Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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HOUSE EDITOR: LOUISE PIGOT OUR FUTURE? A trace of cosmic dust. A bit of radiation. The far astronomers rushed— to write— There once was a planet third from the sun. Sheila Fishbourne Form VI A PEOPLE When God created man He made them different colours. But each one has a heart and soul And feels Uke all the others. So we must be kind to everyone No matter what they are. In being kind, I ' m sure that they Will love us more by far. Some day peace and happiness Will spread through all the earth. But it must start with you and me. Even if we are the first. Lonny Wall, Form II MUSTARD! PLEASE! Us. Yes. Seven glasses of water. You can ' t count. I want two. 1 can count — 1 can ' t carry. I ' ll go with you. Us too. Sit down; three is enough. 1 flunked my Chemistry. Guess who just spilled her water? She pushed me. Macedonia was in Rome. Could you ask Jo to pass the mustard? ! What happened in 206 B.C.? We aren ' t there yet. OUCH! What are you doing in the Gym Dem? Can I have some more? Exercises. JUDO exercises. Who has the mustard NOW? ! How did you do in your EngUsh? 1 feel sick. Well, you ' ve only had four mUks! Stop talking! Miss Harvie is standing and looking at us! Did someone ask for the mustard? Nabiha Atallah, Form IV A AT LUNCH What ' s there to eat today? Did you do your math? What math? Neither did I, Can I please have the mustard? What did you think of the history test? UGH! Who kicked me? Please pass the mustard. How ' s your foot? Sore. Who defeated the Persians? Julius Caesar. Mustard! Please! Where ' s my spoon? Did Darius win the battle in 509 B.C.? My hot dog has mould on it! I know— we studied it in Biology! That ' s relish. Kathy, stop hogging the mustard! I stiD can ' t do an aerial walkover. Can 1 go get some water? Anybody else want some? I do. JUNE When that hot June with his sonne-beams brighte The work of May hath made to leave us quite. And soothed every throbbing heade in thoughte Of fuUe three months with booke-worke naught; When questing breezes with hire cooling breath In every wight ' s bodie inspired hath The spirit of games, of balle and of nette, Among the leaves in gardens drippynge wette After that from the cloudes, showeres Ughte Y-fallen have, to maken aUe brighter- Then longen folk to seken hire friendes. And from lerninge hire ways they wish to wende; Then are they intercepted by EXAMS, And on alle wordly joys are placed bans. So now, for that they heedless were of studie, In joyous June they pay the penaltie. Vivien Law, Form IV B 25

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GUMMING HOUSE Back row: Kathy Feig, Nancy Wall, Dale Dansereau, Martha Smith, Nina Jezek, Paula Engels, Annemette Jorgensen, Estelle Limoges, 3rd: Marie Anne Laforest, Carol Preston, Mary Stephen, Madeleine Roellinghoff, Valerie Westover, Elizabeth Harcourt, Kathy Fletcher, Diane May. 2nd: Jeannie Saros, Froma Saxe, Nabiha Atallah (Red Cross Rep.), Sheila Fish- bourne {House Head), Joan Fletcher (House Head), Louise Pigotf ' F. ftepJ,Debbie Hughes, Gina Schnabel, Wendy Verrier. Front: Christina Stephen, Maureen Burns, Lonny Wall, Lois Anderson, Kim Fitzgerald, Isobelle Best, Diana Snigurowicz. Absent: Karen Bird, Anne Boulton, Vivien Law, Marianne Stoffregen. GUMMING HISTORY Facla non verba ' ' Cumming House is named after Miss Janet L. Cumming, Principal of Trafalgar from 1917 to 1940. It was during Miss Cumming ' s period in office that the Houses were es- tablished. Miss Cumming loved Trafalgar, and it is a great honour that we can carry her name into the future. Cumming is the only House to have had two names. Always the ' blue ' House, Cumming was originally known as Riddell House, after Mr. Alex F. Riddell, who was Secre- tary of the Board of Governors of the Trafalgar Institute from 1877 to 1929, and a Governor from 1929 to 1932. Mr. Riddell took a great interest in the School, and never tired in providing advice to further education. Thanks to Miss Cumming and Mr. Riddell, to say nothing of the House Mistresses and girls, Cumming House has a history to be proud of. 24

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ESCAPE FROM POLAND (3n the first day of Septen ber, 1939, (lerinany began its invasion of Poland from the west. Just seventeen days later Russia attacked from the east, and in three weeks Poland had been crushed between the two armies. However, students in Poland ' s universities began an underground movement for the freedom of Poland. In the University of Lwow, in eastern Poland, there were two brothers, Rotnan and Staszek. They worked hard in the Underground throughout the winter, but in February tlie Russian secret police came to Staszek ' s room and arrested him. Roman discovered that a counter-spy had dent)unced Staszek and knew that ihev would now be looking for hini also. For the next few days he was constantly on the move, always sleeping at a different house and never returning to his own room for fear of being captured Soon he realized, however, that he could not go on hiding forever and decid- ed that he would escape from Poland and join the Pt)lish army then being formed in the Mi(hlle f.ast. The I ' luler- ground arranged for him to meet with nineteen others and two guides at a herder ' s shack in the mountains near Lwow. The group of twenty-one, which included three women, left early in the morning on April 17, 1940. They realized the hardships they would have to ccdurc, for it was forty miles to the Hungarian border, and they would have to stay away from roads and villages to avoid the Russian troops. Because it was spring, the snow was melting, and sometimes they would sink up to their waists in the soft snow of the forests. They carried very ' little food with them, and when they were thirsty they drank snow or water from the mountain streams. Their only weapons were six revolv - ers and one shotgun with a small amount of amnnuiition. After walking all day, they came to the home of peas- ants known to the guides. The people were friendly and gave them food and offered them the attic to sleep in. All the next day they stayed out of sight and rested. That night, as they ploughed through the woods, they continual- ly heard bears growling in the distance. By the early morn- ing they were near the border and were stopped in their tracks by a stream swollen, by recent melting snows, into a raging river. They could not cross in broad daylight, but when darkness fell they joined hands in a chain and attemp- ted the crossing. The stones slid from under their feet, the fast current pulled them under, and after many attempts, they realized that they would have to cross the river at the bridge in the nearby village. Cautiously, they crawled up to the end of the bridge and waited for the clouds to obscure the moonlight. Then, silently, in single file, they crept across the bridge. Suddenly a dog started to bark, and with- in seconds other dogs joined in. A light appeared in one of the houses, and frantically they ran across the bridge and flung themselves into the ditch of slush and snow on the opposite side. They lay in the freezing water for fifteen minutes until the noise had subsided and the dogs were quiet. Then very quietly they rose and continued on their way. The border was now only one hour ' s journey away, and when tliey came to the foot of the hill, the guide told them llial on ihr other side was Hungary. However, between ihcni aiul freedom were the Russians patrolling the top of the liiil uilh (ierman shepherd dogs. They decided that if ihey were seen and ordered to stop, Roman and six others who carried weapons would shoot it out with the Russians, allowing llie rest of the party to circle round to the right through a valley ami escape to freedom. Again, as a dark cloud covered the moon, they raced for the frontier. Suddetdy, a Russian voice shouted, Stop! dogs barked furiously, and they heard the whine of bullets. Immediately the firing party dropped to the ground and started return- ing their fire. The larger group moved to the right to cross at a different poijit amongst the Russians. Seconds later, there was a terrific explosion and then the sound of dogs whining anil men screaming from pain. Roman and the others discovered later that a Russian soldier was wounded as he was about to throw a hand grenade. He dropped the grenade, which exploded, injuring the dogs, killing some men, and wounding others. Their hearts pounding, the Poles got up and ran for their lives across the border into Hungary. All of them reached safety, not knowing where the rest of their party was, so they hid in the bushes and waited lor daylight. The next morning tliey saw Hungarian soldiers advancing in a line towards them at the bottom of the hill. They were taken where the rest of tlieir group welcomed them with open arms. But fate had one more blow in store for them. The Russians demanded their return because they had kill- ed and wounded some of their men and dogs. The Hungar- ians, who were not at war with Russia, should normally have returned them, in which case they would have faced a firing squad, but there was, in their group, the son of an official in the Polish Diplomatic Service in Budapest. Through his influence, they were all allowed to stay in Hungary. Two weeks later, Roman said farewell to the rest of the escape party and started his journey to the Middle East to join the Polish army being formed there. During the Second World War, there were thousands of escapes from occupied countries across thousands of miles of frontier, but 1 have a special pride in telling this story — for Roman is my father! ! Nina Jezek Form V B 26