Lowe High School - Towers Yearbook (Windsor, Ontario Canada)

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20 The Windsor-Walkerville Technical School Year Book led them to this flimsy protection he came in for a lot of chaff from his fellow workmen. But my most distinct remem¬ brance ot the war was of one dark night when we were in real fear for our lives because a zeppelin, which was making towards Lon¬ don, was reported to be right over¬ head. Our guns could do nothing because the Zeppelin was too high up. It was letting fall several bombs on the off chance that they might do some real damage, as there were no lights and they could see nothing. We were looking out of the window when suddenly we heard the scream of a falling shell. It fell in a garden right across the street from us, but luckily failed to explode. Then we heard the noise of aeroplanes but could not see what had happened because it was so dark. But then, before our eyes, a flash of flame showed in the sky, and like a pillar of fire, the burning Zeppelin crashed to earth. It appeared that two Eng¬ lish aeroplanes had climbed up above the Zeppelin and fired some incendiary bullets, which had the effect of making the Zeppelin burst into flame directly they touched it. Everyone rushed into the street, and we all gave a mighty cheer when we perceived the enemy hurling earthward in a mass of flame. -o—- A NORTH-WESTERN CANAD¬ IAN WINTER One morning in late November 1 awoke to see my room almost in darkness, dreary and cold. I pull¬ ed up my shade and looked out o ' ' ithe window. To my great sur¬ prise I saw that all the world which surrounded me, was one great big blanket of soft and fluffv white snow. It was beautiful. It made me feel almost like a little bunny in his home under the fallen poplar tree, which was just around the corner of the house. I thought of all the fun that we could have now that our long wished for win¬ ter had come. First of all. we would have the fun of cleaning the snow away from around the house, and best oi all. making a little skating rink in the garden for the kiddies. And will they not just adore the little slide we ll make them, or the won¬ derful little Eskimo fashion snow house ? Work before play is our North Western Motto. So we took our shovels and brooms, and walked away to the half mile limit and cleared the rink there. But what fun! Why even the little ones en¬ joyed it, because while we shovel¬ ed and swept we had our skates on. This made it possible for us to do two things at once. We attached to ourselves a pair of sleighs and gave the little ones all the rides they could stand during one day. In the afternoons of most days we would go skating. Friday was our special skating and toboggan¬ ing day. Snow-shoeing was regu¬ lar every Saturday evening. Father and all the grownups around our place would join in. We had the grandest time, while on these part¬ ies. At first just as we entered the hills and forest, we would see just the tiniest trace of a bobbing tail of a rabbit disappearing with his ears up and frightened as though the world were falling on him. A sleeping partridge in the evergreens was quite frequently seen. And on one occasion we were all nearly frightened to death by a hooting owl. When we returned home, although we were a bit tired and a little cold, we were none the worse for the walk, for weren’t we all rosy, smiling and laughing? Why. we were the happiest crowd of people you could ever see. Another of our wonderful sports was cutting down trees in the

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The Windsor-Walkerville Technical School Year Book 19 bank and went to the family law¬ yer. She confided to him her plan,, and although he strongly ad¬ vised her against it, she remained firm. At length, he promised to invest her five hundred in the Sec¬ urity Limited, which was at that time selling at a very low figure. A few days later, Betty’s father told her that he had lost all his money in Wildcat Specials and was very near ruin. He expressed a wish that he had purchased Sec¬ urity Limited, for then he would have been very rich. She then had the pleasure of giving him her shares in Security Limited which she had been keeping hidden for this occasion. Together they told the rest of the family, and Betty was heartily praised although she gave all the credit to her hunch. Today, if you are a visitor to Mr. Watson’s house, and wish to start a discussion, you have only to ask any of them if dreams come true, or if they believe in hunches, for Mr. Watson has at last seen the error of his way and no longer gambles in stocks. EVELYN MASRDEN—C3B. -o- WHEN THE LIGHTS WERE LOW LOW Prize Essay, Hilda Haisman. — C3A The Great War was grim and an event of honor and terrible tragedy, but there were many humorous incidents to make life bearable. During the war we lived in the south of England, just 30 miles from London, and we were in much danger of the German air raids, which generally occurred every moonlit night, We always knew when there was going to be an air raid because all the lights were dimmed, and then we would wait and anxiously wonder what the outcome would be. First we would hear our own guns in the distance as the enemy machines came with¬ in their range. This dull boom¬ ing would become louder and louder like the approach of a mighty storm. Then we would hear the droning of the enemy planes followed by dull vibrat¬ ing thuds as they hurled forth their weapons of death and de¬ struction. By this time the planes were getting quite near and then pandemonium broke loose. All the guns which were stationed in our immediate vicinity came into act¬ ion, and with mighty roars, sent their red hot shells into the sky. By this time,. everyone who was abroad had hurriedly taken cover to avoid being hit by the frag¬ ments of bursting shells. Now and again a shrill whistling sound could be heard followed by a hiss¬ ing thud as an unexploded shell fell from the sky and buried it¬ self in the earth. One night, while my uncle was working in the Chatham Naval dockyard, the lights suddenly went out. Of course this was the signal to let the workmen know that Ger¬ man planes were approaching. My Uncle and his pals imme¬ diately groped round in the dark¬ ness to find a place of safety, and crawled under what by its dark outline, appeared to be a steel arm¬ our-plated turret. These gun tur¬ rets are used to cover the big guns on the battle-ships. Inside this structure it was pitch dark, and the men felt absolutely secure. They sat joking, and having a quiet smoke. “Well, Jim,” remark¬ ed one of the men, “I’m glad we’re not out in that racket. This is as safe as the Bank of England.” After the Germans had come and gone and the lights had come on again they crawled out from their retreat. To their surprise they found that they had been cowering under a large black can¬ vas awning, which would have hardly protected them from the fall of a common ordinary brick. As my Uncle was the one who had

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The Windsor-Walkerville Technical School Year Book 21 +■ • woods. We would saw and saw, and saw, and have the most wonderful time. Hauling the wood home with the aid of one horse, knee deep in snow, was rather hard on us. Yes, we were girls. Of course we had to be dressed in breeches and wore three sweaters, two pairs of wool¬ len gloves, two woollen toques, a scarf, three pairs of woollen stock¬ ings and one pair of moccasins. This completed our costume. A frozen toe or tip of an ear was no¬ thing extraordinary since the tem¬ perature was thirty degrees below zero, sometimes forty or fifty. Now don’t you just adore that kind of sport? And it all happened in Manitoba, not so very far away. CASSIE LANCUCKI. -o- CHRISTMAS When I was a little girl, mother and father used to tell me stories that they had read. 1 remember very clearly the stories of how Christmas was held in foreign countries. The Italians celebrate with a dinner on Christmas eve. The whole family attend church at midnight, the children reciting poems before the image of Christ in a manger. In central Italy, they carry a large log of pine or fir into the house. The children are blindfolded and the log placed before them. The children tap the log with a stick and ask for gifts, which are re¬ vealed when the blindfold is remov¬ ed. On Christmas Day, cakes of all sizes are exchanged in place of Christmas cards. In Sweden, Christmas is celebra¬ ted with much sentiment. Months before the festival, invitations are issued to friends and preparations are made for the great day. On Christmas eve, the dinner is serv¬ ed in the kitchen in order that both family and servants may join in the good will and cheer. The tab¬ les are loaded with good things and even the farm animals receive a little of everything which the fam¬ ily has had. In Poland, a bundle of hay or straw representing the manger is used to decorate the homes. The family supper is the first celebrat¬ ion. The mistress of the house passes to each a wafer, and each person takes a bit of the other’s wafers, and greetings are exchan¬ ged. A supper of mushrooms, many kinds of fish, puddings and cake follows. Every person is expected to take a part of everything. After supper, the family gathers around the Christmas tree adorned with toys and lighted with candles, and they all sing carols. In the even¬ ing, the children go from house to house to sing songs. They are al¬ ways invited to enter and are of¬ fered good things to eat. In Serbia, they start celebrating when the sun sets on Christmas eve. It is believed that departed spirits wander forth on this night. To guide them in their walks tap¬ ers are lit and set in windows and doors of the houses. Inside the houses, the log ceremony is held. The log is cut up, and the largest one is put in the fireplace. Some¬ times a log sapling is cut for each member of the family. As the log burns, the mother with a sheaf of wheat in her hands and followed by her children, goes about the house, sprinkling the grain to re¬ present a year of plenty. CHRISSIE SMART—C2D. -o- SANITARIUM STAMPS Have you ever gone to the Sanit- orium at Sandwich? No! Then I shall describe it to you as regist¬ ered in my memory. Upon arriving there, we were much impressed by the long, low building that confronted us. It is in the shape of the letter “u” and is like a beautiful large cottage.