Weyburn Collegiate Institute - Weycollin Yearbook (Weyburn, Saskatchewan Canada)

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FIRST PRIZE: Essays GRATITUDE - AN EXPERIMENT IN HAPPINESS Of all the common courtesies. Mindful of this, we should never gratitude seems to be the least over¬ worked. We forget that a simple thank you which falls so easily from the lips, may have a far-reaching effect in terms of personal happiness. Too often we leave unsaid things closest to our hearts because of a fear of embarrassment, thus letting those nearest and dearest to us live and die, unaware of our ap¬ preciation of their living-kindness and sacrifice. The tragedy of an opportunity lost is not always apparent, but its effect is as far-reaching as gratitude itself. Who can measure the hurt of a grand¬ mother whose beneficence is taken for granted, the anguish of parents whose sacrifices for their children have been scorned? SECOND PRIZE: A SOLUTION TO THE As the auctioneer ' s gavel hit the table, it brought to a close a history¬ making incident. The year was 1619, the place, Virginia; the incident, the first negro slave auction ever to be held in an English Colony. These slaves, like those to follow, came from the west coast of Africa, called the Gold Coast. I ' m not too sure whether gold was ever found, but the negroes there certainly made up what was missing in gold, Transported in ships of unbelievable squalor and filth, the Negro, if he survived the Atlantic crossing, was sold to the highest and sometimes, if not always, to the cruelest bidder. From here on he did as he was told. He tried to keep a tight mouth, a stiff upper lip, and to pick cotton as fast as possible. In comparing the Negro of today with the Negro of yesterday, it seems that his means of earning a living has neglect an opportunity to become learned in the art of expressing grati¬ tude. While artificiality may dim the lustre of an’eloquent oration, sincerity will shine through even the clumsiest expression. Real feeling, therefore, often can be best shown through deed rather than word. The attitude of gratitude should be foremost in our minds at all times. Counting your blessings may have become a cliche, but the depth of its wisdom cannot be overestimated. Those who live with thanksgiving ever in their hearts hold the key to real peace of mind. For who could ever fear the future who has a full appreciation of the wonder of this, our world and God ' s creation. Jane Sather - 11a NEGRO PROBLEM? changed more or less. No longer in the South is the work done for nothing. Working conditions have improved, economic assistance has been extended and housing, to a degree, have improved. But as a whole, the Negro in the South today is kept in his place although a few have managed to get out from under the oppressive thumb. Those few who have managed to slip out have created a problem. What is to be be done with the American Negro? This problem is now plaguing both the North and the South. As far as the North is concerned, the problem is a fairly simple one, but the South, still smart¬ ing from the Civil War, refuses to see it as clearly as the North. Thus, after almost three centuries, the Negro in- America is still being fought over. The opponents of the Negro go all out for his hide, while his supporters assail his aggressors and even, by the use of arms, defend his freedom.

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Poetry FIRST PRIZE: TO KICK! OR NOT TO KICK! Have you Ever Faced the question Walking on a Sunny, Pebbled, and Peaceful Path? Your Peace is Disrupted. On the other hand, One may well stub one ' s toe; On the other hand. One may find a mossy rock. Even so - Weighing the facts - It seems wise Not to kick. Linda Ghan - 10a SECOND PRIZE: ODE TO W. C. I. Strolling in school the other day Among the boys, I heard one say, What a team we ' ll have next year! I hope it ' s true, but I won ' t be here. I won ' t be walking in this old hall. When school convenes this coming fall. Just four short years as a student here. Then a graduate of her fiftieth year. In a way I ' m glad school ' s almost done. But I ' m going to miss both the work and fun. Still in years to come as I backward gaze. What a joy to recall Collegiate days. THIRD PRIZE: ODE TO A SPRING MEADOW Oh to be in the meadow yonder; To shout, to sing, and to idly wander; To hear the frogs and the honking geese. Sweet vernal sounds that seldom cease; To catch the glimer of silver rain. The budding trees in the winding lane; The winged hum of a thousand bees. Curtsying crocus, the soft spring breeze; The busy mouse in the perfumed grass - On God ' s green earth naught can surpass. Lucille Aitken - Ik HONORABLE MENTION: PRAIRIE WINTER A sky of blazing brilliant blue; Landscape of purest white; Against the wind, trees stout and true. Project against the light. Shadows cutting across the snow. Stretching with feline grace; The orange warmth of the sunset ' s glow Leave only a violet trace. The heavens seem cut in a starry swath. Pierced through with brilliant spars. Of Nordic light; while with frozen wrath The night shakes a million stars. -- Jane Sather - 11a Derell Rodine - 12a

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Maybe one answer to the situation lies in sending the Negro back to Africa. It would seem that the Negro is not wanted in America or in Canada. An article in the October 20th edition of Maclean ' s Magazine tells of the plight of Negroes living in a large town called Africville, a century old Negro ghetto with third rate citizens, as one inhabitant described it. This article proves the undesirability of the Negro in our part of the world. Ironically, the North, which is crying out against the racial policies of the South, is the biggest culprit in the exclusion of Negroes from white areas of residence. Some of the biggest ghettos are found in such cities as New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Let us send the Negro back to Africa! This does not mean another mass transplantation of Negroes, similar to that of three centuries ago. This time it will be entirely voluntary, leaving the Negro the choice of staying here or going back home. If a propo¬ sition like this were suggested to the whites in the South, and to all Negroes, the South might find it less difficult to comply with the demand of de¬ segregation. To equip the Negro with the necessary skills that would make him A STORY BY SHARON MC FADDEN - 9d THEY SEEK THEIR Years ago, a young man and his son came from their Eastern home to escape the busy hustle and bustle of city life. His wife had been killed in a car accident, during the winter months the year before. Completely bored with city life, he decided he would like to become a rancher in the foothills of Alberta. Their name was Newfield; Jack, the widower, and Jerry, his son. They found a little place nestled in among the hills where they started to build up a herd of fine hereford cattle. They were eighteen miles from town with no neighbours for miles around. One day, a trapper came to the district and built himself a little shack about a mile away from the Newfield ranch. He too, had a son about Jerry ' s age. Until this time Jerry had been very lonely, but now he played with his new found friend, Tom, nearly every day. r was a an asset and a leader in Africa would have more appeal than the possibility of having to educate these Negroes under the bayonets of Federal troops and then to put up with them for the rest of eternity. There is a crying need in Africa for foreign technical aid and general help in every aspect of life. The Peace Corps is a partial help, but the seeming lack of Negroes within it is an amazing fact. Money used in forming an all-black corps with government aid at the same time, plus help in education of American Negroes, with the purpose of sending them to Africa would be more intelligent. Africa has never been developed as was India, China, or Europe. Africa ' s time has come. Not out of Christian love and charity, but for our own self-preser¬ vation and the continuation of this system, let us educate the Negro and give him this option, option of remain¬ ing or leaving. It will not be easy for us, but it was not easy for the Negroes three centuries ago. Lucille Aitken - 11a MEAT FROM GOD drunkard and had an uncontrollable temper. Sometimes he would go into town on a spree, spending foolishly what little money he did get from trapping, leaving Tom in their cabin all night by himself. Jerry ' s father would come over, and finding him all alone, would take him to their place. One day. Jack Newfield had to go to town and, as they didn ' t own a horse, he had to get up very early, walk to town, buy supplies, and carry them home on his back. If he were lucky, he would make the round trip before nightfall. When his son got up he went over to Tom ' s place to see if his father was there but was mainly interested in play¬ ing with Tom. Jerry searched all over, but couldn ' t find them anywhere. Finally, he came to the conclusion that his father must have got up early to fix the north fence he had been talking about at the supper table the evening be¬ fore, but where Tom had disappeared Unfortunately, Tom ' s fathe: