Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

Page 25 text:

THE .-ISHBURIAX As soon as we arrived at this plant, we were oil' in cars off the Island of Montreal to the branch tive miles away. This plant, although not very large, is new, and produces all the company's stockings. One odd thing about the building is that it has no windows. This is designed in that way so that the temperature can be kept constant, because of the flexibility of the Nylon thread. lnside this building there are 24 large stocking machines which make the stockings quite mechanicallv. After the stockings are ' completed there, they are shipped into the plant in Montreal where they are sewed and checked for flaws. ln the Montreal plant we followed the stock- ings through this pro- cess and then on to the dyeing room where various nylon and cot- ton elothes were dyed by means of alcohol dyes. After this process, the stockings are dried, put on forms and paired off in sizes, checked for Haws, stamped with the Company's name, and then packed. After the stocking manufacture, we examined the production of ribbon. Satin ribbon is woven at 2-I-0 feet a minute. We also saw the production of many other kinds of woollen goods. We were then given a short talk by the General Klanager and also a pair of stockings as a souvenir, to give to our Mothers or girl friends. Saturday morning was devoted to our visit to NlcGill University. Our Hrst visit was to the Cyclotron at the Radiation Laboratory. This is a 100 million volt synchyro-cyclotron. lt is made up of a large magnet with poles 82 inches in diameter, and is excited by 600 amperes at 315 volts. Here in the Vacuum chamber, a discharge in hydrogen gas provides protons which are accelerated repeatedly by radio fre- quency voltage as they circle in the magnetic Held. A few thousand volts at each turn eventually leads to a total of 100 million volts as protons reach the outer useful limits of the magnetic field. Targets are placed on a probe which is inserted to any radius land corresponding energy of bombarding protonsl. Thirty new isotopes have been pro- duced in this way, but we found out that the cyclotron is also used for other important researches. Dr. Thompson was most lucid in his simple explanations of this very complex piece of equipment and was kept busy answering many questions on its functioning. He was helped by Mr. R. Mills, the Technician in charge. Fortunately for us. this

Page 24 text:

33 THE ASHBURIAN leaves by air jets, then it is mixed, and cut in small threads by a rotary cutter which goes at 1700 r.p.m. All these operations are done in a huge machine which can handle 40,000 pounds at a time. After these processes, the tobacco is ready for rolling into cigarettes-it is passed on a conveyer belt and mechanically rolled into a huge continuous cigarette which is then cut into cigarettes of the required length. This is followed by checking for flaws in the cigarettes and then by packing in boxes, cases, and cartons-all done mechanically. At the completion of this tour, we had refreshments in the cafeteria and a short talk by Mr. R. XY. Coristine, another Ashbury Old Boy. That evening we attended a dinner given to us by the Old Boys of Montreal at the Montreal Badminton and Squash Club. The Head- master was present for this dinner which proved to be a very enjoyable affair. Mr. jay Ronalds, welcomed the boys to Montreal, Nlr. Sibley replied thanking the Old Boys for their interest and co-operation in making the trips possible, and then Mr. Perry spoke on the School. Graham jackson then thanked the Old Boys for the Dinner. Old Boys present were: Klr. H. N. Blakeney, Mr. R. H. Craig, Mr. R. TV. Coris- tine, Mr. TY. R. Fakins, Mr. L. F. C. Hart, Mr. P. Redpath, Mr. B. Reynolds, and Mr. jay Ronalds, our host. The next morning we were up bright and early, and after gathering at the XVindsor Hotel which acted as Headquarters, we proceeded to the Northern Electric Plant. This plant is a huge imposing building. The Branch works almost exclusively for the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, manufacturing and assembling IHOSI of the telephone equip- ment which the Bell uses. Special attention is paid to cleanliness in the Plant and at all times there are cleaners who continually keep the place sparkling. After having been welcomed by Mr. S. Richardson, we were shown through the plant. First we were shown the coil winding-this is done automatically and also by hand. One of the most complicated parts of telephone manufacturing is the making of the telephone switchboard, for here are needed some 45 miles of wire of a number of different kinds wound about each other in all kinds of ways. VVe then saw a large number of machines which automatically manu- facture the parts of the telephone, later being all put together, still all on assembly lines, to make the telephone which we see in our own homes. This part of the plant produces about 1400 telephones a day. The outside shell of the telephone is generally made of plastic. The plastic is moulded into shape, and then the parts are placed into it. After this enjoyable and instructive tour, we were entertained at the plant for lunch, and then as a special treat, were shown a film of the Grey Cup Rugby Final. It was then time to proceed to our next plant-the Belding Corticelli Company.

Page 26 text:

24 THE ASI-IBURIAN apparatus was not operating at that time, and we were able to examine it on the spot. VV e also saw the control room from where it is operated when in use. This visit proved to be one of the highlights of the tour, and we could quite willingly have spent more time there. Leaving the Radiation Laboratory we journeyed to the Medical Museum which also proved very interesting. Here we found parts of the human body pickled, and various cross sections done. This proved to be of great help in our Zoology classes. We then visited the famous Osler Library. This library contains books of great value such as: De Humani Corporis F abrica written in 1514 by Vesalius. Another thing of interest was a degree diploma issued to a student from the University of Padua. Among the other very ancient books figured: Assyrian writings on baked cuniform tablets giving prescriptions for eye troubles dating from 700 B.C., and an Arabic Book 112561 written by Algafici, a Moorish Physician giving cures by herbs. XYe left the Medical build- ings and then travelled to the Redpath Museum. This is made up of exhibits of History, notably the 1812 XVar, Ethnology, Zoology, Botany, and Geology and proved fascinating once more. This visit to McGill had run the gamut and was very educative. After a hurried lunch in town where some people gorged them- selves, we were picked up at the VVindsor Hotel in cars, and taken to the Canadian Aviation Electronics Company. First we saw the Dumont Television Plant, and although not in operation, We were able to see the assembly lines, and at least get some idea as to television manu- facture. 1Ve then drove to the new Plant and had a quick gander through it. This is a large modern plant and Group Captain K. R. Patrick, one of our parents, explained with a model of the plant, the operations which were taking place and those which would take place on its completion. VVe were then shown the drafting department, and the places where they manufacture the fire control for the new Cana- dian Hghter planes. The C.A.E. also does radar work. After this short visit we left to hurry to catch trains or be off to our relatives who had seen us so little. And thus ended the 153-'54 Science Trip. I feel quite confident in saying that I am sure that everybody participating enjoyed it to its fullest extent. On behalf of the Science Trippers, I would like to thank everyone who helped to make the trip so successful, names too numer- ous to mention, and particularly to our Genial Science master, Mr. Sibley, without whose efforts. the trip would still be a dream. The members of this year's group included:- Mr. Sibley, G. P. jackson, G. XVatson, M. Hogben, D. Hore, L. Hart, R. Turcotte, H. Short, R. Unwin, P. NValker, S. Mclnnes and your reporter, George Verhaegen.