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

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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. ..

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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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VOX FLUMINIS Page Twenty A DREAM Would you like me to tell you about a beautiful dream I had last night? Very well, I will. I went to bed last night, feeling very cold. Outside my window the snow was fiurrying and blowing across the yard, and coming up in little banks around the window. I could hear the cold. cutting wind, shrieking around the corner of the house. This is a terrible nightf' I said to 1ny bed post. I like winter, but-these blizzardsl-! Shivering, I un- dressed quickly, or, as some people who watched me said, dressed, for I had on my bed socks. kimona, a big blanket over all that, a hot water bottle in one hand and extra covers in the other. Gnce settled in bed, with only a little strand of hair sticking out from under the covers QI must have my fresh airl I was soon asleep. In a few moments it seemed, I was walking along the wintry streets, hugging myself to keep warm, when I heard a man say, Yes, spring is just around the corner, and I determined to find which corner spring was concealed behind. I-Iurrying up to the first corner I saw, I peeked around it, but to my disappointment, spring was not there, but only icicles and snow banks. Ah! there was another corner ahead. Maybe spring would be there! Again I peeked around and was greeted this time by a little ray of sunshine. This doesn't look half bad, I thought. I guess I will explore this street and search for spring. The sun was glaring now, and melting the icicles that were hanging from the eaves. The snow seemed to be getting softer and wetter and soon I was walking in little puddles of water. After I had walked quite a distance, I became tired, and seeing a nice, big, old tree near by, I leaned up against it. Then from above, I heard a soft popping noise, as if something was breaking, and, looking up, I saw little buds on the trees, just breaking open into little leaves and fiowers. As I loved the trees, I wanted to find more, and see them put on their new green dresses. Just the thing, I said aloud, I'll go to the country. In less than a minute, I found myself in the middle of a large field on which nearly all the snow was melted and running down in little rivers to a lake. Then this would run down further to another lake. I followed one little stream as it trickled over the little pieces of ice that had been hidden from the sun, and watched it grow larger and clearer. I don't know how long I followed that little river, but soon I heard a big roaring, booming sound, and looking around, I saw a big river, rushing toward the sea, with fiat blocks of ice fioating on it, and crashing against one another, and there was my little river, which I had followed and watched so eagerly, slipping into the big river. Then I next found myself in a wood, and I could hear plenty of little popping noises that the tree buds were making, and soon all above my head was a vast do-me of bright green. And there was another noise too, a soft chirrup which seemed to be far away but was coming closer, and soon, in front of me was a dear little robin, cheeping shyly at me at first, as I approached, and cocking his little head at me, as if to say, Don't look so surprised! Don't you 'know its spring ? Then he shook his little wings and was gone. Under a shrub, I found a strange kind of animal-no, it was not strange, but there was something different about it.