Trafalgar School - Echoes Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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THE GAZETTE, MONTREAL, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1947. A LL OUR YESTERDAYC By EDGAR ANDREW COLLARD 60fh ANNIVERSARY OF TRAFALGAR SCHOOL Next Tuesday, Trajalgar Day, the Trafalgar School in Montreal will coniniernorate its 60th anniversary . For this occasion Miss Martha L. Brown, who was for many years a member of the school ' s teaching staff, has prepared the following historical sketch of the school and the properties with which it has been connected. Service of Commemorafion A service of commemoration was held in the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, at 11 a.m., on Trafal- gar Day, October 21, 1937, the 50th anniversary of Trafalgar School. Rev. Dr. George Donald, Chairman of the Board of Governors, assisted by Ven. Archdeacon Almond, con- ducted the service, which was at- tended by the whole school, and many old girls and friends. This was followed by a luncheon in the assembly hall of the school, also attended by many old girls and friends, some of whom travelled a long distance, in order to be present. On this 60th anniversary, a morn- ing service will be held in the assembly hall of the school, on Tra- falgar Day, Tuesday, October 21, and the Lad3 ' Principal and the Governors of the school will be at home to all parents, old girls and friends of the school from 4-6.30 p.m., in the drawing rooms of the school residence. In the evening t he Old Girls ' Association will entertain at a buffet supper. A short outline of the first 50 years of the school appeared in these columns some months ago. On this 60th anniversary it seems fitting that what was then written should be supplemented. During the past ten years changes have taken place in the school, as well as in the world at large. Miss Janet L. Gumming, who retired in 1940, having been Principal for 23 years, passed away in January, 1946, in Victoria, B.C., where she was buried. On the day of her funeral, a memorial service was held in the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal, conducted by the Ven. Archdeacon A. P. Gower-Rees. The school girls at- tended in a body, and many old girls and friends were present. Miss E. K. Bryan, Vice-Principal, resigned in 1942, to become Head Mistress of Crofton House School, in Vancouver, B.C., and Miss Gertrude Randall, house matron, retired after 22 years of faithful service. Rev. Dr. George Donald, Chair- man of the Board of Governors, resigned in 1946, after 21 years of service. He was at all times a wise counsellor and a warm friend. He was succeeded by Ven. Archdeacon Gower-Rees, who is also a devoted friend of the school. ' The school has had five principals in its 60 vears: Miss Grace Fairley, M.A., Edinburgh, 1887-1913; Miss Charlotte Hardy, B.A. (Mrs. Gar- side), 1913-1915; Miss Mary E. Wind- sor M.A., 1915-1917; Miss Janet L. Gumming, L.L.A., St. Andrews, 1917- 1940; Miss Joan M. V. Foster, M.A., McGill and Oxford, Ph.D., Bryn Mawr, 1940-. ★ ★ ★ Old Trafalgar Property Trafalgar Institute, as the school was first called, was founded and endowed by the late Mr. Donald Ross, a wealthy Scotsman, who owned a fine estate, ' Viewmount , on Cote des Neiges.The Canadian Horticultur- al Magazine, 1898, says: At ' View- mount ' , terraces were laid out by Mr. Peter Lowe, head gardener of Spencer Wood, Quebec. A wide ave- nue, bordered with flowering plants, curved from the entrance gate to the house. The property then extended back over the Mountain, where large conservatories contained orange trees, md tropical plants, and azaleas, wis- teria and camelias, the fashionable .lowers of the period, all vmder the superx ' ision of Mr. John Nairn Wooded cliffs, adjoining Mt. Royal Park, formed the background of this property. The original grey stone ' ouse still stands. No. 4005 Cote des Neiges. Mr. Ross bought property on the south-eastern slope of what is now known as the Westmoimt Mountain, near the old Trafalgar Tower , which had been built in 1805 to com- memorate the victorv of Trafalgar, and ODpo ' ite his old home View- mount . He had intended to build a [14]

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TRAFALGAR ' S SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY TRAFALGAR DAY was of special iinportaiu-e to the School this year, as it marked the Sixtieth Anniversary of its founding. To celebrate the occasion, arious excnls took [)Kicc ilurin|z the day. Tlie niorniii ' : of October tlie t veiit -first was an ollicial holiday. A special ser ice was held in tiie hall at nine o ' clock. Miss Foster presided, and Arch- deacon Gower-Rees and Dr. Donald took pan In the service. After the singing of a bvnni. Dr. Donalil read from the fifth chapter of St. Matthew. Archdeacon Gower-Rees then spoke briefly, his theme being based on two words — Think and Thank . He followed this with prayers for the founders of the School and for those who iuul contribiitcil in making it what it is today, for Miss Foster and the members of the Stafl . and for the Old (rirls. Miss Brown, who was a teacher at Trafalgar from ];! ' () iinlil i ' 2(), and who since then has taken a ery acti e interest in the Scliool. ilu n s|)okc on the founding and histor of Trafalgar Institute . Following Miss Brown ' s address. Miss Foster read greetings from various friends of Trafalgar. Miss Bryan, Miss Bedford-.) ones and Miss Randall, who have all been members of the Staff, sent their best wishes, as did Miss MacSporran, on behalf of Miss Edgar ' s and Miss Gramp ' s School, and Miss Gannell on behalf of Netherwood Scliool. A closing prayer followed. After this service, the actual lu)lida connncnced. In the afternoon an at iiome was held in the House from four to half-past six o ' clock. Parents of Trafalgar pupils. Old Girls, and friends of the School were all invited. Miss Foster, Archdeacon Gower-Rees, Gbairman of the Board of Governors, and Dr. Donald, past Chairman of the Board, received in the drawing-room. In the dining-room, members of the Staff poured tea and coffee, while the Prefects assisted in serving. Here and in the drawing-room, the tables were decorated with chrysanthemimis, roses and snap-dragons. Between two and three hundred guests were present at the tea. The day ended w ith a dinner of the Old Girls ' Association, which was held at seven o ' clock in the scliool gymnasium. The gviest speaker on this occasion was Mrs. Bryson. the former Jane Howard, a Trafalgar Old Girl. In the fifteen years to come, before the next great event in the history of our School, her seventy -fifth anniversary , it is our wish that Trafalgar will be as successful in upholding her high standards before the eyes of all Canada as she has been in the past. [13]

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gills ' school there, to be culled Ross Institute , but, because of the his- torical associations, he changed the name to Trafalgar Institute . He died in 1S77. leaving the matter of building in the hands of his executors. The purpose of his bequest was, as he expressed it, to qualify young per- sons for discharging, in the best man- ner, such duties as ordinarily devoh e upon the female sex . In 1S81. the Trafalgar property was placeil under the care of Ir. John Nairn, who had been gardener at Viewmount for 20 years. Tiie ex- ecutors transferred to this property a collection of plants which formerly adorned the Viewmount ' gardens. In 1890 the grounds and greenhouses were rented to McCiill University, to be used as botanical gardens. Professor Penhallow and Professor Carrie Derick took many groups of young men am! young women to those gardens for botanical lectures, and resident pupils of Trafalgar often went there to enjoy the beauty of the gardens, anil the fine view. In 1901 the proi erfy was sold, and is now tra- versed by ' cstmount Boulevard. ★ ★ ★ Chalderfon Lodge hen Rev. Dr. James Barclay came to Montreal in 1883, as minister of St. Paul ' s Presbyterian Church, he interested Sir Donald Smith (Lord Strathcona) wiio donated -SSCOOO. and with a legacy of .S16.000 from Miss Ann Scott, added to Mr. Ro.-s ' bequest, the trustees, at once, pre- pared to erect, or acquire a school building. The school could not be built on the Tral ' aigar property, as Sir Donald Smith had stipulated that it should be within the city limits, so a fine residential property was bought on Simpson street, and in 1887 the residential and day school opened in its present quarters. The land on which the school was built, had been part of a large farm, owned by Hertel de Rouville and Boucher de Boucherxille. The pro- perty was owned successively by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, the explorer. Sir George Simpson, of the Hudson ' s Bay Company (hence the name Simpson street) and by Adjutant Cleneral Wetherall. who built the liresent residence, calling it Chalder- ton Lodge , a small replica of his old home in England. The grounds, which comprised four acres, with coach house, kitchen, garden and stables, extended to Redpath street. When General Wetherall returned to England in 1850. the property was bought by Mrs. Philip Holland. The next owner was Mr. Henry Thomas, and finally it was bought by Mr. Alexander Mitchell. The grounds on the Redpath street side were then .■;old for building lots, and the pro- perty was reiluced to its present size. In the early days families in the dis- trict tlrew water from a .small jirivati reser oir on the mountain. Whi n drain pipes weie laiil on Simpson street, soliil rock had to bo blastcil for the luupose. Mr. Mitchell sold the proi)erty to the trustees for a very moderate sum in 1887. and the buikling was used as residential and day school till 1902 when a new day school was erected, to which a large addition was made in 1914. The original build- ing (Cieneral Welherall ' s ChakU-r- ton Lodge ) is still the residential school. Sittings are retained for the resident pupils, in the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul (Probylerian) and in St. George ' s Anglican Church, ★ ★ ★ The Corporafion Mr. Ross foresaw the I rend of modern education when he pro id(-d scholarships for the daughters of the Protestant clergx-, especiall ' those of Presbyterian ministers. When the late IVIiss Fairley retired in 1913, her old pupils founded the ' Grace Fair- ley Trafalgar Scholarship , at McCiill, in her honor, and durinir the hist few years the members of ' The Old Girls ' .Association ha e established two scholarships for entrance to Form III, ;ind hope to add to the number. It may interest old friend.s to read the names of members of the original corporation (Act of Incorporation, 1871). Their successors in office were to constitute the corporations of the future. 1. Mr. Donald Ross. 2. Principal of McGill University, Montreal, (Sir) J. Wm. Dawson, LL.D. 3. Principal of Queen ' s University, Kingston, Veiv Re ' . Wm. Snodgrass, D.D. 4. The Archdeacon of Montreal, Ven. W. T. Leach. LL.D. 5. The Minister of St. Paul ' s Pres- byterian Church. Rev. John Jenkins, D.D. 6. The Minister of St. Andrew ' s Church (Church of Scotland), Rev. Gavin Lang. 7. Rev. Donald Ross, B.D., Chat- ham. 8. Mr. Alexander Mitchell, St. Andrew ' s Church. 9. Mr. Alexander Macpherson, St. Paul ' s Church. It is very interesting to note that the great great granddaughter of Archdeacon Leach, Philippa Hansard, is a pupil in the school today. [15]