Vermilion School of Agriculture - Yearbook (Vermilion, Alberta Canada)

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□ VERMILION SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE THE CATTLE SHOW (Continued from Page 42) there offered £or young men to show young ladies what real style meant, and be it said that full advantage was always taken of the opportunity. An old darky once said: “De masculines is all alike, wherever dey is found, Dey strut about and show deir seifs when hens is flockin’ round.” Oh, well, it was a great day, the day of the buggy horse. It is often argued that there were certain advantages offered by a horse and buggy over those offered by the automobile, but such argument between young fellows, and those who do not forget when they were young, is after all just so much indoor sport. The driving horse is going, but the riding horse is even more popular than he was some years ago. So there is still hope for the race—no pun intended. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the heavy horse and the truck or tractor seem to have fairly well settled their differences. At our show we had both types of light horse, and the heavy horse, and between these an indefinite class called the “general purpose” horse. Of breeds there was no common clear¬ ness of knowledge, even if horse talk were the main talk when men foregathered. With us, “thorough-bred” differed only from “pure-bred” in that it was more emphatic; we classified horses as draft, trotter, and race or saddle. There were pioneer Clydes¬ dales and Percherons, and two or three men were regarded as importers by right of established precedent. There was a fair proportion of French-Canadian blood in evidence and there was no one to say that this active hardy breed was not a good breed. Perhaps it is true that we have talked “horse” too much, and perhaps we were not always as expert as we would have liked to be considered, but these are rather common types of human weaknesses; despite it all, it may truthfully be said that a boy, raised without association with a horse, misses a fine influence that nobody can accurately describe to him. As the day of the Cattle Show drew to its close, the exhibi¬ tors began to gather their possessions together. Soon there would be a steady exodus, from the door of the main building and through the big gate, of people carrying away, or driving away, or leading away the various entries with which they had hoped to collect a bit of fleeting fame as a corollary to the gaining of a few colored cards and the prospect of a little cash in premiums. Along with the departing exhibitors, and mixed with them, streamed those who came to see, and to be seen, and who were now leaving the fair-ground, contented with a day well spent so far; many of these made their exit by the turnstile gate, where earlier in the day they could not enter without payment of a quarter or 15 cents, according to age. The older folks and the children would go straight home, as indeed would some who were neither youthful nor old, all depending on whether or not there was anyone else at home to do the milking. Those who were free of duties, and a few who were not, would decide to spend the evening in town, where there was sure to be plenty of excitement —Cattle Show came but once each year. There were five hotels in the town and considerable drinking would take place, a few not even waiting until the shadows grew long to begin “lighting up.” Largely because of the drinking, and partly because of custom and tradition, Cattle Show night was apparently selected for doing most of the fighting that had to be done during the year. On this night there seemed to occur a sort of annual re-arrangement of the status and classification of those desirous of fistic prowess. There would also be the occasional grudge fight or the instalment of a feud, but we were rather free from these. Some of these fights were frankly brutal but others were harmless from a physical standpoint, and were meant to be just no more than verbal fireworks, followed by the intervention of thirsty peacemakers. Often a bluff would be can ' ied to the limit and, if called, there would be no fight. Once a row started between a couple at the corner hotel: one was an earnest Scotsman, who wanted to settle the question on the bar-room floor, but the other, apparently wanting more room for action, rushed the door, challenging his opponent to a street performance. When the Scotsman reached the street, his expected adversary was more than half-way down the block—and going strong. The latter afterward worked near our place, and used to tell of the time that he ran—well, the mischief—out of Sandy So-and-so. We never questioned his veracity for that would have spoiled our fun. Another chap we knew as a jolly neighbor was once asked, after he had fled ignominiously from a noisy dog, how it came about that he had at one time been regarded as a formidable fighter, and his reply was “There was sand in the whisky, them days.” Speaking of the predilection of our people for fighting. I am reminded of an incident told me in a smelting town in Ne¬ vada, by a Glengarry man, himself an athlete of renown west of the Mississippi. It should be explained that fist fights were a rarity in Nevada; a man was supposed to carry his liquor, and if one really desired trouble it would scarcely become manifest in the form of a rough-and-tumble fight. My friend from Glengarry had been favored with a visit by an uncle from the home coun¬ try, and during the first evening the nephew was taking his saloons there was quite a lot of noise and hilarity, and in one visitor around town to see western night-life. In most of the the crowd appeared to be particularly ai ' gumentative. The nephew observed the old man taking off his coat and carrying it on his arm, so he asked the uncle if he found the place too warm. The reply was “No, but it looks as if the fechtin’ might soon begin.” The hockey team of 1928-29 is scattered, with Clarence Boggs now moving from Daysland to a new location south of Cal¬ gary; Norman Burch being at Mannville; Carl Moran having dropped out of the Third Year owing to illness, and Bill Elgie playing hockey with Minburn, this year. Frank Mead and Len Frederking played for V.S.A. again this season. Edsell Jones is at present in training at the Provincial Institute in Calgary, where he is learning some of the fine points of tractor engineer¬ ing, electricity, welding, etc. Bill Ross, to Lee Murray: “Say, Lee, is there anything more exasperating than to have a wife who can cook and won’t do it?” “You bet, Bill; it is to have a wife who can’t cook and will do it.” Horner, tuning in radio and feeling a twinge in his shoulder: “I believe I am getting lumbago.” Emily Rowswell: “Never mind that George, I couldn’t under¬ stand anything the lumbagoans would say, anyway.” 1 50 1

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□ VERMILION SCHOO SIMPSON’S MAIL ORDER Extends to the Students and Gradu¬ ates of the Vermilion School of Agri¬ culture its sincere good wishes for their continued success. It is confident that the Vermilion School will ever broaden its sphere of influence and will progressively con¬ tinue its great work for the betterment of agricultural conditions in Northern Alberta. We wish it every success. Simpson’s Catalogue Sets the Standard for Style and Quality The Western Robert Simpson Limited Regina Sask. [ L OF AGRICULTURE □ +-------+ [ I j The Wheat Pool’s ! ; Business Objective ; I I I To Sell Pool Wheat in such a manner that full value is received. j To Retain no profits; all money received above cost of operation, except necessary reserves, j is returned to the grower. ] To Treat all members alike. No one gets any J [ special rights or privileges. j ! To Build Up an efficient elevator system and ! increase the efficiency of the organization 1 from year to year. j To Decrease the spread between producer and consumer. To Handle Wheat in quantity in order to secure I economies and reduce costs; and also to pre- 1 serve and protect growers’ interests and I rights. To Create a wider demand and sell at a fair I price. = TO PRACTICE THE SQUARE DEAL ! i - i i Alberta Wheat Pool j Head Offive: Lougheed Building, Calgary Branch Office: | McLeod Building Edmonton I 4,----— -■——■——■■—4

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□ V E R M I L I 0 N S C H O O T . .. t ] j ! Muscles or Motors ! Which Will It Be For You This Year? i j I Will you be riding at the wheel of a McCormick- ] Deering 10 20, 15 30 or Farmall Tractor, get- ! ting the year’s work done easily—on time? Or ! will you be riding behind “slow muscles and ! sinews”—worrying about the next job—just a I I little bit late? I ! j Right now is the time to make up your mind to j | start working with tractor power. Thousands | | of farmers began successful power farming ca- j j reers with McCormick-Deering Tractors last j year. These men enjoyed the economies, the ! freedom from worry, the speed and the adapta- 1 bility of their McCormick-Deering Tractors. Talk with the McCormick-Deering Dealer in your town INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER CO. of CANADA, LIMITED I ! North, Battleford Saskatchewan | I 1 Illustrating Buck Strap and Lead Chain as used in the Multiple Hitch Your Farm Power Problem is Solved by the “Multiple Hitch” System of driving big teams of horses with a single pair j of lines, employing the use of the Buck Strap and Lead Chain. One man can with ease drive any number j of horses combined to make a power unit capa- I ble of handling any combination of implements j that can be handled with a tractor. “Your power raised on the Farm” and sup- j ported by the products of the farm. ! Write for Our Free Booklet “How to Hitch Horses for Cheaper Farm Power” i | Zp ic j West iS.vddeeiry COMPANY LIMITED Alberta i Edmonton