621 Selkirk Street South

St Patrick High School (Formerly Selkirk Collegiate and Vocational School, Fort William Vocational Institution) 621 Selkirk Street South

Year Built: 1931 Architect: R.E. Mason Architectural Style: Collegiate/Late Gothic Revival Legal Description: Con 2 Pt Lot 2 RP 55R7608 Part 1 Current Owner: Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board

Description:

The Fort William Vocational Institution was designed for the Fort William Public School Board by architect R.E. Mason. The general contractor was Joseph Tocheri, who was contractually obligated to complete the project within a year. In 1931, final construction cost totaled $489,541 and the school opened its doors to “give the young people of Fort William and the district an opportunity to improve their general education.” The exterior of the building has remained largely the same over the past 77 years. Throughout this time, the institution has received a few name changes, including one in 1957 to Selkirk Collegiate and Vocational School. A 15 classroom addition was completed this same year, followed by a 19 room technical shop/lab wing in 1970.

A glance at the school’s 1933 Introductory Booklet offers valuable insight into the curriculum changes made to the educational system over the past 80 years. Firstly, to gain entrance into the school, students had to pass the Ontario High School Entrance Examination. As a vocational school, the curriculum was split between ‘academic subjects,’ such as English, History, and Mathematics and ‘vocational subjects.’ The ‘vocational’ subjects were divided along gender lines; boys were invited to attend courses in mechanical design, electrical wiring, cabinet-making, wood-turning and motor mechanics. The courses available to girls were “the practical study of the fundamental operations and processes related to home-making: foods and cooking, sewing, dress- making, household management and laundry.” The gender division extended beyond the classroom and into the gymnasium and even the lunch rooms, where boys and girls ate in separate areas.

The ‘academic’ courses offered at Fort William Vocation School in 1933 are also of historical value. The history classes offered focused exclusively upon British, Canadian, Industrial and Commercial history, and were taught to “give the student knowledge of the past so that he will have power to deal efficiently with present problems and so become a better citizen.” Science was believed to “train the student to do things exactly as told.” Physical education was seen as a vital part of the curriculum and was compulsory for all students, “unless excused on medical certificate.” The physical training was designed to “prevent any stoppage of the constructive and rebuilding processes of the body and thus avoid pain and illness.”

In 1946, the first edition of the yearbook entitled ‘Kaministigoyan’ was published and dedicated to the students of the Vocational School. The principal’s message, which appeared at the front of the yearbook outlined individual efforts that students could make to contribute to the challenge of “returning the world to peace.” He stated that gratitude could be shown to those who served in the War by “personally resolving to make a definite contribution to our day and age.” The yearbook itself was a project in community contribution, as it was created to “encourage extra-curricular participation” and as an “incentive” for excellent class work. The yearbook was developed as a means of allowing students to exit secondary school with the “deep sense of satisfaction” that comes from having “done your best.”

Also found in the 1946 edition of ‘Kaministigoyan’ are short write-ups of each graduating student. These segments offer insight into the lives of the teenagers of the era, which prove to be, in some ways, vastly different from the lives of students in present times. The write-ups from 1946 often refer to a gender ideology which has since become less systematic. While some of the males of the graduating class state their life ambition to be career-oriented, the females often site aspirations of “marrying a millionaire,” or “finding her one and only.” Descriptions of girls range from “hubba hubba” to “cute little chick,” and favorite activities of boys had to do with “girl hunting” or “interest in M____’s sweater.” A look into the 1965 year book shows some evolution in women’s liberation; described in the book are many young women who had plans of entering into teaching or nursing. One student claimed she aspired to be a “better doctor then her daddy, but only is marriage plans don’t interfere.”

The biggest change for the school occurred in 1988, when Selkirk High School was sold to the Lakehead District Catholic School Board for $1. This transfer occurred shortly after the Ontario government implemented Bill 30, which granted Catholic schools the right to full funding for both elementary and high schools. Although the transfer was logical, as “the local separate Board [did] need the space, and the public Board [did] not…” it was lamented by some: “it is sad to see a building which was a vital part of the public system be turned over to the hands of another.”

The Lakehead District Catholic Board decided to name the school St. Patrick after the old St. Patrick Catholic High School, which was situated at 205 South Franklin St. This school opened in 1928 when the Sisters of St. Joseph assumed responsibility for the high school. The institution was dubbed St. Patrick because in the years prior to construction of the school, students took classes in the basement of St. Patrick parish. Sacred Heart senior elementary school moved into this Franklin Street School once the Lakehead Disctrict Catholic Board obtained the Selkirk Street building.

Architecture:

Solid and symmetrical, the appearance of low rectangular blocks between stately towers was a common institutional theme for public buildings between the 1890’s and 1940 known as “collegiate” or late gothic revival style. With the central opening framed by cut stone, the vocational school was sturdy but spacious and built to facilitate instruction in practical disciplines like motor mechanics, machine shop, typewriting textiles and home economics. Once the Lakehead District Catholic School Board obtained ownership of the property many interior renovations were initiated. A double gymnasium was added in 1992, bringing the total area of the building to over 211,000 square feet. There are 344 classrooms, 24 labs/shops, an auxiliary gym and administrative offices. Currently St. Patrick High School accommodates 1200 students.

Robert E. Mason, Architect:

Mason arrived in Fort William in 1905, at the age of twenty-two in connection with the survey of the Grand Trunk railway. He became quite prominent in the area as an architect, and “many of the larger buildings stand as a monument to his skill.” He was observed as possessing a “cheery disposition” and was “always ready to say a genial word.” Along with Fort William Vocational Institution, R.E. Mason designed the Thunder Bay Police Station (now Thunder Bay Museum), many of the public schools in the area, the Kamden apartments, the Masonic temple and a wing of the McKellar hospital.