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

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THE MOON The inky blackness of night had already crept over the earth, swallowing it up as it went. All things, even the wind and the animals, were quiet in the stillness of the night. Not a star shone in the sky and, as a result of this, the re was a more gloomy, depressing atmosphere about the air. Then, out of nowhere the moon peeped inquisitively round a cloud, showering its light onto the lonely ground in such a way as to draw everybody ' s attention to its magnificence. Then, little by little, in a rather shy manner it slowly came out of its hiding place, revealing its shiny globe to the inhabitants of the sky. In less than five minutes the dreary half-frightening night had been turned into a field of light. The moon always seemed to bring with it a peculiar warmth that banished all the evils of the night and drew one nearer to its brilliance. David Bellm. 12

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Society in the helicopter age was the theme chosen by the Sixth Form for their play. To escape from relatives and friends the young married couple decided to honeymoon via helicopter. But on receiving prompt visits from the mother-in-law, her friends, the Fuller Brush Man, and sundry others who helicoptered in on them unannounced — and finally by a troupe of Boy Scouts who came jettocoptering through the airways, all hope for peace and quiet was shattered. The groom added the necessary touch of tragedy by suiciding his way out of this mad new world. In The World In Which We Live the Lower Fifth depicted the Masters at work and the boys at play. Some new light was thrown on classroom methods and procedure, and it is rather interesting to note that since the presentation of this skit, the mortality graphs of school masters have shown a decided up-trend and, as a consequence, insurance rates for all pedagogues have sky-rocketed. The Seventh Form provided a good-looking and variegated octette travelling by air-liner. Their several conversations were delivered with polish and aplomb; the air-hostess got these successfully mixed up as she made her rounds, and the result was a devastating hodge-podge nicely salted with topical slander. DRAMATICS Two plays of considerable merit were staged during the Lent Term. On the evening of March 28th, six brave boys appeared before the footlights to present Clemence Dane ' s Shivering Shocks under the able direction of Mr. C. M. D. Eales. A clever bit of detective work by Tuttle, who successfully ad-libbed his way through his part, prevented the discovery of the secret formula . Elmaleh, as the Scientist, and Louis I, as Captain Dallas, played their parts like old stage hands, while Bellm, Bayly and Patrick lived up to the reputation of all good boys, by being often seen but seldom heard. This was followed by Ici On Parle Francais , presented by an able sextette, directed by Mr. Larsen, who played the role of landlord in his usual pleasing style. Experimenting on an appeal to attract tourist trade by pretentions to the French language placed this enterprising gentleman in some hilariously embarrassing situations. Much to his chagrin his venture in the world of business bore little fruit — except the acquisition of a new son-in-law, in the person of one Victor Dubois, admirably played by Mr. Hyde-Lay, whose Je ne sais quoi lent to the whole a distinctly Parisian atmosphere. The demonstration by Burr of how an irate husband can successfully and unrestrainedly blow a fuse will long be remembered. Webster, Pinkerton, Loughary and Clark rounded out the cast in a delightfully refreshing manner. It was a difficult play very effectively performed and skillfully directed. 11

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SAILING AS A SEAMAN I had the opportunity to sail for a few weeks aboard the M. S. Ravnanger , a trim 7,500 ton Norwegian cargo ship. The cabins, arranged for two men each, were all amidships and were all on or above the shelter deck, which is the main deck of a cargo ship. Each cabin was equipped with modern conveniences for the crew. The crew ' s mess- room was on the deck below the shelter deck, where we all ate better than the King of England. On the shelter deck there were five hatches, each hatch descending for three decks, and six pairs of booms and winches with which to unload cargo from the hatches. The ship made routine trips along the West Coast of the United States down to South America and up through the Panama Canal, visit- ing most of the well-known ports. From South America the ship collected mostly coffee beans and to South America the ship took lumber and cars. Each trip took three to three and a half months, varying on the time the ship stayed in each port. The ship ' s speed when loaded was approximately fifteen knots. On the ship the shifts for watching were eight hours off and four hours on. Each member of the crew, of which there were forty-eight all told, took a turn at the wheel. Most of the jobs during the day were either painting or preparing the hatches for more cargo. My posi- tion being the lowest on the ship, I and a few others, twice a week scrubbed decks and cabins to make them spotless and to keep up the reputation of the Scandinavian ships being the cleanest. Many people think that after work is done there is nothing to do but sleep. But on this ship that was not the case. As everyone knows, the Scandinavian people are very musical and on this ship many of the crew had their own musical instruments, and mastered them too. As they all could speak a little English I fared very well, and it thrilled me to hear them sing in English some songs which thev had learned from our hit parade. Eating, sleeping, working, trying to learn a little of their language and trying to teach them a little more English kept me busy and happy every moment of the day. So I conclude that boys who would like to sail for experience during the summer should sail on a Scandinavian ship and meet some of the most sincere men on this earth. John Burr. 13