Riverbend School for Girls - Vox Fluminis Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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V OX FL U M I N I S Page Eighteen the five men whose lives have most influenced the career of the human race. In spite of the fabulous fortune he had created from his great inven- tions, he still remained humble. Edison was born at Milan, Ohio, on February llth, 1847, the son of Samuel Edison, a mechanic. His close observance led him to ask many questions. He listened very solemnly to the answers and then proceeded to investigate matters for himself. His boyhood escapades are still re- counted by the citizens of Milan. Once he was almost smothered beneath a pile of wheat. Another time a playmate aiming an axe at a skate strap, cut the tip of Thomas' finger and at yet another instance, the inquisitive youngster set fire to a barn and for this offence he received a public Whipping. VV hen his family moved to Port Huron, Michigan, Thomas attended school for three months. This constituted all the formal education he ever received. A Young Edison made the cellar his first laboratory and labelled all his chemical bottles poison to keep others from tampering with them. Later, when he had succeeded in obtaining a news concession on the Grand Trunk Railway, he was allowed to have a baggage car compartment for his laboratory. In the same place he set up a printing press and published the VVeekly Herald, sold at three cents a copy, with a circulation of four hundred copies a week. The work fiourished until one day the car lurched and caused a stick of phosphorous to ignite and set fire to the car. The conductor cuffed his ears and threw the youthful inventor off the train. From this cuffing Edison became deaf. From news vending Edison drifted into telegraphy and secured a position as telegraph operator at Port Huron and later in Canada on the Grand Trunk Railway. He was excellently adapted to this capacity. While in this position his mind first began to bear on practical problems. Armies of cockroaches sallied forth as soon as the ops had eaten lunch. How to exterminate these pests? On the wall beside his table, Edison fastened two strips of tinfoil-one strip was connected with the positive pole and the other with the negative. When a cockroach crossed the dead limit it electrocuted itself. He also invented a rat paralyzer. It was in 1868 that he really began his career as an inventor when his first patented invention was an electrical vote recorder. In 1869 he invented and patented the stock ticker. Edison controlled many patents, in fact, about one thousand, five hundred. His greatest achievements number about fifteen, one of which has been mentioned-the vote recorder. The -other fourteen are given briefly as follows: In 1872 Edison completed inventions concerning improvements of the telegraph systemsg in 1895 he discovered Etheric Force, the foundation of radio, 1876 he perfected the telephone by the invention of the carbon transmitterg 1877 he invented the phonograph, in 1879 he invented the incandescent electric lamp and made radical improvements in dynamosg 1882 he invented and installed the first life sized electric railway and com-

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Page Seventeen VOX FLUMINIS YGRK HALL 'SD We held our first meeting on Friday, November the third, at which we elected a committee of representatives-President, Mary Cowang Secre- tary, Marian McCurdyg Sports Captain, Inas Helen George. The leaders of our house are Miss Erith, Miss Mews and Miss Cull. To start things off with a bang, the three houses had a joint party which was followed by the swimming meet at the Y.W.C.A. Cnr house was identified by our shield, made by June Edmison, and by our house yells. The younger members of the house engaged in an indoor track meet. We also competed against the other houses in basketball. Gur team did their best but we lost all our games. Our sports captain won the singles in the badminton tournament and, with Mary Cowan as her partner, the doubles also. Qur name was taken from Fort York, one of the most important forts of the H'udson's Bay Company. It was founded in 1671 by Jean Groselliers. It is situated on the north bank of the Hayes river, three miles inland from Hudson's Bay. It also has been called Fort Bourbon, Nelson and Yorick. During the French and English wars C1682-16975 it changed hands five times. It was finally recaptured by the English in 1714. It then became the principal post of the Hudson's Bay Comp-any. Everyone coming to Canada for the Hudson's Bay Company landed at Fort York, and all the apprentices learned their trade there. Sometimes there were from one thousand to fifteen hundred men at the fort. Then the railroad came and its importance declined. It is now nearly empty, although it was still a post surrounded by a high stockade until 1916, when part of it was torn down for firewood. It occupies six acres. Many buildings are still standing and the guns and fiagstaffs are still there. The colors green and gold were used unofficially. The official colors were the red, white and blue of the British fiag. The Governor's fiag was always white. The motto is Pro Pelle Cutem-A skin for a sking in other words, fair dealing. This information was obtained for us by Lydia Klein. Our chief activity was the holding of a candy sale in aid of the maga- zine at the end of the Easter Term. -Roberta Yates and Ferne Cairns.. THOMAS A. EDISON We may sit at home bathed in colored lights and listen to gifted voices-. and music. Or we may project animated figures on a screen and hear their' voices from a horn. Or a bell rings and on answering it we may hear at voice from another continent. All of these conveniences within arm's reach in the modern home bear the stamp of one man's brain-Thomas Alva Edison. This man ranks with

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Page Nineteen VOX FL UMINIS menced operation of the first station for the distribution of electric light, power and heat in New Yorkg in 1883 he discovered the principle of the radio tube 5 1884 he invented a system of wireless telegraphy to and from moving trains, in 1900 he invented the alkaline storage batteryg 1905 he improved a device relating to the production of Portland cementg 1912 he introduced the talking motion picture which had been foreshadowed by him in 1887 3 in 1923 he spent his time investigating rubber growing and in 1903 patented a process for extracting rubber from goldenrod but it was too expensive for commercial purposes. Thomas Alva Edison died in the early morning of October 18, 1931. in his eighty-fifth year. With his death one of the world's greatest benefac- tors left us. What he had done for humanity cannot be easily calculated. But some idea of what the world would be without his inventions, can be gathered by living for a while without the use of electric lights and telephones. I -Mary Cowan, Grade XI. OWED T0 MUD What is it makes the drivers cuss? What makes the pedestrian stew and fuss? What is it makes an awful muss? Manitoba Mud! What is it that makes us take a walk When we'd much rather play or talk? QRound Armstrong's Point we have to stalk lj Manitoba Mud! When winter's chill has gone away And o'er the grounds we'd like to stray, What is it that spoils all our play? Manitoba Mud! But it is really not our foe For with the sunshine's gentle glow, What is it makes the flowers grow? Manitoba Mud! -Lydia Klein, Grade VIII. ..