Stratford Central Secondary School - Collegian Yearbook (Stratford, Ontario Canada)

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COLLEGIAN, 1937. In the tower, immediately above the Mem- orial Chamber, hang fifty-three bells. The largest one weighs twenty-two thousand, four hundred pounds and the smallest, ten pounds. An elevator takes visitors up through the tower and stops at various intervals in the bell chamber, so that the bells can be seen through wide glass doors. Far above the bells, is the clock with its four huge dials. From the clock chamber are exits from which can be seen four beautiful views of the city of Ottawa and the valley of the great river. THE ROBIN By Norman Carnegie, ZA. There is a robin in the tree, I hope of course, you all will see, He sings his merry, merry song, From morn till night, the whole day long. His many little sparkling notes, Give us all our needed hopes, He sings his jolly, little tune, I hope of course we'll all hear soon. The robin lifts his sweet proud face. Down by the river's shady place. He lifts his little head to spy, To see if we are passing by. The bird sits in your flower-bed And waits for you to feed him bread, He takes your cherries, and you object, But he's a friend you must protect. He warns with his quiet call, That he is leaving in the fall, Next year, we'll hea.r his cheery call, From morn till night, from spring to fall. Bob Killer, at desk of Hotel, to visitor: May I ask what that strange thing is you're carrying under your arm ? Visitor: This is a new fire escape. I always carry it so in case of fire I can let myself down from the window. Bob : Oh, I see, but, by the way, our terms for guests with fire escapes are cash, in advance. Coghill: Say what's the idea of wearing my raincoat '? Johnston: You wouldn't want your new suit to get wet, would you? STRATFORD, ONT. OUR CITY-STRATFORD-ON-AVON. By Winnifred Conyard, 4A. The city of Stratford-on-Avon is said to be one of the cleanest in the province of Ontario. It is healthy, too, because the altitude exceeds that of any other in the province, and the water supply, which is obtained from artesian wells, is the best. People notice its beauty, too, by the lovely tree-shaded streets, and the gardens as well as the parks and the river Avon. When the townships were marked off it was found that those of which Stratford is a part met at one point at the centre of the city, which is the Post Office. This is the main reason why, in Stratford, the streets run diag- onally from the Post Office for they form the boundaries of the townships. Some of these main streets have a rather peculiar origing Erie Street is thus named because it runs to- ward Lake Erieg likewise Ontario Street be- cause it runs toward Lake Ontario, and Huron Street because it runs toward Lake Huron. Smaller streets in Stratford have been named after saints, such as St. Andrew and St. Patrick. Over one hundred years ago, in eighteen thirty-two, when the site of this city was marked only by one or two shanties as a half- way mark between Goderich and Guelph, the land was swampy, covered with black ash, soft elm, hemlock and soft maple with a muddy little stream ambling through it. The Canada Company, however, chose this spot as a stop- ping-off place because it was the place where the road and stream met and could be noticed. The name given to it then was Little Thames. The site of Stratford was really determined by a broken wheel which shows that the selection was really due to chance. One day in June the wheel of a wagon belong- ing to a traveller, J. A. McCarthy, was broken at this place and he was forced to stop. He found a couple of shanties and an old foot bridge but he saw that there was a possibility for water power in the small river so he stayed and helped the progress of our city. As Little Thames grew, it was given the name Strat- ford because it was confused with Big Thames -a town a few miles away. The name, Stratford, means a street or a road and a ford which the place certainly was, but one of the men who named it, a Commissioner named Jones in the Canada Co., had in mind the great English dramatist, and so named the place and the river in Shakespeare's hon- our. Thus the first frame building was named Page Twenty-five

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COLLEGIAN, 1937. STRATFORD, ONT. Liiem ry Section THE CANADIAN PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS By Margaret Graf, 2B. Situated on the beautiful Ottawa River, is the city of Ottawa, capital of our Dominion. From a little village of a few settlers, it has grown to be one of the greatest cities in Can- ada, our national city, and the only Royal Court in America. Many buildings, among them, the Parliament buildings, the Museum, the Art galleries, and the Chateau Laurier, add to the natural beauty of the city. From whatever angle Ottawa is approached, the Parliament buildings, and more particularly the Peace Tower, stand out above everything else. They are on Parliament Hill, the highest ground in the city. Built of gray stone, their Gothic architecture, towers, turrets, and point- ed arches give them an air of traditional dig- nity and charm. Going in by the main entrance, at the base of the Peace Tower, the visitor finds himself in a beautiful circular chamber called the Con- federation Hall. From a central pillar, arches branch out to the carved ceiling and are then joined to smaller pillars throughout the hall. This symbolizes the inter-relationships of the Empire: the big pillar representing Great Bri- tain, and the smaller ones, the British domin- ions beyond the seas. From the Confederation Hall, the visitor goes to the Hall of Fame, in which it is in- tended, some day, to place the bronze figures of celebrated men and women in Canadian his- tory. Just as it is at present, it is beautiful with its Gothic arches and columns, and re- minds the visitor of a Cathedral. The Hall of Fame leads into the famous Parliamentary Library, which contains almost a million books. This is the only part of the buildings saved from the great fire in 1916. It is a lofty room, one hundred and fifty feet high, the interior is made of richly carved pine. In the centre, on a high pedestal, is the quaint marble figure of Queen Victoria as a young girl. In addition to these rooms and the Peace Tower, there are the chambers where the laws of the country are made. These are the Com- mons' chamber and the Senate chamber. The Commons is a beautiful room with stone walls and high, arched windows. Because of its Page Twenty- four green carpeting and upholstering, it is known as the Green Chamber, to distinguish it from the Senate which is called the Red Chamber. Above the Speaker's chair, behind five arches, are the visitors' galleries, where the public may listen to the debates of parliament. Along each side of the room, are arranged, according to parties, the desks of the members. Only two women members have ever sat in the House of Commons, these are Miss Agnes Macphail and Mrs. George Black. A long barrel-like corridor leads the way from the Commons to the Senate. As the Senate cor- responds to the British House of Lords, some- thing of the traditional British dignity clings to it. The walls are hung with royal portraits. The richly carved Speaker's chair, under its embroidered canopy, was a. gift from the Eng- lish Parliament. The crown above it was carved from oak in Westminster Hall, and dates back to the time of King William Rufus. Only two women have ever been appointed to the Senate. They are Mrs. Cairine Wilson and Mrs. Fallis. At the end of the Great War, when the buildings were still being rebuilt after the fire, it was decided to make the Peace Tower a memorial to the war dead, and a symbol of the nation's desire for peace. It is three hun- dred feet high and one of the really fine towers of America. As well as being a nation- al shrine, it is a bell-tower and a clock-tower. The Memorial Chamber is guarded by great wrought-iron gates. Inside, it is richly orna- mented with carved stone and stained glass. In the centre, is the altar-stone, mounted on a gold framework with carved figures of knee- ling angels at each corner. In this will be placed the Book of Remembrance which will bear the names of sixty thousand Canadian men who died in the war. There are three stained glass windows set in recesses behind Gothic arches. The walls of these recesses are inscribed in stone with the story of Can- ada's part in the Great War. Opposite the door, is a carved quotation of the poem In Flanders Fields. The ceiling is carved like a fan, and the floor is made of stones from the battle-fields where Canadians fought.

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COLLEGIAN, 1937. the Shakespeare Hotel and Mr. Jones pre- sented the Shakespearean proprietor with an oil painting of Shakespeare to hang outside the hotel. To preserve this Shakespearean connection the seven public schools and wards of our city, and also several streets, have been given Shakespearean names. Our river has been beautified to resemble the Avon in Eng- land and recently a Shakespearean Garden has been opened. When Stratford celebrated its centenary the Mayor and Mayoress of Strat- ford-upon-Avon sent their congratulations to this city, saying that they admired the clever way in which the people had made the best of the equivalent to Shakespeare's soft-flow- ing Avon, which shows how beautiful the Avon is. When people come to this city and hear the names of our public schools they are very amused, but it has been suggested that these great names have had an effect on the minds of our citizens and have produced a greater civic pride. Each ward of this city has a beautiful park and play ground. One of the most outstanding features of Stratford is its parks system. Our park is one of the largest, most beautiful and most extensively patronized in Ontario and tourists turn aside miles to see Stratford parks. Much money was spent in buying land around the river and hiring architects but the Parks sys- tem progressed. It began when the Mayor created a Parks Board in accordance with the Park Act of Ontario. The Board was very en- thusiastic about this plan to beautify the city and set to work at once to make plans, hire land architects and purchase land. Many people were against the plans made by the architects and some thought they were dreams that would never be realized. However the Board carried on with their work and year by year added more complete work to their plans. After the first year of work, trouble arose when the C.P.R. wished to purchase Park land on the north side of the river. The Parks Board was opposed but as no agreement could be made they continued their work on only one part of the park. In the year 1909 the C.P.R. dropped the matter and the Board went on with their work. With the late Mr. McLagan as chairman and Mr. R. T. Orr as secretary, a new concrete dam was built in place of the old wooden one and the work of dredging the river commenced. They wished to widen it out at a certain place so that there would be a con- tinual flow of water over the dam. Owing to the lack of money, the work was delayed for Page Twenty-six STRATFORD, ONT. a year. Later a boat-house was built and road improvements along the river were made. After many hardships concerning land and money, trees were planted along the river and a boat, the Juliet, which is still running was purchased along with several canoes. A drive had also been built along the river. All these men on the Parks Board in earlier years really accomplished something for in not many years, the Avon had been dredged and cleaned, the island cleared and trees, shrubs and flowers planted on it. The river banks were cleaned and drives and walks con- structed. Rock gardens were built and new islands were made by clearing the river and its banks, and these were joined to the main- land by rustic wooden bridges. Along the now beautiful Avon many vistas have been created, and large willows and shrubs hang gracefully over its banks. Rich green lawns stretch to the water's edge. Bathing houses have been built and also a shell bandstand be- side the river. From one side of the river behind the Post Office, Victoria Park, where rock gardens and stepping-stone walks have been built one can see, from park benches, across Lake Victoria to the bathing beach and the bathing house. Then, too, there is the pergola, only recently built, by the cement dam and the bathing beach. Beyond this pergola there are shrubs and flowers and a new beauti- ful swimming pool built by the Lions Club which every one enjoys. Then, if you walk along the river drive towards Queen's Park you will see, beside the river the shell band- stand where the people of Stratford enjoy many delightful concerts. Farther on there is a large tennis court owned bythe Y.W.C.A., a bowling green, casino and an arena. Then you see the lovely island in all its natural beauty with large, snow white swans drifting majestically near its shores. These swans are the envy of all towns and cities for miles around for they do not seem to thrive in other places. Everyone knows this is because the beauty of the Avon is natural and animals and birds want natural, beautiful surroundings, not dull iron cages. These swans were first brought from Battle Creek by Mr. J. C. Garden. It is the hope of the members of the Parks Board that very soon the people of Stratford will see not only swans and wild ducks but beautiful brightly coloured peacocks and pheasants inhabiting our parks. Con- tinuing your walk along the river past lovely flower gardens and green lawns you come to another bathing beach and bathing houseg then the road winds up to Queen's Park. You