Shawnigan Lake School - Yearbook (Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia Canada)

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Construction 15

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Editorial For Shawnigan Lake School, the year 1968- 69 was one of the most significant and yet un- stable years in the history of the institution. Sig- nificant in that it was a year of change, physical disaster and unpredictable events such as the school had never known in its 53 year history. The major physical disaster occured three weeks prior to school ' s opening date and it was a severe blow. Copeman ' s House, which had been erected in 1929 and was to provide residence for some 90 boys, was burned to the ground by a third storey fire late on a Thursday night. Mr. and Mrs. Hyde-Lay, asleep in their section of the build- ing, were awakened to find smoke in the room and the end of the hall a mass of flames. Mrs. Hyde-Lay, who had woken up first, phoned Mr. MacLachlan and said, Pat, Copeman ' s is going up. I ' ve got my children and my jewels. Very quickly local residents and staff arrived and began to carry out the Hyde-Lay ' s furniture while the village fire department sped in and started fighting the fire even though it looked hopeless. One story has it that a B.C. Hydro elec- trician who came to cut the power lines to Cope- man ' s House made a slight mistake. When he de- scended his telephone pole it was pointed out to him that the lights in Copeman ' s were still on. He had cut the power to the pumphouse as the firemen rapidly realized, and although the pumps were made to work again, the lights remained on until the end. ViZftit ' ' r Jt Practically all of the Hyde-Lay ' s possessions were removed, but the fire marshall closed the doors before much of Mr. Kearn ' s property could be taken out. It is entirely possible that if Mr. Kearns had been present in his quarters at the time, the fire might have been caught at a very early stage and put out with a minimum of dam- age. Naturally the Hyde-Lay children were them- selves as one was heard to say, this sure beats sleeping, and although it was exciting enough, it placed the school in an awkward position. Res- idence had to be found for 90 boys. Two houses, Copeman ' s and the newcomer Lonsdale ' s, were without room in the school. The building was be- ing renovated to accommodate Lonsdale ' s and it seems most likely that the fire started in some section of the new construction work. At any rate, the Fabco Company of Western Canada was called upon and with the aid of the insurance money, six mobile units were rented for housing. Each unit consisted of three trailers bolted together to form a total of ten two-man rooms and a wash- room. The houses then set up shop — Copeman ' s with three units on the lawn in front of the as- sembly hall, and Lonsdale ' s with three units on the lawn in front of the classroom block. The trail- ers were comfortable enough, but there was no real feeling of permanence about them and they did not stimulate any kind of house atmos- phere. Rather each unit tended to build its own identity and instead of two houses, it was more like six. It was a real experience to live in them for the year, but it was with sighs of relief and great expectations that greeted the sign of new construction on the hill. Construction was not limited to the houses. With Copeman ' s House dining room gone there was also the slight problem of 240 boys eating in the main dining hall built to accommodate 150. Kitchen facilities were not adequate, neither were seating facilities. The dining room was extended, and the kitchen was enlarged, although the bene- fit of the new equipment will not be felt until next year. Problems, however, reached beyond construc- tion. It may be said that the departure of Mr. E. R. Larsen in mid 1967 left the school somewhat in a state of limbo. Mr. L. P. MacLachlan assumed the role of acting Headmaster for a period of some 16 months while the Board of Governors recruited 14

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a man for the permanent position. During this time the school was at a standstill, for it was dif- ficult under an acting administration to actually guide anything anywhere without running into objection. At length, the board found a headmas- ter in the person of Mr. B. S. Powell who arrived at Shawnigan in September ' 68 to take command. In six weeks it was discovered that Mr. Powell and the school were not suited to each other and he handed in his resignation, whereupon Mr. Mac- Lachlan succeeded him without the binds of an acting capacity and quickly put the school on a course to recovery with determination, efficiency and a devotion to Shawnigan Lake School. The winds of change reached down from the staff into the school ' s prefect system as well, leaving no administrative aspect untouched. This year, instead of the standard School Prefect, House Prefect, Grade 12 arrangement, the lowly status of mere Grade 12 was eliminated, or so it appeared. All Grade 12 ' s who weren ' t School Pre- fects were automatically House Prefects and given the responsibilities and duties of that office. The system was not really efficient for there were many who didn ' t want the responsibility and some who weren ' t capable of handling it, therefore jobs were not done in some instances and not done well enough in others. It seemed to have a re- verse effect from what had been hoped. Instead of elevating everyone to House Prefect status it lowered those who might have been House Pre- fects to the lower position of mere Grade 12, which had a negative effect in the long run. The return of the old system will at least make for a more efficient and effective administration at this level. As if losing a building and a Headmaster in one term was not enough, the life of one of the boys was lost as well. David Chou, a new boy in Grade 11, was tragically drowned off Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal when the boys were returning to school from half term. A great blow to all, it was certainly a painful event. Of all that happened in 1968-69 these events most marked the year as one of change and at the same time disaster. But there was much that was neither change nor disaster and merely good — new clubs, good results in academics and sports, an experiment in liberal education and all the other things that make a year. But still there is no denying the instability of the school during this period. In the face of it all, optimism has its place. The true value of a good school is how it can re- cover from its least glamorous moments. This school has the capacity to recover rapidly with a new Headmaster, new buildings and new ideas. Shawnigan has always been progressive and the true value of a good education lies in the worth of the school. Human values and basic morals have been the realities here, for Shawnigan Lake School is a school founded on certain definite prin- ciples relating to the rights of man and the worth of the individual. No disaster, no matter how great, can ever destroy those, for courage will carry through and the Shawnigan ideal will re- main. As long as mankind values what Shawnigan stands for, there will always be a Shawnigan and it will always be a school to be proud of. Palmam Qui meruit Ferat G.R.T. 16