Tom Kovesi

When I go back to visitLisgar, one of the thingsI’m most aware of is

something every current Lisgarite takesfor granted—the number of comput-ers and smart phones inside Lisgar’swalls. It was not always like this.

When I was at Lisgar in the late1970s, Lisgar didn’t have a computer.Pocket calculators had recentlybecome pretty common and were theonly electronic device one would eversee in the halls. They were ratherexpensive. Geeks (nerds, back then)had scientific calculators, which hadmany functions, several memories, andwere sometimes even programmable.Uber-geeks had HP calculators, theuse of which was incomprehensible toeveryone else (4 + 5 was 4 Enter 5 +).

While Lisgar didn’t actually have acomputer, we did have computer sci-ence classes. We learned computerprogramming using a language calledFORTRAN, or a version my nerdierfriends assured me was extremely cooland which had been invented inWaterloo, called WATFIV. We wroteprograms by coloring in little bubbleson cardboard computer cards withthick HB pencils. A simple programwould take scores of cards, and we’dstore our cards in specially-designed

cardboard boxes. Every night, a truckwould pick up our boxes of cards andbring them to the Ottawa Board ofEducation computer. A technicianwould put each of our boxes through acomputer card reader. The computerwould run (or at least attempt to run)our program and give the output onlong reams of foldable computerpaper. The next day, our cards andprintouts were returned to us. If twocards were in the wrong order, you’dcoloured the wrong bubble, or a pen-cil mark had gone astray, the programwouldn’t run, and the printout wouldjust have an error message. You’d haveto correct the error, resubmit yourcards, and wait until the next day to seeif it worked. For most of us, a simpleassignment took about a week to work.

If you had a streak of anarchist inyou, you could write a program called

a “do loop.” This would send the com-puter into an endless cycle, using a lotof paper and endlessly irritating thecard reader technician (we not infre-quently created loops by accident).When my kids were toddlers and hadan endlessly repeating tantrum, weused to call this a do loop—any parentof my generation who’d taken “com-puters” knew what this meant.

The cardboard boxes and truckapproach was a slow and inefficientway of completing computer scienceassignments, and was deemed entirelyunsatisfactory by my nerdier class-mates. One way around this was to tryto sneak access to the computers inthe Computer Science Department atthe University of Ottawa. The universityhad (I think) two or three computers,which took up a large room with spe-cial flooring and air filters. The room

looked a bit like the interior of theDeath Star from Star Wars, except itwas white. At the university, there werecard punch machines, where youcould type your characters with a key-board, and the machine would punchholes in the appropriate spaces in thelittle cardboard computer cards. You’dthen wait in line to give your cards to acomputer technician, and then wait inanother line for your printout. I’lladmit I was never a fan. The universitywas hard to get to (this was longbefore the pedestrian bridge acrossthe canal). The room was huge andincredibly noisy with all the cardpunch machines working, and the uni-versity’s version of FORTRAN was a bitdifferent from ours so my programsnever seemed to work anyway.

One of my friends came up with amuch better solution. He made friendswith the computer technician at theOttawa Board of Education’s comput-er, who would then let us in at night sowe could feed our computer cards intothe computer’s card reader ourselves.You’d have virtually instant feedback,so you could troubleshoot your pro-gram right away. An assignment thatwould otherwise take a week would befinished in an evening. While we weresubmitting our incredibly simple pro-grams, my classmate clearly had some-thing inscrutably complicated goingon, involving boxes and boxes of com-puter cards. We discovered what hewas doing when he showed up one

The newsletter of the Lisgar Alumni AssociationVolume XXXI • 1st Issue • Spring 2017

Alere FlammamRecalling Dawn of the Computer Age at Lisgar

Alere Flammam

I n s i d eMembers’ Forum 2In Memoriam 3Peter Raymont 4Alumni-Funded Projects 4Hugh Fraser 5Lisgar Archives 6

1970s HIGH TECHNOLOGY: An IBM 360 similar to this one was the school board’s only computer.

Hold the Date!175th Anniversary Reunion – May 4-6, 2018

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3...

Members’ Forum

Alere Flammam • Spring 2017 • Page 2

Peter Chance (1939) e-mailed anote along with his donation: I grad-uated in 1939, followed by my twinbrothers, David and John, three yearslater. Two years ago I was able to trav-el to Ottawa and climb the stairs todrop in to the office and also to exam-ine once again the plaques on the wallin the corridor adjacent to the library,which include our names. I enjoy verymuch each edition, which keeps alivemy vivid memories of happy days as astudent. We had great teachers, head-ed by Principal F.A. Stuart. Perhapsthe most recognized and respectedwas Jessie Muir, who taught Englishand French. “Daisy” McDermott, whotaught German, Ernie Legon for Latin,and Jessie Smith and “Minnie” Hillsfor Math were just a few of our poorlypaid but totally dedicated staff.Warmest best wishes to the best highschool in Ontario and perhaps in all ofour great country.�Betty Catchpole (Cameron, 1950)wrote: Once again Alere Flammamarrived and I so enjoyed reading it. Iso enjoyed the article on JackieHolzman. That also brought backgreat memories, as her husband Johnwas part of our “gang” and a neigh-

Members’ Forumbour in my teenage years. Keep up thegood work! �Sylvia Kershman (Bodovsky, 1942)has recently published Life Lines andOther Lines, which tells the story ofSylvia’s family and their lives as res-idents of Lowertown in Ottawa.Sylvia, the daughter of Kele LeikinBodovsky and Wolf Bodovsky, wasborn in 1926 and lived in the neigh-bourhood, once the core of theOttawa Jewish community, until1964. �David Hein (1993) has opened hisfirst Broadway musical, Come FromAway, in New York. The March 12opening night was attended byPrime Minister Justin Trudeau andhis wife Sophie. David and his wife,Irene Sankoff, wrote the play and allthe music. It centres around thewarm welcome Newfoundlandersgave airline passengers who werestranded after 9/11. Jane Boon(1985) wrote on Facebook: I live inNew York City and bought tickets with-out realizing there was a Lisgar con-nection. How wonderful!�Paul Paddon (1965) wrote: Just readthe latest edition of Alere Flammam.

It was nice to see some former class-mates from the 1965 class. Had somegreat characters for teachers. Mr.Cochrane, my Geography teacher fromSouth Africa, a wonderful man. I lovedmy old History teacher Mr. Carruthers.It was a riot how he used to put you ina headlock and give you a hair rubwhen he was mad at you. I’ll never for-get Mr. Wade, my Chemistry teacher.Heaven forbid if you didn’t do yourhomework or stand to answer a ques-tion. He wielded a wicked yard stick.My sister Penny (1961) still lives inthe Ottawa area. My sister Pam (1962)

EditorAvi Caplan

ContributorsPaul BennettRod HagglundElizabeth HaleJoy HeftTom KovesiPhilippe Roy

Alere Flammam is the annualnewsletter of the Lisgar AlumniAssociation.

Lisgar Alumni Association29 Lisgar StreetOttawa, ON K2P 0B9alumni@lisgar.net(866) 236-1450

http://www.lisgar.net

We are proud to use FSC-certifiedprocessed chlorine-free 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

married an Aussie and moved there inthe late 1960s. My brother Pete(1964) married a girl from NorthCarolina and they live just outsideHickory, NC. My wife and I are retiredhigh school teachers and are enjoyinglife in the Belleville area. Hope to seesome old buds at the 175th.�Thanks again to Margaret Pippy(1952) and Ann McJanet (1955)who continue to take the time toclip newspaper articles and obituar-ies and send them in for thenewsletter. Ann writes: I always read

COME FROM AWAY: The hit musical from David Hein (1993) is currently playing on Broadway, but will be back in Toronto starting in February of 2018.

OTTAWA HISTORY: Sylvia Kershman (Bodovsky, 1942) shows off her book on life in Lowertown.

Members’ Forum

Page 3

BARDACH, James (1980)BERGER, Jean (Soloway, 1943)CLEMENT, Shirley (Paul, 1938)COLLINS, Jean (Trudel, 1942)FERGUSON, Barbara (Putman, 1936)FRIEND, Lawrence “Larry” (1964)GRAY, Mary Jane (Barclay, 1943)GLOVER, Lydia (Biberovitch, 1957)HATHAWAY, George (1958)HENRY, Angus (1990)IVISON, Donald (1950)KENNEDY, Betty (Styran, 1942). Shebecame a reporter for the OttawaCitizen almost immediately after grad-uation, then moved to radio and even-tually had her own show, The BettyKennedy Show, which she hosted for27 years. In 1962 she became the onlywoman on Front Page Challenge andremained until the program was can-celled in 1995. In 1982 she was madean Officer of the Order of Canada, andin 2000 was appointed to the Senate.

MACKENZIE, Dean (teacher 1968-70, 1992-96).MCCLENAHAN, Patricia (Challen, 1947)MACGOUGAN, David (teacher 1958-63, librarian 1963-92). He served asthe volunteer archivist for the AlumniAssociation from 1992-2002.

MCMICHAEL, Robert (teacher 1953-57, Vice-Principal 1960-64, Principal1972-1976). A proud veteran of theSecond World War, he maintained histies with Lisgar in his retirement.

MILLER, Florence “Flossie” (Dagg, 1937)MORDY, Mary (Bennett, 1946)NICOL, Wesley (1949). He foundedTartan Homes, and was made aMember of the Order of Canada forhis role in fostering entrepreneurship.PATTERSON, Violet (McAteer, 1950)POUPORE, Denis (teacher, 1985-88)ROWSOME, Wally (1951)SCULTHORPE, Albert (1935)SUNDERLAND, Inez (Smith, 1938)TARASOFSKY, Barry (1987)THORSTEINSON, Joan (Herbert, 1952)THURSTON, George (1944)TOLLER, George (1945). He was along-time member of the AlumniAssociation Executive, chairing thesuccessful fundraising campaign forthe 160th anniversary.

WEBER, Gene Weber (Math teacher1980-1991). He became a teacherafter a 27-year career with the RoyalCanadian Navy.WOOD, Gillian (Macpherson, 1967) ■

In Memoriam

George Toller

Robert McMichael

David McGougan

Betty Kennedy

morning in home room and casuallyasked our teacher, Mr. Pritchett, if hisprintout of all our teacher’s salarieswas correct! I think he was probablyone of the earliest computer hackers.Mr. Pritchett, to his credit, recognizedwhat an incredible intellectualachievement this was, and my class-mate wasn’t suspended. Incredibly, wewere all still allowed access to theOttawa Board of Education computerafterwards. It took my friend manymore weeks, but the next time heemerged with a printout of all ourmarks, complete with those of our fic-titious class mascot, Mordecai. Wealso got “Tom Kovesi for Head Boy”printed at the bottom of half the stu-dent computer jobs during oneovernight run.

My final encounter with the shinynew world of computing at Lisgarcould have ended badly. Simon Tooke,one of the uber-nerds among my cir-cle of friends, was a key member ofLisgar’s Computer Club while I wasHead Boy. Simon decided that Lisgarneeded our own computer. He’dlearned that the National ResearchCouncil wanted to dispose of an obso-lescent computer, complete with tapedrive and other accessories, and waswilling to sell it for about $20,000.The computer involved severalmachines, each about the size of arefrigerator. Simon assured us thatwhile the computer was a bit old, itwas an incredible bargain, as it hadcost several million dollars back in the1960s. We diligently got to work, hav-ing bake sales to try to raise the$20,000. The administration cautious-ly cooperated, going so far as to askan architect whether any floor atLisgar would be able to support theweight of a computer. Fortunately, ourbake sales didn’t get very far, and ourcontribution to the school didn’t endup including thousands of pounds ofuseless wires and tape. But it’s still alittle hard to imagine that the behe-moth we fortunately didn’t manage toacquire for Lisgar had far less com-puting power than a little iPad doestoday. ■

Computer (continued)Alere Flammam in its entirety when itcomes, and am looking forward tohear plans to celebrate Lisgar’s nextbig anniversary.�Peter Lesaux (1954) wrote: I com-pleted Grade 13 in 1954, and graduat-ed from St. Francis Xavier University in1957. Enjoyed a lengthy and success-ful career in the federal public service.Life in retirement in Ottawa is mostsatisfying. I much enjoy the newsletter.Keep up the good work.�Colin Gray (1987) is a producer andwriter who, along with his sisterMegan, recently produced the docu-mentary Being Canadian, about whatit means to be a Canadian living inthe United States. It can be rentedthrough the iTunes store. Colinplayed Frank Hardy in the 1995 tele-vision series The Hardy Boys.�Muriel Lamont (Drolsky, 1934)turned 100 on May 12, 2016. She isthe mother of alumnus John Lamont(1974). Happy Birthday, Muriel!�Archival photos showing studentshaving fun, enjoying sports, andhanging out in Ottawa are now partof a permanent exhibition at theBytown Museum. The exhibit, called“100 Years of Youth in Ottawa,” isan initiative of the museum’s YouthCouncil. �Lisgar has placed 4th in the FraserInstitute’s annual rankings ofOntario high schools. The Institute’sannual report card ranks 740 of theprovince’s schools based on stan-dardized testing numbers.�A number of long-serving teachershave recently retired from Lisgar.Joining the ranks of alumni areSusan Hewitt (Science, 1991-2015),Sara Kuntsmann (French, 1999-2016), Ramona Martino (Math,1999-2016), Brenda Perras (French,2007-17), Bruce Summers (Vice-Principal, 2010-15), and Jean Szeles(English and Drama, 2000-17). Bestwishes from the Alumni Association,and see you at the reunion! ■

Features

Alere Flammam • Spring 2017 • Page 4

At its February executive meeting,your Alumni Association decided

to provide funding to three worthyprojects meeting our long-standingfunding criteria—benefitting a largepercentage of the student body over along period of time in order to create abetter school environment and fosterstrong attachments for future alumni,increasing the profile of Lisgar in wayswhich will aid in maintaining linkagesbetween alumni and the school, orbeing a project involving both currentstudents and alumni.

The Lisgar Quiz (Reach) Club willreceive $1,000 to underwrite entrancefees for provincial and national acade-mic competitions. Lisgar teams havedone well in recent years, and this yearpromises to be no exception. Theywere featured on a W5 program in theautumn of 2016. The success of theteams has enhanced Lisgar’s reputa-tion and is sometimes cited as a reasonfor parents selecting Lisgar for theirchildren’s education. The club has

hosted trivia night fundraisers and aca-demic quiz tournaments and under-taken car washes and bottle drives tosupplement their support.

Lisgar’s outdoor education pro-gram will benefit from a grant of$1,500, which will facilitate the pur-chase of replacements for old and fail-ing equipment, including tents andcanoe packs and barrels, as well as thepurchase of equipment not previouslyowned by the program. It is hoped thatthe equipment will last between 10 and20 years. Students have been sellingcoffee to help match the donation.Perhaps the students will be able toundertake a canoe trip to help cele-brate the school’s 175th anniversary,as was done for the 150th!

Finally, Lisgar’s Garden Committeewill use its $1,500 grant to enhancethe school grounds by constructingraised beds around some of the treeson the mall and planting the beds withhardy perennials. The grant will alsobe used to purchase and stock more

planters to highlight the schoolentrances and to construct raised bedsbehind the South building for foodproduction by school groups such asDual Support and Culinary Arts, whileencouraging environmentally sustain-able practices. These enhancementsshould also help make the schoolmore attractive during the 2018 cele-brations. Additional requests for fund-ing and other assistance have alsobeen made to the City of Ottawa andlocal food companies, banks, andother granting programs.

As custodians of the funds con-tributed by alumni and others to theschool, the Alumni Association istasked with decisions on how to spendthis money in response to requestsfrom school groups. Applications mustbe made through our website and areconsidered twice annually. Preferenceis given to requests where the appli-cant is providing a portion of fundingthough their own fundraising efforts.See the website for further details. ■

Alumni Association Funds Projects

As announced in the last issue of AlereFlammam, part of our 175th anniver-sary reunion activities in May of 2018will be an induction of a further groupof distinguished members intoLisgar’s Athletic Wall of Fame. We arevery grateful for all the nominationsreceived so far from alumni. For thepurposes of planning, however, weare establishing June 30, 2017 as thefinal date for nominations for thisinduction, in order to allow adequatetime for biographical research, finalselection, contact with individuals andfamilies, etc. As in the past, the namesof any individuals who are nominatedbut do not form part of this limitedgroup will be retained for considera-tion for future inductions. Thank youto all who have participated in thisprocess, and to all who have con-tributed to the world of sports andathletics at Lisgar and in later life.

Athletic Wallof FameWhere the Universe Sings: The

Spiritual Journey of LawrenHarris is the latest offering fromacclaimed film director, producer,and writer Peter Raymont (1966). Thefilm recently screened to a rapt audi-ence at the Bytowne Cinema in Ottawa.It explores Group of Seven member

Lawren Harris’s life and influences,and features extensive interviews withanother Lisgar graduate, retiredNational Gallery of Canada Curator ofCanadian Art, Charles Hill (1962).

Raymont has produced and direct-ed over 100 films and TV series duringa 44-year career and has been hon-oured with 52 Canadian and interna-tional awards. His documentary fea-ture Shake Hands with the Devil: TheJourney of Roméo Dallaire receivedthe 2007 Emmy for Best Documentary,and he is also the Executive Producerand co-creator of the award-winningTV drama series The Border, pro-duced for the CBC.

Raymont is just one of many Lisgargraduates to make extensive contribu-tions to the field of media and journal-ism in Canada and abroad. Othersinclude Shelagh Rogers (1973), BettyKennedy (1942), Peter Jennings(1956), Lorne Greene (1933), andAdrienne Clarkson (1956). ■

Where the Universe Sings:Another Film from Peter Raymont

The Reunion Committee needsyou to help make Lisgar’s 175th

anniversary a success! We are lookingfor volunteers to help with specifictasks and events. Please get in touch at175@lisgar.net if you have any ofthese skills and are willing to givesome of your time and expertise:• Communications – writing pressreleases and announcements, contact-ing media, and answering questions• Marketing – advertising and pro-motional strategy• Graphic design – printed materi-als, memorabilia, website• Fundraising – donation solicita-tion from alumni and sponsors• Finance – maintaining records

These committees are also lookingfor people to assist with planning or towork at the reunion itself:• Decade rooms – organizingarchival material, photos, etc.• Blue and Grey night – food andrefreshments, decorating, music• Gala dinner and dance – logis-tics, talent, decorating, displays, MC• Teacher and staff event – corre-spondence and liaison, refreshments• Alumni assembly – talent selec-tion, music, audio-visual, MC• School tour – tour guides, signage• Wall of Fame – research, writing• Trivia night – research, audio-visual, refreshments• Registration – data entry, sign-in,assembling of packages

There are also several areas wherewe are hoping to receive donations orfinancial assistance. If you have a busi-ness working in one of these areas,please get in touch:• Signage / printing• Decorations• Music / band• Door prizes / silent auction

Many of you will remember the140th, 150th, and 160th. Here is yourchance to be part of the 175th! ■

Help Wantedfor 175th

AnniversaryReunion

called to the Bar in 1979. I often won-dered whether the opportunities forlawyers of colour were unfairly limit-ed, and decided to start my own lawfirm. I was able to build a busy andsuccessful practice, beginning as asolicitor and then moving into litiga-tion. One highlight of my legal careerwas a precedent-setting case in whichmy client successfully sued her hus-band for smoking in the family homeand contributing to her lung cancer. Ialso served as a part-time member ofthe Canadian Human Rights TribunalPanel and wrote a decision whichresulted in significant changes to theUnemployment Insurance Act as itpertains to women. I was appointed asa Judge of the Ontario Court of Justicein 1993. I have had many interestingmoments and challenging cases, butthe one that I seem to be most remem-bered for is the Ipperwash case, inwhich I convicted an OPP officer ofcriminal negligence causing death as aresult of the shooting of a native pro-tester during an uprising. Did you have any mentorsthroughout your career?My father, who was also a lawyer, wassomewhat of a mentor with regard tomy professional career. I had a trackcoach, Gerard Mach, who came toCanada from Poland to coachCanada’s sprinters and he had a greatinfluence on my career.What have been the critical suc-cess factors in your life? The critical success factors in my lifehave been faith and family. I was fortu-nate to have been raised in a fairlystrict household where education andhard work were valued. My faith,which encourages me that God hashad a plan for my life, enabled me toget through some of the difficult timesand to appreciate the good times forwhat they were. The combination ofthose two things kept me motivated totry to reach my true potential.What humorous incidents haveyou experienced?Once when I was sprinting in a highschool 100 metre race I realized that

Features

Page 5

What route did you take to Lisgar?I was born in Kingston, Jamaica, andmoved to Kingston, Ontario, when Iwas seven. My father was in law schoolat Queen’s University and when hecompleted his studies and his BarAdmission course at Osgoode Hall heobtained a job as a lawyer with thegovernment in Ottawa. I spent twoyears at York Street Public School,then started Grade 9 at Lisgar in 1965.What do you remember of Lisgar? When I started at Lisgar I had justturned 13 and was somewhat shy andintroverted. I was also quite small formy age. I remember struggling duringthat first year, but a young scienceteacher named Gary Smith seemed torecognize some potential in me andgave me encouragement. I rememberas well a few of the other teachers whohad just started their teaching careers,such as Bill Fraser, Larry Hale, andJoe Leggett, who taught Phys. Ed. What did you do at Lisgar?One of the best decisions I ever madewas to take typing in Grade 9. I maynot have done it for the most noble ofreasons, but the typing skills that Iacquired helped me to secure won-derful summer jobs in the governmentonce I had completed high school. Ialso recall playing the clarinet andgoing on some trips with the band.

How did your athletic career begin?My athletic career started somewhatslowly. I recall being cut from the highschool football team as well as thetrack team. By the time I enteredGrade 11, I had started to grow andseemed to gain a lot of speed. I madethe track team for the first time inGrade 11 and by the Grade 12 wasenjoying modest success as a footballplayer. Grade 12 was the year in whichmy athletic abilities blossomed. Ibecame one of the fastest high schoolsprinters in the country, and receivedmany scholarship offers from univer-sities in the United States. I tore myhamstring while running in my lastyear of high school, however, and,having decided to stay in Canada toattend McMaster University, I wasunable to compete during the firstyear due to injury. I transferred toQueen’s University for my second year.Describe your success in trackand field while at university.During my time at Queen’s I was ableto restart my athletic career and mademy first Canadian national team as a100 metre sprinter and member of the4 x 100 metre relay squad. I spent tenyears, from 1971 to 1980, as a memberof Canada’s National Track and FieldTeam, and competed at an OlympicGames, Commonwealth Games, PanAmerican Games, and World StudentGames. I was a member of the bronze-medal-winning relay team in the PanAmerican Games and a member of the4 x 100 metre relay team which madethe Olympic final in Montreal in1976—just after I had completed mysecond year at the University of OttawaLaw School. One of the challenges thatI faced during my athletic career wasthe lingering effects of the injury frommy last year of high school. The legwas never the same after that, and Ihad to undergo many hours of physio-therapy in order to continue mycareer. It taught me a great deal aboutbeing content whatever your situation.Tell us about your law career.I attended the University of Ottawa LawSchool, graduated in 1977, and was

Interview with Justice Hugh Fraser

my shorts were falling down. I had tocomplete the race while holding on tomy track shorts. And although thecourt room is usually a serious placethere have been a few humorous inci-dents there over the years as well. Onethat I can recall is when a pizza deliv-ery man arrived during the middle of atrial insisting that I, the judge, hadordered the four pizzas that he wascarrying and demanded that I pay forthem. Of course he was in error andthe pizzas had in fact been ordered bya number of police officers in an officeacross from my courtroom.What career advice would yougive to current Lisgar students?First, find something that you are pas-sionate about and don’t let anyone talkyou out of pursuing your dreams. Myparents were not particularly support-ive of my athletic career, at least dur-ing the early years, but it paid divi-dends far greater than any of us couldhave imagined. Second, treat everyonewith kindness and integrity, even whenyou might not feel like it. You neverknow who is going to have an impacton your life down the road. A kindword or deed often quickly forgottenby the doer may be remembered for alifetime by the recipient. ■

CHANGE OF PLANS: While Hugh Fraser gradu-ated from Queen’s rather than Yale or Harvard,he did go on to law school—though in Ottawa.

OLYMPIC RUNNER: Justice Hugh Fraser (1970).

Features

Alere Flammam • Spring 2017 • Page 6

We are delighted to report that 17alumni have become Life Memberssince the last issue of Alere Flammam:Diana Burnett (Corrigan, 1967)Kunal Dogra (2003) Lawrence Erwin (1941)Michael Froislie (1969)Edward Litle (1957)Steven Mair (2006)Roksolana McVicar (2014)William Melanson (teacher 1967-99)Emeka A. Njoku (1973)Paul Paddon (1965)Christopher Ray (1992)Cameron Read (1992)Jeannie Smith (Ferguson, 1968)Stephen Smith (2006)Douglas Taylor (1997)Adam Thompson (1994)Ingrid Van de Walle (teacher 1998-2014)

Life Members

Diana Bacon (Middleton, 1951)Arthur Bray (1943)William Broughton (1953)Elizabeth Catchpole (Cameron, 1950)John Chance (1942)Peter Chance (1939)Adrienne Clarkson (Poy, 1956)Doreen Dillon (Haas, 1953)Joan Doubt (Klaas, 1961)William Dougherty (1951)Richard Drolet (1957)Ken Eades (1958)Joel Edelson (1959)Barbara Fisher (Fenton, 1943)Joan Fortin (Larochelle, 1946)Joan Gullen (Hanley, 1948)Ian Halliday (1945)Gordon Henderson (1949)Barry Holt (1950)Gertrude Kirk (Rowat, 1952)Helene Kruidenier (parent)Rive Reine Le Lacheur (1954)Barrie Laughton (1961, teacher 1968-2000)Lois Leadlay (Bourne, 1952)Valerie Leesing (Delaute, 1953)Peter Lesaux (1954)Ross MacDonald (1966)Kathleen Magwood (Kapros, 1956)Ann McJanet (Hill, 1955)Myriam McManus (Borkovich, 1954)Robert McMichael (teacher 1953-57, Vice-

Principal 1960-64, Principal 1972-76)Alice Nakanishi (1983)Margaret Pineiro (Isnor, 1952)Margaret Pippy (Lugsdin, 1952)Carl Plet (1957)James Radnor (1986)Susan Rivers (Charleson, 1957)Robert Short (1958)Elizabeth Simms (Delaute, 1959)Elizabeth Smith (Macartney, 1958)Chris Stirling (Murphy, 1969)Carol Stokes (Tubbe, 1958)Geoge Toller (1945)Elizabeth Wanzel (1962)Beverly Whyte (Blake, 1959)Charlotte Witty (1945)

2016 DonorsJoy Heft

The office has become more of ahive of activity as busy bees

Ingrid Van de Walle (teacher 1998-2014) and Sara Kunstmann (teacher1999-2016) are on hand regularly help-ing to digitize and inventory many of ourrecords. Some of these will soon beonline and easily accessible. Note thatthese two are retired teachers, as am I,so the affection for and commitment tothe school are not limited to its students!

Among the many queries we receive,the majority are with regard to veteransor those who died in the two worldwars. This is not surprising, as whenone enters Lisgar’s main hall there is areminder of just how many Lisgar stu-dents fought in these major conflicts.This past year, Peter Bradshaw ofGainsborough, Lincolnshire, in England,sought information regarding JohnBrophy, who died December 26, 1916,while flying for the Royal Flying Corps.Mr. Bradshaw was involved in restoringhis headstone. He was very pleased todiscover a memorial write-up alongwith a picture in the Vox Lycei, as wellas to receive a copy of Brophy’s studentcard and pictures of the plaques bearing

his name. A request for information wasalso received from the Canadian WarMuseum about Henry Botterell andKagher Neiber-Shieg, who apparentlyboth attended Lisgar and fought inWWI—Neiber-Shieg for the GermanImperial Air Force! Records were foundfor the former but not for the latter.

Archival materials were also of inter-est recently to students and teacherswho travelled to France to attend theceremony at the Canadian National Vimy

Memorial marking the 100th anniver-sary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Of par-ticular note were the booklets preparedlast year by teacher Laura Mennill, usingthe research of Barbara Mennill, con-taining the names, biographies, and insome cases pictures of those Lisgar sol-diers buried at Vimy.

The alumni showcase was the site ofthree exhibits this year. The first, forRemembrance Day, included our col-lection of Malak photos of cadets fromWWII, depicting various aspects of thewar preparations engaged in by stu-dents. Many had been featured in theToronto Star Weekly of the day andsome of the original clippings were alsoshown. The second exhibit highlightedLisgar’s forthcoming 175th anniversaryin 2018 and included pictures of staffand students from past reunions back tothe 50th, as well as posters and memo-rabilia from those events. The currentdisplay of copies of The Lisgarwritefrom decades past has been mounted by editors Miasya Bulger and Olive Nugentto spark interest in the publication.

Major undertakings of an archivalnature being considered are the refur-bishment of the sesquicentennialpatrons and benefactors plaques, aswell as of the WWI memorial plaque.The former coincides with the prepara-tions for the 175th anniversary celebra-tions, while the latter is timely in view ofthe Vimy centennial this year. ■

From the Lisgar Archives: Notes from “Down Below”

WARTIME TRAINING: Cadet Arthur Bray (1943) shows classmate Ann Thompson (1943) how tocorrectly don a gas mask in this 1942 Malak Karsh photo featured in the alumni showcase for

Remembrance Day. Mr. Bray lives in Nova Scotia, and is a regular donor to the Alumni Association.

Lisgar 175 Logo ContestPut your stamp on Lisgar for the next 25 years and beyond! Submit your

original design for a logo marking the 175th anniversary of LisgarCollegiate Institute and you could win free reunion registration!

With replacements scheduled over the next year for both the gymnasiumfloor and the floor of Lisgar’s main foyer, the winning design may appear on

both surfaces—as well as on marketing materials and memorabilia.

Details are at lisgar.net/175. Submissions must be received by June 16.