Brantford Collegiate Institute and Vocational School - Hello Yearbook (Brantford, Ontario Canada)

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We have, right in our city, a potentially fine natural park. A drive to clear the Grand River of pollution has been going on for some time, and the near future will see this objective achieved. There are several locations along the Grand suitable for park development. Flood control and a very few simple improvements such as picnic areas and boat ramps would change swampy wasteland into public gardens and recreation areas. Of course, the city would be responsible, through its agencies, for the maintenance and administration of such areas, but would the result not be worth the effort? Perhaps various municipalities along the Grand could work together in a move to make improvements to the watercourse. The Grand Valley Conservation Author- ity would certainly appreciate more co-operation from the communities along the river, and such co-opera- tion would be a benefit to all concerned. Instead of Brantfordites streaming to Lake Erie every summer week-end for boating and picnicking, they could enjoy the same pleasures close to home. There is another occasion on which our citizens mass-migrate to different centres. At fall-fair time, the exhibitions of products and crops organized by the surrounding towns and villages are enthusiastic- ally attended by Brantfordites. Brantford seems to be the natural location for an annual exhibition, for it is situated at Ontario ' s agricultural and industrial hub. Our city is forfeiting an opportunity to show area leadership by not having an exhibition of its own. A local fair would immediately draw support from our merchants, manufacturers, farmers and residents and would win friends for our city through- out the province. We are fortunate to have a local newspaper and radio station which show lively interest in community affairs. The radio station broadcasts city covmcil meetings, and the newspaper prints a column record- ing council happenings. It, at one time, featured a weekly series in which the msin on the street was asked for his opinion on local issues. More should be done on these same lines to create community interest. People should be more anxious than they are to know what their city is doing for them and what they should be doing for their city. Herein lies the key to improving Brantford. Civic awareness, followed by civic pride, must be encouraged. When we have an interested, eager group of citizens working together to build a better community, we have made the greatest initial im- provement possible. All others will follow close behind. COMPTE RENDU A poem directed to the graduating class — who are about to leave the corridors and class rooms of the B. C. I. — their educational home for the past few years. Of heroes and of arms I do not sing. My theme instead a far more glorious thing — How modern heroes though they know not Troy, Battled the elements that would destroy; And how by Juno ' s unrelenting wrath They oft were driven from the narrow path. Yet steadfast sailed toward that distant goal Of wisdom, understanding, and control The passage of the years must leave some trace Of mind and manner, figure, form, and face, And adolescent years appear to be The period when the greatest change we see; These halls first saw you, questioning, immature. Wide-eyed, uncertain, wondering, and unsure. How soon you changed — parading down the hall As though you owned the building, roof and all! With each succeeding year you come to know, Returning to these halls, a warmer glow Within your hearts, as friendships were renewed And life ' s ambitions steadily pursued. Pride in accomplishment was intertw ined. With new respect and reverence for the mind. Now, with eyes fixed on fields yet unsurveyed, You leave these halls, assured and unafraid. But what of those whose efforts year by year Provided stepping stones for your career. Who watched and w orried over those who fell And burst with pride when others did so well? Can you, with justice, overlook their aid And boast Observe the paragon I have made! Can base ingratitude, like darkest night Delude your reason and obscure your sight? It matters not how great the debt — or small; A smile and grateful Thank you cancels all. — H. D. Waghome Compliments of Compliments of BEAUVIEW MOTEL BELINDA FASHION SHOES 950 Colborne Street Dial 752-2151 128 Colborne Street Dial PL 6-6043 Brantford, Ontario Brantford, Ontario Page 34

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QuUdd ie GoA He COSTAIN WINNERS Jim Qarkson, John Kneale IMPROVING BRANTFORD By JAMES CLARKSON (Winner of the Thomas B. Costain Non-Fiction Award) The resident of Brantford is fortunate to live in a community which includes in its make-up many desirable features. Chief among these are the en- thusiastic support given to community projects by the citizens and the justifiable pride which these citizens show in their city. Rarely does a fund-raising drive fail to reach its objective; Brantford ' s teams, boys ' bands Eind service clubs are well supported. Yet, nothing endangers the progressiveness of a community more than an apathetic citizenry. It is our duty as residents of Brantford not only to be constantly looking for flaws in the existing municipal system, but also to bring these flaws to the attention of the proper authorities, suggest improvements, and support our suggestions through to completion. A great deterrent to community progress is un- employment. It is necessary to the welfare of the city that every effort be made to provide jobs for its people. Of late, Brantford has been unfortunate in its ability to do so. Her major industry, the manufacturing of farm implements, is by nature seasonal. The result is that many are unemployed throughout a large portion of the ' year. At this point, the city should enter the picture: first, to attract new industries to Brantford; secondly, to hold the ones that are already here; and finally, to provide employ- ment for those without jobs through an increased public works programme. People ' s faith in their city was recently shaken when a major manufactur- ing concern moved its entire operation to what was termed by the management a more favorable loca- tion north of Toronto. What could be a more industrially favorable location than Brantford, situ- ated, as it is, in Ontario ' s heart, at the junction of four major highways and three railroads? Definite steps should be taken to prevent recurrences of this situation and to attract new industries to our city. A reorganized and strengthened Municipal Industrial Commission is needed to take the necessary action. With the co-operation of the local real estate firms, the Brantford City Council, and the Public Utilities Commission, a group such as this could make known to prospective buyers and builders the availability of advantageous plant sites. Even a small number of new industries would give a tremendous boost to Brantford ' s civic spirit and her economy and would justify the formation of such a commission. Brantfordites have been noted through the years for their sportsmanship and for the calibre of the teams that they organize. Our parks system is super- lative in that it provides baseball diamonds and skating rinks for school, neighbourhood aind industrial teams. Yet, her better teams, amateur and semi- professional, are housed in the worst imaginable facilities. Interest in junior hockey runs high; Brant- ford ' s teams have been successful. But the arena in which Brantford plays host to visiting teams and their supporters was recently condemned for inade- quate sanitation. An interesting sidelight is that the facilities were hastily repaired and the arena is now back in use. In its present unsanitary and unsafe state it houses, as it did before, Brantford ' s figure- skating and minor league hockey. Much the same situation exists at the home stadium of the Brantford Red Sox. This team, Intercounty League champions for the past two years, played before crowds seated in a ramshackle, 15-year-old, wooden structure. In September, the stadium, for some time considered by msiny a potential fire-trap, was extensively dam- aged in a fire. WUl it be hastily repaired as the arena was, or will an improved stadium be constructed? This remains to be seen. It seems strange that in a sports-minded city such as Brantford these conditions should be allowed to continue. The public has repeatedly expressed a desire for a willingness to support a municipal audi- torium to house its sports activities, rallies, meetings, ice and stage shows, and e.xhibitions. Surely, inter- ested parties could organize a group which will formulate a definite plan of action and bring such a plan to fulfilment. Page 33

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VALEDICTORY ADDRESS Mr. Chairman, Honoured Guests, Fellow Graduates, Ladies and Gentlemen: Tonight you have seen the Class of 1960 receive their graduation certificates from B. C. L V. S. Our class is now officially disbanded, and we are free to pursue our separate careers in a wide variety of fields and in a wide variety of locations, How- ever, no matter what we do or where we are, our lives will have certain fundamental elements in common. We are all entering a life which can be broken down into four basic divisions: time spent on required work, time spent on the little extra work one must do to get ahead, time spent in constructive recreation, and time spent in utter relaxation. These elements are part of anyone ' s life, whether at school, or at work. At school, whether university, trade school, nurs- ing school, or any other, the student must learn a certain minimum to pass. But if he wants to do something more than just pass, he must do a little more. He should take part in sports, some social group, or similar activity. He should also have some measure of complete relaxation each week. If he apportions his time well, then he should graduate a successful student. At work the same classification applies, and determines whether or not the employee will be a success in his particular field. But the apportioning of time does not come natur- ally. We must be taught how to lead a successful life. This is the role of our secondary school. We entered B. C. L V. S. having little academic know- ledge, and little knowledge of life. At Brant Avenue, we added considerably to our academic knowledge, but more important, we learned a great deal about living. We were given a plan for life, a method whereby we could do the most good for ourselves, and for the rest of the world. We shall not be able to appreciate fully the education we received at B. C. L V. S. until we have been gone from it for many years, and look back to see our high school career in its proper per- spective with a know ledge of how it affected us in later life. But we have had a small taste of life now, and we have been given this opportunity to look back at our Collegiate years with a slightly more realistic outlook. Let us see as best w e can how our school prepared us for what was ahead. First, we were taught the value of work. The staff at Brant Avenue is one of the best in Ontario, as our Upper School results show. Tennyson was quite right: can we honestly say that there is no part of us put there by our association with the members of our staff, both Technical and Academic? Surely our sense of drama was affected by our very own playwright; we will never really forget those Latin poems; and what about the binomial theorem, French pronunciation, V = U + at, and the date of Confederation? The staff surely has achieved its purpose. It is a little more difficult to account for our willingness to do a little extra. Could it be that the teachers inspired us to work harder? Could it be that the high standards forced us to work harder? Whatever the reason, the extra work was done, and the results prove that fact. The recreation programme was ample and well controlled. The sports activities would have been much more successful if there had been more parti- cipation and more support by the student body. I understand that this condition has been corrected this year. But the Red Cross, the Glee Club, the Drama Club, and many other student activities ' were popular and successful. The regulation about non- participation in sports if two exams were failed was usually sufficient to keep the recreation from be- coming an occupation. Thus, the constructive recre- ation was woven into our pattern of life. Of course, at B.C.I. V. S. there were also op- portunities for relaxation. The dances and social functions were good, and the enthusiasm, although not overwhelming, was sufficient. The facilities for social functions probably had a great deal to do with the lack of enthusiasm. But you must admit that even if the Girls ' gym is not large, at least it is cozy. It seems to me unfortunate that one of the most important and memorable functions in our high school life could not be held in our own school. However, we were provided with relaxation, and the limits imposed by the facilities and the staff kept us from overindulging. We have been given am excellent blueprint for life at Brant Avenue. It is one of the best available. If we follow it, we can achieve our absolute maxi- mum, and no less should be good enough for a graduate of the B. C. I. V. S. So let us take the training we have received, and follow the blueprint, and do justice to our school. — David demons BEST WISHES • focfes SHOES Call PL 3-2360 BOYCE ' S School - Home - Office Supplies YOUR SCHOOL SUPPLIES CENTER I 14 Colborne Street Bran+ford, Ont. Page 35