Tillsonburg District High School - Tatler Yearbook (Tillsonburg, Ontario Canada)

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THAT QUEER MR. GUSTON by Mary Fardella, Commercial Room Well! I never ..... Mrs Dowdy peered anxiously from behind her cur- tained window at the shabby old man making his way up the Petersons' walk. She was breathing quickly as her beady little eyes darted around, not wanting to miss a thing as she watched Mrs Peterson open the door and smilingly invite the old man in. Mrs. Dowdy then reluctantly let the curtain fall back into place, and with a disdainful sniff turned to face her husband who was working on some books. Weill Did you ever see the like of it before, Jonathan? Imagine those Peter- sons inviting that queer, dirty, old Mr. Guston into their home for dinner again! I just don't know what's gotten into their heads. Mr. Dowdy paused in his work and looked up at the tall, gaunt woman who was his wife. She was at least two feet taller than he, and he had always stood a little in awe of her. I don't quite know what you mean, my dear, he said. Do you mean that 'queer' Mr. Guston who owns that little junk shop down town ? Exactly, Jonathan! Mrs. Dowdy ex- claimed. Everyone in town knows he's queer and perhaps even crazy. Why, no one will have anything to do with him except the Petersonsf' Why yes, that's right my love, agreed Mr. Dowdy as he removed his glasses and peered through the window at the Peter- sons' house. Do you mean that he's over there now? I should say he is, sniffed Mrs. Dowdy, and this isn't the first time either. They have him in for dinner every Christmas and Thanksgiving. I know it's because they feel sorry for the old hermit, but on the behalf of the rest of our neighbours I think I will protest to Mrs. Peterson. After all, they should think of their respectable neighbours. And besides, everyone is laughing at them. I don't see how they can stand it or him. My, I've never seen the like of it! Two hours later Mrs. Dowdy was having trouble seeing out of the window, as dusk was falling, but when the Petersons' door opened she could see the old man was carrying a pie with him. It would certainly THE TATLER be a treat for him to have some good food. Everyone knew he always waited till cakes and bread went on sale to buy his, so that it wouldn't cost so much. Humph! An eventless week passed before Mrs. Dowdy heard of the poor, old junk dealer again, and this occurred while she was reading the town paper. There on the front page was a large heading. She gasped and jumped to her feet exclaiming, Jonathan, Jonathan! Come quickly and read this-right here on the front page. The news that startled Mrs. Dowdy had startled the rest of the town as well, for the heading read: Local Junk Dealer Found Dead. Leaves 510,000 Will. Yes, it was true. The poor, queer man whom the whole town had laughed at and pitied had' been found dead in his old shack that morning. Among his few be- longings a will had been found, and in it he had left his ten thousand dollars sav- ings, deposited in a city bank, and about which only he and the bank had known, to Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, his only friends in the whole town. A tone of unbelief crept into Mrs. Dowdy's voice as she peeked curiously at the Petersons' house and said- Well! I never ..... P SUSPENSE by Shirley Setterington, XIB It was a dark, foggy night. Everything was silent except for the howling of a lonely dog. The assailant crept nearer. He waited in the shadows until he was certain that he had not been noticed. Lunging forward, he grabbed his victim by the neck, covered his head with a sack, carried him to the basement, and threw him on the table. Quickly taking advantage of his victim's helplessness he bound him tightly, and moved to the other side of the room. Grasping a long gleaming knife, he slowly walked to where his victim lay squirming in fear. Raising the knife, he hesitated. How could he bring himself to kill one whom he had raised from a baby and treated like a son? But he steeled himself. Again he raised the knife and plunged it deep into the throat. There! It was done! Why did his wife always want chicken on Sunday? 39

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rang and came the fatal message, You've got one. Our heroes climbed out of bed, donned their skunking costumes and got to work. Precariously the trapped victim was trans- ferred to the end of a long pole and taken to a safe distance from the buildings. Then Jack raised his .22 to his staunch shoulder. The skunk looked at him be- seechingly. Jack aimed. His finger moved. Bang !-He missed! Wiping the perspira- tion from his brow he tried once again. He couldn't miss twice at such short range, and neither would the skunk. This time the animal was put out of his misery. fBut not so Jack and Bill.D Next morning the corpse had to be dis- posed of. If not, those curious dogs out there would not receive a welcome at home, nor pupils either! A quick con- ference was held, and it was decided to honour the deceased with cremation. Slowly, sadly, scarcely breathing, the procession proceeded as the body was taken to the boiler room on a shovel. The door of the blazing furnace was opened. Silence reigned, and with bowed heads the executioners performed the final ceremony. Thirty-six hours later the second un- suspecting victim faced our one-man firing squad right on his own doorstep. Later this proved unfortunate, for his home was under the gym in one of the ventilators. He in turn was also cremated. - The bell rang as usual that morning. But slowly his last efforts began to seep, by way of the ventilation system through the whole school. The pupils were loath to leave their posts at the windows, where existed the only breathable air. Both teachers and students were pale. Only the strong survive. Some passed out. None could concentrate. At 9:30 the teachers gave up. As the little angels sat there holding their noses the sweetest message fell upon their little ears. Mr. Kirkwood's head ap- peared at each door in turn and announced, You may go home. Take the rest of the morning off. There was only one thing wrong. He forgot all about the fourth and fifth forms. Even the heroes received no pity. We made the papers too. The Free Press took pictures of le lycee and the surrounding terrain. In the afternoon The Telegram shot Jack and Bill several times -photographically speaking! ' When Mr. Sinclair was informed of 38 r I i A. Gerhordt these goings on he commented, Oh, I don't like that. I don't like the smell of it! But then he lives in the Lab! , A GARDEN RAINBOW fWinner of Honourable Mentionj A rainbow's in our garden plot: Enchanting hues of spring's surprise Beautiful tints I had forgot, A welcome sight to greet the eyes. buds and birds and blossoms gay bursting forth in bright array. crimson splash of robin's breast I For Are The Beside the sombre berry patch, The orange flash of oriole's wing High up, his long pouch nest to thatch, Blend neatly with the swaying plumes Of yellow dajjfodils in bloom. A pastel green clothes bush and tree While emerald shoots push through the earth. Upon a branch in brilliant blue A bluebird trills his song of mirth: And near the path in leafy mounds The purple violet abounds. Thus as the birds do flit about And mingle with the flowers of May, The colours flutter in review And form a rainbow every day: The promise comes to men of earth, Each spring will issue in new birth. Noel Mason, XB. THE TATLER

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M U S I C fP2.93ffff5l1X..Mfify.f?.'f1iff1?lf25fliV5fXTff THE ORCHESTRA The orchestra of Tillsonburg District lligh School is under the leadership of Steve Choma, and consists of a member- ship of seventeen: violins - Charles Ketchabaw, M. Claire MacEwan, Harold Weise, Vivian Thompson, Noel Mason, Bill llilliker, Jim Jonesg cello-Elizabeth Gib- song trumpets-Bill Popham, Bob Laur, Ron Mctfurdy, Russell Mannellg clarinet -Jack Culp, trombones - Dalton Murr, Richard Lucas, baritone--Marian Jonesg pianist-Gerald Webster. Our orchestra made two public appear- ances this year, both in the Town Hall, the first at our annual Commencement Exercises, at which they introduced the traditional Coronation March , and the second at the Junior Oratorical Contest. THE FIDDLER He came to us at the beginning ot' our school year-jolly, friendly and not lack- ing in courage. In fact, he fiddled his way into the hearts of all the lads and lassies. How did our school survive before his arrival? Fm sure l've quite forgotten. But it must have been pretty dead with- out Choma's Chummy Chumps tICditor's note: The Chumps must all be dead, be- cause we have never heard of or seen an appearance yet!! and the new orchestra. Every day we see instruments being brought to school, and daily we see the following notice on the bulletin board: Noticel All members of the orchestra report in Junior Lab. at 12:30 sharp, or pay the supreme sacrifice. Lovingly, Steve. But all kidding aside, Steve's an all right guy. Can he help it if school subjects don't appeal to him the way his music does? M. Foreman, Xll. BACK: R. McCurdy, R. Lucas, R. Mannell, D. Murr, J. Jones, C. Ketchebow, J. Culp, W. Popham, H. Weise, W. Hilliker, N. Mason, K. Webster, R. Luur, S. Choma. FRONT: E. Gibson, M. Mociwan, V. Thompson, M. Jones. 40 THE TATLER