guelph alumnus magazine, may 1973

WHAT makes a tri p unforgetable Could it be the compatibility of the

participants the historical sites and country they vi sited the fact that they all shared a very common experience quite early in the trip-that of having little or no luggage for the first two days (though inconvenient at the time it certainly had its advantages)-or that everyone was assoc iated with Guelph or perhaps a combination of all these factors Wh ateve r it was some 55 alumni and friends spent 10 marvellous days together in sunny Spain from March 30 to April 9 This was the first such trip organized by the University of Guelph Alumni Association

The outstanding highlight of the trip was the day spent at Carrascosa del Cam po Tarancon and Sagobriga where Dr M Sadek from the Department of Fine Art at Guelph who accompanied the group to Spain led the first Canadian all visito r expedition to the site of the ancient Roman ruins which he and his team are uncovering southeast of Madrid (D r Sadek and the team will be excavating at the site from May 14 to June 30) Alumni from all colleges representi ng years from 1921 to 1972 were brought closer together as they wal ked through the ruins surrounded by flocks of sheep on the hiilsides and an occasional donkey Members of the group left the si te feeling very proud that their University is engaging in such an important project of archeology

Naturally the trip woul d not have been complete without visits to Toledo t he former capital of Spain the bullfights the fla menco shows the sangria parties trips to Granada and Tangiers and of course some time along the beaches of the Costa del Sol The enthusiasm of this group throughout the entire trip and for the possibility of the next one would indicate that there should be a trip organized for 1974 bull

Members of the alumni party to Spain visit the Alhambra in Granada (above) ride burros sit at outdoor cafes and vis it an ancient Roman amphitheatre (at right) being excavated by Dr M Sadek of the Universitys Department of Fine Art

TEN 5PRfNG DAY5 fN 5PAfN

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UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

May-June 1973 Vol 6 No3

GUEL HALUMNUS

CREDITS

Cover design (taken from the Polar Bear Express which runs from Cochrane to Moosonee) Lyle Docherty

Photography Rosemary Clark p 2 Lyle Docherty Department 01 Information p 8 above Dave Helsdon Audio-Visual Services p 6 below (this photo won the Walmer Wabstek award as Ihe best in the magazine) Professor D C Jordon Department of Microbiology pp 1 10-14 Dave Webster pp 6 above 9181921

Writin g Rosemary Clark pp 2 24 Mary Cocivera Department of Information pp 10-14 Dave Webster other articles

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH ALUMNI ASSOCIAT ION

HONORARY PRESIDENT Dr W C Winegard

PRESIDENT T R HIL ~ IARD OAC 40

SENIOR VICE-PRESI DENT Mrs J D (Virginia Shortt) Bandeen Mac 57

VICE-PRESIDENTS Dr Sandra J (Kelk) Chernesky OVC 63 Frances Lampman Mac 54 A C McTaggart OAC 35 and Patri cia Moll Well 70

SECRETARY Dr J H Millington OVC 69

TREASURER J J Elmslie Development Officer University of Guelph

DIRECTORS Elizabeth Brandon Well 70 Mrs J B (Doreen Kern) Dawson Mac 54 Mrs R P (Valerie Mittler) Gilmor BA 72 M G Greer OAC 41 Mrs A R (Shirley Ann McFee) Holmes Mac 62 Mrs M (Linda Sully) Keith Well 67 Dr W H Minshall OAC 33 Dr Jean M Rumney OVC 39 Mrs S W (Pat Damude) Squire Mac 63 and J A Wiley OAC 58

EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS A L Gouge Well 69 president Arts and Sc iences Alumni Asociatlon G R Greenlees OAC 62 president OAC Alumni Association Dr Elizabe th Gullett Mac 55 president Macdonald Institute-Family and Consumer Stud ies Alumn i Association Dr F D Horney OVC 51 president OVC Alumni Abullbullociatlon and J K Babcock OAC 54 director A lumni Affairs and Development

Th e Guelph Alumnus is published by the Department of Al umni Affairs and Deve lopment University of Guelph

The Editorial Committee is comprised of Editor-Dave Webster BA 71 Alumni Officer Art Director- Lyle Docherty BA 72 J K Babcock OAC 54 Director of Alumni Affairs and Developmenl Rosemary Clark Mac 59 Senior Alumni Officer D L Waterston Director of Information D W Jose OAC 49 Assistant Director of Information

The Editorial Advisory Board of Ihe University of Guelph Alumni Association is comprised of Dr J H Millington OVC 69 chairman Robert Merce r OAC 59 David Nowett BA 72 G B Powell OAC 62 James Rusk OAC 65 Mrs Joan (Ellerington) Tanner Mac 57 Ex-officio J K Babcock OAC 54 T R Hilliard OAC 40 Corresponding members D R Baron OAC 49 G M Carman OAC 49 and H G Dodds OAC 58

Undeli ve red copies should be returned to Alumni House Unive rsity of Guelph Guelph Onlario Canada

Contents

page 7

2 Ten spring days in Spain Fitty-f ive alumni and friends spent 10 days touring Spain and visi ted an archeo logical site being excavated by a member of the University

4 Sir Williams big brick schoolhouse Come tou r the labyrinthine ro oms of Macdonald Consolidated the school with a spirit that made up for weaknesses in structure In spite of architectural defects that outraged the man who paid for it the Macdonald Consolidated pioneered in several educational movements

7 Hugh Calverley farmer artist man 01 surprises The late Hugh Calver ley father or father-in-law to ix Guelph graduates turned in the fi nal years of his life to art and created works of considerab le impact Calverley was a man of unusual disposi ti on whose achievements ranged from poetry to the gathering of scrapped World War II bombers

10 Guelph North The North a region large ly neglected by scientists Is the focus for a number of University of Guelph resea rch p ro jects Mam mals in the hig h Arctic pollution from mine wastes the microbiology of the Hudson Bay Lowland-all these and more are under study at the University

15 The long arm of politics The OAC was founded by the Ontario government and for the fi rst 90 yea rs of its history was under the gove rnments direct contro l Th is situation sometimes led to difficulties as is shown by extracts from From School to University Professor A M Rosss history 01 the college

18 Green Thumb Day packs em in Some 270 people turn ed out for tree-plan ting interest session s fellowship and a buffet dinner at the alumni associations second an nual Green Thumb Day

19 Campus highlights

22 Letters (Now it can be told) The st Patricks Day brawl of 1927 is recalled by th ree participants

-page 22

23 Alumni News

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Sir Williams big brick schoolhouse Above This postcard which was printed before 1910 shows teachers and pupils tending the garden at Macdonald Consolidated

THE big red schoolhouse down the hill from Macdonald Institute has seen many

changes It sits like an aged veteran in a wheelchair and stares with unblinking glass eyes at passing traffic Its name Macdonald Consolidated School still remains on the white Greek-revival portico where it was carved seven decades ago But the 1unction of the school has changed several times In fact the changes in the use of this building correspond with principal changes in the Ontario school system

Macdonald Consolidated may claim to be the province s first consolidated school It was built in 1904 with fund s donated by Sir William Macdonald the man who founded the Macdonald Tobacco Company and made the donations which built Macdonald Institute and Macdonai d Hall Si r William and his associate Dr J W Robertson thought Guelph an excellent location for the new school They hoped that farmers visiting the OAC would pick up the consolidated school idea and carry it back to their home communities

Sir William purchased two-and-a-half acres of land for the school and donated $20000 towards its construction But the school was not completed entirely according to his specifications The money he had donated did not cover the total construction costs and changes in the plans were made apparently without Sir William s knowledge It was only at the official opening of the school that he discovered how extensive the changes had been According to a story

told by the late Harry Westerby mayor of Guelph at the time Sir Williams reaction was violent

He had been ceremoniously met at the Guelph railway station and driven up College Hill to the newly-completed school Here he was to cut the ribbon that would officially open it However Sir William was a man of forceful manner he saw the school he did not like what he saw and he reacted characteristically Oh is that the way youve wasted my money he cried And he wouldnt visit the school he wouldnt cut the ceremonial ribbon he wouldnt even descend from the carriage So the embarrassed Guelphites were oblige d to turn their procession around and drive Sir William back to the train station where he waited two hours for a connecting trai n to Toronto According to Mr Westerbys story Sir William swore he would give no more money to Guelph and he never did

J A Mac donald a principal of the school but no relation to Sir William referred obliquely to the incident in an article in the 1921 OAC Review

The sum specified for the erection of the building twenty thou sand dollars was insufficient to carry out the original bull specifications and hence a change was made by the committee in charge so as to come within this sum The building when completed was visited by Sir William Macdonald who evidently was not too well pleased with the change and his first visit proved to be his last

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In fact the building was architecturally inferior It was built in a very austere (ashion with almost no ornament says Professor Gordon Couling a member of the University s Department of Fine Art To people of the time it would have looked more like an industrial building than a public edifice The school also had serious structural weaknesses which led to the closing several years ago of its second floor

But in 1904 the school represented a whole new experiment in education Six rural school sections located to the north as well as to the south of Guelph agreed to consolidate and send their children to Macdonald Consolidated The children were brought to the school in horse-drawn vans (a stable for the horses was erected near the present Textiles and Design Building) The length of time they spent in these vans was considerable it was comparable apparently to the time todays rural youngsters spend on the school bus or the urban commuter spends in his car But the belief was that the quality of education in the new school would be superior to that available in the little red schoolhouses further out in the country To encourage the new school Sir William undcrtook to pay for three years any costs above those the six school sections had paid in the past

Sir William s project was not too successshyful At the end of the three years costs were one-third above those of the old system When the consolidation project was subshymitted for a vote four of the six school sections turned it down-although as Mr Macdonalds article said one of those sections rejected it by two votes the other rejected it by only one

Macdonald Consolidated was used for practice teaching throughout the period when a normal school program was offered at Macdonald Institute Mac girls would come to the school to teach domestic science (that is cooking sewing and other household arts) While the girls were thus absorbed the boys would receive lessons in manual training (woodworking machine shop etc ) from instructors from the OAC

In its early years Mac(ionald Consolidated was noted for its school garden Such gardens were regular features of schools of the times but the one at Macdonald was rather special It was three-quarters of an acre in size and provided produce which was canned and bottled in the domestic science classes This produce helped provide the hot lunches which were another distinctive feature of the school

Macdonald Consolidated had a long and

-Above A second view of the school garden Below The horse-drawn vans shown in the photo brought children to the school

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Preschool children come to Macdonald to attend a nursery school and an educational clinic

distinguished list of alumni One of them Fred Krouse established a gold medal for the highest mark in the school s high school entrance examination He also initiated a fund to provide flowers for children from the school who were sick Macdonald Consolidated also had one of Ontarios first home and school associations an association which was founded in 1925

After the consolidated school project was abandoned the school came under the Guelph Township School Board In 1966 this board was absorbed into the Guelph District Board of Education which then took over the school In 1969 Macdonald Consolidated came under the newly-created Wellington County Board of Education

But by this time the o ld building presented problems it was structurally unsound and needed repairs and the students who had once attended it were being transferred to other more modern schools Yet the school could not be converted to other purposes Sir William had stipulated when he donated it in 1904 that it was to be used solely for education In the end the board decided to repair the school so that its main floor at least could be used (the second floor remains unoccupied) And now as a reshyflection of todays emphasis on preschool education the building is devoted to the very young

Among other things the building is being used for an educational clinic for four-yearshyold children This clinic was initiated by Professor Norma Bowen of the Universitys Department of Psychology who was awarded a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Education and is operated in coshyoperation with the Board of Education Under it forty children are given lessons which are integrated informally into play periods The progress of these children who will enter kindergarten next year and grade school the year after will be watched carefully to see if the clinic has given them a head start in the school system

Macdonald Consolidated may continue to retlect trends in the educational system It is not well fitted to provide classroom space the cavernous rooms and lofty ceilings are inconvenient and the second floor is because of the buildings weakness closed off But the school does provide space for the experimental projects that are not well enough established to be integrated into the school system In coming years a spokesman for the Board of Education said the school may be used for classes for children with learning disabilities bull

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Hugh Calverley farmer artist man of surprises

A chalk pastel done near the end of Hugh Calverleys life

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For most people old age is the harshest most difficult stage of life But for Hugh Calverley member of the English landed gentry immigrant to Canada soldier in the First World War farmer near Oakville and father of five children (four of whom attended Guelph) old age was a time of continual activity At the age of 68 when most people are retiring from worldly concerns Calverley turned to drawing and painting In the nine years up to his death in 1971 he produced more than 200 works most of them done with chalk pastels (although he tried a wide variety of art techniques) and many of them distinctive enough to be featured in exhibitions One such exhibition at which some 80 of his works were displayed was held recently at the University of Guelph

Calverleys works are primarily pastel drawings of Ilowers although he has also done landscapes and portraits of the members of his family says Judy Nasby the Universitys curator of art They are complex and sophisticated and show an unusual sense of colour and composition Their most striking characteristics are perhaps the warmth and gaiety they project

Calverleys family had a number of

connections with Guelph His father studied poultry farming at the OAC when first he came to Canada in 1912 His three sons enrolled at Guelph and each married girls who were also students there The eldest son O M Calverley OAC 50 married Gwen Stewart Mac 50 and now raises beef cattle on a farm near Innisfail Alta

The second son Dr A H Calverley OVC 52 and his wife Dr B J Calverley also OVC 52 are now in veterinary practice at Aurora Ontario The third son Dr J L Calverley OVC 58 married Frances Cook OVC 58 and is now living at Carmen Manitoba A daughter Anne also attended Guelph in 1946 before going into nursing (In that year three Calverley children were in first year at the OAC) In later years the Calverleys became grandshyparents in all they had 23 grandchildren to which like most grandparents they were strongly attached But Hugh Calverley was at the same time an intensely individualistic man an unpredictable person who was guided by his own inner spirit not the conventions of society

-ioday his farm and the house in which he lived are filled with tokens of his presence His letters poems and records overflow from a trunk in an upstairs bedshyroom His paintings hang throughout the house and flovvers of the type he would sketch sit at the table where he used to work His daughter Mrs Sybil Rampen art teacher wife of CBC producer Leo Rampen and mother of five children lives with her family in the house and acts as keeper of his works

Calverleys individuality corresponds with his family background his father was squire of Oulton in England he bore a title which extended back to the Middle Ages when Sir John de Calverley was knighted by Henry IV Calverleys mother came from a family with intellectual and artistic learnings her father was an ornithologist and colleague of Charles Darwin Calverley himself came to Canada in 1912 and settled with his parents in OaKville At the outset of the First World War he enlisted and was posted to such theatres as Gallipoli the bull Western Desert Gaza and France he was twice wounded and twice decorated At Gallipoli one of the most frightful theatres of the war he showed that preoccupation with flowers that appeared 50 years later in his art Calverley and a botanist friend

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Above The table and chair at which Calverley used to work At right Calverley and a grandson stop at a farm fence

would walk out into the no-mans-land which divided the two armies There under the guns of an enemy that was too weary or too short of ammunition to fire he would each day pick a flower

At the close of war Calverley returned to Canada partially disabled and severely shaken psychologically A doctor advised that for the sake of his health he turn to farming Thus he established himself on a farm in Trafalgar Township north of Oakville And there he married Amelia Firtsch family governess and granddaughter of the aide-de-camp to Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph

Calverley was living in a country that was only a few generations from pioneering among people who were closely-knit and conservative However he went about farming in his own way he attacked problems not through conventional methods but in a highly individual manner Such an approach sometimes produced concrete results For instance he introduced red alfalfa asparagus and grapes at a time when such crops were unheard-of among his neighbou rs

Times were often difficult for farmers in the area In the tilirties for instance thieves

would come in the night to clean out a farmers poultry thus leaving him with little to sell sometimes with little to eat Calverley protected his own poultry by a network of mines and exploding devices that could have fatally injured any trespasser One neighbour did have some of his chickens stolen On a subsequent night Calverley heard sounds in a neighshybour s chicken-house and suspected that the thieves had returned to complete the theft He went out with a rifle located the car that the thieves had parked and shot out all four tires thus preventing their escape

It was also in the thirties that Calverley came down with rheumatic fever then a disease which was considered incurable He travelled to the Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States for a treatment that was then highly experimental and was able to recover Afterwards he travelled middotto Egypt where a sister was involved in archeology When returning his ship stopped at Marseilles and in a burst of Calverley unpred ictab ility he jumped ship and spent severa l weeks touring France

Ol1e Calverley action became kn own throughou t the region in which the farm was

8

located the time was the close of the Second World War the place at the outset was Malton where the RCAF found itself with a stock of obsolete airplanes In this situation Calverley was able to buy the wings of 200 mosquito bombers complete with gas tanks piping and other paraphernalia These he trucked a few at a time to his farm where by the time the job was done they covered a whole field As a result people from miles around would drive by to gape at the sight But like many things that seemed bizarre the airplane wings served an important purpose the brass screws in them could be taken out and sold for significant sums of money Such considerashytions were of great importance for a family struggling to send five children through college on a shoestring

In 1952 Calverley began seriously writing poems he continued to do so up to his death in 1971 A collection of his later works given the name Pool Sets was published several years ago by his youngest son Pool Sets is a series of free-verse compositions written daily during the time perhaps an hour in length when his wife was in their swimming pool The situation sounds genteel suburban and upper-middleshyclass But in no way was it so Mrs Calverley suffered arthritis following a hip injury and was unable to walk The swimshyming pool an outdoor model which was heated to 90degF had been built specially for her and she used it summer and winter for a vigorous program of exercises Even when the icy winds of January blew over the fields she exercised clad only in a woollen hat and watched by her husband or a grandchild to make sure she didnt black out in the water By these Spartan methods she developed strength enough to walk without a cane

Calverley was quite knowledgeable in art and had long pursued it as a hobby but when his daughter asked him to pose for one of her portrait c lasses he began to work intensely at it At one point he was called away to England for a three-day business trip But Calverley began taking his sketch pad into the pubs and drawing the English in their natural habitat In the end he stayed several months

Flowers like those he had picked half a century earlier at Gallipoli became his principal subject He sketched bunches of flowers-a new bunch was set out for him

every day- but only if they were fresh and in their prime

In 1970 Calverley suffered a severe stroke which left him partially paralyzed Shortly afterwards his wife died But still he pershysisted in his work Until his own death in 1971 he continued to show the energy and tenacity which had so long characterized him

Are there lessons to be drawn from Calverley s rather extraordinary life Perhaps one of them is that old age need not be a time of sorrow and desolation It may be a time when lifes possibilities are explored with a courage and vigour that is not shown in younger men

Magnolias given by a friend in lieu of funeral flowers bloom beside the

Calverley farmhouse

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By MARY COCIVERA

Canadas North-land of vast barren beauty untapped natural resources and fascination-will play an increasing role in the life of the nation Untouched landscapes and a plethora of wildlife tempers its desolation and remoteness From the arid deserts of the high Arctic islands to the swampy peatlands of the Hudson Bay Lowland Canadas North entices man with untold potential in minerals fuel and exploitable natural resources

Research in all aspects of the North is a crucial prerequisite to informed decisions on development Potential areas for study include permafrost resource inventories wildlife inventories environmental effects of gas and oil drilling and pipelines environshymental effects of roads sociology of indigenous peoples and vital life processes in all areas of the North

The University of Guelph has recognized the need for such studies and encouraged several research groups in a variety of projects related to Canadas great North Several of these projects were described in last years May-June Alumnus those described here should supplement that list and reveal preliminary results of those studies

Permafrost study A permafrost study in the Department of Land Resource Science funded by the Universitys Research Advisory Board explored the feasibility of conducting studies on the Arctics physical environshyment The study concluded that there is a definite need for (1) extensive research in this area (2) an information exchange beshytween research groups and (3) a co-ordinated research effort between disciplines Part of the study a literature survey resulted in a bibliography of existing information on

the physical environment of the North A survey of current research in North America pinpointed major areas of research activity and the groups conducting such research A third phase of the study perhaps the most significant in terms of future efforts defined the research needs of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic particularly in the earth sciences

The land resource scientists identified two areas for expanded research efforts the Arctic islands where there is imshymediate pressure for the development of gas deposits and the Hudson Bay Lowland whose hydroelectric potential and coal deposits and proximity to populated areas will exert an eventual pressure for development

The study explains that Arctic research in the past has tended to be limited to short term programs completed by consulting firms of engineers geologists and geograshyphers Now and in the future the need is for more integrated long range studies incorporating physical and biological scientists Their findings will provide the basic data for long term development plans that would minimize harmful effects to the northern environment Arctic research will also benefit from agreements within and among universities to develop inteshygrated programs and joint research facilities

Following the studys recommendation to encourage more exchange of information the Department of Land Resource Science recently sponsored a symposium on the physical environment of the Hudson Bay Lowland Authorities from several universities and government agencies discussed the current body of knowledge on the lowlands environment in terms of geological and surface deposits biological

productivity micro meteorology permafrost distribution and muskeg ecology

Hudson Bay Lowland An interdisciplinary research project in the Hudson Bay Lowland sponsored by the University s Research Advisory Board is one of the first research efforts in this previously neglected area Covering oneshyquarter the area of Ontario and bordering the western side of James Bay the lowland is drastically different from any other land area in the North

Although the lowland is relatively close to us the area is inaccessible perhaps accounting for the virtual vacuum in research data Professor D C Jordan Microbiology who heads the University of Guelph team explained that much of the area is covered with water during the temperate months The water is too shallow for boat canoe or seaplane transport and too deep for easy foot travel Getting from one place to another means simply slogging through knee and hip-deep water treading cautiously on the tangle of roots that underlie the surface water and fighting off hungry hordes of black flies

The lowland covers areas of continuous permafrost discontinuous permafrost and permafrost free zones It has the largest uninterrupted peat deposit in the world Muskeg or swampy peatland is the dominant terrain but there are so many different types of terrain and plant growth that broad generalizations based on data collected in one small area would be invalid

In view of the lack of research data in this region the Guelph team has attempted to establish baseline data on microbial ecological aspects of the Moose River area within the Hudson Bay Lowland This

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data can be used as a measuring stick to determine future changes in the environshyment caused by development Because of the complex nature of this environment a multidisciplinary approach has been adopted involving sc ientists in the Microbiology Land Resource Science Environmental Biology and Zoology departments

Microbial activity governs the basic biological processes upon which all other life forms depend-decay and the cycling of elemental nitrogen carbon phosphorus and sulphur As a starting point for low Arctic research the team is looking at these interactions in the unique multiphasic ecosystem in the Hudson Bay Lowland Their investigations include a look at sewage disposal problems in permashyfrost areas

In its first stages the purpose of the study was to determine the feasibility of establishing a baseline from which to evaluate certain future types of deteriorashytion of the Sub-Arctic and Arctic marine and terrestrial environments and for the establishment of guidelines for intelligent and maximum resource usage During the

past year the team has assessed the logistical problems of collecting and analyzing data in the James Bay-Moosonee region of the Hudson Bay Lowland These studies have led to suggestions of areas for future research Additional probes weremiddot made in Churchill representing the northern extremity of the Hudson Bay Lowland

Work in the Moosonee area will continue through this summer and perhaps into next year depending on the availability of funds

The Quebec governments announced massive hydroelectric development in the James Bay area and the Ontario governshymentmiddots probes into developing this area make such basic research critical On the basis of present data predictions on the ecological effect of such developments is simply impossible Professor Jordan and R A Johnston in a brief presented to the James Bay committee stressed the importance of long range studies on all aspects of this environment and on establishing a baseline for intelligent resource use

Even the preliminary activities of road building and work camps have had their

effect on the ecology of the area Sewage organisms ere already in the streams about 2000 transients have settled in the area and traces of pesticides and heavy metals are present

Futher development is inevitableshydeposits of soft coal hydroelectric power and minerals will be targets for developers Research data collected over a period of five to six years or longer will enable establishment of guidelines for developshyment which will minimize the detrimental effects on this unique environment

The Hudson Bay Lowland is also a focal point of the permafrost study in the Department of Land Resource Science Professor B D Kay said that plans call for evaluation of the sensitivity of different terrain types to modification by human habitation development of models which can predict changes in soil temperatures and development of a terrain sensitivity rating for the different terrain types in the lowlands Preliminary field studies will begin in 1973 around Moosonee and Churchill

Resource use in the North Concern over resource use has prompted

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on seals such as voluntary regulation of heart beat and blood circulation could have direct application to human medicine and mans underwater adaptation Other basic data will help maintain populations of this major Canadian species A creature of the western Arctic the ringed seal is the subject of extensive research activities Baseline data necessary for further studies of this Arctic mammal has been established by scientists working in cooperation with the Fisheries Research Boards Arctic Biological Station Professor J R Geraci Zoology has participated in this investigashytion designed to determine some effects of Arctic exploration and development on mammal populations The ringed seal is a vital source of food and income for Eskimos To date investigations have encompassed biochemistry hematology and food utilizashytion of the seals with future plans to investigate the effects of man-induced changes and naturally occurring diseases

Tiny marine crustacea Cumacea form one of the primary links in the Arctic food chain An important source of food for fish 20 species of these crustacea live in Arctic and Sub-Arctic waters Working in coshyoperation with the Fisheries Research Boards Arctic Biological Station Professor S Corey Zoology is investigating the distribution of these Cumacea from Hudson Bay through the Arctic Archipelago

Small mammals in the Arctic may provide clues about how all wildlife adapts to the meagre solar energy in the North Professor K Myers and Professor R J Brooks Zoology are monitoring changes in number and studying reproduction and behavior patterns of the lemming field mouse and snowshoe hare They are comparing the field mouse and the snowshoe hare in

southern and northern regions Professor Myers is interested in the popUlation dynamics of all three animals aiming at an understanding of the cyclical variations of populations He feels there is a relationship between population levels and available plant nutrients and perhaps solar energy (or sunspots) Professor Brooks is particushylarly concerned with an explanation for the lemming populations failure to peak at its last four year interval Although the cause may be natural he suspects that new gravel pits and high levels of DDT may have contributed to this

As Canada looks north to its rich if inhospitable frontier scientists at the University of Guelph will playa significant role in determining the shape of its future development If research data collected now and in the near future can influence political decisions on northern development unnecessary and unpredictable damage to this unique and unspoiled land may be avoided bull

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OAC history

The long arm of politics The OAC was not a college like other colleges Many of the Canadian institutions of higher learning that were set up in the nineteenth century were established by the churches primarily to prepare young men for the ministry The OAC on the other hand was established by the Ontario government with the aim of serving the provinces farm community Where other institutions had considerable autonomy in conducting their affairs the OAC was direclly under the Ontario Minister of Agriculture This relationship between college and governshyment which was not altered until the coming of university status in 1964 often caused uneasy situations The following article composed of selections from From School to University Professor A M Rosss history of the OAC describes some of them (The selections from the book are printed in normal type those paragraphs printed in italics link the selections or paraphrase information Readers are reminded that this article is a condensed version of the book Various passages are omitted because of lack of space or to avoid controversy The book itself is being published by the OAC

Alumni Association in honour of the colleges hundredth birthday in 1974 It will be available later this year at a preshypublication discount to Alu mnus readers)

IN 1871 John Sandfield Macdonalds Conservative government purchased land

near Mimico for Ontarios agricultural college (or school of agriculture as it was also named) However in the same year Ontario went Liberal Oliver Mowat the new premier and Archibald McKellar his minister of agriculture decided after some investigations to move the site to Guelph where better land was available The move was condemned by Mowats political opponents

The Opposition Party headed by M C Cameron one of the notable political figures of the time took the issue of the Mimico deal to the hustings The Toronto Globe maintained that the Mimico site was one of the bribes or inducements dangled by Sandfield Macdonald and his colleagues before the eyes of the constituencies during the election of 1871 The Mail

A 1903 view of the OAO

Toronto s leading Conservative organ argued in one of its editorials that the removal of the proposed college from Mimico was a bit of Liberal trickery On 31 December 1874 the Mail even alleged that the Government had moved the Farm to Guelph to appease Peter Gow a Liberal MPP from Guelph for his expUlsion from the cabinet

In 1873 Henry McCandless was appointed principal of the college He soon found that much of his staff was to be drawn from the friends of the party in power James Stirton who was hired as farm superinshytendent was the son of a member of the legislature In his application he had included as references the names of eight members of parliament

The Government also appointed a Mr Henning to the College staff He was a brother of the Honourable George Browns brother-in-law Henning told the Principal that he was to be farm manager steward or something in that way In the end he seems to have excelled only at parading

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Three Ontario ministers of agriculture from left Hon John Dryden 1890-1905

Hon Charles Drury 1888-1890 Hon Nelson Monteith 1905-1908

the streets of Guelph and the Ontario Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts had to discharge him (The scandal that subshysequently broke over the OAC is described in detail in The Model Farm Scandal chapter two of From School to University)

Mr McCandless was succeeded by men considerably superior in ability William Johnston served as OAC president from 1874 to 1879 James Mills held the post from 1879 to 1904 and George Creelman was president from 1904 to 1920 These men administered the college often in the face of tight government restrictions on spending

The letter which President Creelman sent to W H Day of Physics on 19 February 1910 needs little explanation

Dear Sir I passed an account for your Departshy

ment this week for $350 for a lead pencil sharpener two in fact for the same building I am afraid this will look extravagant in the Public Accounts and while it is so hard for us to get money for ordinary maintenance I think you will agree with me that it is not well to incur such extravagance at this time I have never felt for instance that I could afford such a luxu ry for my office

Very truly yours G C Creelman

Penny pinching of this kind may seem amusing today but its effect in CreelmanS time when brought to bear upon faculty salaries meant the loss of good men like George Day and a weakening of 3cademic excellence

Political patronage in Creelmans day was by no means a thing of the past and the College from time to time was made to realize its responsibilities On 26 September 1912 W H Day received this letter from the Honourable James S Duff

Dear Prof Day I have been informed that in the

County of Bruce convenient to Tara our political friendsieel somewhat sore that the drainage demonstrations in that section are all being conducted on land belonging to men who are opposed to us Now my information may be wrong but I should be glad if you would look into the matter and let me know as to the condition of affairs It seems to me that all things being equal our friends should get anyshything that is going Of course I have no desire to make this a Party matter but I do desire that in anything being done by the Government if our friends have what will suit they should be patronized I think perhaps the great trouble comes through the man who makes the selection interviewing someone who never has and would not now support the Government instead of going to some level headed man of our Party Hoping to hear from you in regard to this at an early date I am

Yours very truly James S Duff

What Dr Creelman lacked after the defeat of the Conservatives by the United Farmers of Ontario in 1919 was political favour He lacked influence with both E C Drury the new Premier and Manning W Doherty the Minister of Agriculture His removal as President of the Ontario Agricultural College was largely a political matter Although the President had not played politics in his office it was no secret that his leanings were Liberal and that in 1909 members of that Party had asked him to undertake the leadership of the Liberal Party in Ontario This offer he turned down publicly early in January 1910 But in 1920 a new Government with new friends was in power George Christie Creelman was compelled to resign as President to accept the position of AgentshyGeneral for Ontario in London England His valedictory address is worthy of quotation

The position of President of this College is peculiar in some respects He

is directly responsible to the Minister of Agriculture who has authority to Hire and Fire both the President and his staff at will Even a hint will sometimes cause a man to change his environment

Dr Creelman was succeeded by J B Reynolds When he retired in 1928 the Minister of Agriculture chose George Christie a man of great vigour and popularity to head the OAC Dr Christie set about to obtain new campus buildings

As long as the Conservatives remained in power Dr Christie was able to push through a building program The Old Residence was condemned in 1928 by a fire marshalls report In 1929 a contract was let for a new administration building The old building was vacated 1 October 1929 and five weeks later the new basement was being dug and footings were being poured At the same time the old heating plant was replaced by a mODern plant east of the Agricultural Engineering Building In addition a new Horticultural Building was making its appearance alongside the Apiculture Building The 1929 Annual Report also mentions that a new Poultry Barn two storeys high had been erected near the Poultry Building The College was having a new well drilled and many buildings painted and repaired The stone house previously the home of the Professor of Animal Husbandry was chosen as the home for the President This building too was renovated Concrete sidewalks began to appear allover the campus and some twenty-five new boulevard lights were installed along Highway 6 between the entrance to Macdonald Institute and the Poultry Building Obviously the President had the goodwill of the Government in power at Queens Park

But Christie had been very fortunate in taking over as President when he did Had it been three or four years later his

16

Three OAC presidents from left William Johnston 1874-1 879 James Mills 1879-1904 George Creelman 1904-1920

chance of getting any kind of building program approved would have been slight indeed

On 8 January 1932 the Provincial Treasurer Edward Dunlop announced the deductions which were to be imposed upon salaries of Civi I Servants On a $300000 yearly salary the monthly wage-cut was for example $625 and on $600000 it was $1708 monthly The Treasurer also announced that in future Civil Servants would be paid only once a month The Conservative Henry Government reduced the College budget by $100000 for the year ending 31 October 1932 In addi tion of course all members of the staff and employees as Civil Servants suffered reduced sa laries With the exception of the rebuilding of the beef barns whi ch were destroyed by fire 20 March 1942 no other major building appeared on the campus before Dr Christie retired in 1946

In 1934 the Annual Report indicated th at 26 faculty resigned including men like A H Maclennan J R Cavers A L Gibson D A Kimball and J C Steckley Thi s event is the most flagrant illustration of governshyment interference in College affairs in this cen tury Some of the resignation s occurred ater the defeat of the Ontario Con servatives in June 1934 because the succeeding Liberal government of Mitchell Hepburn maintained that any appointments made during the lame-duck session of the previous government were not valid On 29 August 1934 the Mail and Empire carried the announcement that

Forty-two employees of the Ontario

Department of Agriculture rang ing in seniority and salary from W C Noxon Agent-General of the Province in London England ($6000 00) to a $97500 per year farm hand at the OAC Guelph were fi red yesterday by the Hepburn governshyment on the recommend ations of Hon Duncan Marshall

In this connection Hepburn said that no new appointments would be made to fill any of the vacancies created by their dismissals

A notorious feature of Duncan Marshall s Department of Agriculture was the way in which some men knew long in advance through Toronto papers that their heads were to fall On 22 September The Mail and E-npire reported th at 25 resignations from OAC were demanded by the Minister Ouster to Take Effect by Oct 31 Two of the most senior officials who are getting the axe are sa id to be Professor J C Stec kley-Head of the Animal Husbandry Department and Professor A H Maclennan Head of Horticulture By 31 October The Mail and Empire released word that 17 more employees of the OAC had been dismissed

Altogether the firings were carried out in a very high-h anded manner The quality of faculty di smi ssed was soon apparent as these same men in a few years di stinguished themselves elsewhere no one more so than the greatly wronged Professor Steckley whose success in establishing the Western Ontario Agricultural School testifies to the man s ability and integrity

The severest criticism made of the connection between OAC and government was probably made by J K Galbraith the

graduate of OAC 31 who later was an advisor to United States Pres iden t John F Kennedy

In a 1948 article in Saturday Night Professor Galbraith ridicu led the notion th at real scholarship could ever flourish i n a civil service atmosphere where as at OAC men sign in in the morn ing and dutifully record thei r hour of departure at night No scientist he maintained should ever find him sel f in a posi tion of having to consider even subjectively the effect of hi s work on the political fortunes of a superio r The separati on of the realm of politics from that of science he argued was in the best tradition of weste rn academic freedo m

Galbraiths ar ticle still deserves attention Hi s argument never descends to the trivial for he is too concerned with what is fundashymental to IN Gste time on unimportant side issues The problem simp ly centred about the conflict which is always present between the ends to which politi cians are committed and those towa rd which educationists strive The partiality and the emphasis upon what is immediate which enters into party politics must ever clash head on wi th the impartial app roac h and the long-term view which belongs particularly to modern scientific thinking What J K Galbraith said in 1948 may have been unpleasant at the t ime but it was fundamental to the future welfare of the College

Galbraiths criticisms are more forcefully stated and carefully discussed in From School to Universi ty than they are in this article Readers are referred to the appendix to chapter 7 and to chapter 8 of the book bull

17

Gccn Thumb Day packl em in

Above Margaret (Farr) Loewen Mac 60 and her children Amie and David plant a tree In the background is construction for the Centennial Arboretum Centre At right Dick Hilliard OAC 40 wields a spade during tree planting ceremonies

The second annual Green Thumb Day held May 5 was a success in just about every way Some 270 people almost three times last years number came to plant trees at the Arboretum to enjoy 1ellowship and a buffet at the Cutten Club and to attend a se ries of interest sessions The sessions conducted on lawn care patio landscaping winemaking patio barbecuing and flower arrangemen t drew a large attendance And in the afternoon the sun shone brightly on the assembled treeshyplanters

The ceremonial highlight of the day was the planting of trees near the Arboretum Service Centre Those who made speeches at this point included Tommy Th ompson OAC 36 Metro Toronto Parks Commisshysioner University Presiden t W C Winegard Dick Hilliard OAC 40 president of the University of Guelph Alumni Association Reverend Dr Cliff Plant OVC 47 who made the dedication and Dr Rowan Walker OVC 47 who organized the tree-planting ceremony Also present at the ceremony was Shirley Ann Holmes Mac 62 cha irman of the committee which organized Green Thumb Day

The trees for the ceremonial planting were made available through the aid of a donation from th e Rugby Alley alumni group (This group is composed of alumni who played rugby under Coach Bill Mitchell OAC 38 between 1948 and 1952 they lived in Rugby Alley the south corridor of John ston Hal) Four members of the Rugby Alley group Andy McConvey OAC 49 Bill Dies OAC 49 Chuck Shi elds OAC 50 and Professor Mitchell took part in the ceremonial planting

Afterwards the alumni who were present planted 108 shrubs and -riowering trees drawn from 70 different spec ies near the site of the OAC Centennial Arboretum Centre The planter s were aided by a group which was working under a Loca l Initi atives

-

Program grant to assist development of the arboretum Professor Bob Hilton director of the arboretum said later that the flowering trees that were planted shou ld mature in 15 years and live for more than half a century after that The shrubs are a forever thing he said They would periodically send up new shoots so that the old ones could be trimmed away Thu s they could be mainshytained in a relatively young condition for centuries he sa id bull

18

Campus Highlights

Financial situation will be tighter President warns

The Universitys financial situation in the wake of the Ontario government budget is not quite as bad as the budget committee had prepared for but a long way from our hopes Presi dent W C Winegard said recently

The statement was contained in a general review of Guelphs prospects given by the presi dent in speec hes Apri I 13 and 16 to the University community On the negative side he made the following points

bull Operating grants will rise only 34 per cent in the 1973-74 academic year although the cost of living has risen by a substantially higher percentage

bull Guelphs operating grants will with one exception be given on the basis of last years not this coming years enrolment Thus the University will be required to service more students but without an inshycrease in government grants (This provision arises from the slip-year financing system introduced this year by Minister of Colleges and Universities Jack McNie Under it the universities will receive operating grants on the basis of enrolment in the previous not the current year It benefits universities where enrolment is falling but penalizes universities such as Guelph in which enrolshyment is rising )

The one exception to this provision is in the veterinary program Guelph will receive $310000 in compensation this year only for the increased enrolment there We had hoped for fuller compensation from the Slip-year financing system but it didnt come President Winegard said

bull The two per cent increase in the sales tax will cost $60000 to $70000 in the purchasing of new materials and equipment he said (The energy tax which has since been withdrwn would have cost an additional $90000)

Other points the president made had positive as well as negative aspects He noted for instance that the freeze on

capital expenditures will continue so that there will be no provincally-funded building projects in the 1973-74 academic year But this freeze should not affect two proposed buildings the Hotel and Food Administration Building which will be financed through contributions from the hospitality industry and the new OVC building which hopefully will receive federal government assistance The three campus buildings now under construction (the University Centre the Laboratory Animal Building and the Human Kinetics wing of the Physical Education building ) should also be unaffected by the freeze

Research grants to the University from the National Research Council have inshycreased considerably in the past year Two years ago they totalled $1 million last year they increased 50 per cent to total $15 million

The projected enrolment for thi$ fall is below earlier projections but still subshystantially above last years enrolment Professor Winegard sa id Decreases in enrolment are as in every university in Canada primarily in the BA program he said

President Winegard also referred to public criticism of the universities In the past the universities were not criticized for how they spent their money he said That was because they were not considered important and influential Today because they are highly visible and engaged in many activities they attract criticism This criticism is not something that will go away we must learn to adapt and to live with it

OAC enrolment climbing dean tells Ottawa UGAA

Enrolment at the OAC is at an all-time high and is expected to go still higher ne xt year Dean Cl ay Switzer OAC 51 recently reshyported to a meeting of the Ottawa Chapter of the University of Guelph Alumni Association

This increase comes at a time when enrolment in many universities is dropping he said The OAC now has about 1700 students while the University as a whole has almost 8000 students full-time and part-time in its programs Dean Switzer was speaking before some 60 alumni attending the chapters April Social held April 6 at the Carleton Towers Hotel

He noted that earlier in the day he had

spoken to a high school audience in Arnprior and had stressed Guelphs provision for spring admission This proshyvision is of particular benefit to students with agricultural backgrounds he said It permits them to complete a semester of study by early August and work until January Experience has shown that jobs are plentiful in the fall for such students

Dean Switzer referred to the OACs new environmental biology and pre-vet majors In connection with veterinary studies he noted that more than 600 students applied to attend the OVC this year Of this number 250 the majority of them having first-class honours will be interviewed and 120 will be accepted

Job opportunities for 1973 graduates appear to be excellent he said Demand at this time is highest for graduates in food science with several positions being offered to each graduating student Graduates in agricultural economics and environmental horticulture are also particularly in demand

Dean Switzer was introduced by Clarke Topp OAC 59 and thanked by Art Stewart OAC 33 while master of ceremonies for the evening was Ottawa Chapter president Bob Anderson OAC 67 The evening featured a buffet supper and casino-style gambling with play money Prizes in the gambling went to Frank Pope OAC 54 Mrs Lucille Lussier (wife of Jean Lussier OAC 43) and Elmer Banting OAC 50

bullAlumni gamble their play money away at the Ottawa UGAAs April Social

19

Your guide to campus parking

You havent been on the campus for years but next month youre planning to drive there

Then read this article It tells you how to beat or at least to

conform to the parking system now that Guelph has joined the already swollen ranks of Ontario universities which charge for daytime parking You have several choices

bull If you plan to stay more than an hour the four pay-as-you-park lots are for you They charge 25 cents for the first hour and 10 cents for each additional hour But when you enter you pay the fee for the day (if youre there before 9 am for instance you pay $1) When you leave you get whatever refund is coming to you

bull If you plan to stay less than an hour leave your car at one of the parking meters that are located on the campus They cost five cents for half an hour and 10 cents for an hour

bull Your third choice is to break the regulations You may leave your car in one of the parking areas for cars that have parking stickers (These stickers are sold for $14 a semester to university members) In this case you risk being slapped with a $2 fine If you choose noi to pay this fine be careful about further infringements o f the parking regulations For if caught co mmitting a second offence your car will be towed away and it will cost $7 (or more) plus a certain amount of inconvenience to retrieve it

bull Your fourth choice is to come to Guelph after 5 pm or on the weekend At those times the parking regulations are not in effect

The lots marked on the adjacent map with numbers are lor paid parking they are P2 P23 P42 and P44

1148 awarded degrees at Spring Convocation

A total of 1148 stu dents received deg rees and diplomas 1090 at the undergraduate level and 58 at the graduate level during Spring Convocation held May 24 to 26 In addition Dr Hans Selye a Canadian scientist who is internationally-known for his work on stress and its effects on the body was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree

Dr Selye who is director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Surgery at the University of Montreal developed the concept of diseases of adaptation-that is diseases resulting from a breakdown of the bodys mechanisms for adaptation

Two former members of the Universitys Board of Governors were named Fellows of the University They were Ronald Ritchie chairman of the board from 1968 to 1971 and Lawrence Kerr who served on the board from the Universitys founding to a year ago

The numbers of students graduating from the different undergraduate programs were as follows BA 349 BSc (Agr) 178

BSc 163 BASc 124 Assoc Diploma 96 DVM 82 BSc (PE) 38 BSc (Eng) 24 BComm 22 and BLA 14 The graduate figures were MSc 43 MA 7 PhD 6 and Graduate Diploma 2

Spring admissions down

Freshman enrolment for the spring semester has dropped significantly according to statistics from the Registrars Office

A total of 314 freshmen registered on a full-time basis 25 per cent fewer than last spring and 44 per cent fewer than in the spring of 1971 Tota l full-time undergraduate registration for the spring semester was 1641 eight per cent below last spring and 15 per cent below the spring of 1971 On the other hand part-time enrolment stood at 436 this spring up 32 per cent from last spring and 38 per cent from the spring of 1971

Those programs which drew the largest full-time enrolment this spring were the BA program with 1056 students the BSc with 330 the BASc with 132 and the BSc (Agr) with 83

20

Farm willed to university

The University has taken possession of the Cruikston Park Farm a 973-acre farm located in Cambridge at the confluence of the Grand and Speed Rivers President W C Winegard announced recently

The farm which was willed to the University by the late Matthew Keefer provides a full range of the land types found in Southern Ontario It is at the same time located within a complex urban area

The University will use the site to develop an ecological program involving farming operations plus teaching and research in the life sciences President Winegard said

Old Jeremiah kidnapped

On the morning of Friday April 13 Old Jeremiah the cannon which has watched the ebb and flow of a centu ry and a half of history was kidnapped A group of students from Engineering 73 winched the aged artillery piece onto a truck they drove it from its place near Mills Hall to a new location south of the McLaughlin Library House Then they lowered it onto a bed of concrete that had been poured the previous evening bolted it into place and doused it liberally with yellow paint In the next lew days it was painted twice more-orange by FACS students and red and blue inscribed with the words OAC 73 by Aggies

The cannon a two-ton naval piece was apparently manufactured in Britain during the reign of George III and may have been used in the War of 1812 It arrived at Guelph shortly before OAC President James Mills came in 1879 Since then it has been the object of hundreds of student painting projects

The cannon may stay in this new position a long time We dont intend to move it back says President W C Winegard That would be much too big a job The president also spoke of advantages in the cannons new position I think it is appropriate he said that it is set to boom out into the Engineering Building knocking down the University Centre on the way

Enrolment shifts towards sciences

Enrolment in the winter semester rose nine per cent from the previous winter but shifted from the arts toward the sciences

Enrolment figures for the colleges of arts biological science physical science and social science show that enrolment in arts dropped six per cent from the winter of 1972 while it rose 26 per cent in physical science In biological science it rose 15 per cent and in social science it edged up three per cent

(These figures which help determine how operating funds are divided between the colleges indicate trends in student enrolshyment But as the deans of the colleges point out they do not always measure trends accurately Changes in prerequisites and courses that are shifted from one semester to another may distort them)

In the College of Arts enrolment in philosophy which had been very high in recent years was down 28 per cent from a year ago Enrolment in the languages which had been declining since the compulsory language course was dropped in 1967 was down 16 per cent On the other hand three courses which had been growing steadily for some years showed continued increases

drama enrolment rose nine per cent between the winter of 1972 and the winter of 1973 history rose 12 per cent and fine art jumped 22 per cent

In the College of Biological Science alshymost all subjects with the exception of botany which was down 46 per cent showed increased enrolment Zoology rose 77 per cent nutrition rose 31 per cent human kinetics rose 18 per cent microbiology increased seven per cent and biology increased six per cent

In the College of Physical Science enrolment rose in all subjects except mathematics which dropped 10 per cent Enrolment in Computer SCience perhaps influenced by job opportunities for graduates jumped 110 per cent while physics in which there was reschedu ling of courses from fall to winter semesters had an increase of 66 per cent Statistics rose 35 per cent and chemistry rose 15 per cent

In the College of Social Science enrolshyment in geology and geomorphology (two subjects also taught in the OAC) was down 44 per cent and sociology was down five per cent Psychology which already had by far the largest enrolment in the college rose an additional 15 per cent while political studies rose 22 per cent

r Old Jeremiah sits at its new site freshly painted and surrounded by the earth excavated for its concrete base

21

Letters (now it can be told)

The great St Patricks Day brawl

The photographer recalls

The picture in the March-April issue of the Guelph Alumnus (see above) brought back memories

The incident depicted in this picture occurred on March 17 1927 prior to breakshyfast in front of the d ining hall It was a yearly confrontation between the members of the Freshmen and Sophomore years It probably surpassed all previous fights in the amount of human skin exposed I along with others was waiting on the dining hal l steps for the doors to open when the fight began It gave the appearance early of producing material for unusual photography SO I hurried to our room in Mills Hall for my camera that I knew was loaded and ready for action Upon my return there were so many interesting scenes that I made six exposures as fast as I could operate a Brownie I returned the camera to Mills Hall removed the film and returned to the dining hall The Co-op had a fast development servi ce even in those days for my pictures were waiting for me at 5 oclock All six exposures turned out fine pictures The one that you show was one of them I have a copy of it and one other

J Edwin Wilson OAe 27 Thornton Ontario

Or Wilson enclosed a copy of the article that appears below He also said in B

telephone conversation that there was a great demand especially among the classes of 28 and 29 for copies of the photos he had taken there were something like 500 orders for them he said

Ed

Naked as a jaybird but not as prepossessing

(from the March 1967 OAC Alumni News) By T H JUKES OAe 3~

Dawn came grey and dreary at Guelph in March 17 1927 as the freshman class gathered in the Old Residence before walking to breakfast togethe r It was a motley c rew young Ontario farmers refugees from urban life a few expatriates from older lands and two muscular brothers from Fort William an d Port Arthu r The group was noteworthy for being composed principally of abrasive and eccentric individualists of a type that is currently about as common in undershygraduate populations as are live pterodactyls in a zoo On that day howshyever personality differences were forgotten in face of the common enemy the class of 1929 Old and tattered clothes

were worn by all in anticipation of the long-awaited and schedu led fracas with the sophomores

Breakfast was a perfunctory affai r and little attention was paid to the stragg li ng entrance of a few females with bath robes over their nightgowns their hai r t ied up in the counterpart of the rollers that are to-day worn by their granddaughters These women were shortly to witness an hi storic scene

The two rival groups of men left the dining hall together and the busi ness of the day started briskly Soon dozens of wrestlers were struggling in the mud beneath the spru ce trees A shirt was ripped a sweater torn apart and sudden ly the stripping procedure bec ame universal In the twinkling of an eye between 70 and 80 adult males were nude except for their footgear Conspicuous among them towered a lank and portentous fi gure 6 feet 8 inches in height naked as a jaybird but not as prepossessing

The golden oak doors at the top of the dining hall sl eps swung open and the Mac Hall conti ngen t emerged c arry ing as usual jugs of mi lk and stacks of toast for their torpid and starving room-mates Outraged screams rent the air as the unspeakable spectacle confronted the maidens Simultaneously the morn in g street car bumped its way up t he tracks beside Mills Hall and from it stepped a figure neatly dressed in a new brown tweed suit It was our classmate Chippy Squirrell He disappeared beneath a horde of bare savages and his clothes were ripped f rom him in pieces before he had time to utter a single astonished c ry

Such was St Patri cks Day at the OA C forty years ago now a memory enshri ned in a few fading photographs that lie concealed unmentioned and unmailable in private and unrecorded arch ives

Just as the Alumnus was going to press a letter was received from Dr Jukes One paragraph of it appears below the rest will be printed in the next issue of the magazine

Ed

Identit ies revealed I was only joking when I said that I was afraid to identify people in the photograph Standing at left bac k to camera is Black Dick Graham 30 on his right is Pete

22

Chepesuik 30 and with the long thin legs behind Pete is J K Galbraith 31 C K Mader 30 later OVC 32 is in the foreshyground and on the right of the picture are Dinty Moore 30 and Ken Deacon 30 Members of the class of 29 are not recognizable they are all on the ground in the mud overpowered by our class This was not initi at ion which was much roug her it was the March 17 strip-in 1927 in front of Creelman Hall just as the Mac Hall late breakfasters were emerging in bathrobes and curl-p apers carrying food for their torp id room-mates

Thomas Jukes OAC 30 Berkeley Ca

The March orgy I was very much interested in the MarchshyApril issue of the Guelph Alumnus and the photo on page ten thereof This is not an initiation ceremony which is depicted but rather the 17th of March orgy of the year 1927

This affair was between the Class of 29 Sophomores and Year 30 Freshmen The c lass presidents were Joey Sykes and Sid Boiler Howe Word got around to us freshmen befo re breakfast to go up to the di ning hall in our old clothes but we did not know what was up As is customary every one who had a green tie wore one Wh en breakfast was over Joey and Sid went out together and Joey reportedly pulled out a pair of scissors and cut Sids tie off This started a scuffle and before you know it the members of the two years were at it hammerlock and tongs on the lawn between Mills Hall and the dining hall

There were a few from both years who aspi red to be wrestlers one of the soph candidates was Hank Ford and his freshman counterpart was the writer of this article We were pretty well matched as to size but I was a bit faster on my feet I got Hank down and was giving him the works so he retaliated by pulling off my shirt Two could play at that game so off came Hanks shirt One thing led to another to the point that we were soon down to fundamentals except for shoes belts and protectors This sort of thing was going on all around us and before you knew it there were some two hundred men milling around in various stages of nudity and exhaustion The fight did not last long but long enough for the junior and senior year men to go to their rooms and get their cameras to record the

incident for posterity It was reported that one of the dandies of tmiddothe soph class went up to his room and changed three times and had his garments ripped off on as many occasions

Dr J B Reynolds was the president of the college at the time and to avert a scandal he arranged with all the drug stores and film developers in the City of Guelph to confiscate the film andor refrain from developing pictures of the affair The students were not to be outsmarted however so some of them sent their film to Hamilton for printing In this manner history was preserved

The picture shown is not the only one that is still in existence I remember vividly one that was taken behind the judging ring where we went to dress our wounds There were about a dozen of us mostly naked except for a belt jockstrap and shoes This one if printed in the Alumnus would really cause a sensation

M W (Mike) Chepesulk OAC 30 Kelowna BC

AI Beswick OAC 50 has been appointed vice-presid ent for the meat division of Swift Canadian Co Ltd

Mr Beswick majored in agricultural economics at Guelph and took part in a number of campus activities He was a member of the OAC Student Council a quarterback on the intramural football team and editor of the OAC Review and the Libranni He began with Swift in 1950 as a salesman and received promotions including a 1970 appointment as general manager of Swift Eastern Ltd In his home community of Oakville he is a past president of the association for the mentally retarded and the art society and is chairman of the board of managers and a choir member at Hopedale Presbyterian Church

Derek French OAC 58 has been appointed vice-president in charge of consumer products for the Toronto advertising agency of Cockfield Brown and Co Ltd

Mr French who majored in agricultural economics has been in marketing and advertising since graduation His postings include two years in London England he joined Cockfield Brown three years ago

Mr French has been active in promoting the University of Guelphs Alma Mater Fund and has been Chairman of the Funds Direct Mail Committee for the past two years

Ewart Carberry OAe 44 of Oakville has been named an alumni member of Senate

Mr Carberry who is president of Carberry Insurance Agency Ltd ran in the 1972 election for alumni member of Senate and lost by a narrow margin He replaces Dr M A Chernesky OVC 65 winner of the election who recently resigned his post

Mr Carberry will serve until August 311975

Above left AI Beswick

right Derek French At lef

Ewart Carberry

The next issue While labouring or lazing your way through the month of August you will receive your next issue of the Guelph Alumnus-an issue that highlights the sombre predictions contained in the book Limits to Growth This book which has had considerable influence at the University in the past year forecasts catastrophe for mankind in the next half century unless someshything is done about the problems of a growing economy The July-August issue will also look at urbanization in Ontario the subject of a conference at Guelph this month as well as Farley Mowat s crusade to save the whale And f(1T a change of tone the Alumnus will featule the story of The Grudge Fight as recalled by Fighting Bob of OAC 20

23

p otocom Any Alumnus can win The University of Guelph Alumni Association has planned a new kind of program for alumni allover the world-a Photography Competition- and you are invited to participate

The rules of the competition are simp le

1 Photographs must have been taken by the associ ation member in 1973

2 Photographs may be in bl ack and white or colour

3 The size of all photographs should be either 8 by 8 inches or 8 by 10 inches vertical or horizontal

4 Entries shall be limited to four per person

5 An entry fee of $1 00 shall accompany each entry

6 Photographs may be entered in the following classes (a) Individual Portrait (Bl ack amp White or

Colour Division) (b) Landscape Seascape or Architecture

(Black amp White or Colour Division) (c) Comic Composition (Black amp White or

Colour Division) (d) Family Group (Black amp White or Colour

Division) (e) Animal or Bird Life (Black amp White or

Colour Division) (f) Open-Your Choice-Publi c ity Human

Interest etc (Black amp White or Colour Division)

7 The name and address of the Assoc iation member shall be printed on the back of each photograph as well as the class

8 Photographs will not be returned and will become the property of the Alumn i Associashytion and may be printed in the Guelph Alumnus without permiss ion

-

9 Entries shall be postmarked no later than Septem ber 14 1973

10 A panel of three judges shall select the winners and the results will be announ ced at the Annu al Meet ing of the Assoc iation at Homecoming in October

11 Prizes will be awarded in eac h c lass in both black and white and colour divis ions (Prizes will be based on number of entries)

12 Entries shall be sent to PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITI ON UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ALUMNI HOUSE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH GUELPH ONTARIO CAN ADA

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Coming Events

Sept 28 OAC Alumni Golf Tou rn ament

Oct 5 Convocation

Oct 12 UGAA Annual Meeting R S Ritchie lecturship (Speaker J K Galbraith OAC 31 )

Oct 13 Homecoming (Guelph vs McMaster)

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH

May-June 1973 Vol 6 No3

GUEL HALUMNUS

CREDITS

Cover design (taken from the Polar Bear Express which runs from Cochrane to Moosonee) Lyle Docherty

Photography Rosemary Clark p 2 Lyle Docherty Department 01 Information p 8 above Dave Helsdon Audio-Visual Services p 6 below (this photo won the Walmer Wabstek award as Ihe best in the magazine) Professor D C Jordon Department of Microbiology pp 1 10-14 Dave Webster pp 6 above 9181921

Writin g Rosemary Clark pp 2 24 Mary Cocivera Department of Information pp 10-14 Dave Webster other articles

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH ALUMNI ASSOCIAT ION

HONORARY PRESIDENT Dr W C Winegard

PRESIDENT T R HIL ~ IARD OAC 40

SENIOR VICE-PRESI DENT Mrs J D (Virginia Shortt) Bandeen Mac 57

VICE-PRESIDENTS Dr Sandra J (Kelk) Chernesky OVC 63 Frances Lampman Mac 54 A C McTaggart OAC 35 and Patri cia Moll Well 70

SECRETARY Dr J H Millington OVC 69

TREASURER J J Elmslie Development Officer University of Guelph

DIRECTORS Elizabeth Brandon Well 70 Mrs J B (Doreen Kern) Dawson Mac 54 Mrs R P (Valerie Mittler) Gilmor BA 72 M G Greer OAC 41 Mrs A R (Shirley Ann McFee) Holmes Mac 62 Mrs M (Linda Sully) Keith Well 67 Dr W H Minshall OAC 33 Dr Jean M Rumney OVC 39 Mrs S W (Pat Damude) Squire Mac 63 and J A Wiley OAC 58

EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS A L Gouge Well 69 president Arts and Sc iences Alumni Asociatlon G R Greenlees OAC 62 president OAC Alumni Association Dr Elizabe th Gullett Mac 55 president Macdonald Institute-Family and Consumer Stud ies Alumn i Association Dr F D Horney OVC 51 president OVC Alumni Abullbullociatlon and J K Babcock OAC 54 director A lumni Affairs and Development

Th e Guelph Alumnus is published by the Department of Al umni Affairs and Deve lopment University of Guelph

The Editorial Committee is comprised of Editor-Dave Webster BA 71 Alumni Officer Art Director- Lyle Docherty BA 72 J K Babcock OAC 54 Director of Alumni Affairs and Developmenl Rosemary Clark Mac 59 Senior Alumni Officer D L Waterston Director of Information D W Jose OAC 49 Assistant Director of Information

The Editorial Advisory Board of Ihe University of Guelph Alumni Association is comprised of Dr J H Millington OVC 69 chairman Robert Merce r OAC 59 David Nowett BA 72 G B Powell OAC 62 James Rusk OAC 65 Mrs Joan (Ellerington) Tanner Mac 57 Ex-officio J K Babcock OAC 54 T R Hilliard OAC 40 Corresponding members D R Baron OAC 49 G M Carman OAC 49 and H G Dodds OAC 58

Undeli ve red copies should be returned to Alumni House Unive rsity of Guelph Guelph Onlario Canada

Contents

page 7

2 Ten spring days in Spain Fitty-f ive alumni and friends spent 10 days touring Spain and visi ted an archeo logical site being excavated by a member of the University

4 Sir Williams big brick schoolhouse Come tou r the labyrinthine ro oms of Macdonald Consolidated the school with a spirit that made up for weaknesses in structure In spite of architectural defects that outraged the man who paid for it the Macdonald Consolidated pioneered in several educational movements

7 Hugh Calverley farmer artist man 01 surprises The late Hugh Calver ley father or father-in-law to ix Guelph graduates turned in the fi nal years of his life to art and created works of considerab le impact Calverley was a man of unusual disposi ti on whose achievements ranged from poetry to the gathering of scrapped World War II bombers

10 Guelph North The North a region large ly neglected by scientists Is the focus for a number of University of Guelph resea rch p ro jects Mam mals in the hig h Arctic pollution from mine wastes the microbiology of the Hudson Bay Lowland-all these and more are under study at the University

15 The long arm of politics The OAC was founded by the Ontario government and for the fi rst 90 yea rs of its history was under the gove rnments direct contro l Th is situation sometimes led to difficulties as is shown by extracts from From School to University Professor A M Rosss history 01 the college

18 Green Thumb Day packs em in Some 270 people turn ed out for tree-plan ting interest session s fellowship and a buffet dinner at the alumni associations second an nual Green Thumb Day

19 Campus highlights

22 Letters (Now it can be told) The st Patricks Day brawl of 1927 is recalled by th ree participants

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23 Alumni News

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guelph alumnus magazine, may 1973

Documents

pafn university of guelph

department of information

entire trip

alumni party

department of microbiology

trip woul d

department of fine art

universitys department