Weston Collegiate Institute - Conning Tower Yearbook (Weston, Ontario Canada)

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days. Less space was now available in the Globe for the continuous attacks on Clergy Reserves. lt is possible that the Crimean War may have done more to found the Grammar School than any single factor. England was desperately short of wheat and 1lour,which she had imported for many years from Russia and Hungary, and the supply was now shut off. British agents born of desperation and extreme urgency went among the farmers in the Weston area odering fantastic prices for wheat. Wheat prosperity was a boon to Weston. Newly rich farmers purchased carriages and wagons, new pumps replaced the old windlass on the well, and wives and daughters bought cloth by the bolt. Everyone in Weston was working,business men were becoming rich and as usually happens in boom times the people began to think of things cultural and educational. Throughout 1855 work was pushed on the Toronto and Guelph Railway, running through the village. The new high level bridge over the Hum- ber was almost completed. It was so well built, that it remains to this day, as a monument to the Crimean War boom. A trial run was made by the railway, on the 30th of January 1856, and the next day the Globe said editorially We heartily con- gratulate our Citizens on the near prospect of this important line being opened for traffic. The im- petus which will be given to trade connot but be very great . A regular train service, was estab- lished on the first of July, 1856, amid great celebration and a large and highly excited group of citizenry gathered on the west bank of the Humber to welcome the first train. As we pay homage this centennial year to our Grammar school, let us not forget the day the first train huffed and puffed its way through the village. Its coming certainly did no harm to the early founding of the Grammar school, as it underlined more than any other happening up to that time that Weston would grow. Following the ceremony, gentlemen wended their way across the fields,to visit with William Wadsworth, the miller. Here in the spacious draw- ing room of Pine Hill , overlooking the River Humber and the site of the early hamlet, which had been completely washed away in the great flood of 1850, these men sat in earnest conversa- tion. They had plenty of contentious things to dis- cuss - The Crimean War, Clergy Reserves, Church Schools, and Dr. Egerton Ryerson's famous school report as recorded in the Globe stated - that to permit sectarian schools was likely to prove the destruction of our school system . To the host and his guests, which included such stal- warts as - William Nason, Colonel J. Stoughton Dennis, Dr. John Hathaway Banks, Squire Wm. Tyrell, James Cruickshank, James Coulter, J. P. Bull and others this was a thought provoking statement. At this time Bishop Charboneff of the Catholic Church had begim to organize a separate school in Weston, a.nd the minister at St. Philip's was teach- ing a group of parish boys in the Rectory. These were ominous signs, and not popular in Weston, which was decidedly Orange and Low Church. At the time of this 1856 gathering William Tyrrell was Chairman of the Educational Commit- tee of the County of York, a fact, which would make him useful in the appeal for a Grammar School in Weston. Councillor Tyrrell, no doubt felt obligated to his mentor and benefactor - William Wadsworth who along with other friends, was quietly promoting the Grammar School scheme. Tyrrell favoured the idea, and was anxious to be of every assistance. D7'1ll1'lIlg' or LVL'-ti-lfllllllll vlr't'n'zl1i1r'lwr ln August of 1856, William Nason, one time Common school teacher in Etobicoke, and an ardent promoter of a school for higher education in Weston, attended a meeting along with William Tyrrell, County Educational Chairman, in the office of James Cruickshank, the carriage builder, for the purpose of drafting a petition. The docu- ment with signatures of eighteen citizens attached, was presented by Mr. Tyrrell to County Council, humbly beseeching that a charter be granted for the establishment of a Grammar School in Weston. Subsequently, notice of motion on behalf of the petition was presented by Cotmcillor Tyrrell, who presented argument that downed all opposition to the proposal. On February 4th, 1857, Cotmty Council passed a by-law, authorizing a Grammar School in Weston. The school opened in August, 1857, in the basement of the old Methodist Church on the Plank Road, 7 JOHN si., wesfon C-H, l-9747 368 Eglinton Ave, West, Toronto HU. 8-1897 .fzadfwf Getz' SAW limited Quito EDtAza..fu.m CHINA -. LAMPS GREETING CARDS ll

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UNDER TWO QUEEN A highlight of our centennial weekend was the address entitled Under Two Queens given in the auditorium Saturday by Dr. F. D. Cruickshank, a member of a pioneer Weston family who is an authority on Weston's schools - he was a member of the Board of Education from 1926 to 1951 and its chairman in 1931, 1932, and 1933. We regret we have not sufficient space for all of Dr. Cruickshank's address, but a portion of it was as follows: The Old School was conceived and born only after many months of discussions, which at times were tinged with some bitterness. This was an era of Church of England operated schools in the old country and in America, and in some quarters it was considered ill-advised and ill-mannered to suggest free public education. Why was Weston important enough to warrant the first Grammar School in the County of York, West of Yonge Street? In 1790 the beautiful valley of the Toronto River, Clater called the Humberl was the main avenue of trade between the Lake and the Huron country. A survey party from England, alert for pos- sible Indian hostility, made a scientific study of the geology and biology of the Humber Valley and water shed. They carefully documented the flora, fauna and fossils foimd, and were immensely im- pressed by what they saw. Seven to eight miles from the mouth of the river the party came upon a stretch of the finest timber and land they had seen in Upper Canada. Here, were Stately oaks, so valuable in ship build- ing, and mile upon mile of white pine. They were agreeably surprised and intensely interested in their discovery. The deputy surveyor general, knew from a world wide experience, that white pine of such excellent quality, only grew where the soil was very rich. Apparently for the time being the survey stopped here, and the findings were conveyed to John Graves Simcoe without delay. The new Governor, recently arrived from England, lost little time inspecting the district on foot and in the saddle. Xbf 'F ,fl 1 -Q NON S 123 H sf' - 1. Now va 'PTR 1 A ur 0 UQ 'N 3 cv sr' . N A GRVJMAS n v tag- woo E L NI ST S lfl Ll U Location of Weston Grammar School lfrom an old muol IO The Governor's acreage was later to become the site of our early Village of Weston. Simcoe was also so endeared with the beautiful Indian River, that he had it recorded on the survey draw- ings as the River Humber, after its namesake in the North of England. To-day the Simcoe Farm is mostly incorporated in the Town of Weston. John Countryman, one of the survey party, became our first industrialist. He erected a saw mill at the bend of the River, on a site just north of the railway bridge, where it presently cuts through Weston Golf and Country Club. This same year, 1794, Joseph Holley a Menno- nite Bishop and a devout Loyalist, arrived in Toronto after a long trek from Philadelphia, and after hearing about all the glories of the Humber River Valley, took up a large tract of land ad- joining Governor Simcoe's holdings. This Hamlet of ours, on the River Humber, got off to an auspicious start, with a Governor of Upper Canada, and a Bishop being the first land owners. James Farr was recently out from England, and it was he who gave the growing hamlet, on the west side of the Humber Valley, the name of Weston, in honour of his ancestral home - Weston Super Mare. The boom by 1830 was on - with many new mills established along the River Humber, where water power was in abundance at all seasons of the year. The character and business enterprise of three families - The Holleys, the Farrs and the Wadsworths had by184O made Weston a place of importance in Upper Canada. Other well knovsm names had been gradually added to the roster of leading villagers. Major John Paul, an ex army school teacher came in 1823 and soon his presence was felt in the community. He learned that his old friend and contemporary,Captain John Pirritte, of the 79th Highlander Reg'iment,was teaching in Kingston, and he induced him to move to Weston in 1833. Captain Pirritte opened the first elemen- tary school in Weston, while Major Paul operated a brewery and large cooperage. For Major Paul and others in the teaching profession it was neces- sary to augment their income by other means, such as storekeeping or small businesses. Paul and Pirritte both played a big part: in the pro- motion of the Grammar School for Weston, and also in the establishment of the Presbyterian Church here. ln 1854 the Crimean War was in full fury and the Globe carried many accounts of the battles, belatedly brought to Halifax or New York by steamer, as there was no Atlantic cable in those

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with Rev. John B. Logan of Edinburgh, the first principal. Obviously this was not a suitable place for school purposes, and the next year William Nason granted the school the use of the old Porter homestead,a fine stone residence, where the Public Library now stands at the corner of Main and King Streets. Rev. J. B. Logan held the position of first principal Luitil December, 1865. He was a very able teacher, and a fine gentleman. During his sojourn he conducted a large Bible class and at times preached in the Presbyterian Church. Mr. William Wadsworth, whose son Vernon, was the first pupil registered in the Grammar School, joined the Board in 1860 and William Tyrrell in 1874. It is remarkable what an influence the concept of public duty exerted on our early citizens, and how it was exemplified by their standards and ideals. The substantial men of our early Village -Holley, Farr,Wadsworth, Tyrrell, Nason, Dennis and others, set a high standard of public respon- sibility and duty. They were actuated by Community needs to such a remarkable degree,that after establishing their homes, came that intense interest in found- ing Churches and Schools. This loyalty and love for their beloved Weston was the secret bond that lmit our people together a century ago. Thus,our school presently knovm as the Weston Collegiate and Vocational School has a great lineage. It was founded in the reign of Queen Victoria, and for many years was the only Gram- mar school west of Yonge Street. Its capacity was somewhat reduced in its early years, yet it survived hardship, fire, depression and County Council intrigue, to become the forerunner of the first composite High and Vocational School in the County of York. Now, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, it is fitting for us, at this Centennial, to remember its humble beginnings and to pay honour to those noble teachers and stalwart trustees, who through a century have always kept it in the forefront. Above is Mrs. Green at the spinning wheel ln the Museum at the Centennial celebration. WESTON HIGH AND VOC,-1 TIONAL SCHOOL -1916 I2