cornwall collegiate vocational school, 1806 - 2006

CORNWALL COLLEGIATE VOCATIONAL
SCHOOL, 1806 - 2006
CORNWALL COLLEGIATE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL,
1806 - 2006
Cornwall High School Greek Class, 1899 - 1900.
Right to left: James Dingwall, Malcolm Dingwall, W.A. McLeod,
(future M.D.), J.R. Runions, Oscar D. Skelton (future Secretary
of State of External Affairs.) On the ground, John McMillan,
A. Ross Alquire (future M.D.).
Text: Ian Bowering
Photography and graphics: Natalie Ménard
Copyright: Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Historical Society, 2006
Photographs, prints, and artifacts are from the archives and collection of the SD & G Historical
Society maintained in the Kinsmen Room at the Cornwall Community Museum except where
otherwise credited.
Please note: Original grammar and spelling have been retained in all quotations.
Copies of this catalogue may be obtained from the Historical Society either by visiting the
Cornwall Community Museum in the Wood House or by contacting the SD & G Historical
Society, PO Box 773, Cornwall, Ontario, K6H 5T5. Telephone, 613 936-0842. Email:
Ian10@bellnet.ca
Table of Contents
Cornwall Grammar School Eastern District Grammar School - history - headmaster 1806 - 1871............................... 4
Rev. John Strachan, 1806 - May 25, 1812 .............................................................
Rev. John Bethune, June 1812 - May 6, 1814 ....................................... (no entry)
Rev. Wm. D. Baldwyn, May 6, 1814 - 1817 .........................................................
Rev. H. Urquhart, 1827 - 1840 ..............................................................................
Rev. R.H. Davies, 1858 - 1866 and Annie Pringle ...............................................
4
6
7
14
Cornwall High School, 1871 - 1925 .................................................................................
15
Cornwall Collegiate Institute, 1925 - 1938 ......................................................................
22
Cornwall Collegiate Vocational Institute, 1938 - .............................................................
24
Grads
Dora (Beach) Campbell ........................................................................................
Lionel Chevrier ....................................................................................................
Muriel Eastwood ..................................................................................................
Gertrude Gibbens .................................................................................................
Winifred Jerrom ...................................................................................................
Reginald William Kyte ........................................................................................
Judge James Leitch, Q.C. .....................................................................................
Dr. Archibald MacPhee ........................................................................................
Lillian M. Ross .....................................................................................................
Judge George A. Stiles .........................................................................................
28
28
29
29
30
30
31
31
32
33
The brick school question - is it or isn’t it? ......................................................................
33
References .........................................................................................................................
36
4
CORNWALL GRAMMAR SCHOOL - EASTERN DISTRICT GRAMMAR SCHOOL
1806 - 1871
Anglican minister John Strachan opened a private school, an early 19th century version of a high
school, in his home shortly after his arrival in Cornwall in June 1803. With his parsonage being
used as a school, Strachan “...set about to acquire the parsonage promised to him by his
parishioners, so he could use his present abode entirely as a school.” (Patterson, pg. 27) Classes
moved into the new church in 1806, (Senior, pg 87) a year later Strachan was successful in
having a frame school-house constructed on the southeast corner of 2nd St. E., and Augustus. “As
a result of the Grammar School Act of 1806, Strachan’s school became the Eastern District
Grammar School. (Patterson, pg. 36) In 1807 the school came under the authority of the act and
ceased being a private school. (Pringle, pg. 238)
Former student Judge Pringle relates that the school was never:
...comfortable, even in the earliest stage of its existence, and as age loosened its
joints and widened the cracks in walls and floor, it became almost uninhabitable.
The author recollects to this day the weary hours spent in it during the winter
months. It was almost impossible to feel any heat except in the immediate
neighborhood of the stove, and the unfortunate scholars whose seats were at a
distance from it had to bear the cold as best they could. The room was fitted
up with long desks, at each of which eight or ten boys sat, the seats provided for
them being common benches without backs. (The school-house was even said
to have a ghost, Pringle, pgs. 242 - 3)
A photograph of a print done in 1845 by John G. Howard titled “South View of
the District School House, Cornwall. Dedicated to Bishop Strachan.” This building
was used from 1807 - 1855.
5
A carte-de-visite, circa 1860 of the
Bishop of Toronto, John Strachan.
Rector of the Church of England’s
Cornwall Parish from 1803 to
1812. Founder and headmaster
of Cornwall’s first grammar
school.
The school was replaced in 1856 by a two-room brick structure located on the northeast corner of
4th and Sydney streets, under the direction of William Kay who had been headmaster since 1853.
Kay retired in favour of W. Taylor Briggs in 1868, who was in turn replaced by J.L. Badbury. By
the late 1860s it was becoming obvious that though the school:
...was some improvement on the old one, though by no means comfortable or
adequate to the purpose for which it was attended. It was used for about 20
years, when the absolute necessity for having a proper building was so apparent
that the trustees got the present High School building erected in 1877. (Pringle
pg. 242)
It is believed that this photograph from the Daly collection shows the Cornwall
Grammar School circa 1895.
Judge Pringle relates the subsequent
history of the old school building.
“The old building, venerable for its age, and
more particularly for its associations, was
used as a tenement house until May, 1888.
It is but little changed outwardly, except that
the windows, which in its school days were
5 to 6 feet above the floor, have been lowered
to the height of those in an ordinary dwellinghouse...It is still the same square, primitive
structure, destitute of anything in the way of
ornament, blackened by age and undefiled by
paint or white-wash. It is now (June 1888,)
turned into a carriage-house and stable, the
only external change being a wider door
at the west end.” (Pringle, pg. 242)
6
CORNWALL GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Reverend William Devereux Baldwyn, headmaster May 6, 1814 - 1817.
William Baldwyn was born in
England and attended Corpus
Christi College, Oxford,
graduating with a B.A. in 1799.
Ordained and serving in two
curacies before being
appointed to the mission in
Cornwall he arrived here in
1813. (Patterson, pg. 53)
Pay warrant issued and signed
by Lieutenant-General Gordon
Drummond, and countersigned
by Rev. John Strachan paying
Baldwyn 50 pounds Halifax
currency.
“Being his half yearly Salary
as Teacher of the Public School
in the Eastern District.”
York, January 13th, 1815.
7
Reverend Hugh Urquhart, 1827 - 1840
Presbyterian Minister Hugh Urquhart re-established the schools declining reputation. Urquhart
was a graduate of King’s College, Aberdeen and ordained into the Church of Scotland in 1822.
At the invitation of St. John’s congregation Urquhart came to Cornwall in 1827 to take-up his
post as minister and headmaster at the Cornwall Grammar School, a position Presbyterians had
held since 1817.
Urquhart was affectionately nicknamed “Polycarp,” “an acknowledgement of his great
scholarship and simplicity of character. Friends and clerical colleagues spoke of Urquhart’s
unparallelled grace and kindness.” (Senior, pg. 159) He retired from the headmastership in 1840
when he was named Moderator of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
In 1848 a number of Urquhart’s former pupils presented him with the illustrated silver tea service
and testimonial which reads:
It had long been the desire of many of the Pupils of
the Reverend Hugh Urquhart, while Master of the
Eastern District School, to present him with some
token of their united affection and regard; and the
opportunity of bringing the proposition under the
notice of a goodly number of them, having occurred,
during the holding of the Spring Assizes for 1848, at
Cornwall, a meeting was then called - not to consider the propriety of so doing - but to take steps for
carrying out that object.
Mr. Jacob Farrand Pringle was called upon to preside, and it was moved by Mr. Arch. John Macdonell (of Greenfield), seconded by Mr. Philip
Matthew VanKoughnet, and carried unanimously:
That it is our duty to express, in some marked
manner, the gratitude we feel towards the Rev.
Hugh Urquhart for the affectionate solicitude with
which he superintended our education, and kindly
feeling with which he has continued to regard us
since removed from his control: as well as the high
esteem and regard which we entertained for him in
every respect.
Mr. James Dunbar Pringle then moved, seconded by Mr. William Ross, and it was carried.
That there be a Committee appointed to carry out the object of the foregoing resolution, by collecting
subscriptions from the Scholars at the Eastern District while under Mr. Urquhart’s mastership, and
purchasing such article of plate (silver) for presentation, of which due notice shall be given to each
subscriber - such Committee to consist of: Jacob Farrand Pringle, Esq., Cornwall, Philip Matthew
8
VanKoughnet, Esq., Toronto, William Sutherland, Esq., M.D., Montreal, Robert Hamilton, Esq., Quebec,
Arch. John MacDonell, Esq. (of Greenfield), Kingston, William Walbridge Meyers, Esq., River Trent,
John S. Macdonald, Esq., M.P.P., Cornwall, George Hamilton, Esq., Hawkesbury.
Mr. Pringle was appointed Treasurer, and Mr. William Robert Cline Secretary to the Committee.
The gentlemen composing the Committee, have collected subscriptions to the amount of 150 pounds
sterling, authorized Mr. Rob. Hamilton to make the necessary arrangements for the purchase of a Silver
Tea Service and Salver in London; and the articles having arrived in the month of July last, the
Committee was enabled to appoint the 18th of August, for the day of the presentation.
The Service and Salver were of the handsomest description. The following words were engraved on each
article:PRESENTED
TO
THE REV. HUGH URQUHART, A.M.,
FORMERLY MASTER OF
THE EASTERN DISTRICT SCHOOL,
BY HIS PUPILS
AS A MARK OF THEIR RESPECT AND ESTEEM.
18TH JANUARY, 1848
Several members of the Committee, and other subscribers, were enabled to meet at Cornwall on the day
appointed, and proceeding to the residence of the Rev. Gentleman, presented him with the testimonial of
their esteem, and with the following - ADDRESS
Rev. And Honored Sir:Though many years have passed since the relations of Teacher and Pupil have ceased between us, the
lapse of time has not only had the effect of strengthening our feelings of respect and esteem for you, and
of convincing us that to your exertions as a Teacher, and to the excellent example you have always set
before us as a man, and a Christian, we owe a great portion of the success which has attended us in our
various avocations in life. Entertaining these sentiments, we feel that it is a pleasing duty incumbent
upon us, to mark in some manner worthy of you and ourselves, the high sense we have of the great and
lasting benefits you have conferred upon us.
We indulge the hope that while the consciousness of high and important duties, diligently and faithfully
performed, must ever be your best reward, you will not be the less gratified at receiving from your old
pupils this token of the affection, esteem, and respect with which we can never cease to regard you.
In conclusion, we can only add that it is our earnest prayer that you may long be spared to your family
and friends, and that the choicest blessings of Providence may ever be upon you and yours.
9
Sterling sugar tongs made in Montreal by Nelson Walker (NW), 1841 - 55. 13.5 cm long.
Sterling silver presentation salver,
made by William K. Reid (WKR),
London 1843- 4, hallmarked
1847 - 8. 49.5 cm diameter, on
four feet.
The unadorned classical lines on the
bodies of these pieces surmounted by
decorative floral and leaf finials, so
beloved by the Victorians, stylistically
places this set in the transition zone
between the Regency and the High
Victorian periods.
Teapot, made in London, 1845 - 46 by
Pearce & Burrows, 1847-4. RP.
Height: 13.5 cm (handle) GB
10
Coffee pot made in London,
1844 - 45, by Pearce and
Burrows, goldsmith’s stamp:
RP
GB
Height: 22.5 cm (handle)
Sugar bowl made in London,
1845 - 46 by Pearce and Burrows, goldsmith
stamp, RP
GB 1847-48.
Height: 12 cm (handle)
Creamer made in London,
1847 - 48, by Pearce and Burrows,
goldsmith stamp, RP
GB 1847-48
Height: 14.5 cm (handle)
11
Donated by Dr. Wynnefield Y. Watson and Mrs. Margaret I. Watson, Cambridge, Ont., 2000.
To which Mr. Urquhart replied:
My much esteemed Friends: - I find myself but
ill able to give suitable expression to my feelings at this moment.
While the sense of your generous kindness in
this visit, and the object of it, fills me with gratitude, the sense of my own unworthiness tends
greatly to abate the intensity of my pleasure.
Indeed, were I now called upon to estimate the
value of the sentiments contained in your kind
and affectionate Address, and of the token of
affection, esteem, and respect, with which you
accompany them, by any peculiar merit of my
own that called them forth, I should feel rather
humbled than gratified; but when I regard both,
as I am sure I am warranted in doing, as a
spontaneous honorable expression of your
appreciation of the blessings of a liberal education, and a generous desire to distinguish
even the humblest instrument that may have
Carte - de - visite by H.W. Weber
been employed in conferring these blessing,
Cornwall, ca. 1866, of the Rev.
by some mark of your favor and esteem, and
Hugh Urquhart, 1793 - 1871.
feel that I can sympathize with your feelings,
and even partake in the pleasure you now experience in giving expression to them.
So far from disavowing that bond of gratitude which should bind ingenuous youth to their teachers, I
honor it, and rejoice at every manifestation of it.
The office of the Teacher of youth has ever been regarded as useful and honorable, and has its rewards; it
also has, as admitted on all hands, its toils, and heavy responsibilities; but of all the rewards of this work,
that alone which compensates a trust-worthy and right-minded Teacher for all his toils and trials, is the
reward which is to be found in the after well-being and well-doing of the scholar, and in the gratitude that
survives all the ties of their mutual relation. It is then no small part of the gratification I now experience
that the token of your gratitude and regard comes to me a good many years after the mutual relations of
Scholar and Teacher have ceased, and after your minds have been matured by the practical experience of
the benefits you have received; and also, after I have had the unspeakable satisfaction of seeing not a few
of you take places in your several professions and occupations which do you credit now, and give
promise of still higher attainments, and all of you engaged in a career of present or future usefulness and
honor.
The present occasion forces upon my memory the grateful recollection of a similar token of affection and
regard received upwards of 20 years ago, on my separation from the first school I ever taught in Canada,
known as The Montreal Academic Institution, which I had the pleasure of seeing assembled as interesting
12
and promising a group of youths as I have ever seen assembled in one School - many of whom it is still
my happiness to know, and reckon as attached friends, but many of whom, alas! are now numbered with
the dead - having lived just long enough to leave with endeared and sorrowing parents an earnest of
future eminence and success never to be realized.
Nor do I think it unsuitable to our present meeting to be reminded that this is not the first time that the
Scholars of the School of Cornwall have distinguished themselves by their appreciation of the blessings
of a sound education, and by their gratitude to their Teacher. And though removed from these our
predecessors, by many years of separation, and perhaps still more by their superior attainments, yet I am
sure that we can with pride look back to their example and pre-eminent distinction, and feel no common
satisfaction in having our names associated with those of many, who by their talents and patriotism have
reflected no ordinary honor on their country, and not a few of whom are now adorning the highest
stations of honor in the land.
Having then the happiness to live under a Constitution which freely opens up the way of eminence and
honor to all the deserving of all classes, I will have no greater joy than to hear and know that all my boys
be found, in generous and virtuous emulation, striving for the first places in virtue, piety, and true
patriotism. Next to the approbation of our Heavenly Father, and the consciousness of endeavoring to
discharge all my duties with a single eye to His Glory, I may truly say, that the assurance of enjoying
your friendship and esteem, will constitute one of the most valued elements in the remaining part of my
life; and permit me now to say that “this Token of your affection, esteem and respect,” which I receive
with gratitude, and for which I offer you my heartfelt thanks, will be kept by me as the most valued and
precious ornament of my house.
I thank you fervently for your earnest prayer for me and mine; and in conclusion let me offer my fervent
prayers to Almighty God for you all, and for all whom you now represent - that He may pour upon you
His best blessings, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, in your persons, in your several avocations, and in
your domestic relations.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS
Jacob Farrand Pringle, Esq., Barrister (future judge and historian)
P.M. Vankoughnet, Esq., Barrister, (future politician)
William Sutherland, Esq., M.D.,
Robert Hamilton, Esq., (merchant)
Arch. J. Macdonell, Esq. of Greenfield, (barrister)
Wm. Walbridge Meyers, Esq., (future barrister)
John S. Macdonald, Esq., M.P.P. (future premier of Ontario etc.)
George Hamilton, Esq., (future barrister)
James Dunbar Pringle, Esq., (barrister)
Peter John Macdonell, Esq.,
George C. Wood, Esq., (future postmaster)
William Ross, Esq., (barrister)
Peter A. McDougall, Esq., M.D.,
Arch. George McLean, Esq., barrister, (Ont. Chief Justice, M.L.A.)
William Robert Cline, Esq.,
Cornwall,
Toronto,
Montreal,
Quebec,
Kingston,
River Trent,
Cornwall,
Hawkesbury Mills,
Cornwall,
Cornwall,
Cornwall,
Cornwall,
Goderich,
Cornwall,
Cornwall,
13
Bolton John VanKoughnet, Esq., B.A.,
Edward James Chesley, Esq.,
James L. Dickenson, Esq., M.D.,
Archibald Fraser, Esq.,
Joseph Shuter, Esq., (merchant)
Charles Jones, Esq.,
Henry Hamilton, Esq.,
Carson Kearns, Esq.,
Allan Neil McLean, Esq.,
James Arch. Walker, Esq., (merchant)
James H. Cummings, Esq.,
The Rev. Jacob J.S. Mountain,
William Wagner, Esq., M.D.,
Angus Macdonell, Esq., (Lt. 5th Incorporated Battalion)
Edward Jacqures , Esq., M.D.,
Thos. Alex. McLean, Esq., (barrister)
Reginald Macdonell, Esq., (Lt. Adjt. Royal Canadian. Rifles)
Wm. Simpson, Esq., Collector of Customs
Matthew R. VanKoughnet, Esq., (barrister)
C.M. Dickenson, Esq., (dentist)
Roderick Macdonald, Esq., M.D.,
Cornwall,
Cornwall,
Cornwall,
Glengarry,
Montreal,
Quebec,
Hawkesbury,
Petite Nation,
Kingston,
Yonge,
Chippewa,
Lennoxville,
Williamsburg,
Cornwall,
Quebec,
Toronto,
Coteau du Lac,
Hamilton,
Montreal,
Cornwall.
Judge Pringle related that “On the east end of the old school-house several
names and initials are cut in the clapboards, some of them by scholars who
attended the school sixty years ago”. (Pringle, pg. 246)
14
Reverend H. W. Davies, 1858 - 1866 and Annie Pringle
Reverend Davies was a graduate of the School who became a minister for the Church of England
after graduating from Toronto’s Trinity College, and headmaster after William Kay retired in
1858. Davies left Cornwall to take a position at Toronto’s Normal School.
It appears from a silver medal in the
museum’s collection that Davies either
tutored girls or taught them at the
school.
The accompanying silver plate medal
is inscribed:
Awarded to ANNIE PRINGLE for
proficiency in English by the donor,
H.W. Davies, Master, Cornwall,
June 1861.
Reverse “Labore Relugens”
Donated by Miss Christine MacCrimmon, Cornwall, 1964.
15
CORNWALL HIGH SCHOOL, 1871 - 1925
The Ontario High School Act of 1871 redesignated grammar schools as high schools, where:
...male and female pupils were to be admitted on equal terms. The emphasis
placed on the teaching of classical languages was to be relaxed, and more
attention paid to English, the natural sciences, and modern languages.
(Caldwell, pg. 9)
This Act led to renaming the school. The first principal of the new high school was James Smith
who was appointed in 1872. Under the new regulations the student population increased making
it necessary to build a new two-storey brick building with four large rooms in 1877.
In 1878 School Inspector Robert Johnston wrote:
The visit to this school this afternoon has given me very much pleasure indeed.
I am glad to see such a large, substantial building well adapted for the purpose
for which it was built. It shows the people of Cornwall are alive about the
education of the rising generation, a very important factor in the progress of
Canada, or any country. There is one little drawback, the blackboards are not
of the most improved pattern. With regards to the teachers I must say they
appear to me to be the right men in the right places. This of course refers to
the lady too. (Caldwell, pg. 9)
The four room Cornwall High School, built in 1877 at an estimated cost of
$7,775 by William Atchison of Cornwall. (“The Cornwall Reporter,” March
24, 1877.) The entrance faces 4th Street East.
16
The school grew slowly and only employed three teachers as late as 1884. In 1901 there were
five teachers with an average student body of 107. On its Centennial it counted 320 students and
eight teachers. Over the 1905/06 season the building was doubled giving Cornwall “...one of the
finest High School Buildings in Eastern Ontario.” (Centennial Anniversary, pg. 4)
The High School with the 1905/06
addition. This building was demolished
in 1956 to make way for a new wing.
1906, Centennial.
High School Belles, 1896 - 97.
Left to right: Laura Binnie, Ella Turner, Anne Findlay, Lily Ross, Carrie Binnie, Winnie Ross,
Ethyle Alguire, Ada Weageant, Annie McPherson, Winnie Fitzpatrick.
17
18
Programme of Studies, 1889 - 90.
19
High School entrance exams were first
held in 1874. Inspector of Public
Schools Alex. McNaughton signed Lillian
Hurley’s certification in 1901.
Sterling silver medal won
by Evelyn Durocher for
Highest Marks in Form II
1911.
The medal is Canadian
made.
World War I, Honour
Roll. Twenty-six former
pupils were killed in the
Great War. At the time
the school population
averaged 240 pupils.
The cadet corps
was founded in 1909.
Photograph donated by
the “StandardFreeholder.”
20
Entrance exam certificate for Helen M. Newton, 1920, signed by Principal
Alexander Caldwell, 1918 - 39. Caldwell came to the school in 1912. He
retired as principal in 1939, but remained as head of the Commercial
Department until 1944. In 1920 the school had 254 students and nine teachers.
By 1923 increasing enrollment made expansion necessary and eight classrooms, an auditorium
and the Sydney Street entrance were added “The school board was now able to meet the
requirements of the Department of Education with regard to collegiate institute rank;
consequently this standing was granted to the school in 1925.” (Caldwell, pg. 11)
The newly expanded Cornwall High School, 1924. Photograph donated by
Anne and Ken Runions, 1990.
21
The 1923 Sydney Street auditorium entrance.
The 1938 auditorium equipped to host both school and professional shows.
22
CORNWALL COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, 1925 - 1938
QUINDNUNC
OUR NEW MAGAZINE
For a long time it has been the unanimous
opinion of the students that Cornwall Collegiate
should have a Year Book. Not until this spring,
however, did the thought crystalize into action.
When the principal (A. Caldwell) requested form
(grade) representatives to nominate Editors they
realized the awful responsibilities thrust upon
them, and candidates were chosen after the most
solemn and serious deliberation. Elections were
held at the next meeting of the Literary Society
amid the greatest enthusiasm.
With not a little anxiety did our young editors
commence their task. Their problems loomed
large and terrifying before them. Just what should
such a magazine contain? What should be its
arrangement? What features could be found to
make it attractive? How could the timid be encouraged to contribute? Would the editors have
sufficient judgment and firmness to separate the
wheat from the chaff? The fact that other Year
Books had been produced in other schools meant
that other students must have battled with similar
problems and battled successfully. Their victory
gave us courage.
The editorial staff worked hard and they admit it, but they were not alone in this. From some
members of the school they got the most gratifying support. In fact at times they felt almost
inundated by the number of contributions, literary, artistic, and otherwise. Some students who
perhaps have wooed the muse furtively and in secret felt this was the opportunity of their lives to
win recognition and distinction; others perhaps impelled by a strong sense of loyalty and duty
whipped themselves to their task or the sporting and reckless lived up to their motto of trying
anything once. To all these we extend our hearty thanks.
To those who helped us not, what shall we say. If they refrained from diffidence, we trust
another year it may be dispelled; if from indifference, they must blame themselves for not being
able to share in the joy of the creation of the first “Quidnunc.”
To the members of the staff who have responded so generously and so untiringly to our appeals
23
for help of various kinds we owe a special debt of gratitude. Their assistance has been
invaluable.
And now for our maiden effort we ask the indulgence of our readers. Poor it may be, better it
might be, but ours it is, for better or for worse. So, here’s to the birthday of “Quidnunc!”
(“Quidnunc,” 1927 - 28, pgs., 23 - 4) (Copy donated by Murray Barkley.)
The latest copy the Museum
Archive’s has of “Quidnunc”
is dated 1930. By 1936 - 37
the yearbook had been renamed
“Mirum Ad Modum,” this was
subsequently changed to the
“Mirror.”
24
CORNWALL COLLEGIATE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL, 1938 In 1938 the Vocational wing opened and CCI became CCVS. At the same time the term “forms”
was replaced by “grades.”
Mary H. Stewart wrote in 1937:
The School was extended northward to include administrative offices, classrooms
for the commercial department which had been steadily expanding since its
inception, a number of shops, and a new gymnasium. As one would expect, the
new gymnasium was set aside for the boys; the one built in 1923 was turned over
to the girls.
...
In the fall of 1938, instruction was offered for the first time in Drafting, Woodwork,
Machine Shop, Electricity, and Home Economics...At this time the teaching staff
was increased from 21 to 26... (Caldwell, pg. 11)
One of the new classrooms in the
technical wing.
Drafting room.
The new “boys” gymnasium.
25
The school in 1938. The 1937
wing is in the foreground, the eight
classroom plus gymnasium addition is
in the centre, and the original school in
the back-ground.
The earthquake of 1944
damaged part of the roof
over the 1923 addition.
World War II memorial plaque unveiled in 1948 and erected by the Students’ Council.
The war took the lives of 91 former students. Photos donated by the “Standard-Freeholder.”
26
In 1956 a new $1,160,000 wing was added.
CCVS looking north along Sydney from the original 1877 school 1955.
The 1877 school was demolished to make room for the 1956 addition.
Both photos donated by the “Standard-Freeholder.”
27
CCVS circa 1972. The 1956 wing is to the right, the 1923 auditorium
is in the centre in front of the smoke stake adjacent to the 1938 addition.
The 1923 and 1938 additions were torn down in the mid-1970s and replaced by a new
$4,500,000 section. Former Principal Bill Roddy said, “The centre was torn out and replaced and
then the ends were tied to it. The oldest part of the campus now dates from 1957.”
28
GRADS
Dora Campbell née Beach, 1918 - 2001.
Dora Beach was born in Cornwall in 1918, one of four children of Cliff and Gertrude
Beach, of the Beach Furniture Company. Dora attended Cornwall Collegiate Institute in the mid1930s, continuing her education at the Ontario College of
Art. After marrying in 1946, Dora lived first in northern
Ontario, and then in the Vancouver area.
In 1963 she returned to Cornwall with her five children,
all of whom attended CCVS: Ann, Peter, Karen, Hugh and
Ian Campbell.
For fifteen years Dora Campbell taught art at St. Lawrence
College. Her distinctive ceramics and jewellery became
known through local exhibitions, including those held by the
Seaway Potter’s Guild. Dora died in 2001.
Dora Campbell in Toronto. Photo courtesy the
Campbell family.
The Honourable Lionel Chevrier, 1903 - 1984.
Born and educated in Cornwall, Lionel graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1924
and was called to the Ontario Bar four years later after studying at Toronto’s Osgoode Hall. In
1932, Lionel married Lucienne Brule of Ottawa and the
couple had six children.
In 1935 Chevrier was elected as the Liberal M.P. from
Stormont. From 1945 - 54 he was Minister of Transport.
Instrumental in engineering the political construction of the
Seaway, he was President of the St. Lawrence Seaway
Authority from 1954 - 57. He resigned the presidency
quipping “building the canal was fun, but I didn’t
want to stick around to collect toll dues.” Now appointed
President of the Privy Council, he was duly elected to
represent Montreal-Laurier. From 1963 - 64 he served as
Minister of Justice and Attorney-General. From 1964 - 67 he
was High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom.
He retired from Public Service as a Companion of the Order
of Canada.
Lionel Chevrier, ca. 1935. Photo donated
by the “Standard-Freeholder.”
29
Muriel Eastwood, 1912 - 2005.
Born in Cornwall and attending both Cornwall Public (Central) School and CCI, Miss
Eastwood received her B.A. from the University of Toronto. “She came directly to CCVS to
teach Physical and Health Education and English (has honour certificate in English and History
U. of T.)” (“Standard-Freeholder,” May 22, 1956, CCVS supplement, pg. 39). In 1956 Miss
Eastwood served on the council of the Canadian Save the Children Fund, and was president of
the local Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation., District 11.
Miss Eastwood sitting
for a staff photograph,
for the “Mirror,” 1951.
Gertrude Gibbens, circa 1885 - 1932.
Gertrude Gibbens came to Cornwall with her parents at age three. Upon graduation from
CCI she studied singing and dancing at the Royal Conservatory of Music at the University of
Toronto. “After her tutorship, she went to the Great White Way in New York City to seek fame
and fortune. In a short while she was a success singing and dancing in Broadway musicals with
such names as Richard Carl in “The Spring Chicken.” (“Standard-Freeholder,” May 22, 1956,
CCVS supplement, pg. 18) A “comedienne and excellent mimic,” Gertrude also worked for
Pathe News. It was while on assignment for Pathe that she was bucked from her horse breaking
her hip and ending her dancing career.
Upon the death of her mother
Gertrude returned to Cornwall
to take care of her father, William
Gibbens, former editor of the
Cornwall “Standard.” She died
shortly after her father’s death.
Photograph donated by the
“Standard-Freeholder.”
30
Winifred Muriel Jerrom, 1894 - 1992.
Winifred Jerrom attended CCI and began teaching at Central in 1918 for some 50 years. “Miss
Winifred Jerrom is remembered as a woman who loved her Church, her music and teaching ...
Marion Weatherhead, a teacher at the school and a former student of hers said, ‘she was my
guiding light.’ Arthur Youngs, a former principal stated, ‘it didn’t matter what grade you put her
in, she had that special touch with children. I never
heard her raise her voice. She just could talk to
them and they respected her.”
“She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree the year
she retired. She was a member of Trinity Anglican
Church and was organist for 50 years.”
“She was an honorary member of the Federation
of Women Teacher’s Assoc., of Ont., life member
of Cornwall General Hospital, Past President of the
Victorian Order of Nurses” and member and
benefactor of the SD & G Historical Society.
(Ledoux, D., pg. 32)
Miss Jerrom ca. 1935. Photo donated
by the “Standard-Freeholder.”
Reginald William Kyte, 1908 - 1994.
Reg Kyte started working in his father’s 1st St. store around 1916. After graduating from
CCI, he attended McGill and then returned to Cornwall and the store. In 1939, on the 50th
anniversary of the store’s founding, Reg took over from his father Charles. Now located on Pitt
St., Reg operated the store with his wife Linda (Jamieson) until he sold it to Jack and Joan Earle
in 1988.
This 1988 photograph shows Reg
Kyte holding an advertising
Emerald Pencil from the store
Cornwallite’s relied upon for
their stationery from Queen
Victoria to Queen Elizabeth.
31
CCI students relied on the store for their school supplies and books.
Reg’s dad Charles was known as “One Gross Charlie” because he would order a gross of an item
at a time. The Earle’s discovered his legacy when they found 3,000 pencils, gallons of ink and
5,000 pen nibs in the stockroom when they took over.
Judge James Leitch, 1850 - 1917.
Born at the South Branch in Cornwall Township, ...he was educated in Williamstown and
at the Cornwall Grammar School under the “private tutorship of (headmaster) J. L. Bradbury.”
(Rose, pg. 646) Working on his father’s farm during the summer and attending school
throughout the winter, he was admitted to the Law Society of Ontario in 1871 and was called to
the Bar in 1876.” He opened his practice in Cornwall in 1871 entered into partnership with R.B.
Carman. After Carman was appointed to the Bench, he formed another partnership with R.A.
Pringle. “Shortly after he commenced practice,...he was retained for the defence, in the Smith
murder trial, and being largely instrumental in securing the acquittal of the prisoner, he
established a reputation which at once brought him a large practice.” (Rose, pg. 646) He
married Elizabeth Strickland in 1876.
James Leitch, Q.C., elected Reeve for the Town
of Cornwall, 1884; Mayor by acclamation for
1885, 1886. As Mayor he put the town’s shakey
finances on a sound footing. High School trustee,
Temperance supporter, 1st Chairman of the Ont.
Railway and Municipal Board. Appointed Judge
of the High Court of Justice in 1913.
Doctor Archibald MacPhee, 1911 - 1999. Cornwall’s “heart doctor”
Born in Cornwall into a family of four boys and one girl, “Archie’s” mother died when he
was five years old. Educated at Centre Ward Separate School, Gonzaga High School and CCI, in
1936 “Archie” graduated from Medical School at the University of Toronto. After completing
his internship at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital, he opened an office on 2nd St. in 1939. He
upgraded his skills through correspondence courses offered by the Canadian Royal College of
Physicians and Surgeons to graduate as a specialist in internal medicine.
32
In 1961, Dr. MacPhee was awarded a fellowship in the American College of Chest Physicians.
He was made a Knight of St. Gregory in 1980 by Pope Paul VI and was given the Glen Sawyer
Award for his work in cardiac medicine. Dr. MacPhee served as choir director at St. Columban’s
for 40 years. Dr. MacPhee also served on numerous medical committees including the Hotel
Dieu - MacDonnell Memorial Board, and served as Chief of Staff of the Hotel Dieu. Dr.
MacPhee is considered to be the Hotel Dieu’s “godfather of cardiology,” due to the fact his work
resulted in the creation of the Hospital’s coronary care unit in 1970. Dr. MacPhee closed his
private practice in 1986.
Dr. A. MacPhee receives
the Glen Sawyer Award,
Feb. 22, 1978.
Photograph courtesy the
MacPhee family.
Lillian M. Ross, 1879 - 1993.
The daughter of Scottish settlers Lewis A. Ross (Cornwall mayor) and Mary Jane
McCracken, Lily attended Cornwall High School. She “Trained for the New York opera stage,”
but “her father insisted that she return home for a proper life of a young lady. Which meant
tutoring children in voice and piano and playing bridge.” “During the two World Wars she
planned and organized entertainment and receptions for servicemen. She was constantly
involved in charity work, especially with the Salvation Army Home League.” (“StandardFreeholder,” March 22, 1993, pg. 26)
Miss Ross worked as supervisor of the
Cornwall Tourist Bureau until she was
84. When she died at 113 she was
officially recognized as the oldest
living person in Canada, and may have
been one of the top five centenarians in
the world.
Lillian Ross, Cornwall’s tourism ambassador. See page 16,
Photograph donated by the “Standard-Freeholder.”
33
Judge George A. Stiles, Q.C., 1911 - 1998
Upon retirement in March, 1986 Judge Stiles reminisced “I’m satisfied. I’ve had one hell of a
good swing at the apple.” Often outspoken, Stiles was appointed county judge in 1971. Born in
Cornwall, George attended Central Public School and CCI. Always wanting to follow his father
into law, he took a detour by graduating from the University of Toronto as a teacher in 1934.
Teaching “school for all of about five days...” (“Standard-Freeholder,” March 19, 1986) George
with the help of his aunt, was able to return to Toronto’s Osgoode Hall and earn his law degree.
George returned to Cornwall to work as an assistant to Crown Attorney J.G. Harkness in 1937.
With the outbreak of war he joined the R.C.A.F. to become a fighter pilot, holding the rank of
Flight Lieutenant at the end of the conflict. In 1947 he returned to Cornwall to practice law,
becoming solicitor for the City of Cornwall between 1948 and 1962. He was named Queen’s
Counsel in 1954.
George Stiles, winner of the
Eastern Ontario Oratorical
Contest, 1929. Topic: The
Unification of Canada.
THE BRICK SCHOOL - IS IT OR ISN’T IT?
A strong oral tradition maintains that this two storey brick structure is made-up of significant
elements of the second Cornwall Grammar School built in 1856, on the east side of Sydney
Street and moved across the road to its present location when a new school was erected in 1877.
On the strength of tradition the building was designated a heritage structure by the Local
Architectural Advisory Committee. In 1989 the S.D. & G County Board of Education formed a
committee to investigate turning the structure into a school museum if tradition was supported by
historical fact. The following historical examination was presented and the project subsequently
tabled. From the report I am inviting you to decide if tradition and fact mesh.
34
The two storey late 19th century brick structure reputed to have significant
elements and dimensions of the 2nd Cornwall Grammar School, 1856 - 77.
Northwest corner of 4th and Sydney Streets. Photograph taken in 1970.
The original Cornwall Grammar School, built in 1803 was located on the east side of Augustus
between 1st and 2nd street. A sketch of the structure circa 1845 by J.G. Howard provides a rare
glimpse of this prominent Cornwall institution. (See page 4) The key feature to note is the size of
the building. Judge Pringle has left us a personal observation on the conditions in the school.
“The room was fitted up with long desks, at each of which eight or ten boys sat, the seats
provided for them being common benches without backs.” (Pringle, pg. 241) Despite these
seemingly primitive conditions, the school turned out many successful pupils who went on to
distinguished careers in the province, not the least of whom was John Sandfield Macdonald, first
premier of Ontario. However, by 1855 this building no longer adequately served the needs of the
school population and the Trustees for the Grammar School decided to replace it. In July 1855
they purchased Lot 12 North side of 4th St., from the Hon. Judge McLean for the sum of 100
pounds sterling. The purchase price of the lot left the trustees with insufficient funds to proceed
erecting a new building. It wasn’t until the following year that work on a one storey brick
schoolhouse was started. According to a Special Report on Grammar Schools in Eastern Ontario
compiled by J. Ormiston in 1856, “A commodious new brick building is in process of erection
and is expected to be finished by the beginning of next year.”
At the present time, we have very limited structural detail on this feature. The 1860 survey plan
of Cornwall shows a building situated on the southwest corner of Lot 12 north side of 4th St. (the
northeast corner of Sydney and 4th) described as the Grammar School. The only detailed
reference to the layout of the school comes from the annual inspection report on Grammar
Schools by Thomas Robertson for the year 1857. He remarked:
35
When I was last here this school was held in a wretched old wooden building
altogether unfit. Since that time the old lot has been sold and the present house
built by means of the sale and a grant from the County Council. It is one storey,
brick, with porch (hat room?) and small class room. School room about 30 by
25 feet and supplied with good wooden desks and forms. The site is one acre,
fenced and there are two privies.
While not providing the precise dimensions for the exterior of the building, his remarks do
provide a rough estimate of the school’s size and layout. In addition to this material, there are
also plans for “standard” or “typical” school facilities of this period which will provide some
general indicators of size and layout. In addition, the attendance rolls contained in the semi
annual Inspectors’s reports will provide some further clues. For example, in the first half of
1867, there were 36 pupils, including boys and girls, registered for the Cornwall Grammar
School which suggests at least a two room school with possibly a study area or office for the
headmaster.
The Grammar School system was modified by Ontario provincial legislation in 1871 and
converted into what we know today as high schools. This conversion would have placed strains
on the facility built some 15 years earlier. An inspection for 1876 described the school as
follows,
“A small brick building is divided into two rooms by a board petition that reaches about 2/3s of
the way to the ceiling...the equipment middling and the desks worn.”
By 1877 the building was in urgent need of replacement. It is at this point that the historical
record becomes unclear. Alexander Caldwell, in his history of Cornwall Collegiate, stated:
...in 1877 the school house erected in 1856 was replaced by a larger and better
building on the same site...The old building was moved to the west side of
Sydney Street and converted into a dwelling.
However, another anonymous account contained in the “Mirror” for 1956 states:
in 1856 a small two room brick building was put up on the present 4th St.
Site. This served as a school until 1877 when it was torn down to make
way for the four room building described above. The bricks of the discarded
two room building were used for the house on the northwest corner of 4th
and Sydney Streets.
Thus there are two conflicting accounts as to what happened to the original, that is 1856 building.
Information for Lot 13 North side of 4th St. on which the structure currently known as the old
grammar school is situated offers some additional information. The property was patented to
James G. Ross in January 1874. Ross, according to the 1871 census moved to Cornwall from the
United States sometime in the mid 1850s. His trade was initially listed as a stonecutter but
36
according to his obituary notice in the Cornwall “Freeholder” dated 27 March 1891 he served as
a government inspector on the Cornwall Canal when the new canal was being built beginning in
1876. Finally his will dated 5 May 1890 refers to him as a contractor by trade. The fact that
Ross owned the land by 1877, was a contractor by trade and held a secure position with the
government is suggestive that he may well have acquired the source, likely the old Grammar
School. The general dimensions of the present structure are close to those of the old Grammar
School. Given the available material on the Cornwall Grammar School and comparative sources
for other area Grammar Schools, it would be possible to reconstruct a period classroom within
the present structure. The Board has a unique opportunity to present a significant part of the
city’s rich educational tradition through the acquisition of this facility.
Dennis Carter-Edwards, Chairman, Heritage Cornwall (LACAC), 1988
(Footnotes removed from report)
References
Caldwell, Alexander, Stewart, M.H., Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School, a Historical
Sketch, Cornwall, 1956.
1806 - 1906 Centennial Anniversary, Cornwall High School, Cornwall, 1906.
Harkness, J.G., Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry - A History 1784 - 1945, Mutual Press,
Ottawa, 1946.
Heritage Cornwall, vol. 1, Cornwall L.A.C.A.C., Cornwall.
Ledoux, Debbie, A Journey to Remember, Central Public School, K.A. Heard, Summerstown,
2002.
Patterson, Wm., John, Joyful is our Praise, Trinity (Bishop Strachan Memorial) Church
Cornwall, Ontario1784 - 1984, Brown and Martin Ltd., Kingston, 1984.
Pringle, J.F., Lunenburgh or the Old Eastern District, The Standard Printing House, Cornwall,
1890 (reprinted, 1972)
“Quidnunc,” 1927 - 28, Yearbook, Cornwall Collegiate Institute, Cornwall, 1928.
Rose, G. M., Cyclopedia of Canadian Biography, Rose Publ. Co., Toronto, 1886.
Senior, E.K., From Royal Township to Industrial City, Cornwall 1784 - 1984, Cornwall
Bicentennial Committee, Cornwall, 1983.
George Atkinson’s Junior Boy’s football sweater, 1951.