Oldest English college fraught with history
140th birthday party sees the launch of a new book
MICHAEL OLSON STAFF
The University of Manitoba’s St. John’s College celebrated its 140th anniversary on Nov. 1 with a celebration that included archival and video presentations as well as a book launch on the history of the establishment.
Founded in 1866, St. John’s College is the oldest Englishlanguage educational institute in western Canada. The college has existed through such events as the two world wars, and even predates both the Northwest Rebellion and Confederation.
The day’s festivities included speeches by Steve Ashton, minister of intergovernmental affairs, and Justin Swandel, city councillor for St. Norbert. In addition, there was the first public showing of a scrapbook documenting 1934-38 at St. John’s College as well as an archival video presentation of student life at St. John’s in 1963.
“Ours is a great story,” said Janet Hoskins, warden and vice-chancellor of St. John’s College. “It is a tale of a vision and determination; of disappointment and celebration; of setbacks and success; of scandal and nobility. Mostly, it is the story of the will to educate that has transcended all obstacles and triumphed over all difficulties to bring us to this point.”
St. John’s can trace its roots as early as 1820, when Rev. John West established the first Anglican school in the Red River settlement. Following the creation of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land in 1849, Bishop David Anderson established a school under the name St. John’s but the school was forced to close in 1859. However, in 1865, the buildings of Anderson’s school were renovated to house St. John’s College.
St. John’s College was officially founded by Bishop Robert Machray in 1866 and had a total enrollment of 22. The college was intended to be a means of supplying instruction in higher education and training for the ministry in the Anglican tradition. In 1877 St. John’s amalgamated with Manitoba College and St. Boniface College to found the University of Manitoba. St. John’s College’s Fort Garry Campus location was established in 1958.
“I was looking through some of the historical data . . . and was amazed to find out the kind of perseverance that’s involved in helping maintain what St. John’s College represents,” said Rt. Rev. Donald Phillips, chancellor of St. John’s College.
The day was also used to launch a new book, St. John’s College: Faith and Education in Western Canada. Written by wellknown historian and U of M professor Jack Bumstead, it is a comprehensive look at the 140-year history of St. John’s College.
“The book I’ve written is based on the College archives, which are some of the best higher-education archives in Canada. And I take the development of the college through its various manifestations,” said Bumstead.
He explained some of the dramatic moments included in the book. “I treat the history of the college as sort of an ongoing saga in which the college manages to survive a continual series of disasters, such as [in 1933] when the chancellor of the college stole the assets of the college and the archdiocese, as well as the university. That was a serious drama. Also, there was a semi-disaster during the Second World War when most of the students went away.”
Bumstead has been writing history books since the late 1960s, the first being Documentary Problems in Canadian History.
“[The history of St. John’s College] is such a good story. It’s a challenging story because it’s not an upward and onward story. It’s rather a story of reeling from the punch and managing to make something good of it.”
