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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1981-06-10, Page 6it 4.4 ii tuun Advance -Times. June 10, 1981 rwident's message Dear students of F. E. Madill SS: It appears that another year is almost complete. For some of us, however, this wasn't "just another year", but one of great reward and pride. Besides being in my final year, I had the honor and prividge of serving as student council president. During the course of this past year I had the good fortune of working with a very • capable group of people, you student council representatives. We had the opportunity of working for a fantastic group of people, the student body of F. E. Madill. It has been a long but en- joyable year. We hope that many of the ideas which we have initiated will prove to be of great value to the stu- dents of this school in the future. We, the members of the student council, sin- cerely hope that the many hours of , planning (and worrying) have not been in vain and that they have pro- vided you with an enjoyable and memorable year. When Kathy and I decided to run for president and vice we had hopes for a great year. We haven't been dis- appointed thanks to the following people: Jeff Mulvey, our faithful assistant president; Louise Gibson, our well - organized assistant vice president ; Lori Anne Jamieson, our hard-working treasurer; Lynn Miller, our cal- culating assistant treasurer; Paul Craig, our fast - writing secretary; Marian Raynard, our dedi- cated, hard-working assistant secretary Robert Currie, our great social convener; Mrs. McDonald, our per- sonal advisor; Mrs. Campbell, our helping staff advisor ; Mr. Ritter, my personal saviour on many occasions; Class reps., who patiently endured all those meetings, and finally I would like to thank you, the student body, for your fantastic support. Without your help none of this would have been possible. Kathy and 1 sin- cerely hope that this past year has been as enjoyable for you as it has been for us. In closing, I would like to congratulate Lynne, Bernice and the entire school page staff for the excellent job that they have done during the past year I will always treasure these happy days that you have given me at F. E. Madill. Goodbye, good luck, and thank you for the greatest year of my life. Sincerely, Larry O'Malley 1980-81 Student Council President A history of F Citizens of the town of Wingham had felt strongly for some time that a high school was needed. Arrange- ments were quickly made to open classes in September 1906, in . three rooms at the \� ingham Public School. A site for the new hig., school was selected at the corner of Carling Terrace and John Street, consisting of five .vacant lots and a portion of William Armour's farm to the east of these lots. The land was bought at a cost of $905 and the contract for the building was set at $12,796 to be completed by January 1, 1907. The new school was a three-storey white brick WINGHAM DISTRICT HIGH SCHOOL 1955 James H. Currie Interview with a farmer student .With this issue being about lookitig,back we thought it would' be appropriate to interview one of "our" former students. In this case the student was a graduate in the 1913 class, was born in 1896 • and has lived under every 'Prime Minister since Sir Wilfrid Laurier. James H. Currie, a resident of Wingham, readily agreed to the inter- view when we approached him several weeks ago, and shared with me some of, his memories of the old Wingham High School. In 1905 Mr. Currie's ffather, John Thomas Currie, was elected commissioner of East Wawanosh and West Wawanosh and was the mainspring in helping Wingham to get the high school it wanted. Gradually the school was built by and for the people and held its first student body of 142 in 1907. Mr. Currie entered high school at the age of 12 -in 1908. In those days transportation consisted of the horse and buggy,' thus it was necessary for students to board in town. Mr. Currie lived with his grandfather and was, for those days, very lucky to receive a high school education, as it was not often done. In 1910 he had to stop for a year because he had to help his father. but eventually came back and graduated in 1913. When I asked of memories of school at this time, Mr. Currie provided a detailed and colourful account. For instance, instead of having the dances schools now have, they had what was called an "at-home". This was when the students came to school and, while an orchestra played, the boys filed out girls' cards as to when they could walk with a girl: The students "walked around, went up and down the stairs — ,promenade, they called it," Mr. Currie said. , As for team sports, they were there, but the trans- portation and facilitiesare much more advanced now. The train was the only form of transportation available and, unfortunat yam, was often too expensive for some. After graduating Mr. Currie joined the army, took what probably was the last cavalry course ever, and fought in WWI, being over- seas from Nov. 1916 to 1919. In this war he fought at the famous Passchendale battle, narrowly escaping being killed_ Also he came as part of the reinforcements to Vimy Ridge 14 days after the battle. After 1919 Mr. Currie returned to the area to take up the profession he always had wanted. farming. As if to prove his dedication. he -g¶ JAMES H. CURRIE Photo by Shawn McKague remained a .farmer and retired in the 1960s. Life was by no means.passing him by; upon retirement he packed his bags and travelled. To some travelling means visiting a few countries; for Mr. Currie it meant setting foot on every continent except Antarctica. I was very much intrigued by Mr. Currie because in the course of four interviews we only , 'skimmed over the colourful life he has led. Another point of interest is that Mr. Currie, an avid' reader, recently made ale considerable book donations (including a full. set of Encyclopedia Britannica) to F. E. Madill. So I must thank ' Mr. Currie for an interesting and enjoyable interview, as well as for the ' book donations. As mentioned before, only the. surface was covered in delving into the • life of James H. Currie. • (Thank you also, goes to - Shawn McKague for the pictures he had taken previously of Mr. Currie.) Bernice Passchier Former students look back Have you ever had stock car races with desks? This is an event that used to occur in the old Wingham high school. In this, the last issue of the school page for the 1980-81 season, it was decided we would look into the past of Wingham High and compare it to that of today. .For my comparison of now and then I used two teachers; Mr. Stuckey and Mr. McLennan, both of whom were students at Wingham High School. Mr. Stuckey attended the old Wingham High School which was situated where the tennis courts -and CKNX now stand. It was in this old building that the students used the desks as stock cars. He was in about'Grade 11 when he moved into the new Wingham High School. "It was at this time he became ' involved in a physical educa- tion program somewhat, like the one you get today. but it lacked some of the extra activities, At this time the main sports of the school were football, basketball, and some track events,„ -but nothing like the choice we have at the school today. Maybe the school has too many activities now. Mr. Stuckey feels that the school spirit was better when he was going to school. This could have 'something to do with the size of the school and the number of -people in- volved The students were much closer: more family - like. He feels this is one of the best schools in the area and he is glad he is working here. a Nowa on to Mr. McLennan, our football star, who is said to have had one of the worst broken Legs in the school's history. The school at the time when he was a student was very strict. There were such rules as: no gum chewing; you had to walk in a straight line from class to class, go directly to class with no stopping for a drink; you also had a class leader who led you from class to class. I'm surely glad we don't have rules like that today. Mr. McLennan also felt there was more school spirit then than now because of the smaller school, There also were more people involved in the school activities. Since there were only a few teams and activities to participate in, everyone joined. This created the problem of making cuts on the teams, which is opposite to the campaigning that goes on now to get people to join the teams. The students enjoyed staying after school to participate because they had no job or outside activities to rush home to. The student body of Madill should feel privileged that both Mr. McLennan and Mr. Stuckey enjoyed Wingham enough to return to teach here. This shows the school must have been just as good then as it is now. I would like to thank Mr. Stuckey and Mr. McLennan for their information and opinions to help with this article. Jo McCormick building with front and side entrances. On the first floor were two large classrooms, a teachers' room, waiting room hall, a id a cloak room. Theere three on three wse. id fl, • �, assenibl i on i, , . c, rd floor. Th, to Ann the boiler roc rooms. The scho, to accommodate dents. Total costfor land rd building etc. was $17,121.:, t The first principal of . Wingham High School was Mr. John. A. Taylor. His teaching assistants included Mr, James G. Workman, Miss Blanche Ketcheson, and Mr. John E. Smith. The formal opening of the school combined with the first annual commencement exercises took place at the. opera house in Wingham, August 30, 1907. For the next 42 years the Wingham High School would provide secondary education to students in the town and surrounding area. .Students from out of town were re- quired to find their own transportation and many boarded in town, especially during winter months. A resulting increase enrol- ment and the establishment of shops and - ;home economics classes made it necessary to .expand facili- ties in 1951 and 1952. Tem-. porary rooms were added with the purchase of an H - hut from the RCAF station at Port Albert. Serious over- crowding and the age of the original building dictated that a new school had to be built. A contract in 1954 started immediately on a sitejust to the southeast of• the old school. In December, 1954, just prior to the onset of the Christmas vacation and in the early evening, fire totally destroyed the H -huts along with the equipment valued at $24,000. Firemen were able to prevent the fire from reaching the`ppailn'ly '*1 ding. Fortunately the'riew school • under , construction was sufficiently far advanced to permit the taking over. of seven classes in the west wing.' February 1, 1955, all the students moved to the building. 'The Wingham Dis- trict High School .was 'of- ficially opened April 20, 1955. New dimensions in educa- tion were added when facili- ties were added to provide commercial, industrial arts, agriculture, home econo- mics, . and ,physical educa- tion. • The cost of the new building was $625,000, ser- ving ' an area of about 25 square miles, but the school population was close to 500. The school was built to ac- commodate 520 students. The school board sold the property Of the old school building to the town for the total sum of $1, to be used for a public school building or a television station. It was sold to W. T. Cruickshank, owner ,t '1 ,,lay omit " E. Madill of CKNX station, forthe plir; chase price of $1. The first addition to the new Wingham High School was built in 1955 with an ag. science lab., drafting shop and home ec. room. The school in 1963 was opened to students from the Lucknow and Ripley District High Schools to take courses not offered in their own schools.' The second addition was finally completed April 23, 1964•. They added five shops, two typing rooms, one business machines room, four classrooms, a library, a gym, a health room, a book - room, and an administration area, and a cafeteria and kitchen. A third addition was added and opened on December 10, 1958. In 1968 the Lucknow High School was closed and the staff from Lucknow 'moved into the expanded facilities in Wingham. It provided stu- dent education for Huron, Kinloss, Culross, Carrick, Ashfield and East and West Wawanosh, Turnberry, Grey, and Morris townships. A new name for the high school was needed and the Huron -Bruce school board voted to name the school F. E. Madill Secondary School in honor of Mr. Frank E, Madill who had served the school as a teacher, vice -principal and principal successively since 1934. In 1971 the student popula- tion reached its peak of 1,430 with a staff of 78 teachers. The school now entered the phase of declining enrol- ment, which is expected to last until the late 1980's. ,. Hopefully this historical summary will enable the reader to trace the origin and evolution of secondary education in this community and district and to under- stand the major changes in educational philosophy which have shaped the course and direction of education at the F. E. -Madill Secondary School. . Principals of the school since 1906: Mr. J. A. Taylor, 1906-1909; Mr. J. C. Work- man, 19094910; Mr. • J. G. Smith, 1911-1913; Mr. H. E. Ricker, 1913-1915; Mr. G. R. Smith, 19154917; Mr. C. L. Brown, 1917-1918; Mr. W. H. Houser, 1918:1920; Mr. G. L. Brackenbury; 1920=1934; Mr. W. Stanley Hall, 1934-1959; Mr. F. E. Madill, 1959-1969; Mr. G. E. Philips, 1969-1975; Mr. R. P. Ritter, 1975 to the present. Mary Luanne Clare 12B Jeff Hunter 12D Good luck to you It is time for us at The Advance -Times to say goodbye again to a group of energetic young writers who have livened our pages for the past nine months. It has been a privilege getting to know you, both in person and through your work, and helping you in whatever small ways. Your articles have been well- written, interesting and often thought-provoking, and you have set a high standard for your successors. Our best wishes to you in your future endeavors. We will miss your contribution as, we are sure, will your many other faithful readers, both young and not -so -young. Good luck. Athletic b Wedntesday. June E 1A!os the climax , of the '84-'81 sporting season at Madill as over 200 Madill attilet gathered to eat, enjoy e11ter- tainment and pay tribute to the award winners. This year's theme was "A Salute to the Handicapped" and • our inspiration was Terry Fox. A display of.aidS for the handicapped as welt as posters of handicapped athletes which adorned the cafeteria walls boasted the theme. As usual; the meal was pot -luck and also, as usual, it was' delicious! (Also, as usual, this athlete ate too much!). Kevin Wamsley acted as emcee for the night and did a fine job of keeping the pro- gram moving smoothly. The raffle on a gray sweatsuit was won by Nandy Dickson, who was there as a special guest to present- the girls' McKibbon Award. Esther Nethery also was present to present the Olympic Award. Entertainment was pro- vided by the graduating female athletes. A special presentation by the Athletic Council marked Mr. Camp- bell's 26th year of coaching! Congratulations, Mr. C! Over 50 awards and trophies were made to out- standing Madill athletes in badminton, basketball, volleyball, football, X - country, skiing and running, track and field, soccer and curling aswell as many special award. Coach of the Year honors went with a standing. ovation to Mr. Mali, Who led this year's Senior soccer team to a Huron - Perth Championship t The Olympian Award for dedication and upholding of the Olympic spirit of sports- manship and fairplay went to Mike Dennis. Mike has played soccer, volleyball and fctptbal'atld Iittl ijt d in many intramural programs. Anton' Fass41100 and Kathy Underwood 'claimed the McKibbon 'Awards for effort and sportsmanship Both have bean athletic con= veners and represented Madill two years ago at On tarro Athletic • Leadershiip MEV. Anton has played volleyball and soccer white Kathy • -participated in basketball and track. ' • Top honors of the eve*iing went to this year's top male athlete, Kevin Warnsle%y, and top female athlete, Lori Goodall_ Lori's sports during her years at Madill have in- cluded basketball, ,volley - bail, and track and she also served as, girls' athlete con- vener. Kevin has., distin- guished himself in football, soccer, basketball, ,volley - hall and gymnastica- Congratulations volleyballandgymnastica- Congratulations ,to . all award -winners and to. all athletes for another success- ful year of sports at' Madill. (This year Madill brought home: three Huron -Perth pennants: Senior Boys' Soccer, -Girls' and Boys' %- country skiing champion- ships, and a WOSSA skiing championship.) Thanks to, everyone who helped set up the cafeteria, Mrs. Shaw and Ms. Schofield for their immeasurable hours of hard work, and the Athletic Council for a very successful Athletic Banquet '81! Purple chaser "We live in time, and the past must always be the most momentous part of it". by Lionel Johnson, Post Liminium, 211. Diane Dennis 13A ATHLETIC BANQUET WINNERS—The annual ath- letic awards banquet was held fast Wednesday eve- ning at the F. E. Madill Secondary School. Major award winners were: Anton Passchier, the boys' Mc- Kibbon Trophy; Kathy Underwood, the girls' McKib- bon Trophy; Mike Dennis, the Madill Olympian Award; Kevin Wamsley, top boy athlete; and Lori Goodall, top girl athlete. THE MADILL ATHLETIC COUNCIL helps to co-ordinate athletic events and fufC'fioris throughout the school year. The council or- ganlzed last Wedtresday evening's athletic banquet held at- the school: Members are Erie Underwood, Kay Morrison, Tracey Mc- Kay, Tom White, Chris Meier and Anton Passchier. 3.