St Johns Ravenscourt School - Eagle Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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o( ik 2 utto(i %moml Amu The Dutton Memorial Arena was for¬ mally opened by Mr. M.A. Red’’Dutton on Friday, September 29, 1967. The following words are inscribed on a memorial tablet which has been placed at the entrance to the new Arena: This Arena is dedicated to the mem¬ ory of Joseph Mervyn Dutton and Thomas Alexander Dutton who attended this school and were killed while serving with the R.C.A.F. in the Second World War. Created for the hockey teams of St. John’s-Ravenscourt and as a practice home of Canada’s National Team this Memorial Arena of international size was made possible by the inspiration and generosity of M.A. Red” Dutton and G. Max Bell and other friends of the school and of hockey.” In a poignant ceremony which brought back old and treasured memories to many in attendance, the Dutton Memorial Hockey Arena on the campus of St. John’s-Ravenscourt school in Fort Garry, was officially opened Friday afternoon, September 29, by Mervyn (Red) Dutton of Calgary, whose gift it was to the school he, and his three sons, once attended. Hockey players and officials and citizens from all walks of life and from all parts of Canada were in attendance when Dutton un¬ veiled a flag-draped plaque at the entrance of the striking $450,000 structure. The blessing was given by Father David Bauer, who has done so much to create Canada’s National Hockey team. Len McMurray, who acted as master of ceremonies for the oc¬ casion, opened a centre ice program in which he stated: Over a long period of time, the name M.A. (Red) Dutton has been synonymous with hockey. While it may mean more to those who followed the game in the 1920’s and 1930’s the legend built up around this man, has in no way diminished in the minds of any, and in fact, I think you can safely say it has steadily grown. Through the truly great efforts ofMax Bell, James Richardson and Mr. Dutton, this Dutton Memorial Arena is being officially opened today.” Mr. McMurray went on to thank Mr. Dutton on behalf of the boys at St. John’s-Ravenscourt and the community at large, for his generosity and inspiration. Premier Duff Roblin, who followed Mr. McMurray to the microphone, recalled that he attended old St. John’s College at the same time as Joe and Alex Dutton. He said, the old St.John’s school has long since disappeared but the spirit of those times and the tradition of the school still continues. In conclusion, Mr. Roblin remarked: This rink is a fitting memorial to two fine Canadians and provides the opportunity and challenge to the coming generations to rise to highest levels in their athletic ability and sportsmanship. ” In his dedication address, Mr. Dutton said: As I look around this arena my thoughts go back to St. John’s College school and the rink we had there. I feel pretty certain that we could put three rinks its size into this one we are in today.” I spent four years at St. John’s. We competed in hockey, lacrosse, soccer, football, baseball and cricket and everyone took part.” ' Walter Burman was our headmaster. He was a great man and I became very fond of him. His counselling and guidance has had a lot to do with my way of life and I know he would be happy on this occasion.” Many fine hockey players attended St. John’s and I feel as¬ sured there will be many more. ” This arena is being dedicated in memory of my two sons, Joe and Alex, who were students at St. John’s, as was my son Norman who is with me today. You have made all the Duttons proud and happy.” At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Dutton was presented with a scroll on behalf of St. John’s-Ravenscourt by Eddie Myers, captain of the school hockey team. All members of Canada’s National Hockey Team were in attendance. 28

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' Juf 2) Hj The guest speaker at the Prize Day Ceremonies this year was Mr. E.M. Davidson of the University of Toronto. In his address, Mr. Davidson pointed out the criterion used by universities in reviewing prospective students. The four main attributes that are most necessary are: proven past performance, probable future potential, independ¬ ence of thought and character, and an ability to go it alone. Promises for the future are important, but not sufficient alone. Applicants must present a record of past performance to support these promises. If a student builds up a good record, he will be sought after as a person most likely to repeat his suc¬ cesses in the future. Behaviour, approaching people and jobs to be done, is impor¬ tant in all fields of endeavour. People who approach all tasks with a willing and helpful frame of mind paint a fine composite picture of themselves for future univer¬ sity entrance reviewers. Potential for the future is much more difficult for universities to measure than past performance. One of the most important things any student must do is to real¬ ize his own potential. He must aim at those targets which are open to him in his situation and with his personal ability. Much more important than the presence of potential and natural ability is the useful application of that ability. Universities are paying an increasing amount of attention to standardized tests to measure native abil¬ ity. Students, too, must welcome these tests as guides in setting their goals. Future potential is difficult to measure; independence of thought and character is quite unmeasurable. This quality, however, is essential in learning as opposed to being taught. Frontiers of learning are open to those wishing to exploit them more today than ever before in the history of mankind. The ability to go it alone is the last but not least essential quality for a student entering university. From your very first appearance in an institution of learning, you are gradually pushed toward this eventual end. Whether or not this goal is achieved is primarily up to the individual concerned. As soon as he learns to read, he has made the first step towards shifting dependence from the teacher to the book, and therefore the responsibility of the learner. When used properly, the book is a better teacher than the human one in that it is not subject to human flaws and temperament. A transfer from human to bookish learning must take place before university entrance if an individual is to survive. In these institutions, instructors touch on only a small fraction of what the student must encompass in the course of a year. In essence, the ability to go it alone is complete when a complete transition has been made from the process of being taught to the process of learning. Mr. Davidson did not try to tell us how to govern ourselves. What he did do was to give us an insight into a process of which most of us had little or no know¬ ledge. His explanations gave all of us, and especially the senior boys, a guide in pre¬ paring for university and advanced education. 27

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■The Kurd of vVwiKW.Aaflf «J 5T A ' WNv ' - ' E v.VURT iCH OCl U «A ff ‘ Av.rC a ' PorrdH. „ , th« TXxttm W A«na. t«cv.fc ’ ,ur M.A. Red” Dutton and son Norman with plaque acknowledging ' leadership ... in the creation of the Dutton Memorial Arena. ” 29