Galt Collegiate Institute and Vocational School - Specula Galtonia Yearbook (Galt, Ontario Canada)

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SPECULA GALTONHIA 25 So Mademoiselle Revasseur, her eyes sad with unshed tears--those eyes that Paul loved so dearly-chose to follow him into the unkind forest and to live with him in the little house he had built for her. For a few months they were gloriously happy, but in the extreme cold of the northern winter Adrienne became ill. Although she never complained of suffering she grew frailer and more fragile before her husband's agonized eyes, for he was helpless to fight back the approach of death. After lingering for several weeks she passed quietly out of his life. ' In his great grief, Paul was sunk in the deepest despair. He found his way back to his old home in Fort Frontenac. He did not now care what they said or thought so long as there might be a chance for the black sheep. He learned that his father was dead and that his mother had returned to her home in France. And so it was that, with despair, anger, and sorrow, in his heart, Paul, with his old Indian friend and other Hroamers of the woods, set out into the Unknown. They journeyed southward and westward, seeking nothing, linding nothing. Once they were attacked by a wandering band of hostile Indians and in the skirmish Paul was wounded. On this account the little party had to travel more slowly, until at last, when they came to the banks of the Illinois River, they set up their fortification, because their leader could go no farther. Out of the pain and sorrow in his heart Paul named their rude dwelling Fort Crevecoeurf' There a year later he went out to meet his wife Adrienne. Paul Fournelle's party abandoned the place in the spring, and so when La Salle and his followers came upon the fort it was almost in ruins. On a nearby rock they read the name, in rude lettering: THE FORT OF THE BROKEN HEART. 'fi The Story of Our School By C. HUME WILKINS VER three quarters of a century ago, in the year 1852, a school for the teaching of certain subjects not taught in public schools, was founded in Galt. Mr. Michael Howe, M.A., a graduate of Dublin Uni- versity, was the first principal of the school, which held its classes in an old two-story building on Market Street. Mr. Howe was an excellent clas- sical scholar, but his period of oflice lasted only twelve months. The Board of Trustees was extremely fortunate in procuring Mr. Wil- liam Tassie, who had been teaching school in Hamilton, as the new principal. During Mr. Tassie's regime, the school grew to be one of the greatest in the country, and scholars flocked to it from all over the con- tinent to obtain the education which it offered. In a short time, the number of pupils had so increased, that it was found necessary to erect a new building. Accordingly, a one-story struc- ture was built on the present school site, which had been generously pro- vided by the Dickson family. This building had to be enlarged in 1859, owing to increased attendance, and later a second story was added. The building then served for many years to house all the pupils, but it was againenlarged in 1870-71, two wings being added at that time. I

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24 SPECULA GALTONIA Fort of the Broken Heart By MARGARET DAVIDSON Accompanied by Tonti, a brave Italian ofiicer, the party reached Fort Crevecoeur on the Illinois Riverg but La Salle had to go back and face his creditors. In his absence the party was attacked by Iroquois and was forced to retreat to Fort Michilimackinac. HAT is all a text-book says about that lonely little fort, which was situated eighty miles north of the point where the waters of the Illinois first meet and mingle with those of the mighty Mississippi. This incident in the life of the great explorer occurred in 1669. Half a century before, a weary band of travellers, coming upon this spot, found that they must there build themselves a dwelling and fortify themselves against the cold and the Indians. Paul Fournelle and his parents lived in Fort Frontenac, that historic place, where Kingston now stands. For years the days and nights in the New Land had been filled with horror for the early settler. But Frontenac, the great Onontio, had pacihed the Indians to some extent and the colony was, as a result, more prosperous than it had ever been before. The older people might be contented with this change. It was well for them now to settle down to a peaceful life, after their years of labour. Paul was never satisfied with the life in the little colony. Traders who came to the Fort always found an eager listener in the young Frenchman, Indians related tales that fired his imagination. The call of a rover's life same to Paul Fournelle and he responded. One clear night in the fall of 1617, he left his home and his friends and joined himself to a band of In- dians, whom he had befriended. Paul found a comrade in a young brave, and together they roamed the forest, the one learning and the other teaching the meaning of the various signs of the woods and of the animals who lived there. J ibwa proved to be his most loyal friend, and Paul clung to him more than ever when he found himself rejected by his own race. For he had not counted the cost of his careless act. When he and Jibwa returned with the rest of the Indians in the spring to Fort Frontenac, he was treated as an outcast by the family- even the townspeople shunned him. From the Indians he learned that his family had disowned him. He became bitter, and abandoned the life of civilized man. The iron had entered his soul. He became a veritable savage. The wild war-dances and Wholesale slaughters, which inevitably followed, presented nothing new to him, now. The animal which they say is in every human reared its ugly head in the life of Paul Fournelle. In the summer of 1618, the tragedy occurred which added still more weight to the unfortunate young man's burden. He fell before the charm of a young French maiden, Adrienne Revasseur. Her family was proud and Paul had not now the right to his name. When Adrienne's people learned, as they finally did, that their daughter was communicating with an out- cast, they were scandalized. Love, however, recognized no barriers, and to Adrienne was presented the alternative: she must either give up all intercourse with Paul, or go with him and be forgotten by her own people.

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26 SPECULA GALTONIA Many of the boys who attended the Tassie Grammar School came from distant places, and they lived in authorized boarding-houses through the town. Dr. Tassie boarded forty of these boys in his own home on Welling- ton Street. Mrs. Tassie was a motherly woman, who looked after her quota of boys with great care. When they were ill, she dosed them with old-fashioned remedies, and cared for them in every way possible. The sports of the boys were varied. They played cricket, football, and baseball on a playing-field on a site south of the C.P.R. Station, and east of North Water Street. In summer they had bathing, and boating on the river behind the school, and skating, sledding and snowballing in the win- ter. Dr. Tassie held sway in the school for a period of twenty-eight years. However, his manner of teaching and disciplining was not in accordance with the new methods which had been introduced, and he and his staff resigned in 1881. Mr. John E. Bryant, principal of Pickering College, became the next principal of the school. He believed in modern methods, and soon closed up the girls' school down-town, and had both boys and girls taught under the roof of the Collegiate Institute Commercial and Art Departments were established, and a Literary and Musical Society organized. Special attention was paid to sports, and soon the school had a splendid football team. In 1884 Mr. Bryant was given some important work to do by the Minis- ter of Education. Before its completion, he was afflicted with deafness, which necessitated his giving up the duties of principal.. The next principal appointed was Mr. Thomas Carscadden, who had been English Master on Mr. Bryant's staff. He held the office of principal for thirty years. During his period of oflice, several important changes were made. The school adopted a system of hot-water heating, having discarded the old coal-stoves formerly used. The interior of the school was partially changed. The boys' hat-room was made into a classroom, and two unfinished rooms on the second floor were furnished for classrooms. However, on account of the crowded conditions, and the need of a physics laboratory and a museum, it was decided to build a large addition to the school. Accordingly, the eastern wing of the school was torn down and a new building, three stories in height, was erected. On the First of July, 1905, the cornerstone of the new building was laid by Mr. David Spiers, Chairman of the Board. The year 1902 saw a great Tassie Reunion in Galt, when the Tassie Old Boys gathered to honour their former teacher. In 1907, Agricultural, Manual Training, and Household Science De- partments were established in the school. In 1899, Col. A. J. Oliver organ- ized the first Cadet Corps, which has continued and grown since that time. In 1911, a permanent School Secretary was appointed, to look after certain things in connection with examinations, records of names and attendance of pupils, and other things of like nature. Miss K. F. Jaffray was the first to fill this position. In 1914, Mr. Carscadden resigned his office, and Mr. A. P. Gundry be- came principal. Mr. Carscadden continued as English Master until 1925, when he received the degree of LL.D. from the University of Toronto.