Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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showed rare talent in their handling of complicated and embarrassing situations, and their adroitness in verbally outmanoeuvering one another was highly amusing. To perform successfully before an audience is no small feat. To be able to shed one ' s inhibitions and lurch forth in one ' s bare impulses surely is a great asset, but does not necessarily produce the desired result. Something more is required — natural talent, the ability to live the part, unbounded enthusiasm, and a great deal of good, hard work — these are the essentials. While there were few instances of lapses of memory, some faulty articulation, and lack of expression at times, an evident enthusiasm compensated in a large measure for these deficiencies. It is to the credit of all concerned that latent talents and abilities were discovered, and developed, that the efforts required were freely and generously expended, and that a fair degree of success was attained. The value of .such combined effort and training cannot be over-estimated, and the results, we feel, have been very gratifying. Ripley ' s House Notes Ripley ' s House started off the year with a large number of new boys. This made a few adaptions necessary to help the shadows become accustomed to school life. Although our New Boys were not used to such large scale productions, they made an admirable effort in putting on our Rag Concert play, The Mad Plumber of Copeman ' s. Wood will be long remembered for his soul-searing, maniacal laughter as the Mad Plumber. On the sports front, Ripley ' s did not fare too successfuly. However, if our teams lacked a certain amount of weight and skill, they certainly did not lack spirit, and we are just as proud of all our teams for having played their hardest, cheerfully, and very often against heavy odds, as if they had won every game during the year. From the look of some of our Junior and Intermediate athletes, it won ' t be long before Ripley ' s is back again on top of the sports ladder; so take heart, old Ripleyites. Butt, Allan, Putnam and Flint played for the first XV, and these four were later awarded their House Colours for their efforts on the House XV. During the very cold winter, we were able to form quite a good ice hockey team, with Wilkinson (a Calgarian) playing the leading role, dazzling us with his brilliant skating and stick handling. Many of our more musically-minded boys became enthusiastic members of the choir. The reason for their enthusiasm soon became apparent to the rest of us when we heard in Chapel the results of Mr. Galliford ' s wizzardly training. Some excellent results were produced by the boys in the Hobby Shop and down at the Boat House. Harrison (Model Club), Huston (Taxidermy Club), Wilson I (Machine Shop), amongst others, are to be congratulated on their show of initiative in making use of their spare time. Warm praise is also due to Riley, Chadwick, Allan and Young, who, along with Berry of Lake ' s House, were mainly responsible for getting our sailing fleet back in action. About the middle of the Lent Term, we received a kind donation from Page 12 Shawnigan Lake

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Mcintosh. Remove A, being skilled in the ways of this world, chose a silent play to avoid the necessity of learning lines. Elmaleh made a really convincing villian who needed hardly any coaching, and Denman, a lighthouse-keeper ' s daughter, supplied the touch of farce that leavened the whole. The Lower Fifth gave us a most realistic picture of the nightmares they cause their History Master when they make a haphazard and horrible goulash of what they have been taught. We were particularly sorry to miss an Upper Fifth play since, in the past, most of us have enjoyed watching others writhe helplessly under the playful barbs of the author though well we knew it would be our turn next. The Seventh Form put on the best skit of the evening, making the United Nations their target and scoring many clever bull ' s eyes. To conclude, four members of the staff gave us a picture of class-room chaos that brought down the house. The memory of Sweetapple being jabbed from the rear as he tried to tell the master about his rough comrades is one we shall long cherish. The House plays were rather longer than usual but sufficiently diversified to appeal to every taste. Ripley ' s went in for horror, leaning heavily on Wood ' s terrifying, high-pitched shriek, Lake ' s for farce and females, and Groves ' for drama, after transplanting the scene of their play to the home ground. The evening went all too quickly, and as the curtain fell for the last time, many of us sadly reflected that it would be another twelve months before the next Rag Concert. Dramatics The Michaelmas Term saw the revival of dramatics in the School. For the time available considerable progress was made, and we hope that greater numbers will take a more active part in this worthwhile side of their education. The broad and racy flavour reminiscent of acting current in popular farces of the 16th century was ably portrayed by Messrs. Johnson, Putnam, Parke I, Wood, and Pinkerton in the staging of Pierre Patelin. Out of this galaxy of stars Mr. Larsen intimated that he found little difficulty in choosing a not to honest lawyer, a man of profound wisdom and impartial judg- ment, and a shepherd who became such an adept pupil that he outwitted his own tutor. Both cast and audience enjoyed to the fullest the extreme humour of the situations and characters. In contrast to Pierre Patelin was Mr. Duxbury ' s production of The Monkey ' s Paw. The tragedy which befell a small English family as a result of their superstitious belief, formed the theme of the play in which Mr. Hyde-Lay, Gowman, Parke II, Patrick, and Burr found ample opportunity to exercise their talents. Their effective performance drew much applause from audience which seemed to appreciate the difficulties of an amateur production of this type. The presentation of Box and Cox by three members of the staff was greatly enjoyed by the entire school. Mr. Hyd e-Lay, as Mrs. Bouncer, played the part of the mercenary landlady quite admirably. Mr. Duxbury, as Mr. Box, and Mr. Larsen, as Mr. Cox, displayed a degree of proficiency in the art of dice-throwing which had not hitherto been suspected. Mr. Box ' s ingenious method of side- stepping his engagement to Calamity Jane, however, was not so surprising. Both SchoolMagazine Page I 1

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Mr. Ripley. After careful consideration, we decided to buy a rug for the Senior Common Room, but it wasn ' t until early in the Summer Term that we found a good bargain in Duncan. A maroon-coloured rug with a very out- standing design turned out to be exactly what we wanted. At the time of writing, everyone is busy preparing for the Track and Field events, the Tennis Tournament, and the House Cricket Matches. Two of our stalwart cricketers, Butt and Hagstrom, are captains of the First XI and Colts XI respectively. We have been very lucky this year in possessing a very efficient House- master and an ambitious Matron, an unbeatable pair. Thanks to them there has been a high standard of efficiency in the House all through the year. The coveted Efficiency Cup finally came back to Ripley ' s at the end of the Lent Term when Prescott Eaton deservedly won it for his unselfish work for the good of the School. These notes would not be complete without some mention being made of the Ripley ' s Junior Team, a wonderful group of eight boys, all between the ages of 7 and 9 years. Although we have all at one time or another felt like cursing them for their boyish antics, we are nevertheless proud of them and hope they will stick together throughout their school years. What a power- house Ripley ' s ought to be seven or eight years from now if they do. All of us were very pleasantly surprised when Ferris received the honour of being placed on the Efficiency List at the amazing age of eight. Could this be a record? Those of us who are leaving will miss the cheerful friendliness that has prevailed in the House throughout the year. Lake ' s House Notes Athletically speaking, the House has spent the year striking a happy medium in all fields of sport by placing second in almost everything we entered. True, an occasional first was obtained, but this was invariably counteracted by a last. Taking a long term view of it, things could have been worse, but then also they could certainly have been better. We started the year off with twelve new Boys, and picked up four along the way. We welcome them to the House and enfold them to our ample bosom, although by this time of writing, each one of the sixteen must feel like an old lag. However, taken as a body, the sixteen would be a welcome addition to any House, particularly Lake ' s. Gowman and Pearkes have acted as School Prefects, and as such have not had quite so much to do with the House ' s affairs as have Burr, Birch and Tuttle, our House Prefects. They all played on the first XV except Gowman, who would be the first to admit that he prefers pastimes that require more skill and less brawn. Maclnnes, Berry and Cowell also played on the first XV. Pearkes, Birch, Tuttle and Cowell received their Colours and are to be congratulated. The House also had some representatives in the Colts XV, and of these, Clark, McLennan and Thee played well. In the House matches we followed our usual pattern of coming second, beating Ripley ' s House 14-8 in the first round, then losing the Final to Groves ' 14-3. In the Boxing Competition, Cowell, Burr and McKay I boxed well to win their weights, although in spite of their efforts we SchoolMagazine Page 13