Bowmanville High School - Screech Owl Yearbook (Bowmanville, Ontario Canada)

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The yearbook was published for thirteen con- secutive years and then was discontinued. These issues have been a marvellous aid to your historians. Up to 1929, the cover of the magazine remained basically the same, then for the eighth issue, Morgan Lunney created a very attractive design, 6see p. 1719 still main- taining the motif of the owl, but incorporating the school crest, motto and stage. This cover was used on the next five issues. It was during the year 1923 that the Literary Society introduced the school pin - a small gold owl bearing on its breast a shield engraved with B.H.S. Also school note paper was sold to the students in 1924 for the first time. It was printed with the school crest in red and the en- velope bore the crest on the flap. It is things like this, though small in themselves, which help create a school spirit for which every school is certainly the better. The debates were of great importance in the life of the school. In 1921, Mr. J.H.H. Jury donated a shield to the best debating team in the schools of Whitby, Oshawa and Bowman- ville. For five consectutive years, 1921-'25, B.H.S. won the shield, thus enabling the school to add another permanent trophy to its collec- tion. The thirteen debaters who brought such glory to the school were Percival Muirhead, Edythe Clemence, Ross Tilley, Elizabeth Best, Lawrence Mason, Helen McGregor, Maitland Gould, Ruth Grigg, Reid Pearn, Thelma Gilders, Marion Pickard, Albert Allin and Margaret McGregor, on such topics as Resolved that it is the cost of high living and not the high cost of living that makes the cost of living so high and another Resolve that the French policy with regard to the occupation of the Ruhu was justifiable . Helen McGregor remembers when she and her team mate, Lawrence Mason were debating, he kept tapping the advertisement that had come with our tin box of meloids and saying, '4We have statistics here to prove . . . Of course, the judges paid no attention to that sort of thing, but we thought it masterly. 6Omen of a successful lawyer? Another time, the debating team went to Whitby BY TRAIN in the morning, six or eight of us, and no teacher. Of the staff of five none could be spared. We had lunch at a restaurant - big deal - and Alan McKessock bought mine for Champion Debaters, 1921-'22 STANDING: Ross Tilley 619219, Lawrence Mason 619229, Percival Muirhead 619219. SEATED: Elizabeth Best 619219, Helen McGregor 619229, Edythe Clemence 619219. CAST OF A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, produced in 1922.

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THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE FIRST HSCREECH OWL , 1922. BACK ROW: Mr. Scott, Bud Pethick, Melville Dale, Gwendolyn Williams, Maitland Gould, Dorothy Bonnycastle, Alan McKessock, Janey Mason, Will Pointen, Bill Oliver. FRONT ROW: Ralph Carruthers, Doris Foster, Jessie McDougall, Ross Tilley CEditorJ, Helen McGregor CAsst. Editorl, Marjorie Collacott, Herbert Deac Goddard, Elizabeth Best. The Society also sponsored the very popular literary programmes. About once a month the whole school would trek up to the Assembly Hall on the third floor Cusually called the at- tic l and be entertained by the different forms. Many and varied were the performances. Quite often the first programme in the fall opened with impromtu speeches on such topics as Fashions, Girls, Why I Am Late So Often, or The Advantages of Dancing. As the students filed into the Assembly Hall, seven or eight pupils were handed slips of paper with the sub- ject on which they were to speak. It was fun for the audience, but quite an ordeal for the ones so chosen. Then there were the Oratorical Contests. These were held annually in the Assembly Hall and were prepared speeches, the topics chosen by the contestants. Usually there were from six to eight speakers, competing for the Tamblyn or the Galbraith Public Speaking Awards. These prizes were presented to the winners at the Commencement Exercises, and were usually a set of leather bound books. Under the auspices of the Literary Society of 1921-'22, the first issue of The Screech Owl was produced, the editors being Ross Tilley and Helen McGregor. One of main reasons for a magazine at this time was to have a record of all the events which had taken place during that very successful year for B.H.S. On March 13, 1922, the Board sponsored a banquet to celebrate the four championships of the year and the success of Midsummer Night's Dream . School spirit fairly oozed out of the windows , CHelen McGregorJ. This event seemed to be the spark that induced thz staff and students to begin production of a school magazine, because on March 21, the first editorial staff came into being. Doris Foster CDr. F. Tremeerl recalls in her memories at B.H.S. - How we toiled over that first Screech Owl ! But I got a great kick out of being art editor, drawing the original Screech Owl for the front page and the heading for each department. All the material had to be gathered together in a few short weeks, advertisers had to be con- tacted and a name chosen. By May lst, it went to press, a volume of one hundred pages. The editorial staff wanted a name that was different for their magazine. Maybe it was coincidence, but at this time there were several owls perched in odd corners of the school and also the fact that Helen McGregor, one of the editors, was reading a novel of the American Revolution in which an Indian, named Kwiyeth was one of the characters. The English for Kwiyeth is Screech Owl. Thus the name The Screech Owl came into being. 33

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me. Remember HIM? During these years between 1920-'30, the school produced four Shakespearian plays - A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, AS YOU LIKE IT, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE and TWELFTH NIGHT. These plays were all presented in the Opera House, as there was no longer a suitable stage in the school. A great deal of time and effort by both staff and students went into the preparation of the plays. The High school commencement Exercises were another very important event in the school year. Until 1929, Commencement was held in December, at the Opera House. The programme consisted of the Chairman's Ad- dress CMr. W.B. Couch at this timeb, folk dan- ces put on by various forms, club swinging, dumbbell drill, gymnastic displays by the boys, musical numbers and, of course, the presenting of the awards and prizes, then finally came the Valedictory Address. After Commencement, the students of Forms III, IV and V gathered at the High School to welcome the graduates of the past three years, the Staff and members of Board and their wives. Lunch was served in one of the classrooms that had movable desks. Then while some adjourned to the Assembly Hall to dance, others chatted over old times. Dorothy Allin CMrs. Marks? remembers how the floor would creak and heave when they danced in the attic fthe Assembly Halll. The first year thut such a reception was held was in 1924. It was so suc- cessful that the Graduates' Reception became an annual event. Until about 1926 music did not play too im- portant a part in the life of school, although there were many excellent musicians among the students. One that first comes to mind is, of course, Gwendolyn Williams CMrs. Koldofskyl who graduated in 1924, then went on to greater things in the musical world. She was ac- companist for the great soprano, Lotte Lehman and also accompanied many other of our days' leading singers. Other musicians of this period who have been mentioned by former students were Helen Argue, Bernard Mitchell, Ned Reh- der, Newton Hackney, Bud Pethick, Wallace Horn, Jack Kent, Mel Dale, Jed McDougall, Greta Pollard and Dorothy Allin. The one who went the highest in music is Stanley Osborne, B.A., B.D., Mus.D., D.D. At the present time he is Secretary of the Joint Committee for the preparation of the new hymn book for the Anglican and United Church. Miss R. Haines CMrs. C. Bellmanl and Mr. B. Ingham both trained a school chorus that per- formed at Commencement and the Oratorical Contests. Then Mr. W.T. Stanley, organist and choir leader of Trinity Church, came for two years, 1925-1926, as partime music instructor. Constance Seward CMrs. F. Stevens? remem- bers that Mr. Stanley taught us O Canada and we had to sing with pep, with pride and with pleasure before he was satisfied. We also learned to sing it in French. In 1928 Mr. Francis Sutton arrived. He really brought music to life in the school. As Mr. Ingham says in his memories of B.H.S. - an unforgettable genius, whose zeal perhaps slightly embarrassed some diffident students, when he bent his ear, from its six feet plus height, to the mouth level of the chorister, to test the voice, in the all too short assemblies. Once a week from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. there was practice in the Assembly Hall for those belonging to the Glee Club. At various times, small school orchestras were formed and then faded away. With the arrival of Mr. Sutton, he revived the students' interest and once again an orchestra was for- med and consisted of - Helen Aruge - pianist, Wallace Horn, Oscar Jamieson, and Howard Bickle - violins, Kenneth Morris - ukeleleg John James - banjo, and Leola Miller - traps. They made their debut at the Commencement Exer- cises on Dec. 9, 1927. By the twenties, the Cadet Corp was well established, although it was not until 1924 that a shooting gallery was fitted up in the attic where the boys had target practice, under the super- vision of a teacher. During the winter months in the Physical Training classes, the boys would have some drill practice, then in the spring when the warmer weather arrived, they would be outside drilling intensively, getting ready for the big day - Cadet Inspection. A couple weeks before inspection, the uniforms were issued - great was the confusion trying to fit the boys to the uniforms. After the Inspection, the Inspecting Officer would address the boys and Mr. Couch, who usually attended all the inspections, would an- nounce a half-holiday for the whole school, to be taken on a day chosen by the Principal.