Trafalgar Castle School - Yearbook (Whitby, Ontario Canada)

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12 ;, ;TOX,T OLLE GII world-wide. I was told that I mi ht meet the authoress as she was in the building at the present time for her beloved daily hour with the great mistress, so it was with gi-eat expectation that I went for- wai ' d to meet her. I was led to where a very slim woman wearing a high collar, her hair brushed straight back, and large tortoise-shell rimmed glasses, sat deeply engrossed in an immense volume entitled, ' ' The Life of an Insect. ' ' Approaching. I did not recognize her, but on being in- troduced to her fomid that it was none other than Mui ' iel Maw. our beloved president of the 1918 senior class at the Ontario Ladies ' College. I learned that after leaving the college. Mxiriel had, for several years, taught shorthand, a. course which she discovered to be both varied and interesting. She had just come to the conclusion that this was to be her life work when she received an order from King George V to take command of the Royal kitchen to teach the women of England economy. This work proved too strenuous, and her health broke down, so she undertook Titing, the result of which was this wonderful book which I later found to be invaluable. LrcY Robertson. In 1925, while in California. I visited the -Universal City, the home of many a thrilling moving picture. Through the couitesy of my guide I was given the privilege of watching a picture being taken. It was supposed to represent a royal duchess being chased by a common burglar, who washed to gain possession of the wonderful jewels which adorned her neck and hands. She ran up hiU and down and paddled through muddy streams lantil she looked ready to drop at any minute. When she appeared to be able to hold out against her pursuer no longer, she spied a steep rock, and with another effort she began to climb, and with perseverance reached the top. She never stopped, but ran to a wide ledge which overhung a pretty little lake, and with one spring dived into the silent water below. When the picture was over and I was able to see the actress more closely. You can imaging my surprise when I discovered that this daring person was no one else than my old class-mate, Lucy Robertson, who had gone into the movies to nuike her fortune doing stunts. WiNNiFRED Scott. While at the Toronto Exhibition in 1923, I was passing along the midway and finally found myself in a crowded tent, where fancy riders were perform- ing. The first thing that met my eyes was a imrc white horse, ridden by no one else than Winnifred Scott of 1918 graduating class at O.L.C ' . She was per- forming all sorts of fancy stunts, and you can imagine my consternation to see her in such a place. After the perform- ance I Avent over and spoke to her, and she informed me that she liked her work very well and in her spare time she was painting a gruesome i)oster of the Wild Man from Borneo. Grace Sykes. In 1926, while in California, I was taken one day to see the famous and uni((ue Sykes musical farm. On it lived one hundred and seven girls, all about 18 years of age. ' They worked foiir hours a day on a farm and studied music the rest of the time. I was introduced to the Lady Principal, who was a smiliug young lady vnth a most fetchiuu, twinkle in her eye. I recognized her immediate- ly as my old school chum, Grace Sykes. iShe ha.d left O.L.C. after working on the school farm, and the work so fascin- ating her, she vowed to return to it some day. She studied music for years and years, and then had become a noted teacher. Moving to California she built this farm. This is the only musical farm in the world. Olive Tucker. In the year 1926 one of the famous exhibitions was being held in Chicago. A party of us were attending it, and af- ter enjoying the wonderful sights within the various buildings, walked out upon

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vox COLLEGII 11 occasionally escorting a husband. At the appointed hour, a gong sounded and the two combatants stepped into the ring. The noise of cheers and clapping was deafening, for Spitoonia our friend has been famous in our part of the world. However, when I glanced at her oppon- ent I gasped, looked again, and recog- nized in the huge and powerful form of the stranger our old friend Ruth Dixon, who at one time was a student with me at O.L.C. I was amazed, but one by one her little peculiarities came back to me — the manner in which she chewed that eternal gum and the great strides she took as she moved around the ring, her little tuft of yellow hair nodding occas- ionally to some friend whom she recog- nized in the crowd. Of course, no one could stand before Ruth, and she won a great victory over the defenceless Spitoonia. Even yet I can scarcely realize that our Ruth has reached the height of her ambition, which was to be a pugilist. Dorothy Follett. It was my first visit to New York, and I was much interested in Chinatown. Willing to try anything, I requested my guide to take me to a Chinese restaurant for chop suey. The Chinese waiter, a thin, wizened-up little fellow, was very friendly, and I was obtaining some inter- esting information from him when I felt, rather than -saw, some person look- ing at me with an angry stare. Turning around I beheld a very stout woman coming towaM me with a rolling-pin in her hand and her face covered with flour. The Chinaman began to cower back and murmur something about his jealousee wifee. I thought it wise to leave as quickly as possible, and was hurrying after the guide when a very familiar phrase dropped from the lips of the stout cook. I turned, puzzled at the sound, and saw a gleam of recognizition shoot across her face. She advanced toward me, the rolling-pin a thing of the past, and to my astonishment I recognized my former school-mate, Dorothy Follett. She and her poor little hen-pecked husband were running a high-class Chinese res- taurant with Dorothy as cook and he as proprietor and clerk. Having graduated in music Dorothy was very sharp in trade but fell flat in cooking. However, I found her as natural as ever. Margaret Maxwell. While holidaying in England in 1922 I was advised of the great world-wide exhibition being held in London on a cer- tain date. Anxious, of course, to take in all I possibly could, I planned to visit the exhibition. It was a wonderful affair ! The build- ings far surpassed anything I had ever seen before, and the exhibits were a mar- vel to my eyes. As I strolled through the wonderful process building I noticed a large crowd gathered around one exhibit, so I went towards it. Inside the enclos- ure there stood a young woman in a plain tailored skirt and a high-necked shirt- waist, dem.onstrating in a very busi ness- like way a new flreless cooker and com- menting upon its many superior qual- ities. Her voice was deep-set and gruff from long experience in this line of work, the only feminine touch about her being a red rose which was tucked into her hair low down on her neck. I gasp- ed as I looked at her,f or surely I had met her before. Yes, certainly ! it was my old class-mate Margaret Maxwell, who spent so many happy days mth me at O.L.C. After the exhibit I hurried to her, and we had a very pleasant re-union. When I enquired about the presence of the red rose, she laughingly explained that she had always worn one since her student days to remind her of — she did not have time to finish as a large crowd had gath- ered, and it was time for another dem- onstration. Muriel Maw. One day, while walking through a pub- lic library, a large brown book entitled Maw ' s Many Methods For Making Meals, ' ' caught my eye. I took it to the librarian for recommendation, and she informed me that at first it had not been popular, but of late had become famous,

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vox COLLEGII 13 the Pike. Here we found numerous at- tractions ; men were calling for our at- tention everywhere. At last one appeal- ed to us, and after paying the price. lOc, we entered a tent. This was the tent of the Famous Diving Girls! talked of all over the world by those who have seen them. After watching them for a few minutes my attention was drawn to one in particular. A very fat, pale dark girl, who took the 60 foot leap and sum- mei ' saults beautifully. I asked someone who she was. ' ' Starry her name is, ' ' they said. ' ' Starry ? ' ' l said. Yes, ' ' they replied, of course that is only her Pike name. Her own name is Olive Tucker. She comes from the Queen City of Canada, and was at one time a gi aduate of the Ontario Ladies ' College in Commercial. But owing to her gi-eat ability of leap- ing from one key to the other, every- one decided she should put it to higher and better advantage, so she now per- forms in the World Famous Exhibit inns under the assumed name of Starry. After the performance I was able, with great delight, to talk with this young lady, who was one of my friends and classmates in the said college, and wish her every success in her wonderful fete. Clara Underhill. January, 1930. — I was feeling rather b)lue yesterday afternoon, so, in order to cheer my broken spirits, I decided to go to the theatre, having heard that the bill was good. We all enjoyed the acts very much, more especially the fifth one. A dainty little toe-dancer, garbed in a green ballet-skirt, flitted across the stage and executed a most beautiful dance call- ed the Swan dance. Now Avho do you suppose that little soubrette was? If I didn ' t discover that it was my old college pal, Clara Underhill ! We would never have imagined that Clara, after graduat- ing in 1918 as a housekeeper, would go on the stage, but she did. Perhaps the second part of her act will give us some light on the subject. When she brought out her partner we found him to be a very handsome young man. who appear- ed most attentive to his graceful little partner. DONALDA VySE. As I was going through one of the departmental stores in New York, I hapr pened to see a very familiar face, which I had seen several years ago. Now, who do you suppose it was? My old school chum, Donalda Vyse, who graduated in ' 18. She said she had been traveling with Barnum Bailey ' s world-wide known circus. Her career was long and tedious, but sh e had now reached the heights of star and head-liner. At this late period she had at last decided to desert the public and resume a quiet and regular life. Here I found her, as head bookkeeper. We thereby see that Don- alda, like the rest of us, holds to the old proverb That variety is the spice of life ' ' ; so just for a change she is doing bookkeeping and proving a credit to her Alma Mater, wbom she left ten years ago. HELEN V ARD. I In the summer of 1935, I was travel- ing in Japan. While in Tokyo one after- noon I visited the Y.W.C.A. building. I was shown over the building, and while walking through one of the upper halls I heard a very familiar sound. I was shown into the room from which this strange sound came, and I Avas unable to proceed any farther than the door, for there sat Helen Ward, my old classmate, and she was demonstrating at 125 words a minute on an Underwood typewriter, for the benefit of an interested group of Japanese girls. Needless to say she was very much surprised to see me too, but when we had both recovered from our astonishment, she told me that she had been there for several years, having gone as a missionary. As she had graduated in Commercial at O.L.C. in 1918, she thought she could best serve as an in- structor in the Business College, so here she was teaching the mysteries of the Touch System.