North Bay Teachers College - Polaris Yearbook (North Bay, Ontario Canada)

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NortI1 Bay Teacliers' College 4 i- X TR I tt l n ll nu lu I lu nu ll nu un gl ,sl l ks..-.? +T- fit 55 ,lx ui -S, S - 'TT-1.4 S 1 ln., 2 -gg .ik - 4 44 Y 1 . XY' i i . I wt tnfl gaze xi tx all Lfllltlllkfl hx it hiielx ot th In h:,.- - S --n W- wr H E 4 f Y SIGNA COMES TO NORTHERN ONTARIO 'I large, eurionf, hlue eyes peepecl cautiously over the winclow' Ietlge of the jolting passenger ear fl with rapture at the still, sparkling. northern evening whieh stretched lllVltlllg'ly hefore theni. Siena . 's vawtnew anfl the Curious thoughts of her new honie that she tllllllit hear the warning' e powerful engine or teel the train jerk to a wtantlstill. une along little Mis, Siggna. Your new hlillllil antl I'apa will he waiting for you. Conte along' now. 'I nt he frii4Iitene4I. 1 qefl up into the eonrluetork frienflly faee anil winiletl. Ile would look after her, R - he wonlfl 5l lIt Itltrl tt thatiher new parentx woulfl he kinrl. HacIn't he helyeil her get nettlerl when she first got on the train? II whit he NIIUXYUII her In the flllllllg-CHI' ancl given her an extra stoop of ice ereani on her apple pie? Qu ielqlx Nhe tuekefl her flaxen Ill'ZilfIS unfler her It innet, fawtenecl her eoat, anrl gatherecl up her neat little it-Iset anfl tht- Iiuge lflihle Nana hail given her hefore she left Norway. ' - inleling hlue night. Sigua felt strange anfl afraicl. XYhat woulcl her new parents thinlf Hut in tht tw Ifu thev tonnfl out Nlie eouI1In't wpealt their language? Nana hacl taught her to way thank you hut that was III Muna Ienew. I't-rliailt they wouhl Nenrl her hack. 4 then what would Hhe tlo? learn eanie to her eyes. anrl one rolletl ii ht to the very tip ul her noxe. She waw very inneh worriecl. I.ooI4. Xliwyf 'lihere he Isl 'I'Iu-re he ix f vour new papal Siena felt the exeitenient of her new frienrl anrl tnrnecl her eyes in t 1- 'Iirev ' in up io-t fI n I IIi.t Nh ,Wil T IRWIN 'I I III 'A . P 1 I tion he wax pointing. I'p the 5IlUX'VlltllllIfl platforni mtrorle a giant of a nian. Ilis fur jacket was tiehtl, aronnfl hix glowing' Iaee. anrl great pults oI white vapor trailetl hehintl hini Ironi heneath his nixtaelie. IIiN xniile warniefl the air arountl theni, anfl Siena reahyerl that this was to he her new -N rf-nu-inlu-refI what Nana hail taught her ahont lfanaflians, anrl IIIIIIICKIIQIICIY put out her right hanrl he xtranuer. Inxtearl of Shaking hanrlw with her, he whiwlxecl her into the air, haslcet and all, anfl l qi furry rolu' t'ru7IIy arounfl her. Sigua felt warni anfl happy in the arnis of her new Iapa as she oofIIij.e to her flear Irienfl the eonfluetor, hut what she wantefl niore than anything' else in the worlwl .tx uoofIIn.e In hini in his own language. - tiff, ifonnflefl the eorner of the stiiliull, a frienrlly whinny greeted theni. 'I'here stoorl a horse ancl -' iiileit' 1-ith hell'-' 'Ihe niare arehefl her neela anrl Iookefl haek at the new-eonler with nuiuiaitive I I. ,. . i. wht- -II 'ltIl1'1I her Soft velvet now towarfls the tiny figure, hut Signa junipecl haelc in alarni. eh iota 5, I.-r ruff. I'ali:i egtplainerl how Iiarnilew Queenie was, anrl although Signa eoulrln't unrlerstanrl ' ti' If It -More aufl if-ntnrefl a he-itant pat on the powerlul t'l'L'21Illl'l'IS foreleg. CE E 'CONTINUED ON PAGE 39' nu nu nn--ui ml ml ml ml llll llu lu ml lm ull ml VIII llll llll llll llu ml Ill ll0!0

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Nortlt Bay Teachers' College +I ll ll ll lu ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll ll nl ll u--II ll ll nu u u u u ll In n + THE BOY WHO LEARNED TO YODEL 'lihere was onee :x little Swiss hoy named lfreidel who h:txl heen living in Northern Hntario Iixn' only ont week. lle haxl made friends with llavid who admirexl him heeause l reidx'l eould yxxrlel so loudly :xml elx-arly. l'y'e tried anxl tried to yoxlel like you. eomplaind llayixl one day. 'l just eannot xlo it. XX'ell, said lfreidel. 'almost everX'0l1C in Switz.-rlaml eau yodx-l. llut thx-re was :x tinxx- when l xw-nld ttot. XX'ould you like to he:xr the story ahout ltow 1 learned to yodel? lfagerly, llayid sat tip to listen. lle loved stories and w:xnted very mueh to lxarn how lfrx-ixlxxl hx- eatne such a good yodeller. This was the story he heard. XX'hen he was just seven ye:trs old. l reidel's tiath.-r diexl and he lzaxl to go lu the inouuiains to tytxtle lot' :x cruel old tn:tn. XX'ith the few pennies he earned, lfreidel :xnxl his mother managed to eat onee a day. Une hlaek :xml stormy night ltis master s:tid erossly, 'l reidel. go tip to my rahin in the nionntains and lx-teh my pipe. tio quickly. 'l'he night w:xs very xlark :xnxl gloomy. lfreidel was going to have to stay in the x-:thin all nigh: hy himself. llowever, his father h:xxl taught him to he ohx-xlieixt, :tml t'rightenx'd as he w:xs, he sl2ll'lt'tl on his w:xy. lly the tinte he reached the hut, his elothes were drenched from the r:xin and the lightning tlaslzx-d 1tt'I'ttes the sky. Quickly lfreidel entered tlte dingy eahin. l shall holt the xloor :xml loek the slltlllt't's,.' ltxj thought. XX'lten he lt:xd done this, he crawled into the olxl hed, shut ltis eyes :xml drifted into a trouhled sleep. Suddenly he awoke aml looking up was terrified to see :x lmge olxl giant stamling :xt the littxxt taxi his hx-xl, Hello, lireidx-ll 'l'he giant spoke softly hut lfreidel, not daring to look, hid ltls head umler the hlanket. Do not he afraid. l shall not hurt you. The giant spoke very kinxlly :xml l rx-idel tiinidly pxxkefl out ltls head from under the ragged hlanket. .X long hlue rohe and shaggy white heard eonfronted lireidel :xs he peered through the dimnxness at tlte kindly giant. You are a good hoy, lfreixlel. You have worked harxl yet were heaten hy your eruel inaster. 'Ixll me what you would like more than anything else in the world. Now, lfreixlel haxl never tolxl anyone how he had practised so harxl anxl still eould not yodx-l. St- with- out hesitation he said, l should like to he ahle to yodel. 'l'hen yodel you sliall,' s:tid the giant. Tomorrow morning when you :xw:xken, you shall he :thle to yodel more loudly :ntxl clearly than :uiy other little hoy in Switzerlamlf' XX'ith these words. the giant diss :tppe2xt'ed. L'pon awakening next morning, lireidel womlered if he had heen di'e:nning. 'l'he door w:ts still holtx-xl :xml the shutters locked. Yes, thought he, it must have hx-en :x dream. Outside the sun shone hrightly. The air smelled sweet. .Xs lte m:xde ltlrs w:xy down the narrow path. l rx-idel fx-lt very h:xppy. Suddenly he yodelled loudly aml elearly. ln the distanee :t mountain hx-rdsnian yodelled a t'eply. l7i'eidel yoxlelled again :xml again - happy to he :dive and working. x-yen for his ernel master. llaying' arrived :xt his 1naster's home. he heard :x harsh yoiee. XX'hx-re did you learn to yodel like th:xt? l'reidel told lns story. .Xhl t'XClllllllL'tl his master, l innst go tip to my mountain eahin. l lx-lit my x':xp there. Ito not x-xy peet me home tonight. lfreidel knew th:xt ltis master haxl not left ltis eap :xt the eahin, hut he said nothing. Ile wxtttxlx't't'tl what gilt the giant would hestow' upon the cross old ntan. llt:xt night, :x snow storm raged m tlte hills. l'rx-:del s master had not returned and no one x'onl.l gxt tlrough the deep snow' to look tor him. iliti earn :x little money meanwhile, lfrxtdel yolellexl s'.Xx't'l ntxh-7 dies tor the village people :tnd they gave him :t penny, sometimes two, lor eaeh song. XX'hen tlte snow ntelted :tml the iee thawed, :t group ot' men went up to the old eahin in the ntonntaiips lhey found only a pair ul' hoots whieh had hx-longed to l'iI'x'itlt'l's ernx-I master. lle himsx-lt. was nowheqt- lx- he found. l'x-rhaps. said thx- villagx-t's. the giant punished him tor hx-ating little lfreidel and making hint w tile 1: h:xrxl all d:ty and night. Xt l'tst l t'x'idel x trned enou h money hy yodx-llin to eome lxx nortltern tintario with his dt-:tr tttttiilxi .Xnd so, ltx-re l ant. he s:tid to ltis new tiriend llayid. 'l'h:xt is how I lx'1tl'llx'xl to 5 'lt'l llv' 1 H 'l'h:tt w:ts :t wondx-rtiul story. l i'eidel. lint l know' that the giant would not eontx- away .teios oex-an to give ntx- the gilt ot' yoxlx-lling. lltx you think you eould tx-:teh nie? l'll try, l t'eidx-l replied. .Xnd sol e:tx'h day, littllis heard l rx-idel :tml llayid in the little woods hehind the house pr.xx'tisxng 'X'-x-l ell-:x-dex-Y over and over again. llo you tlnnk llavid tinally learned to yodel: XX ell, it he eontnxned hetllx it Ht't l lm! lllyt' ln' Xt-to then, lm stlI't' he dtxl. DIN-'-H t..'t's.t1.' et H

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North Bay Teachers' College ein n In n nu u u nn an nu un an nn In nu u n nu in -in--u u nu n n u nu u u u u u n e no n u u on gl. AN UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER She hecante a legend of the north. this exiled Russian princess. .X more hizarre person would he har-l to find. She was extremely thoughtful, kind and generous. She was friend and helper to all. Many times did she hring to her hoarding-house people less fortunate than herself. Lountless were the meals she served with no thanks except the grateful smile of those she fed. One person hec'une a frequent si ht at her 9 A hoarding-house. l'le had heen roughly thrown from the train some months hefore, She had taken him under her wing and fed and sheltered hiiu. lt was also a popular hehef that she had gruhstaked him. XX'hen fate smiled more kiitdly upon him, he was one of the few who rememhered her kindness and generosity. .Xs the gold mines were discovered one hy one, the collection of shacks hecaine a settlement and. even' tually, a town. She gave up her hoarding-house hut she did not go into ohscurity. livery man. woman, and child knew her. She never uuite mastered the lfnglish language and hecatise of this she didn't make friends so easily, as the town grew. l said she was hizarre and her appearance proved it. She was small in stature. hut wiry. lfrom my earliest recollection of her she had a deeply wrinkled face. ller eyes were a piercing hlue. 'l'hey shifted hack and forth. Nothing escaped her notice. She wore numerous skirts of varying lengths. materials. and colors,-layer upon layer of them. Ou her feet she wore hoots, many slZt's too large. She shuffled along, never lifting the too-large hoots completely off the sidewalk. ller approach was always heralded hy a meuagerie of whining, harking, growling dogs. Un inspection. and it didn't need to he too close, it was plain to see she had a distaste for soap and water. This was prohahly the main reason for the townspeople forhidding their children to hecome too friendly with her: and for the scurrying which took place to lock doors and draw hlinds when she was in the neighf hourhood. Her approach produced different effects on groups of children. l'lere she coiues. l.el's follow her. f'l.et's tease the dogs. lJon't let her reach you with that stick! Others ran away frightened. XYe lived on the outskirts of town and my mother never quite had the heart to turn her away after her long walk. So annually, and sometimes more often. we had a Visit from her and her dogs. Xk'ltel'et'er she went. they went. My mother read tea-cups, strictly for amusement, hut this old lady sincerely helieved everv woi'd. You tell me what to do with my stocks, she would ask. 'l'ell me ahout my son. 'l'hese were her favourite questions. She was confident that mother Could solve her prohletns hy her reading. Sotttelittles she would try to tell tis of her life. XYe learned that her son was a doctor in the l'nited States. lle was ashamed of her appearance and was afraid she would ruin him socially so he didn't hother with her. ller hushaud had died shortly after their escape from Russia. Because of her hrokeii lznghsh we missed much taht she told us, htit I always felt her life story would make interesting and exciting reading. XYe always re- served a Cllp for her hut that wasn't so easy to do with chairs and such. .Xfter she left we spent a husx half-hour airing out the kitchen and all parts of the house where her dogs had roamed. lfor all the hoiling that that cup took, it was amazing it lasted so long! She was a constant source of mystery to the people. Her home was a shack. She shared her living quarters with her dogs and some cluckeus. .Xt different times it was reported that she kept a cow. 'l'his. of course, was never proven. Xo health or sanitary inspector could get near enough to voice a complaint. She was a law unto herself! Her many visits to the local hanks were the hases for discussions 'uid veeu hets . ller source of income and her amount ot capital provided conversation in the hest of home 1 5. Her loyalty to the throne was unerlualled. Never was there a parade in the community that she didn't leadl livery step of the way she carried a heavy, gold-framed portrait of the King and Queen. She sent manv tokens to the little lrincesses, all of wlnch were graciously acknowledged. ller patriotism carried her a little heyond normal hounds when she employed lahout'ers to construct an an'-raid shelter. Un either side of the shelter she had hung pictures of the King and Queen. lt was a sad day for her when the shelter caved in. News of her illness left mingled feelings in its wake. ller doctor sou from New York flew to her heside hringing with lmn a special mu'se. lle installed her in a suite of rooms in the hest hotel. amid many protestations. lu open rehellion, at her first opportunity, sick as slte was, she marched home to her old -hack in her nightdressl She spent her last days happily, where she had spent the greater part tif her life. 'l'here were no family mourners, hut people, reinemheriug her kindness, caiue from far and near. Nlany were the floi'al trihutes. l hope that somehow she knew ahotit the procession and the trihutcs and found room in her heart to forgive those who had shunned her. She is truly a legend of the north! +ONA CASEN Signo Comes To Northern Ontario 'CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38t llello Siguanl - .Xt the sound of such a tender voice. Signa turned toward the sleigh, and tl.ere --.it the Iltltsl heautiful woman slte had ever seen! ,lust like the fairy princess her Nana had told her ahout: ,lttsf as sltt' had always pictured her own motherl .X longing smile flitslferl over Sigua's face and in qi nionieut slit' was snuggled under the friendly comforting rohes listening to the creak of the runners on the hard snow. .uid the hright ,iiugle of Queeuiels new hells as they rang out across the frosty stillness. .Xs the frist strains ttf a northern lullahy caressed her ears, slit' felt sure that the conductor had made a wise choice and her htart leapt with excitement as sltc whispered 'l'hauk you to her new mother. I-rout tht- station. glie friendly eouduetor watched the sleigh race into the starry night. .ind its he wand. he felt coufulent that a loving and exciting future lay ahead for little Signa of Xorway. -Mrowicwrstwc f-ffxwkists F-XGL ii'