The Weekly Guardian...Children's Corner (1934) (Part 1).
"If everyone would learn to smile instead of to frown Subiaco would be a much nicer place to live in." Jack Duncan, aged 9 (Subiaco Infant's School).
The Weekly Guardian was a local newspaper that was published from 1933 to 1934 and circulated through Subiaco, Wembley, Hollywood, Nedlands and Claremont.
On June 29, 1934 the newspaper began a Children's Corner. Children were encouraged to enter various competitions for the best essays, share stories and paintings. The best essays were published. Books were awarded to the best entries for a boy and girl under the age of 15 years. The entries had to be in their own words and the mother and father had to sign the coupon.
The entries published provide a wonderful insight into the lives of children including hobbies, the games they played, favourite school lesson, favourite toy what they wanted to be when they grew up and what they did on their summer holidays.
The following essays are about smiling. All the children who won prizes are from the Subiaco Infant's School at the Subiaco State School.
The articles are from Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement intended.
Weekly Guardian, 10 August 1934.
PRIZE WINNERS.
The Girls' First Prize was won by FAITH SAWKINS, aged 8 1/2,
of 291 Rokeby Road.
(Subiaco Infants' School.)
Faith has been sending essays along right from the beginning of the Corner, and has won a nice book at last. Very well written, Faith.
SMILING.
Happiness brings smiles. We are always glad to meet people with smiling faces, they gladden the hearts of young and old. Smiling is like a tonic, it does us good. Disagreeable children are never liked.
Smiling brings love and kindness in return. Doctors and nurses with smiling faces are most popular. All sick people are glad to see them enter the wards. I love to see pretty babies with sunny smiles, it shows they are healthy and happy; sickly babies seldom smile, and their mothers are so worried.
What a wonderful world it would he if every body smiled. I really think a smile is one of the necessary needs in life. A smile a day drives care away.
The Girls' Second Prize was won by HAZEL BEAVER, aged 81/2,
of 228 Heytesbury Road.
(Subiaco Infants' School.)
Hazel has written a very nice essay, as you can see, and if she continues to try, should win a first prize soon.
SMILING.
If you smile you always feel happy and of course God likes us to smile and he contented. He made us lots of wonderful things to make us smile and feel happy, so I think we should smile and make the best of things. There are a great many things to smile at.
But some people are ungrateful and say, "I won't smile." I don't like people that won't smile, do you? If you cannot get all your own way, don't be downhearted, but smile. Many years ago a man wrote a poem, "Smile and the world smiles with you. Weep and you weep alone." Don't you think this is very true? A cheery word and a happy smile to a little school mate who is feeling sad will often bring her back to smiles. So always try to smile and make others happy. Now this is very pleasing.
On the essay which EUNICE NELTHORPE, aged 7 3/4,
of 15 Cross Street (Subiaco Infants' School),
sent in, the Rev. Oliver has written the following note : "I would like to give a third prize to this child — it is a splendid paper." Congratulations, Eunice. For so young a child your essay was a splendid effort. Call at the "Guardian" office, and we will give you a note to the Rev. Oliver, who will then present your prize.
SMILING,
Daddy is always saying, "If your face wants to smile, let it ; if it doesn't, make it." If all the boys and girls were to smile all the time there would be no sulky looking faces and no fighting at school.
If everybody learnt to smile while they were young and look at everything on the sunny side, it would get such a habit with every body that when they grew up they would still look at everything with a smile, and there would he no fighting or wars between the different countries in the world.
All the people would try and agree with one another, and if there were some things that they could not quite agree to, they would smile, and their arguments would be forgotten. So if we all try and smile and keep smiling all the time we should all be happy and every body would be glad to help everybody else, and the world would be a jolly old place to live in.
The Boys' First Prize was won by Jack Duncan, aged 9,
of Rupert Street, Subiaco.
(Subiaco Infants' School.)
Congratulations, John. You certainly appear to know the value of a smile.
SMILING.
We should always smile. Because it makes us look much happier than having a sour looking face and other people like us better. When we are sick and feel unhappy, if we try to keep a smiling face it makes us soon get well again. All boys and girls who go about the house and school with smiles on their faces are usually loved better than sulky children who never seem, to be pleased with anything they do or get.
We like all the ladies and gentlemen best who go about smiling, for they don't seem to be so bad tempered as others. If everyone would learn to smile instead of to frown Subiaco would he a much nicer place to live in.
The Game for the second best Essay goes to
JOE PICKELLS, aged 81/2, of
Subiaco Infants' School.
Well done, Joe! Fancy winning a prize two weeks in succession. Keep this up, Joe, keep trying and you will probably win more yet. I'm sure Miss Prisk, your teacher, is very proud of you.
SMILING.
When you smile you feel gay, pleasant and happy. When you frown you feel miserable. However I was walking down the street. The sun was bright, but a little boy was not, he was miserable and sad. I tried to cheer him up and I did, for when I smiled, he smiled, and went away merry, for I think he must have copied me.
All people like smilers. For instance, a man long ago wrote a saying, "Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone." When I come home from school, feeling cross and bad tempered, I see my little sister smiling and makes me smile too. You make everybody happy by smiling. Smiling, is contagious, so we must all keep on smiling.
