Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute
Encyclopedia
The Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute (GCVI, Guelph C.V.I., GC) is a public high school
located in the city of Guelph
, Ontario
, Canada
. The school is the oldest continuously operating public high school in Guelph, and the third oldest in the province of Ontario
, Canada
.
, Ontario (1827). The school was originally housed in a large four window log building known as "the Priory"; itself one of the first buildings constructed in Guelph. In 1854 the school moved to its current site on Paisley Road due to the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway.
The original building on the new site was torn down after a few decades and a new school constructed. Eventually a wooden gymnasium was added in 1886, and the school remained the same until 1906, when a large new wing was added to the left of the bell tower.
Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute had Canada's first high school lunch cafeteria.
By this time the school was developing a reputation second to none in the province. Finally, by the nineteen twenties there were serious problems with overcrowding. In 1923 a new building opened (constructed at a cost of $400,000) that included modern plumbing, a massive skylight covering the large, two story, open auditorium area. It was called the most modern and upscale school building in Ontario.
The older buildings were connected to the school and used periodically before they were torn down in 1962 to facilitate several more additions including a modern gym, business and science wing, and tech wings.
Over the years tens of thousands of students have passed through the halls of GCVI, and many have left a memorable and distinct mark on the history of Canada.
Accomplished alumni include: Col. John McCrae
(Author of “In Flanders Fields.”), Hugh C. Guthrie (Canadian federal opposition leader, leader of the Conservative Party), Ed Joliffe (one of three GCVI Rhodes Scholars and founder of the Ontario CCF, and opposition leader in the Ontario House), George Alexander Drew (Mayor of Guelph, Premier of Ontario, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, Leader of the Conservative Party, Ambassador to the UK, founding chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, World War I hero).
A bronze plaque memorial dedicated to Col John McCrae was erected by the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute.
The New Building (building B) also consists of three levels. On the bottom level there is the business and economics department, as well as the physics department and the nurse's office. On the floor above, there is a computer education department. On the very top floor of The New Building there is the history department and the modern languages department.
Building C consists of two levels. On the first level there are three separate gymnasiums. Above is the school cafeteria.
Building D holds the school's technology departments and music department. The technology department has nine different shops. They include: integrated technology, transportation technology, manufacturing technology, construction technology, communication technology, technological design, computer engineering technology and computer and information science.
http://www.gcviactanostra.com - GCVI Yearbook
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in the city of Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The school is the oldest continuously operating public high school in Guelph, and the third oldest in the province of Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
History
The high school which eventually became known as the Guelph Collegiate and Vocational Institute (GCVI) was founded in the early-mid-19th century by John Galt, also the founder of GuelphGuelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario (1827). The school was originally housed in a large four window log building known as "the Priory"; itself one of the first buildings constructed in Guelph. In 1854 the school moved to its current site on Paisley Road due to the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway.
The original building on the new site was torn down after a few decades and a new school constructed. Eventually a wooden gymnasium was added in 1886, and the school remained the same until 1906, when a large new wing was added to the left of the bell tower.
Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute had Canada's first high school lunch cafeteria.
By this time the school was developing a reputation second to none in the province. Finally, by the nineteen twenties there were serious problems with overcrowding. In 1923 a new building opened (constructed at a cost of $400,000) that included modern plumbing, a massive skylight covering the large, two story, open auditorium area. It was called the most modern and upscale school building in Ontario.
The older buildings were connected to the school and used periodically before they were torn down in 1962 to facilitate several more additions including a modern gym, business and science wing, and tech wings.
Over the years tens of thousands of students have passed through the halls of GCVI, and many have left a memorable and distinct mark on the history of Canada.
Accomplished alumni include: Col. John McCrae
John McCrae
Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres...
(Author of “In Flanders Fields.”), Hugh C. Guthrie (Canadian federal opposition leader, leader of the Conservative Party), Ed Joliffe (one of three GCVI Rhodes Scholars and founder of the Ontario CCF, and opposition leader in the Ontario House), George Alexander Drew (Mayor of Guelph, Premier of Ontario, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, Leader of the Conservative Party, Ambassador to the UK, founding chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission, World War I hero).
A bronze plaque memorial dedicated to Col John McCrae was erected by the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute.
Layout
The Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute consists of four main buildings. The Old Building (building A) consists of three levels. The bottom level holds the visual arts department, chemistry department and a general sciences department. The floor above holds the guidance department, main office, geography department, math department and an auditorium that extends up into the top floor. The top floor holds the English department, family studies department and the biology department.The New Building (building B) also consists of three levels. On the bottom level there is the business and economics department, as well as the physics department and the nurse's office. On the floor above, there is a computer education department. On the very top floor of The New Building there is the history department and the modern languages department.
Building C consists of two levels. On the first level there are three separate gymnasiums. Above is the school cafeteria.
Building D holds the school's technology departments and music department. The technology department has nine different shops. They include: integrated technology, transportation technology, manufacturing technology, construction technology, communication technology, technological design, computer engineering technology and computer and information science.
Architecture
The Old Building of the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute consists of building styles that are unique only to that school in the City of Guelph. The original oak doors are still present from the building's original construction in 1923. Marble and granite encase all of the hallway floors throughout The Old Building. The hallways on the main floor of The Old Building measure an outstanding 18 ft. in height. The main entrance way into the school is surrounded by a large archway. It is easy to see the vast number of students who have walked the halls of G.C.V.I. as there are large indents that have been left in the granite stairways of the school from many thousands of feet walking up and down them each day.Notable alumni
- Corey BrownCorey BrownCorey Allen Brown is a Major League Baseball center fielder for the Washington Nationals. He is 6'1" tall and he weighs 205 pounds....
- Arthur William Cutten
- Mike DeAngelis, guitarist, the Arkells
- Hon. George Alexander Drew
- Charley FoxCharley FoxCharles William Fox, DFCand Bar, CD was a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II...
- Beth GoobieBeth Goobie-Life:She graduated from University of Iowa, and the Mennonite Brethren Bible College. She worked in Edmonton in the child welfare system.Her work appeared in Fiddlehead, Malahat Review and Quarry.She lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.-Awards:...
- Hon. Hugh GuthrieHugh GuthrieHugh Guthrie, PC, KC was a Canadian politician and Cabinet minister in the governments of Sir Robert Borden, Arthur Meighen and R. B. Bennett....
, K.C.,M.P. - Alfred Dryden Hales
- William Ernest HamiltonWilliam Ernest HamiltonWilliam Ernest Hamilton was an Ontario political figure. He represented Wellington South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative member from 1945 to 1955....
- James Jerome Hill
- Harry Howell, played for the Guelph Biltmore Mad HattersGuelph Biltmore Mad HattersThe Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1940 to 1942, and 1947 to 1960. The team was often known as the "Biltmores" and sponsored by the Guelph Biltmore Hat Company, and played home games at the Guelph Memorial Gardens.- History :The...
- Edward JohnsonEdward Johnson (tenor)Edward Patrick Johnson CBE was a Canadian operatic tenor who was billed outside North America as Edoardo Di Giovanni, and became director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.- Early life :...
- Ted JolliffeTed JolliffeEdward Bigelow "Ted" Jolliffe, QC was a Canadian social democratic politician and lawyer from Ontario. He was the first leader of the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and leader of the Official Opposition in the Ontario Legislature during the 1940s and 1950s...
, Ontario CCF Leader
- Luke KirbyLuke Kirby (actor)-Early life:Luke was born in Hamilton, Ontario, to two American expatriates. His mother is from Brooklyn, New York, and his father grew up "along the eastern seaboard". His parents moved from New York City, New York, to Canada in 1974...
- Jean LittleJean LittleJean Little is a Canadian author born on January 2, 1932. Her work has mainly consisted of children's literature, but she has also written two autobiographies: Little by Little and Stars Come Out Within. Little has been partially blind since birth as a result of scars on her cornea and is...
- John Kenneth MacalisterJohn Kenneth MacalisterJohn Kenneth Macalister was a Canadian hero of World War II.Ken Macalister graduated the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute and from the University of Toronto, then as a Rhodes Scholar studied at Oxford University...
- Andrew P. MacDonald
- John McCraeJohn McCraeLieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres...
- Kelly RichardsonKelly RichardsonKelly Richardson is an artist whose media-based practice focuses on the idea of mixed realities; part 'real', part fantasy.-Early life and education:...
- Joey SlingerJoey SlingerJoey Slinger is a Canadian journalist and author, particularly known as a long-standing humour columnist for the Toronto Star....
- Effie Smith
Influence on Canadian history
- Former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker married a GCVI teacher, and made two prominent visits to the school including a stop as opposition leader in 1957, just weeks before being sworn in as Prime Minister, and one as Prime Minister in 1963 just before losing the next election to Liberal Leader Lester B. Pearson
- John Diefenbaker’s first visit launched the 17-year political career of Alfred Dryden Hales, alumnus of G.C.V.I. Hales chaired the Public Accounts Committee for 6 years, and was beloved by his constituents.
- Less than 24 hours before Diefenbaker’s first visit Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent stopped at the school. Diefenbaker drew a much larger and much more enthusiastic crowd (a sure sign of what was to come in the election).
- John Diefenbaker had replaced George Alexander Drew (a former GCVI Student) as leader of the Conservative Party less than a year before becoming Prime Minister in 1957.
- During the Ontario provincial elections of 1943, 1945 and 1948, both the Premier George Alexander Drew and Opposition Leader Edward Bigelow (Ted) JolliffeTed JolliffeEdward Bigelow "Ted" Jolliffe, QC was a Canadian social democratic politician and lawyer from Ontario. He was the first leader of the Ontario section of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and leader of the Official Opposition in the Ontario Legislature during the 1940s and 1950s...
were former GCVI Students, so regardless of who won the election the Premier of Ontario would have been a GCVI alumnus. - George Alexander Drew was the second GCVI student to hold the position of Federal Leader of the Opposition, following Hugh Guthrie, who held the post for little under a year in the early half of the 20th century.
School website
http://homer.ugdsb.on.ca/gcvi/index.html - Main Pagehttp://www.gcviactanostra.com - GCVI Yearbook