to deal with, and a doctor, who was more used to dealing firmly with such situations was called in. Eustacia was then forced to suffer through the use of another kind of soap. None of the treatments seemed to have the desired effect, and with the dogged persistence so characteristic of her, Eustacia gave up. On being left alone, “the condition” immediately cleared up. —Sheila Ostrander, XI-10 23

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3rd Prize—Dusk in ihe Hills by—Joyce Paririck lsi Prize—Christmas Carollers by—Lillian Twerdochlib 11-10 2nd Prize—Solitude by—Elinor Lyne 11-13 ill) 1 lTl 1 ' 1 ,B '

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HOW TO BUDGET A SECOND PRIZE B UDGETS are of national importance. Governments have crumbled because their budgets were not balanced. Our national budget gets great attention at its date of publication. The spending of money by our government is watched by the opposite political parties, and often, in times of elections, the budget b ecomes a major issue. Unfortunately, the matter of budgets is not only a government issue, but individuals must also cope with it. I especially must often face an unbalanced budget, and have therefore worked out a system of spending money, so that in the future I shall not exceed my revenue. My superiors have come to the conclusion that an allowance of two dollars per week is sufficient for a school-boy. Any amount over that quota would lead to such undesirable occupations as playing cards for money, smoking, hanging about soda-bars, and many other “side¬ lines.” Although I have many times assured my bene¬ factors that an additional two dollars would not urge me to enter the “side-lines”, my argument was not con¬ vincing enough to bring about the desired effect. The unsuccessful attempt which I made to increasing my weekly revenue has resulted in a more strict budget. The first thing I did was to list all occupat ions into which my money had disappeared in the past. On my list I had the following: dancing, swimming, movies, billiards, bowling, dating and hunting. As any¬ one can see, such a program could not be carried out SMALL ALLOWABLE with two dollars a week. I therefore decided to do the following: go to the cheapest movies in town, (twenty- five cents) and only once a week. Instead of going to the swimming pool I resolved to have one bath each Mon¬ day. From my mother I received permission to have full sovereignty over the bath-room for two hours, in which time I dissolved a new cake of Health soap, and drowned my sister’s novel “Passion”. Dancing I restricted to school and club dances (thirty-five cents), at which time I could enjoy the company of pretty girls at a fair price (thirty-five cents). Into hunting I put the most money, eighty cents. This rather expensive sport is not always the most enjoyable, but what will one not do to satisfy one’s own desires. This would leave me fifty cents for bowling, ten cents for billiards, and .... as you can see “dating” has no place on my balanced budget. Regardless of my tight budget I sometimes manage to have thirty-five cents at the start of a new week. This I accomplish by sitting on the fence of the Eldorado Drive-In Theatre, or playing a game of “snooker” with, what in professional circles is known as, a “sucker”. Such a person is usually unfamiliar with the game, and you, the professional, lead him to believe that he is good, and has a chance to win, but at a convenient moment you over-power him. As one can see, even a “Small Allowance” can be successfully balanced if a person has self-control and power to see ahead. —Henry Wiebe, XII-18 MY EXPERIENEE THIRD PHIZE I N 1944, on a cold winter night, an alarm was sent all over Poland stating, “Whoever wants to live and not be destroyed by the Russians flee the country as soon as you can.” Having fled Russia in 1942, hoping to find peace in Poland, we realized that we had to flee again in order to save our lives. Fear clutched at our hearts and we tried to stifle back the sobs which were almost choking us. We knew only too well how it would be to walk right into the middle of the war. My mother having all the responsibilities, because my father had been enlisted, tried to be brave and cheer us up. We picked up our suitcases and started on our long unpleasant journey. The horses we had managed to get were of no use to us for they stood stock still without budging an inch no matter what we did. Now as we knew of no other way out but to desert the horses and continue on foot. Planes roared overhead and we threw ourselves flat on the ground so as not to be seen and shot at. Darkness was falling steadily and our weary feet could hardly carry us anymore, when we sighted a house in the distance and made our way toward it begging to be let in; but unfortunately the inhabitants would not be troubled with us. God must have been very near us for if we had been taken in by these people, I would not be in Canada now, for the house was burned down that very night. We realized that unless help came soon we would freeze to death if we were to spend the night outside. As if an answer to our prayers, we were informed that a station was only a lit tle way down the road. Although we were all dead tired we gladly ran towards our only escape. However, the last train going to our destination, was so very crowded that we had to throw away whatever we possessed to be able to board the train. Almost every member of our family was in a different car. Standing on one foot most of the time, and without food or water, we licked the sweat from the window panes only to moisten our dry throats and lips a little. My sister and I being separated from the rest of our family, had nothing to eat or drink for two days. We could only nod to each other, for every movement of the mouth sent an unbearable pain to our black swollen lips and dry throats. My brother being only three and one-half years old was fed by sympathetic soldiers in another part of the train. 24