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

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Our Discovery of the West By Wi B. Turnbull I t was Archie’s suggestion that we go discovering. Discovering what? I asked dubiously. Everything’s been dis¬ covered long ago. Everything’s been discovered in a kind of way, Archie explained patiently, but it s not complete. Now take these birds Verendrye and Nicolet and La Salle. They travelled by water. I’ll bet there’s lots of towns out west they never even heard of. They left a lot undone. I ve read them all and they don’t even mention Chicago. I’m going to cover their trail and see what they’ve missed. Only I’m going by land.’’ The idea was intriguing and so was Archie. He was a tall, raw-boned policeman of Toronto whose vagrant instincts h ad not been entirely quelled by married life. As a matter of fact, he confided in me that his wife was ill-content with this police business and was eager that he go West where opportunities were abundant. It’s a wonderful chance,’’ Archie explained, and I’m going to take it. I 11 have to move fast because she doesn’t stay one way long, which, of course, I took it, applied to his wife. Archie had a car. Under pressure he admitted it was a few years old, but added grimly, A good hack all the same. You’d better come along. When he sensed my lingering temerity he advised me of his three years as a taxidriver, and of his four years as a mechanic. What’s more, he added, I always carry my tools. A trinity such as this: mechanic, taxidriver, policeman, was surely sufficient to guide any car to its haven. The logic was infallible; I agreed to come along. So we made our first step Westwards. That is, I moved up to Archie’s, so that we might get a proper start in the morning. For some unaccount¬ able reason he thought it absolutely necessary that we make an early morning getaway—say four or five o’clock. I gathered that continents were tricky things and that it required a deal of guile to sneak up on them. At Archie s, too, I discovered the Wife. It was then that I under¬ stood his theory that all wild life had not been uncovered by La Salle. Fortunately, her inclinations were favorable. The afternoon, under her inspiriting influence, we devoted to the loading of the car. This ancient contraption was open and possessed two seats, upholstered in that type of leather that turns an ordinary day to a blazing Sahara, a pleasant night to a frigid Alaska. Into the rear went a jumble of rugs, coats, suitcases, patent stoves, and the unwanted part of the household’s cooking utensils. 1 hese, by persistent effort, we eventually compressed into a mass that might be lain upon. The overflow brought out by the Wife was expeditiously returned by the Husband and secreted beneath the front verandah. Saturday morning we started. That is, we took what aviators would term a trial flight. It lasted thirty-two minutes and resulted in a broken pinion. This was no discredit to the car, Archie assured me. They all have ’em,’’ he said, and they all bust. But it postponed our de¬ parture until Sunday. At Sunday’s dinner we discovered Father. He too, had been a police¬ man, but, unlike his son, he had remained one. From him I learned of Archie’s secret yearning to be a book agent and to conquer the West. In his youth Father had bought somebody’s Unexcelled Encylopedia, and this wealth of r eady information had done little in the ensuing years but burn into his heart an unquenchable loathing for book agents. The situation ruined a really excellent Sunday dinner. By the time we had reached the dessert, Archie had become convinced that book agents were the world’s worst pests, that all parts of Canada but Toronto were a gaping void, and that anything so senile as a nation-wide trip would never be laid to the memory of the McGillicuddys. My hopes of emulating Verendrye were shattered; the wife’s vision of wealth was dissipated. I sat back in despair. The Wife merely sat back. There is a reassuring quality in the glint of a woman’s eye. With- out a word she told me all was well. It needs little speculation to reconstruct the conversation that follow¬ ed, that night, in the marital chamber. Sufficient to say, that on the morrow Archie’s faith in books had been completely restored. The uniform was returned to the inspector, apologies and resignations were again proferred, and an hour was fixed for departure. Promptly at four-thirty—Father was coming at five—we roared through the streets of Toronto. Archie’s years as a taxi driver had developed his penchant for notoriety, so, as I say, we roared away with the cut-out opened wide. That night we discovered Petrolia. This was Archie’s choice, not because of any virtue inherent in Petrolia. But Archie had an aunt there. Indeed, our stopping places across the continent were nearly always determined by this happy presence of an aunt. It was a part of this discovery business that Archie most enjoyed. It’s not so much to save money you know, he confided in me. but it’s nice to meet your relations. To which sentiment, after the first three aunts, I took violent exception. Of one thing I am certain; Scotland is d enuded of McGillicudys. The Petrolia aunt showed us albums of them, frcm their cute child¬ hood, pictured in frilled petticoats, to their grave maturity portrayed in black broadcloth and wing collars. My chief reflection was a profound admiration of the skill the McGillicudys possessed in the cultivation of long black moustaches. They were a family institution. For three hours we lamented failures and gloated over achievements. We traced hoards of Mac’s from birth, through marriage, to death; and then follow¬ ed through with their offspring. They are an interesting family, the McGillicudys, but eventually even Archie began to nod, and the aunt, really a kindly soul, escorted us upstairs by lamplight to our bed beneath the eaves. Petrolia is quite an oil town. Production figures mean nothing. But just try to sleep through your first night in that town. Ten thousand oil-pumping winches creak and groan like a myriad of doors in a breeze. They say Petrolia people can’t sleep anywhere else as they become, so accustomed to the eternal squeaks that a decent silence worries them. It’s the only reason I can give why anyone should remain in Petrolia. At Windsor, we met Uncle Sam. He was in uniform, and he chewed tobacco. Between expectorations, he asked our names, our religion, our age, how long we were to be in the States, when we were coming back, or if ever. Friend, said Archie, we re going to Moose Jaw, it’s in Canada, and it’s about twenty-four hundred miles from here.’ Moose Jaw! and how? queried the official. In that crate? you better pay poll tax now. You’ll be a long time in the States. He (i Continued on -page J+%) [ Page twelve ]

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1930-31 Hockey Team V.S.A. Manhandlers Sporting HOCKEY w ith the advent of spring we have seen the last of our hockey. Considering the limited talent found in the College our team had a fairly successful year. Although they did not get very high in the Civic League, yet they always put up a game which deserved more credit than the goals signified. Under the very able coaching of Mr. Turnbull a team was developed which was much better than that of last year. We were not fortunate in having enough strong players present at the College to make up a complete team, thus, we had to call in the aid of three of our ex-students in persons of Norman and Douglas Burch with our old reliable goal defender Frank Mead. With the co-operation of these boys and the mass support of the school prospects began to brighten and the team launched off in a game winning streak, but alas it came too late to be of value towards winning the cup lost two years ago. The squad made a trip to Mannville, where, after a hard fought battle, they nosed out on the heavy end of the score. To even things up the Mannville fellows came up on the following Satur¬ day and played the College on the town rink. A game was played in which it was a toss just who was going to win but again the students after a final grand attack emerged from the fight vict orious. Much could be said in favour of the sportsmanship shown by the Mannville hockey team and their followers. A large amount of the success of the team this year can be attributed to the very strong support given by the students when things were not going so well with the team. —G. A. O. TUMBLING C vj oing down to the gym. in the morning? What a familiar question to the small squad of boys who, during the term, en¬ deavored to develop a “ Bob MacDonald ” physique. Our tumbling was hard work but good fun; imagine us at six a.m., most mornings, instructed by the patient Bob, twisting, turning, grunting yes and even groaning in the struggle to “make” those peculiar positions as required. The laughs at our expense intermingled with the occasional congratulations to the pupil immediately ahead of us as he accomplished some trick of an unusual nature. Yet we found our muscles hardened and our backs bent so that we soon mastered the easier “stunts” and thus were we gradually initiated into a new sport which will serve to remind us of the days at V.S.A. and will always provide the means to spend an enjoyable half hour. [ Page fourteen ]