Tillsonburg District High School - Tatler Yearbook (Tillsonburg, Ontario Canada)

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have more rooms, more teachers, more stu- dents. I am sure that it is the wish of everyone during our last year in the old school that the new may flourish as the old has done. To the T.H.S. which we shall soon leave forever, I may say, in the words of the vale- dictorian of a recent graduating class. 1Vhate'er our destinies may be, we shall remember you. Richard Jones, XII. l 0ll. Thank You The Tatler staff wishes to thank the teachers and the School Board for their valuable assistance and all those students who helped by contributing material for this magazine. Even the unpublished work was appreciated. Special thanks go to the Commercial form for their secretarial aid, and to the publisher for their important part. The work of jerry, our faithful photographer, has been invaluable. And our deepest thanks to our advertisers without whose valuable ffinancialj aid this Tatler would have been impossible. Tatler Staff, 1949-1950 ITS. We must not forget the diligence of our industrious UQ ad collectors, Ken Wlebster, Dick Gibson, Lois Law and .Iane McQueen, and that genius who was the brain behind the bankbookf' Robert Heckadon. Dear Editor: Being an active student of T.D.H.S., I am taking the liberty ofwriting to you con- cerning the matter of homework. I, along with many others, believe too much home- work is handed out, especially just before examinations. We understand that the teachers have to cover a certain amount of their course in time for the examinations, and so at the end of the term when we should, and want to study, we find ourselves laden with homework. I realize this is rather late in the year to discuss this prob- lem, but I hope that it may be rectified in some way next year. Yours sincerely, G. I. H. THE TATLER Ein Memoriam It is with deep regret that we record the death during the past year of Mr. VValter XVright. At his retirement in 1945 Mr. Wiright had been caretaker of Tillson- burg High School for nearly a quarter of a century. Although of the pupils now attending this school only the few who were in attendance in 1945 re- member him as a part of the school life, 1'Valt is recalled by a host of former students as a person who help- ed to make many school activities a success through his co-operation. Mr. XVright gave a great deal of at- tention to the basketball teams and rifle team and, being an ardent fan, was usually on hand to watch their performances. His popularity was expressed by a student in the 1931 Tatler in which VValt was praised for his ready in- terest in the pupils and sympathy with their problems. Even after his retirement Mr. Nkright showed enthusiasm for the High School and he often used to visit the site of our new school to watch its progress. To the relatives of Mr. Wright, the High School staff and students express sincere sympathy. To live in hearts we leave behind Is not to die. A -Campbell. On january 15, 1950, a banquet was given at Michigan State College, honouring stu- dents achieving an All A academic record. Among these was a former T.H.S. student, Harley N. Hotchkiss of Straffordville, a ,Iunior in Science and Arts. Z1

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Tillsonburg High lt is entirely fitting as we leave behind this old outer shell of T.H.S.-as we are moulting, as it were-that we glance back through the years to its conception, crea- tion and growth. lt was during the last quarter of the nineteenth century that the need for more advanced education in Tillsonburg came to be realized. A movement for the establish- ment of a high school here was led by Dr. L. C. Sinclair, and in 1886, T.H.S. first came into being. Four classrooms were added to the public school building, and two of these were placed at the disposal of the high school board. The Honourable G. VV. Ross was invited to visit the town, and lend his influence to assist so important a step. At first only two teachers were employed, A. VV. Reaveley, HA., principal, and Stephen Bnrwash, l3.A., assistant. Later Mr. A. E. Raynes of the Kensington Art School, Lon- don, England, was engaged to teach draw- ing two days a week. The sum of one hundred dollars was de- voted to the purchase of scientific apparatus and reference library. On the opening day in September, 1886, about twenty pupils resident in the town, and nearly as many from the surrounding country presented themselves for enrolment. . By 1893, Tillsonburg High School had so won the confidence of the people of the town, that a vote of the taxpayers authoriz- ed the erection of a separate building for its use. A site for this proposed building was donated by the late E. D. Tillson, and on january 1, 1894, the new structure was ready for use. lt was only the centre sec- tion of the present school which comprised the earliest T.H.S., and its opening necessi- tated the engaging of a fourth teacher to act as second assistant to the principal. The first principal held that post for eight years, and was succeeded by J. li. Minus. From the beginning the enrolment of the school has gradually increased each year, and more than forty years ago the situation was such that the present west wing had to be added to the original building. Again in 1922, a need for more space forced the con- struction of the east wing containing gym and laboratories. For a number of years the larger of the two rooms on the second floor of this section was used as an assembly hall 20 X School 1886-1950 until equipment was installed to make it the junior Lab some fifteen years ago. lly 1930, enrolment was still on the up- surge, and had reached the 220 mark. An old edition of the Tatler notes with interest that during the 1930-31 term, there were twenty-five more boys than girls at T.H.S.! Prior to Wlorld XYar ll, the Board was again moved to attempt to combat over- crowding in the high school by the ever- growing number of students seeking educa- tion here. The early years of the '-10's saw the growth in popularity of the school-bus system. Young people from outlying areas who in former years would often have had to either board in the town or forego the benefits of attendance at T.H.S. now found the high school easily accessible by bus. By the end of the war, Tillsonburg High School was virtually bursting its seams to such a degree that the need for still more classroom space meant another addition. ln january, 1947, the new three-room annex was ready for occupancy. This action re- sulted in the first local step toward the modern trend in diversified high school eur- riculums-a choice between general or com- mercial course. However, the annex provided only tempo- rary relief, for exactly twelve months after its opening the plan for a high school dis- trict went into effect. The addition of more students from the surrounding townships and later the village of Vienna shot enrol- ment figures to an unprecedented peak in Tillsonburg's history. On january 1, 1948, our Alma Mater was no longer Tillsonburg High School, but rather Tillsonburg Dis- trict High School. The plans for an entirely new school which had been slowly developing for sev- eral years were now speeded up. Everyone talked about and longed for the new school, and finally in june, 1949, plans for an ultra-modern i5575,000 structure began to be carried out by the Foundation Company of Ontario on a new fourteen-acre site on Tillson Avenue. Thus, Tillsonburg's old high school has grown from two rooms, two teachers and forty students to a building of twelve class- rooms, a faculty of thirteen and an enrol- ment of 450. Next year's T.D.l'l.S. will THE TATLER

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VAHLEDICTORY' tT.D.H.S. Commencement, December, 19495 By N. Rokeby Mr, Kirkwood, fellow-graduates,x hon- ourable gentlement of the board, members of the faculty, ladies and gentlemen: It is my privilege and honour to be here this evening to take leave of you on behalf of the graduates of 1949. It is with considerable diffidence that I am present here this evening. 1 find 1ny emotions stirred to pride and thankfulness, but yet a note of sadness permeates my mind. VVe are proud of having been part of T.H.S. and of taking our place beside the other graduates with whom we began public school, and among them we issue from T.l-1.5. About 60 years ago, those first graduates of 1886 attended classes in part of the public school and among them we find two particularly outstanding citizens: V. A. Sinclair, who was for many years chairman of the VVorkmen's Compensation .lloard of Ontario, and Brig. Gen. Mitchell, former principal of the School of ,l'1'actical Science of Toronto. ln 1908 and again in 1922 increased en- rolments necessitated additions to the orig- inal T.H.S. which was built in 1893. From this newly modernized building Mr. Dalton Dean graduated. The graduates of 1949 feel honoured to be numbered with this Rhodes Scholarship winner and outstanding lawyer. These are but few of the many graduates of T.H.S. who have become doc- tors, lawyers, engineers, university profes- sors, teachers and ministers, filling impor- tant roles in the cities, towns and villages across Canada. To this distinguished group we are proud to be added as the graduates of 1949. We are fortunate to become part of the colourful history of. our school whose graduates have always been characterized by high scholastic attainments. The graduates of 1949 are thankful for the very' capable teaching staff whose untir- ing efforts have helped us start up the lad- der toward success. We have all been en- couraged by their excellent leadership and fine example. NVe owe a debt of gratitude to our parents and the people of this prov- ince for making our attendance at T.H.S. possible. VVe would also like toeexpress our appreciation to the members of the board 22 who so successfully conduct the business of the school and so carefully select the teach- ing staff. lYe are sad because this evening marks the end of our careers at T.H.S. Perhaps only now when we find ourselves beyond the classroom door do we consciously realize the rich full life we enjoyed within T.l'l.S. XVhen we met as a group for the last time in june, few of us realized how completely we would be scattered in six months' time. The absence of many class- mates silently bespeaks the utter finality of that dispersal. We have gone forth to the universities, trade schools and the school of life. Our happy memories of life at T.H.S. take ona melancholy aspect as we realize it is over forever. Happy memories of foot- ball games, commencement exercises, bas- ketball games and championships won still glimmer in the mist that is past. There were memories of hard work, examinations and sacrifices but they have long been for- gotten. In considering this latter group we should like to quote from a member of the staff: 'Six months from now you people won't remember anything about the game you might have missed so you could do all your homework, but you will remember your final standingf Tonight we received official recognition of that final standing. These diplomas are our tickets to the game of life. Looking back we realize that these are the most valuable tickets we ever held. These di- plomas signify that we have been trained i11 the principles of that game that everyone plays. lt is now our duty to make the most of our entrance into a new game. lt is our duty to indicate the efforts of the faculty who prepared us. lt is our duty to our par- ents to prove the success of that training. lt is our duty to ourselves to employ that training toward becoming responsible citi- zens. ln short, we must adhere to our alma Il1ZltCI'lS principles which form the nucleus of the traditions surrounding T.H.S. This evening we see T.H.S. standing on the threshold of a new adventure. In about one yearls time classes will be called to order in the new school. The new building will allow additional courses as well as ac- commodation for more pupils. You who enter that building should regard yourselves as very fortunate. You will probably see definite changes in your programs as educa- tion in Ontario undergoes a reformation. In THE TATLER