Trafalgar Castle School - Yearbook (Whitby, Ontario Canada)

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Foreword One of the major projects to be undertaken for the hundredth anniversary of the Ontario Ladies ' College has been the preparation of an illustrated history. It was four years ago that Brian Winter and I studied the feasibility of preparing such a book. After a preliminary study of the many original documents, it appeared that such a project could be accomplished with a great deal of research. The Board of Directors then gave permission for Mr. Winter to proceed with the book, and made him the official historian for the Board. For this purpose the office staff collaborated fully by providing access to all school records, pictures, and factual data for his use. An appeal was made to all Alumnae, via the annual newsletters, for materials and pic- tures dating back to 1874, and the response has been very helpful. Now, four years later, this very significant publication appears before you, and Brian Winter is to be congratulated for the excellence of this documentary. As our readers become acquainted with the eloquent history of this great residential private school, and as they relive the many past achievements recorded here for posterity, it is the hope of all the present mem- bers of the Board of Directors that a greater sense of pride in O.L.C. will be kindled. May those who attended here develop a deeper sense of responsbility to our Alma Mater which will help imbue all of us with the strength of our convictions in the quest to advance the cause of private education in Ontario. May we all to this by continuing our moral, spiritual and financial support to the Ontario Ladies ' College as it continues to serve the educational needs of its students during the next one hundred years. REGINALD C. DAVIS Principal BOARD OF DIRECTORS, JANUARY 1974 President . . . o . o . . Honorary President . Honorary President . Vice-President . . . . Vice-President . „ . . Secretary -Treasurer Dr. John B. Davies Dr. H.T.R. Mount Mr. Thos. G. Rogers Mr. D.W. McQuay Mrs. David R. F. Smith Mr. R. P. Matthews Mr. E. Paul Coath Dr. R.C. Davis Mrs. R. Leo Gray Mr. C.L. Jenkins The Rev. Dr. G.J. Minielly The Rev. J. K. Moffat The Rev. D.J. Proctor Mr. N. R. Ridgely Mr. C. B, Rycroft The Rev. J. M. Smith Miss H„A. Tew Mr. E. B. Wilkins Mr. D.A. Wilson Ex-Officio . Mrs. Clifford Labbett, Dr. H. W. Vaughan

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Vox Collegii Centennial Edition Table of Contents Foreword 4 Author ' s Introduction 5 iron Reynolds , The Man of Trafalgar. . . 6 The Building of Trafalgar Castle 8 The Brief Years of Grandeur 10 A College Is Born 12 The Gala Opening 15 1875-1877, The Early Years 17 The Building of Ryerson Hall 20 The Visit of the Marquis of Lorne 22 The 1880s --Prosperity in Hard Times .... 24 1890-1895--The University Extension Scheme 26 Frances Hall „ 28 1896- 1899- -The Visit of Lord Aberdeen . . . 31 1900- 1913- -The New Century „ . , . 33 1914- 1918- -The Crisis of The War Years . 38 1919- 1924- -The Golden Jubilee. „ 42 1925- 1929- -The Death of Mr. Farewell . . . 46 1930- 1939- 50 1940- 1949- -The War Years and After . . . . 54 1950- 1959- -The Building of Grace Chapel. , 58 1960- 1968- 63 1968- 1973- 67 Glimpses of the Past Century 71 1974 Centennial Events . . . . « 81 Ontario Ladies ' College, 1974

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Author ' s Introduction As you will see on opening this Centennial edition of Vox Collegii, there is something special between its covers --an illustrated history of the Ontario Ladies ' College from the time Sheriff Reynolds built Trafalgar Castle 115 years ago to the day last year when the school was nearly destroyed by fire. It is only fitting when any institution achieves 100 years of service that its story be told. As archivist of the Whitby Historical Society, 1 have had the privilege of writing this history of OLC, the first such work since Miss Maxwell ' s account was printed for the 75th anniversary in 1949. Four years of research have gone into the production of this historical account. But even with that amount of time it has been impossible to deal with everything that happened at OLC in its first century. This book is designed primarily as a survey of events in the history of the school. If the reader finds there are omissions, as I am sure there are, it is only because of lack of available information and few opportunities to conduct extensive inter- views. The sources for this history of OLC are for the most part, the local newspapers, and publications of the college. Many original documents are quoted to give a true impression of life during the various periods of the col- lege ' s development. Photographs illustrating this book are owned by the Ontario Ladies ' College, Whitby Historical Society, and a number of people associated with the college. The writing of this history was fraught with difficulties in its early stages when two major sources were damaged or destroyed, - -one by fire and the other by water. Special thanks are due to Hugh MacMillan and William Cooper of the Ontario Archives for preserving and micro- filming the newspapers of Whitby which were damaged in a flood in 1971. Without their prompt attention to this matter, the major source for all research on Whitby would have been lost. The second disaster was the burn- ing of the Oshawa Times building, in which nearly all the city ' s newspapers before 1946 were destroyed. As a result of this and the lack of yearbooks for 1943 and 1944, the chapter on the years of the Second World War is not as complete as I would have hoped. My thanks go to the staff of the United Church Archives in Toronto who provided the bulk of the material for the period of 1874 to 1900 from the files of the Methodist newspaper. The Christian Guardian. I also thank Dr. Osborne for supplying me with material on his years as principal of the college. Dr. Davis and I have worked together many hours on every phase of this project, from the initial planning to the final paste -up of pages. His assistance and direction are much appre- ciated, for without his help, the work would never have been completed on time. Finally, I would li ke to express my appre- ciation to the board of directors for the back- ing that made this history possible. As the first comprehensive account of the Ontario Ladies ' College, I am sure it will serve as a record of the fine traditions of the school and a source of pride to its students for many years to come. BRIAN WINTER, Archivist, Whitby Historical Society. BOARD OF DIRECTORS, SEPTEMBER 1874 President James Holden Vice-President Walter Coulthard W.D, Mathews Joshua Richardson Thomas McClung Aaron Rose N.G. Reynolds G. Y. Smith J. L. Smith