Vancouver College - Collegian Yearbook (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada)

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The history of Vancouver College for the past thirty years may be divided into two periods. The first ten years were the years of the Great Depres- sion — the hungry thirties — and College suffered with the rest of the nation. Registration sank to two hundred and below and remained there during this period. Each year developed its own financial crisis, often resolved by selling another lot on Forty- first Avenue. Competitive sports were at a stand- still — the local leagues were closed to College teams. In 1939 Brother Sterling completed his try- ing term of office and great credit goes to him for having kept the good ship afloat. In 1939 several things happened. Brother Walsh was appointed principal, the Second World War began and American Football was introduced on a trial basis. The Cadet Corps was organized in the spring of 1940, the College being the second school in the city to answer the appeal of the Minister of National Defense for such organizations. American Football met with enthusiastic response and the local newspaper suddenly discovered that Vancouver College existed — the publicity was tremendous. Registration began to pick up. College boys were marching through the city streets in patriotic parades; College boys were playing games before In the summer of 1959 Maekin Hall was added to the college, completing the plan first conceived in 1925. WWfK fmM is crowds of two or three thousand. The thought of expansion was again in the air The dream of having a gym had never died and now Brother Walsh made the first move to finance the project. Though it didn’t turn out just as he planned he ended up with $45,000 before his term of office expired in 1945. Registration had doubled during these six years, the War had been won. College had finally managed to beat O’Dea in football and everything was distinct- ly rosy. Brother Cunningham had hardly taken over the helm when College demonstrated another of its hidden talents by winning the first Annual B. C. Basketball Tournament in the spring of 1946, a feat they were to repeat in ’49, ’57 and ’60. Almost on the stroke of midnight. Dec. 5, 1946, the dread cry of “Fire!” was heard in the corridors of V.C. There ensued the wildest night ever experienced in the life of the institution. The fire trucks made the shortest run in history of old Hall Number 18 and were soon joined by others from four other Fire Stations till there were 10 trucks in all and three full companies of firemen. Actually little could be done as the slate shingles held in the heat and the whole top floor was completely gutted. The two thousand spectators finally returned to their warm homes at about 3 A.M. taking various boarders for billeting. In the rain of the following morning it looked black indeed. But things were patched up quickly, school resumed, a new top was put on Mc- Cormack Hall, a flat roof on the central wing and a temporary frame building constructed near the Brothers’ Residence as a cafeteria. This bit of business rather delayed the gym plans and Brother Cunningham was able only to add a few thousand to the fund. In 1949 Brother Penny was appointed principal and promptly en- gaged Ross McKee, a graduate of the class of ’34, as architect of the new building. The new gym was opened in 1950 when registration had climbed to over 600 and once more College was on the move. Tennis courts were built in front of the gym and the appearance of the ground was greatly enhanced by black-topping all the walks and driveways. Brother Bates took office in 1955 when the facilities of the College were beginning to be over strained. Classes were completely filled and appli- cations for admission were outnumbering the places i 1

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A momentous day at young Vancouver College was March In the front row may be identified beside Mr. McCormack, 19th, 1927 when Mr. J. D. McCormack took shovel in hand Brother Lannon, Father C. J. McNeil, Brother Murtagh to turn the first sod for the construction of the new wing. and Brother Walsh. A typical March day! Brother Lannon was a cultured and refined gentleman whose complete dedication to the highest religious ideals was undoubted. His great ambition for his boys led him into prodigious efforts in the classroom and herculean exploits outside of it. Si- multaneously he promoted and encouraged activities that almost at once established the College as a leader in an astonishing array of accomplishments. His personal production of Shakesperean plays in the old Orpheum theatre in conjunction with variety entertainment claimed the participation of nearly every boy in the school and established a standard that astonished the large crowds that attended. Debating and elocution reached into every class- room. Though he did not himself play games to any extent he thoroughly enjoyed the role of spectator and laid the groundwork for the unique tradition in sport that has characterized V.C. to the outsider. A school newspaper of high literary standard was put out for several years and even a very fine year- The class of 1925 held a reunion dinner at the Hotel Vancouver in October of 1940. Brother Lannon, who was at the time prin- cipal of O’Dea High School, Seattle, was the guest of honor. Pictured at this gathering, left to right: Fred Patterson, Art Gilker, Charlie Sullivan, Denis Mur- phy, Brother Lannon, Jim O’Hagan, Jack Horan, Bill Weeks, Dave Steele, Frank Humber, Paul Murphy. book appeared in 1928. Music abounded in the school, both instrumental and vocal — there seemed to be hundreds of violinists. Step dancing, bolas and Indian clubs, barbell and gymnastic teams proliferated. There seemed to be no end to his creative and organizational talents. He was ex- tremely fortunate in being blessed with staffs that were able to mateh his tremendous energy. He was transferred to St. Mary’s University Col- lege in Halifax of which he became President in 1937. This was followed by an appointment as principal of O’Dea High School in Seattle after which he served as a Consultor to the Provincial of the North American Province. Then he joined the fac- ulty of Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, to become professor of English and to lecture on the subject that had been dear to his heart his whole life through — Shakespeare, whose work he knew almost by rote. A gradual decline in health called a halt even to this beloved occupation but he never lost his keen interest in everything around him nor was he ever at a loss for the apt quote from the great bard. Brother Lannon died on November 7th, 1961 in New York at the age of 84. The sentiments of the many grateful friends he left behind in Vancouver are beautifully expressed in the dedication of the 1951 Collegian : “He gave his students a wealth of spiritual, moral and cultural values that could never be measured in a material way. The imprint of Brother Lan- non’s boundless enthusiasm has remained at V.C. through the years.” So it has been. So it may ever be.

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available. It would seem that further expansion was indicated but the means were sadly lacking. However a start was made on assembling funds when suddenly, one day in the spring of 1956, Mr. Henry J. Mackin walked into the office bearing a cheque made out to Vancouver College for $125,000. This magnificent gift permitted an immediate start on the second wing, one to match the earlier gift of Mr. Mackin’s good friend, Mr. J. D. McCormack. Thus, the dream of Brother Lannon, the building he had envisioned way back in 1922, was now com- pleted. Through this new building, opened in 1957, capacity for boarders was increased to 120, dining and cafeteria facilities were made adequate and more classrooms provided. This increased capacity was quickly filled however, and enrollment leaped to 850 by 1959. Brother Bates at this time was under some pressure to provide drainage for the playing field so arrangements were made to have it done properly and $50,000 was spent on it and on the paving of a large playing area east of the gym. The appointment of Brother Finch as principal in 1961 came at a time when the fortunes of College were at an all time high. While striving to attain and maintain leadership in studies, sports and citi- zenship, it may be hoped that next ten years will see the completion of the third story on the central section of the building and the replacement of the Brothers’ Residence, now showing the signs of its 37 years of hard usage. ABOVE LEFT: The Vancouver College Cadet Corps presented a fine picture to the Lieutenant Governor when he reviewed them in 1941. ABOVE RIGHT: Anyone who has spent any time at College since 1925 has been drafted at one time or another to assist in one of many attempts made to convert the campus to something resem- bling a campus. Annual rock-picking campaigns and sporadic seed-sowing binges left things pretty much the same. In the fall of ’59 it was conceded that heroic measures were necessary. Ditches were dug every 20 feet for tile drains, filled with rocks and peat moss and a layer of peat moss spread over the whole area. Presto! Green grass. Probably the most disastrous event in College’s history occured in 1946 when a fire reduced the third floor to ruins. The slate roof hid the flames until a inferno had developed and only sound con- crete construction saved the rest of the building. Next morning in the rain the school looked ruined but in a couple of days it was business as usual for the students and teachers. The reconstruction which followed destroyed forever the attractive peaked roofs that had imparted a certain old-world, academic look to the place, at least in the eyes of the old-timers. IwL m r 1 p