Garland Obituary

I want to thank Doug Butt for getting in touch with me to tell me a little about John Lewis Paton Garland who passed away in California recently. John lived very close to the school on the south side of Bond Street. He was a member of St. Andrew's Boy Scout Troop. He was a good student and excelled at anything he undertook. He left St. John's and went to California many years ago. He has two sisters living in Newfoundland. Rosaleen Pike lives in St. John's while the other, Marina MacDonald resides in Spaniard's Bay. On behalf of all Feildians and especially those who knew John we send our deepest sympathies.

Boys, if any of you were a friend of John please get in touch and tell me more about him.

NON MORITUR CUJUS FAMA VIVIT

Remembrance Assembly

Boys,

all of the students and teachers of Bishop Feild School walked to The War Memorial this morning to lay a wreath in remembrance of our war dead. With them were many alumni of Bishop Feild College. Several veterans from World War II also attended and presented the colours. Mr. Frank Galgay represented the city. We gathered there to especially remember all those Feildians who gave their lives in two world wars. The students staged a wonderful program to mark this occasion. At one point in the proceedings Mrs. Puddester read the names of those Feildians who paid the supreme sacrifice and as each name was read a child came and pinned a poppy on the remembrance tree, seen left. The Grade VI class sang songs and marched. Ms. O'Brien, the music teacher, led the class in a recitation of John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. It was done with drum and sound effects. The whole program was a tribute to all lives lost in war and especially those fellow Feildians who gave their lives for our freedoms today.

NON MORITUR CUJUS FAMA VIVIT

Mrs. Abraham Will Be 80.

On the 12th. of November this year a beloved Kindergarten teacher for hundreds of boys from Feild will be 80. Mrs. Abraham (aka Miss Chatwood) taught me and other boys at Feild from the early 50's to the mid 60's. She will be having an open house at her residence in St. Luke's Home, Cottage 52, on Wed. Nov. 11 from 2-4:30. She would love to see as many boys as possible. Do not bring a gift, just come and say hello and wish her well.

I remember her as Miss Chatwood. She always had rhythm band, a big sand box and a lots of wooden blocks to play with. Sometimes she would roll up the wall between K and Gr. I (Mrs. Horwood's class) and we would listen to music, march around and sing. Later as a boy soprano I would sing with her in The Cathedral Choir under Mr. Gus Stafford, a pharmacist, who played the organ at The Cathedral. Now in her later years I still sing occasionally with her at St. Luke's on the first Sunday of the month.

Bishops College

This weekend Bishops College will be holding celebrations of its 50th. year. Bishops opened in 1959 with C.J. Grant as principal and Mrs. A. Wareham (still living) as Vice-principal. Bishops was a major departure for us at Feild as we had no girls for most of our schooling. This was the Anglican Board's first foray into a co-educational high school. It worked well as many fine students came from within the walls of the rectangular box on Pennywell Road.

From the old boys of Feild we wish Bishops a very happy 50th. birthday and hope that there will be many more years to come.

Baseball Boys Get Together

A few of the early sixties baseball team got together at The Bird's Nest for their monthly lunch. All the talk was about Billy Martin and how he is coming along after his operation for pancreatitis. It seems that after many setbacks Bill is on the road to recovery which will take a long time. He is at St. Clare's and I am sure he would like a visit.

This was my second get together with the boys and I did not play baseball with them. I'm there as a recorder of these events and also to keep all Feildians aware that the double blue spirit lives on. Donny Yetman, Doug Squires, Russ Grimes, Dave Hall (pitcher extraordinaire), Dick Cook, Chris Facey (bat boy, who says he coached and Charlie Riddle was the BB), Ian Tulk ( brought us up-to-date on Bill's progress) and Bob Noseworthy (soccer and hockey player).

Many other names were brought up at the lunch such as Suitcase Simpson. Anybody know who he is? We'd like for other Feildians who played ball or other sports to join us for a chat and a bite to eat. My e-mail address is: peter.chalker@gmail.com

There are lots of activities happening at the school as we celebrate our 165th. year. On Nov. 10th. the school will be laying a wreath at the war memorial in memory of all Feildians who died in war. Call the school for details and to see if you can help. Get involved! 722-3103

Bill Martin

Boys, Bill is in St. Clare's and we hope that he makes a full recovery. If you get the opportunity drop in and see him. I'm sure he would appreciate it.

Anybody know where all the student records from Feild went? I cannot find them anywhere. I mean the records that might date back to before the war.

News

Boys is there any more news on how Bill Martin is doing?

On another subject please check out the Bishop Feild School website for information about the 165th. celebrations taking place this year. The link is:

http://bishopfeild.6amsoftware.com/

Bill Martin

Boys,

Bill Martin recently underwent surgery and is daily gathering his strength back. Please think of him as you go about your daily activities. Bill played baseball for the Feildians with Doug Squires, Tols Chapman, Dick Cook and others. We sat down the other day for a bite to eat and they told me about Bill. We are hoping that it won't be too long before he can join us again.

Canon David Genge

The Telegram for Saturday, August 29, 09 posted the obituary of our Old Feildian, Canon David Genge. I was a student of Canon Genge while at MUN and there I knew him as a wonderful professor. He was without pretense of any kind and he spoke his truth quietly and confidently.

David was an Old Feildian and he figured prominently in the 1944 Football Championship Team. See more about his life on the website: www.bishopfeildarchives.com

Ivan Maunder

I read today in The Telegram that Ivan Maunder had passed away. He was living at Glenbrook Lodge at the time of his death. One of my older friends said that he was an old Feildian. I hope some of you guys can shed some light on him for me and if you know any of the family to pass on our deepest condolences. Tim Shears is mentioned in his obituary. Tim was a couple of years ahead of me at school.

Non Moritur Cujus fama Vivit

Doug Porter

Just got an e-mail from Doug Porter. Anybody remember him?

The First Day of School

Guys, do you remember the first day of school after the summer holidays. The smell of the newly sanded and waxed floors is what I remember the most. It signalled a new beginning and a chance to do better than last year. We met our new teachers, although at Feild we knew all of the teachers before we got to them.

My clearest recollection of a first day was in Grade Eight. Mr. Melvin Ross(fictitious name) was our teacher and he was tall in his black ground. He was an imposing figure. He had a flat face with a bright smile when he smiled. His hair was like a short curly mat that covered most of his head but his forehead was quite bare. I think it got that way from his constant pushing his short hair back when he became agitated with a boy.

Mr. Ross was not a St. John's man. We knew this the first time we heard him speak. He was from 'around the bay'. Today we revel in our distinctiveness of dialect but in the early sixties anyone who was different from the norm was held up for ridicule. We used to mimic his expressions when he was out of earshot. If he heard you or caught wind of your impressions of him that brought on a flurry rightous indignation and in many cases a strapping.

I remember on day early in September. We were seated in our wooden and iron desks, our books safely stowed in the space under the seat. Class was about to begin. One of the boys, Crabtree by name, asked to sharpen his pencil. On his way to the sharpener he passed my desk and for whatever reason I stuck my foot out and tripped him. To this day forty-eight years later I have no recollection why I did that. He went sprawling up the aisle and landed just in front of the dais where Mr. Ross was seated. The reaction by Mr. Ross was startling. He picked up the large wooden desk and banged it on the floor of the dais with such ferocity that a cloud of dust ascended therewith causing him to cough. Crabtree forgot about his blunt pencil and scurried back to his seat. I on the other hand was shaking with impending doom as Ross approached me, grabbed me by my collar and dragged me to the front of the class where he administered five of his best on each of my extended hands. Nothing was said. I returned to my seat, palms throbbing. Needless to say I kept my feet under my desk the rest of the year.

Dances

Boys I saw a b and w photograph the other day of a dance held in the auditorium at Feild around 1940. Were dances popular around that time? I guess the Feildian Club sponsored them. There were a lot of old Feildians in this picture. Boys like Graham Martin, Ian Edwards, Lew Crane and a few others I cannot remember now. They seemed to be having a great time. There were quite a few ladies there too; I think from Spencer although I didn't know Spencer girls were allowed to go to dances with Feild boys.

The auditorium was very well decorated. It must have taken quite an effort to put up all the streamers in the picture. You cannot tell the colours but I imagine they were light blue and dark blue. Did any of you go to those dances?

Obituary

Boys of Herb Barnes' year. Herb e-mailed and told me that John Bennett had passed away. He lived in Mount Pearl. If you want to read his obit. please go to :

http://www.inmemoriam.ca/announcement-19865-John-Bennett.html

Where are all the Feildians?

Feildians, where are you? Get in touch so that we can communicate with each other. Where's your old school spirit?

While scanning Feildians for the MUN web site (http://collections.mun.ca/) I ran across a couple of names. Mr. A. Chatwood taught at Feild in the late 20's but moved on to Memorial College. This is Miss Chatwood's father (Mrs. Abraham) who taught my age group at Feild in the 50's.

The other fellow was a Mr. Sykes who taught at Feild in the late 20's. He moved on to teaching in England.

They were replaced by a Mr. Lovett-Janison B.Sc from Sheffield University and Mr. E. Escott B.A. Hons. of the University of South Wales.

Wouldn't it be great to be able to talk to these gentlemen today. They're probably dead.

Punishment at Feild

The strap was the ultimate weapon of control at BFC. When all else failed out came the strap. That usually put an end to any disobedience or punished an egregious offence. Now there were several kinds of strap used at Feild.

I remember Mr. French carried his concealed under his gown on either his left or right shoulder. It was about 18 inches long, black and very rough along the edges. Thanks to a former student I have that very instrument of compliance in the archive. The former student told me it had its birth as part of a belt which drove the woodworking machines in The Industrial Arts Room.

Dr. Cook had a variation on that theme. His was much wider and thicker. Whereas Mr. French could curl his up and then with a flick of the wrist lay it over the surface of the palm, Dr. Cook's was heavier and less pliant. The pain inflicted by both was memorable.

I mentioned the strap was used as a last resort to influence students' behaviour but there were other methods masters used to get boys to be obedient. Mr. Caines believed that punishment should also carry with it a chance to learn "something". So when a boy crossed over the line he was set a number of pages of literature to write out. I have committed to memory several well known English poems using this method.

Mr. Caines not only set pages of literature to be copied but he would change the page just in case the boy got a head start before going home.

In some schools the cane was the instrument of torture. However, at Feild, I have been told the cane went into disrepute just after the tyranny of Tanner who used it liberally. He was headmaster from 1936-1944.

In my ten years at BFC I was strapped on a number of occasions for my dastardly deeds such as spraying the boys bathroom with Coca Cola. What was I thinking!! Ouch!!

Met Another Old Feildian

I ran into Cyril Bennett (Hopper) and his wife Linda while out shopping in the hardware store. Cyril came up to me and said, "You're Pete, Pete Chalker, right?" I couldn't place him it being 47 years ago since I last saw him but we got into quite a lengthy chat. He's living in Port Blanford with his wife Linda(Harvey) and they were in town shopping and visiting friends. It was great to see Cyril again and I told him about our Feildian activities. I will be putting him on our e-mail list. His father, Mr. Bennett, as we knew him, will be 85 this month.

Cyril was a grade behind me at Feild. Does anyone remember anything about his stay at Feild, a story or two.?

1964 Football Champions

Boys take a look at this picture of the '64 football champions. All of the boys are much younger. I have all of their names there. What has happened to all of them? Where is Earl Johannson and Alex Yetman, for example? Have any of them passed to the other side and I do not mean St. Bon's? Please fill me in on the boys please.

The website is www.bishopfeildarchives.com

Our Teachers

I remember sitting in Art class with Ish Humber. We would draw the most ornate floral designs and then refine our plans for the cutlery tray, the lamp or the magazine rack. I must have drawn my plans for the cutlery tray about 100 times before it was passed and I could get to choose the wood.

Do any of you guys have memories of Industrial Arts with Mr. Humber?

Looking For "Feildians"

Boys as you know I am in the process of scanning all of the Feildian Yearbooks in The Archive. They are being loaded into The Centre for Newfoundland Studies website at Memorial. If you want to read them go to, http://collections.mun.ca .It would be great if I had a complete set of our yearbooks but that is an unrealistic pipedream. However, if you have an Feildians I would be pleased to have them. If you would like to have them back just let me know and after I have scanned them I will return them to you.

Chalker
Box 23113 Churchill Sq.
St. John's, NL, A1B 4J9

Luncheon at Feild Plans 165th. Year

Boys,

I spent Sunday afternoon at a luncheon at the school with parents, teachers and old Feildians to begin the planning for next year's 165th. anniversary celebrations. I gave a short talk about the history of the school as there are parents in the school who do not know about our long and illustrious past. We had lunch and then broke up into groups to chat about some of the ideas the staff had developed and we added others for discussion.

Here are some of the ideas presented:

Opening Assembly in September, Birthday Cake, Open Doors and Archives Exhibit, memory Tree

October: Alumni Meet and Greet, Mystery Speaker, Video Stories of Bishop Feild

November: Remembrance Day Event at War Memorial, honour role

December: Christmas Concert/Carol Service at The Cathedral

January 2010 Fireworks and Hot Chocolate

February: Link with BFS sister school in Kidlington, England
School wide quilt, students, parents

March: Heritage Fair 165 years of schooling in newfoundland and Labrador

April: Variety Show

May: Alumni Variety Show, Art Exhibit and Sale, Anniversary Dinner

June: Closing Ceremonies, Presentations by Classes, Plaque

These are some of the ideas generated primarily by staff. Please give us your input; we need ideas, ideas, ideas. At the meeting today one parent had the idea of creating a Feildian Flag!

Feildian Inducted into Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame

Don Yetman will be inducted into The Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at The Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland. Don played for the Feildians while in school and later for the Feildian club team. I watched him play with Bud Duffett, Stan Breen and Doug Squires. All the school had to go to the stadium, and watch our boys play against St. Bon's and Prince of Wales. He was your consumate sportsman who played the game to the very best of his ability and played it cleanly. He was and still is a gentleman both on and off the playing field. Hearty congratulations go out to Don and his wife, Izola. Three cheers for Don Yetman.

Floreat Semper Bishop Feild