Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

Page 13 text:

THE ASHBURIAN 11 EDITCRIAL Can the spirit of a devoted member of the staff, who wrote the Editorials for the School magazine for manv vears, be infused into this vear's article? If so, the writing would show grammatical perfection, confidence in our day to day efforts, and faith in the days ahead. A. B. Belcher was an unusual man. Radiating good humour and a sparkling turn of words he would say that Ashbury, like any ship, has had good years and bad, smooth sunny sailing, and rough passages in stormy seas. There have been poor crews and good crews, expert sailors and those who merely wished to put in time between ports. But he would say that the past, with all its difficulties is past and the thing to do is to look up and ahead, to keep hope high. He would not go to lengths to say that the innate goodness of people would result ultimately in better things because he believed that too many people were thorough rogues or entirely selfish. He did much to improve the thinking of many such people. XVe can sum up part of his philosophy with one of his own fundamental tenets of life: A man's word should be as good as his bond . And here we quote part of his 1953 Editorial. From under the highest eaves mv window affords a fine View of most of Ashbury's acres and much of its outdoor activities. From this coign you can see to the southern boundary of the property, where the street cars sometimes linger to watch the games. To the eastern limit, too, the playing fields are visible, and onlv a small corner to the north-west is concealed by the jut of the building. i In the fall the soccer goals stand in the middle of the field, here is feverish activity, punctuated by an occasional malediction in Spanish and the crunch of shin-bone under toe-cap. Directly beyond. a seething mass of medium-sized football players plunge and tackle, and to the left their smaller counterparts are being taught to give and take. These are the second and third football teams. To the right, the first team bends, and bursts into sudden movement, or are at tackling, or blocking, or signal practice, while farther to the right, but hidden from the eye, there is an indescribable welter of small, shrill masculinity doing something or other violent. This is the fourth team at its chores. And so on, until long after the first prophetic powdering of snow. In the depths of winter you can see the outdoor rink to the left of mid-field. This is an athletic oasis in a surrounding desert of snow. It has been cleared by tractors, and fiooded during the night by mysterious powers. Its boarded sides are buttressed by banks of snow and encircled on the outside by a highway of ice where beginners scramble and stumble. On the rink itself, the serious business of shaping future hockey teams goes forward. Assuredly here at Ashbury we are reinspired with the confidence that our future is constantly widening and brightening and that now we may look for a still more powerful solidarity and singleness of purpose in the march forward toward our goal - a greater Ashbury.

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I0 SCHOOL OFFICERS Co-Captains of the Scbool N. R. BLACKBCRN 1. I. BETHUNE THE ASI-IBURIAN Captain of the Boarders Captain of the Day Boys M. E. XVHIPPS Prefects P. M. Bow D. NI. BOYD j. H. BROXVN C. R. DAVIDSON j. I. BETHUNE N. R. BLACKBURN J. R. BOOTH H ozzse Captains IVoollcon1be C onnangbt N. R. BLACKBURN j. I. BETHUNE Vice-Captains C. R. DAVIDSON J. G. A. TYLER Games Captains Football Skiing j. I. BETHUNE K. H. RAWLEY Hockey Cricket J. I. BETHUNE C. R. DAVIDSON Tennis j. R. SMETHURST CADET CORPS O17icer Commanding CXMAJ. A. W. ANDERSON Second in Command CXCAPT. I. R. ANDREW Guard Commander CXLT. W. J. BOOTH Adjutant CXCAPT. N. R. BLACIQEURN Platoon Commanders J. R. BOOTH D. B. NICCQAUGHEY J. G. A. TYLER M. E. VVHIPPS Alexander G. C. GREENSTONE R. J. EXDDLEMAN Basketball R. W. DUNCAN Soccer C. R. DAVIDSON CXLIEUTS. j. R. BOOTH, D. M. BOYD, G. R. GARTON Company Sergeant .Uajor Drum Major C!C.S.M. D. T. SPRY CXSOT. B. j. AIERRETI' Quartermaster Sergeant O.C. Flag Party CXSXSGT. G. HEGOTVEII CXLT. M. j. COPEI,AND

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13 THE ASHBURIAN SCHOOL NOTES oPEN1NG DAY September Sth. Back to school. There were, no doubt, super- ficial groans at the prospect, these are expected from a school boy, but nearly every boy was just as happy as his parents that the long summer was over, and he was to fit once again into the routine of school life. The pattern was unchanged. The following morning Mr. Perry spoke to the assembled school. He reminded us that the full life at Ashbury included a heavy percentage of academic effort, pointing out the in- creasingly heavy standards which universities were requiring. This day and the next were devoted to class organization, handing out of books and stationery, form and games assemblies, plotting timetables for the senior boys. By nine o'clock on Monday, September 10th, Ashbury was ready to start its seventy-second academic year. A thought occurs here. In july, 1967, when Canada celebrates one hundred years of nationhood, Ashbury will have just completed seventy-five years. VVe will be three-quarters as old as the country. THE CHAIRMAN'S ADDRESS Shortly after the opening of school, Mr. A. B. R. Lawrence, Chair- man of our Board of Governors, addressed the entire school. He told us to begin with that having himself heard ten such addresses as a school boy, he remembered none of them, then went on to give the boys a message which many of them will remember for a long time. He impressed on the boys that in these troubled days they had a duty not only to themselves, to their parents and to Ashbury, but also to their country. After giving the more senior boys a moment to absorb this responsibility, he lightened all hearts by awarding the traditional Chair- man's half holiday. STAFF CHANGES XYe began the school year with some new staff members. Mlle. M. A. Cordonnier joined us to take middle school Latin and French classes. Major P. L. VV. Platt came to teach science in the middle school. The Rev. E. C. Attwell and Mr. A. Fronton came to fill gaps left by the departures of Mr. Hughes and Mr. Beique in the junior school. ln addition Mr. P. M. Gillean joined the junior school staff as tutor and duty master. XYe were fortunate that Major H. XYoods decided to return to the fold. l le is a duty master in the senior school, in charge of lockers, and general assistant to Mr. Sibley, carrying out many of the chores which help to keep the school running smoothly.