Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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AN INTERVIEW WITH MR. WILLIAMSON Late last Fall, we interviewed Mr. Williamson about Magic the baby lion. ln the beginning, the cub was most probably bought from a zoo in an 'under the table' deal. The owner reportedly paid S500 for Magic, and tried to keep the cub in his apartment. One day, the owner brought the cub for a ride in his car. The cub, believed to have been stolen from the car, was later found near the Saint Lawrence River and returned to its owner. Eventually the owner came to a decision that he could no longer keep the lion cub simply because, at an age of three months, it already weighed 45 pounds and was growing rapidly. Searching for someone willing to adopt the cub, the owner found some individuals living in Quebec. Because they belonged to the Humane Society and had two acres of well fenced in land, the Williamsons received the cub. Mr. Williamson kept the lion, which he named Little Magic , until he could find it a proper home. The first person he contacted was Dr. Hutchison GOLDEN MA GI C who is the only veterinarian in Ottawa having special training and counselling for the treatment of exotic animal species such as leopards, ocelots, crocodiles and Jagurundi. Dr. Hutchison gave Little Magic a special diet to help strengthen the cub's health. Later Mr. Williamson attended a meeting of the Zoological Garden Association to find out where Magic could obtain a proper home. There he met Colonel Dailley, the owner of the Dailley was willing to take Magic if Mr Williamson would agree to pay the shipping charges. This Mr Williamson did, and the cub was tranferred to Rockton Ontario where, today, he lives a happy life in an attractive natural habitat. According to Mr. Williamson, Magic was quite a handfull to own because, at three African Lion Safari. Colonel .', months, the cub already weighed 45 pounds, that is about the same weight as that ofa large size dog. Lion cubs have spots when they are yery young. However, as the cub matures, these spots fade away. The male develops his mane w hen he is between -1 and 5 years in age and weighs approximately -100 io 500 pounds. Both the lion and lioness are, when mature, very powerful animals, they can, with one strike of a paw, break a cow's neck. Little Nlagic shows some affection but really does not play very much because when he was very young he was tal-zen from his lit- termates. Everyone should write to his own minister of Parliament as well as to Dr. Maclsein, head of the Animal Board of the Department of Agriculture, which supports projected legislation to control the importation of exotic birds and animals. Suggestions and comments might very well assist in the prevention of future tragedies such as that which almost befell Little Magic. By John Campbell and Danny Raina Photos by Jeannie White

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'J 6 3. 4: Y U1 51733.11

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,f vi, , it S, Z1 S- 0-.45 of Canada's Prime Ministers. His third wife, Hannah Wright, was a granddaughter of Philemon Wright, founder of Hull, and after Joseph died in 1884, she continued to live at 24 Sussex until 1901. The house was sold to Senator Edwards in 1902 for 530,000 and the Canadian Government bought it in 1946. In Joseph's time, the residence was known as 'Gorphwysfa' - Welsh for 'Haven of Peace'. In 1972, a female friend took a bus tour of Ottawa and was horrified to hear the tour conductress announce that 24 Sussex was built by one Joseph 'Couriay'. When corrected, she refused to change saying that was what she had been told to say. Cyril is not amused, even today. Cyril remembers sleeping in a bed made especially for the Prince of Wales' visit in 1860 fcarved in princely plumes, of coursej, which his grandfather bought after the visit. When John Lund, Lachlan Munro, Charles Zwirewich and I visited Cyril in October, he had already taken his walk to Clemow and Bronson and back, three times. He used to ride a bicycle regularly but after breaking his thigh three years ago he put his bicycle on blocks as a stationary exerciser and began walking. He has always loved exercise, this predilection combined with a regulated diet C'I boil my own wheat, he saidl and no smoke or drink partly explains why his memory is razor sharp and his body in enviable shape. At the age of 50, he recalls, he won a class 'B' badminton championship at the Ottawa Badminton Clubg not one of the other con- testants was over 35! Snowshoeing and hockey were favourite pastimesg as a young man, he played for Smiths Falls against Ottawa Aberdeens in the present Exhibition Cow Palace. We won 3-O, he says with relish. Bicycle racing in particular, makes an alert face even brighter than it is, in 1898, he won a race against William Jones who, in 1900, became the Canadian 5 mile champion. In another episode, he relates how he and Alfred 14 -Q, Q