Heritage Evaluation of St. Joseph`s Scollard Hall

Heritage Evaluation of St. Joseph’s Scollard Hall
Report Date: July 16th, 2014
This report is based upon an historic re-evaluation of the above property as conducted by the
Municipal Heritage Committee dated October 25th, 2013. Present during the re-evaluation visit
were committee members; Andrew Bruce Payne, Jennifer Buell, Peter Carello, Robin
Gendron, Amber McCarthy, Aaron Northrup, Margaret Surtees, and Naomi Rupke.
The following re-evaluation is based upon the best information available to the Municipal
Heritage Committee at the time of the passing of the report. The Municipal Heritage
Committee and the City of North Bay is not responsible for any errors or omissions contained
in this report. The Municipal Heritage Committee welcomes any corrections or revisions,
should additional information become available. The committee has agreed to assign a
priority one status ranking to the building with a glass heritage plaque to be installed at a site
agreeable to the school. See the appendices for the re-evaluation score sheet as well as the
original evaluation. MHC Chair Peter Handley would like to take this opportunity to thank the
past and present administration of St. Joseph Scollard Hall for their assistance and cooperation with the development of this report.
Preamble
Preparing this report would not have been possible if not for the fastidious attention to
detailed record keeping by the institution throughout its history. In many cases,
documentation in support of this report are easily accessed online. Many of the school year
books have been digitized and catalogued. Primary documents dating back to original
agreements between the Resurrectionist Priests have been well preserved and are housed
within the institution. Rarely is such consideration given to the importance of institutional
heritage, and the school is to be commended for making it a priority.
Thank you to the Nipissing Parry Sound Catholic School Board, the staff of St. Joseph’s
Scollard Hall, and longstanding (retired) principal Don Houle. A special thank you to Vice
Principal Elizabeth Foisy, who has made both the institutional documents and her own
research available to the committee throughout the writing of this report.
1965 school yearbook photo, aerial photo looking north over Scollard Hall campus
Location and Context
St. Joseph’s Scollard Hall has an imposing
presence in what was once the border of North
Bay as it met Widdifield Township to the north.
The yearbook photo from the previous page gives
context to the building as it stood in 1965.
Widdifield Township amalgamated with the City of
North Bay in 1968. However, it is important to
note that when the school was built in 1931, much
of the area between North Bay and Widdifield was
sparsely developed. The photos of the
construction of the school highlight the
surrounding area nicely later in the report.
Photo: Laying of the cornerstone.
Bishop Scollard at center and
Father Zinger at right. Nugget
photo, July 16th 1930.
The school is operated by the Nipissing Parry
Sound Catholic District School Board. The school
faces south at 1000 High Street. The school block
is bound by McLeod Street to the west, O’Brien
Street to the east and Landsdowne Avenue to the
north.
The secondary school is located in a residential neighbourhood rich in Italian Canadian
tradition. Historical neighbourhood features worth noting include the former St. Rita’s church
on nearby Douglas Street and former St. Joseph’s Hospital (Scollard site), which also opened
in 1931. According to an online exhibit hosted by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada, St.
Rita’s church was “built in 1913, … located within North Bay's Little Italy”i. This statement supports
the idea of a vibrant neighbourhood, comprised of Italian Canadian families in the southern edge of
Widdifield township.
The modest scale of many of the homes surrounding the school emphasizes the school’s
massive structure to a greater extent. Many of the homes located in the block directly north of
the school, bordering Cundari field are not representative of the original neighbourhood
vernacular as they are infill housing. Many of these homes were constructed well after the
establishment of the school. Evidence indicates that the school and surrounding athletics field
was built on the site of a horse racing track (Kennedy, 1961) (Nugget, 1930). Unfortunately
photographs of the race track were not available to the committee; however what could be
assumed to be the track is evident in some of the construction photos.
History of the Institution
North Bay College
The school that is now known as St. Joseph’s Scollard Hall was built and began operating in
1931. Scollard Hall was named after Bishop Scollard of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, who
purchased the land in the late 1920s and asked the Resurrectionists from Kitchener,
Waterloo, to build and run a boy’s school.
In June, 1929 Bishop Scollard wrote a letter to Very Reverend A.L. Zinger, C.R., then
Superior of the Congregation of the Resurrection, in Kitchener, Ontario. Scollard asked Zinger
to head up the project in North Bay, Ontario. Father Zinger became the school's first principal
had a staff of six
Resurrectionist priests, four lay
teachers or hired teachers, and
an initial enrolment of 90
students between the ages of
12 and 20 years old.
On Sunday, July 13th, 1931,
Revend D. J. Scollard invited
counsellors to attend a
blessing of the cornerstone of
the new college (Scollard Hall).
Mayor R. Rowe, Aldermen,
Cherry, MacPherson, Cholette,
Saya, Workman, Beattie, Bush,
McColeman, Bulbrook, Bebee
too part (WKP Kennedy, Page
60).
In 1931, Scollard was a combined day
boarding school for boys only, with boarders
and residents occupying the third and fourth
floors. Boarders came from all over northern
Ontario, some came from Quebec and some
even came from the United States.
Although the boy’s school was known as
“Scollard Hall”, it included advanced
preparations for post secondary schooling
early on in its history. In 1934, Scollard Hall
was incorporated as North Bay College.
Senior Fraternity, 1933-34
Standing: Ab Shepherd, Ernie St. Louis,
Carmello Flora, Tony Celestini
Seated: Jules Ferry, Norm McDonald, Father
Mellon, Tom Smith, Art Waiser
Athletics naturally played a large role in
student life at Scollard Hall. The original
sections of the school did not contain a
gymnasium, but that did not prevent the
varsity teams from finding success. Many of
the team photos were documented by the Noel Studio in North Bay. An interesting article in
the North Bay Nugget contains some information about this very important aspect of student
life:
“We had a quite broad spectrum of resident students and it was a lot of fun meeting students
from different places." Recalls Thomas Smith, who was among the first graduating class at
Scollard Hall.
The only other high school in North Bay at the time was North Bay Collegiate Institute and
Vocational School or NBCIVS, now called Ecole Secondaire Algonquin and as a result the
two schools rapidly became arch-rivals in sports and athletics as well as scholastics.
In the fall of 1932, Scollard formed its first rugby football team but they were inexperienced
and not supplied with helmets, cleats or shoulder pads. This was during the depression and
many could not afford to buy their own. However, at the time, Scollard had a hockey team that
had immediate success and won the city championship the first year they competed.
“In 1934 the football team won their first game, beating NBCIVS 21 to 20. The entire team
was taken to the Arcadian restaurant and treated to the biggest ice cream sundae they could
eat”.
Not just known for athletics, Scollard Hall succeeded in the pursuit of academic rigor.
Reverend Norman J. Weaver, President of North Bay College is recognized as one of the
community leaders credited with bringing post secondary education to North Bay in the
establishment of Nipissing University. “From 1949 until the late 1950’s, the University of
Toronto established a ‘junior varsity’ at North Bay College.” (Nugget, 1930).
Divided by Gender
While the focus of the report shall remain on the edifice located on High Street, it is important
to note the role sister institutions played in the development of St. Joseph’s Scollard Hall. The
following describes the history of both St. Joseph’s College and St. Mary’s Academy as both
provided Catholic education for young women in North Bay.
“On September 8, 1920 the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peterborough opened St. Joseph's
Academy in the newly purchased and renovated Grand Union Hotel. The Sisters purchased
this location with the negotiating assistance of Bishop David J. Scollard. The private school
would provide a sound Catholic high school education for both day and resident female
students for many years to come.
Looking over St. Joseph’s College
towards Main Street from Lake
Nipissing.
In 1937 the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste.
Marie became an entity unto themselves. It was
under their direction that the boarding section of
St. Joseph's Academy closed in December,
1938 and the students took up new residence at
St. Joseph's College in January, 1939. Because
of the overflow at the new school, it was
determined that grades 9 and 10 along with
junior commercial classes would be taught at St.
Joseph's Academy which became St. Mary's
Academy in 1945.
Again registrations were at a peak and the
senior commercial class at St. Joseph's College
moved to St. Mary's Academy in 1953, but it
was still included in the "College" graduation exercises until 1959. At this point, St. Mary's
Commercial Academy came into existence and remained until June, 1969. St. Joseph's
College continued to grow and saw three separate expansions- 1956, 1961, and 1970”.
St. Joseph's College and North Bay College (Scollard Hall) metaphorically closed their doors
for good in June 1985 and the co-educational St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Catholic Secondary
School emerged to serve day students from North Bay and its surrounding communities. The
school is now under the direction of the Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board.
“It was the vision and persistence of Bishop David J. Scollard, along with the sisters of St.
Joseph (Peterborough and Sault Diocese) and members of the Congregation of the
Resurrection, which have brought us to our present glorious days of Catholic education in the
region. (Hall, 1934, 1969) (Alumnae, 1969).
Architectural Statement
Architect
Both the architect and builder are well known, with impressive portfolios. The architect, Bernal
Ambrose Jones (1890-1959) was born in Toronto and attended the Toronto Technical School,
but did not receive a formal university education. Jones apprenticed under Frank Darling, a
recognized master of Canadian Beaux-Arts classicism. One of Jones’ first major projects
included the Kitchener City Hall building.
Jones’ independent work is thought to have been influenced by the bank architecture he was
so familiar with from his early years. “His design for the Public Utilities Building in Kitchener
(1932) is a vigorous Beaux-Arts composition with sophisticated details that give the work a
dignity and presence rarely attained in Ontario, and the plan for the Church of the Good
Shepherd (1936-37) is an important transitional work in a modernized Gothic style which was
to influence other architects in south-western Ontario”. (Hill).
The builder, J. M. Pigott was well known throughout Canada as the founder of the J. M. Pigott
Construction Company of Hamilton (See Appendix 3). Local subcontractors included Hume
Paint and Wallpaper and Standard Planing Mills
Construction: Photos taken between July and October 1930
The Royal Military College of Kingston Ontario
bears a striking resemblance to Pigott’s many
stone buildings, such as Scollard Hall. In a letter
to Rev. Zinger, Pigott referenced the book from
which the image at right was taken (Pigott,
Unknown).
Heritage Features Worth Noting: Exterior stonework
Commendable features of this building
are the twin turrets on either side of the
projecting frontispiece (at left), the
symmetrical organization of the design,
and the heavy massing achieved through
the use of split faced cut stone laid in a
random coursed pattern. All window and
door openings, including trim elements,
are framed in smooth faced cut stone.
The stone is of interest, in a letter from J.
M. Pigott to Father Zinger dated January
21st, 1931, Pigott explains; “During the
last three years I have been intermittently
working the arrangement of a book urging the more frequent use of stone in certain types of
buildings and styles of architecture…It is the intention to add two additional pages which will
show your new College at North Bay. (Pigott, Correspondence to Father Zinger, 1931)”
Specification documentation provided by Jones demanded that all exterior face brick be
comprised of #1 quality Don Valley Grey stock fine brick and was only acceptable if the
quality matched that of the sample approved by the architect. The face brick was to be laid in
approximately six courses of stretcher and one course of headers. Cut stone was shipped by
the Superior Stone Company of Kitchener (Pigott, Specifications for North Bay College,
1930).
Interior
Like many public institutions, time has brought about
new challenges in meeting fire code and accessibility
demands. The interior of the building feels much more
‘modern’, although several of the original features
remain intact.
The Municipal Heritage Committee toured the first and
second floors of St. Lawrence Hall and Scollard Hall.
Upper level classrooms, where many of the boarder’s
rooms were once located, were not included in the tour
as classes were in progress.
Immediately upon entering the building, the heritage
features are numerous and well maintained. The main
entrance of the school has retained the rich wood
panels and plaster detail in the coffered ceiling.
The chapel is rich in original detail, although a fire near
the altar unfortunately caused some damage in recent
years. In the chapel, pillars with crest details add to the
visual interest of the space. Original gothic, stained
glass windows contain a
trefoil motif near the top
of the arch.
Classrooms in the
original Scollard Hall
possess many of the
original features,
including slate chalk
boards and transom
windows above the
classroom doors.
Perhaps the most striking of the original heritage detailing is
found in the molding and trim detail scattered throughout the
former St. Lawrence Hall and Scollard Hall buildings. Such
attention to detail is rarely found in a modern school.
One such example can be found at the entrance to
the chapel, where the original red oak doors are
topped by a graceful plaster arch flanked with two
face carvings (see below).
Nowhere is the distinction
between old and modern
building code more evident
than here, as a closed
circuit camera, panel drop
ceiling and fire code exit
signage coexist in contrast
with the heritage features.
Original Floor Plan
The original architectural drawings were made
available to the committee. These documents
included a full listing of each room with great detail
such as furniture requirements to be procured by
Eaton Co.
Basement: Reception room, lounge, book storage, tuck shop, main dining room, kitchen,
help’s dining room
First floor: student library, faculty lounge, 4 teacher study rooms, 2 guest rooms, 4 teacher
bedrooms, principal’s office, stationary room, board room, 12 reception
rooms, linen room, chapel, sanctuary, sacristy
Second floor: 7 student rooms, 2 teacher bed-study rooms, 4 teacher
bedrooms, 2 guest bedroom, 4 teacher study rooms, infirmary, 2
classrooms, study hall, 4 student bedrooms
Third floor: 8 student bedrooms, 2 guest bedrooms, 31 student
bedrooms, 2 teacher bed-study rooms, linen room, 4 classrooms
Fourth floor: dormitory…remainder not legible (Pigott, Specifications
for North Bay College, 1930).
Student Quarters
Living quarters for the boarders were for the most part located on the
upper levels of levels of Scollard Hall. The detailed record keeping of
the school includes all of the furniture specs from T. Eaton.
Co. special contract department (T. Eaton Co, 1930). The
photo at left represents the dresser specs sent to the
builder for consideration in the student residence.
Additions
Recent additions to this co-educational institution have
been respectful in the use of relating exterior materials. The
new entrance fronting on O’Brien Street reflects the form of
the gable atop the tower over the original main entry on
High Street.
Carter Hall, named for Reverend Carter (at right) was built in the late 1950’s and dedicated
on Oct 3rd 1959 (Kennedy, 1961). Eventually, the Carter building would be demolished to
make room for new administrative space and athletics facilities in 1990. O’Gorman and
O’Gorman were tasked with providing a seventeen room addition and gymnasium to satisfy
the Carter wing. The Carter building sat where the main reception area is currently, facing
O’Brien Street.
The newest addition satisfies current educational functions without attempting to repeat the
collegiate style of the original building. The recent additions were designed by Critchley,
Delean, et al, Architects of North Bay (Committee, 2014).
APPENDIX A
The following description of the builder was made available by McMaster University Library
Archives. The Pigott files (1910-1968) are housed at McMaster, and provide great insight into
the life and works of this prolific builder. The files are arranged in 3 series consisting of: daily
journals, condensed journals and travelling diaries. The files were acquired from the Pigott
family of Hamilton in July and September 2000.
The son of a prominent Irish contractor, Joseph M. Pigott was born in Hamilton on 23
February 1885 and educated in Hamilton Separate Schools and Collegiate Institute. In 1903
he began working for his father's expanding construction company, one he would guide to
unknown wealth and size. After having gained a thorough grounding in the construction
industry Pigott travelled to Saskatchewan in 1909 with his younger brother Roy where they
secured a large contract to build St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon. While in the West, Pigott
met and married Yvonne Prince, daughter of Hon. B. Prince of Battlefield, Saskatchewan, and
returned to Hamilton before living briefly in Detroit. When Roy Pigott returned from the First
World War, the two brothers began to direct Pigott Construction to fortune and fame. The first
$1,000,000 year came in 1926, and in 1930, Hamilton's earliest skyscraper, the 16-storey
Pigott Building, was completed. While Joseph and Roy led the company through the years of
the depression, Pigott also dedicated himself to his growing family of 6 boys, 4 of whom were
later associated with their father in his business.
After the Second World War Pigott Construction was Canada's largest privately-owned
construction company amassing more than $113,000,000 in business in a single year. As
head of his own company, Pigott erected some of Canada's largest industrial plants and finest
buildings, including the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Crown Life Insurance Company
head office, Toronto; Bank of Canada, Ottawa; a $45,000,000 plant for General Motors,
Oshawa, and buildings totaling $50,000,000 for A. V. Roe Company in Malton. In Hamilton,
buildings erected by the Pigott firm include the Canadian Westinghouse offices, Banks of
Nova Scotia, Royal and Montreal, McMaster University, the County Court House, Westdale
Secondary School, St. Joseph's Hospital, the Pigott Building, the new City Hall and the
Cathedral of Christ the King. Upon completion of the Cathedral, Pope Pius XI, in recognition
of his accomplishment on this and other buildings, created him a Knight Commander of the
Order of St. Gregory the Great and later "Con Placa". In 1946 in acknowledgment of his
services to the Government of Canada during the war Pigott was created Commander of the
British Empire. His service to Canada as president of the Wartime Housing Ltd. provided
solutions to some most serious problems at that critical time. In consideration of his
contributions to social welfare and to the political and intellectual life of Christian society, he
was invested as a knight of magistral grace of the Sovereign and Military order of Malta in
1953, and in 1962, he was awarded the honorary degree of LL.D by McMaster University. He
was a former president of the Canadian Construction Association, Hamilton Chamber of
Commerce, a former vice-president and director of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, president of
Pigott Realty Ltd., vice-president and director of North American Life Assurance Company,
director of Canada Permanent Trust Company, Atlas Steels Ltd., and United Fuel
Investments Ltd. Pigott was also a former president of the board of governors of the Art
Gallery of Hamilton, a director of the Ontario Heart Foundation, chairman of the advisory
committee of St. Joseph's Hospital, a member of the Hamilton Club, the Hamilton Golf and
Country Club and the National Club of Toronto. Pigott played an enormous role in the
development of Hamilton. He died in Hamilton on 20 April 1969 (McMaster Library)
Subcontractors
Hardware
Interior painting
Plasterwork
Doors
Ironworks
Electrical
Ashphalt
Wood framing
Plumbing
Sheet Metal
Windows
Marble, Tile
and Terrazzo
Garvin Company of Catherine Street, Hamilton
Hume Paint and Wallpaper, Main Street, North Bay
Hill Brothers, Rosslyn Ave, Hamilton
Kent Ockley Ltd, Madison Ave, Toronto
Dennisteel Ltd, London,
Canada Electric Co, King Street, Toronto
Vulcan Asphalt and Supply Co Ltd, Bloor St, Toronto
Standard Planing Mills and Lumber Co. Ltd, North Bay
G. Ruppel Ltd, Ontario St. Kitchener
A.B. Ormsby Co, Van Horne St, Toronto
Ontario Plate Glass Ltd, King Street, Hamilton
The Italian Mosiac and Tile Co, Toronto
APPENDIX B
Transcribed from North Bay Nugget, September 2nd, 1931
Headline: College ready to open its doors
Fine new institution will be thrown into use Wednesday next. Scollard Hall and St. Lawrence
Hall now complete staff in readiness. Is modern institution all through in every respect. North
Bay College, Northern Ontario’s newest institution of learning and located on a 25 acre tract
bounded by high O’Brien and McLeod streets and the city boundary, will open its doors on
Tuesday next for the registration and classification of students. Classes for the academic year
1931–1932 will commence on Wednesday, September 9th.
This institution, exclusively for boys, was founded by the fathers of the congregation of the
resurrection, at the request of his Lordship, D. J. Scollard, D. D, Bishop of the diocese of
Sault Ste. Marie. Its purpose is to provide boys and young men with a thoroughly sound
education and gentlemanly training. The curriculum embraces the subjects prescribed by the
Ontario Department of education for high schools and collegiate institutes.
At the present, the institution consists of Scollard and St. Lawrence Hall. It is planned to add
to the institution as the need arises and to eventually provide a full university training to the
arts degree. Rev. A. L. Zinker, C. R., M. A., will be the superior of the institution. He is a
native of Kitchener Ontario, where he was connected with the St. Jerome’s College for nearly
25 years.
The establishment of North Bay College was announced by Bishop Scollard at the time of in
his Episcopal Silver Jubilee on May 6-8th, 1930. The first sod was turned on May 7th by his
Lordship in the presence of many Archbishops and Bishops from the Dominion and United
States and all the clergy of the diocese.
Construction work commenced on April 30, 1930 and the cornerstone was laid by Bishop
Scollard on July 13, 1930. The finishing touches were put to the building late last spring and
in the interval arrangements have been in progress for the opening of the institution this fall.
The site of the institution, formerly a one half-mile race course, was acquired by Bishop
Scollard some years ago for the use it has been put to. It is entirely within the city and is
admitted to be a highly desirable location for the structure it holds.
Headline: Named for Bishop
Scollard Hall, the main structure of the college, so named as a tribute to right Rev. DJ
Scollard DD Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie Diocese, who was instrumental in having the
educational institution established, is built of Credit Valley stone and rises four stories above
the basement. The excellence of its architectural design, its impressively solidity and modern
appointments provokes admiration from all those who visit the building.
Scollard Hall contains the administration offices, the main library, living quarters for the
teaching staff, student’s private rooms, reading rooms, in general and private reception rooms
and two large open dormitories on the top floor. The hallways are spacious, bright by natural
and artificial lighting and the floors are joined by wide staircases at each end of the building.
Entering by the main entrance, High Street, to the right is a rectors office and to the left a
general reception room. Leading from the main corridor are the bursar’s quarters, student’s
library and reading room, private reception room, teachers study, consulting room and library.
Bath and shower facilities as provided on all floors.
The first floor is the student’s corridor with 50 private dormitories and bath and shower rooms.
The second floor is laid out into large open dormitories, each accommodating from 35 to 40
resident students, with prefects quarters and washrooms adjoining. Another commodious
room holds individual lockers for the students and connecting is a large room with a bath and
shower facility.
Wide halls connect Scollard Hall with St. Lawrence Hall, at the rear, and students can come
from the campus to wash and use bathrooms on the third floor without disturbing any other
part of the building.
Scollard Hall is a fireproof structure throughout. The floors of the corridors and staircases are
terrazzo supported by steel while the rooms and dormitories have floors of asphalt blocks
within linoleum finish. Every corner of the building in every edge is rounded to facilitate
thorough cleaning. Clothes and dust chutes lead to the basement from all floors. Linen closets
and store rooms are set in convenient places on all floors.
The student’s rooms are spacious, bright and airy and are furnished with bed, locker, study
desk and other necessary furniture. Adjoining are well-equipped washrooms with bath and
shower facilities and roomy lockers for each student.
Headline: Sport development
All sports that tend to promote the physical well-being of boys will be conducted in their
respective seasons. The campus comprises 25 acres, is level and provides ample natural
facilities for all outdoor games. A well-equipped gymnasium will be provided in the course of
time and will be located as to fit in with the general arrangement for recreation.
The organization for sports during the current season will take place soon after the students
are established in the college. A football field will be prepared immediately and plans made
for the erection of an outdoor rink for the winter season. For the spring and summer seasons
baseball and softball diamonds, tennis courts, basketball fields and track and field facilities
will be provided. A director of recreation and athletics will be appointed this week with the
view to planning for fall and winter sports as early as possible.
Headline: St. Lawrence Hall
St. Lawrence Hall is the classroom, refectory and devotional section of the big building. Like
Scollard Hall it is fireproof throughout with panic proof doors leading to the campus on either
side.
On the ground floor is a large dining hall capable of seating about 250 boys. To the rear of
this is the exceptionally well-equipped kitchen and serving pantry, and back of these are
storerooms for food and brick floored rooms for the storage of fruit and vegetables.
The first floor contains the chapel, beautiful, white and marble, with usual statuary, with the
main and side Altar. There is seating capability for 420, and this can be increased. On the
floor above this is a study hall for resident pupils, and two classrooms that can, when
occasion demands, be added to the study hall by the removal of partitions, for which provision
has been made.
The upper two floors each contain four classrooms with seating capacity for 32 pupils each.
These rooms are so seated that each pupil has the light coming to him from the left from
windows which run almost a full length of the classroom. The desks and seats have steel
frames, and are the most modern that are available. In all there are 11 classrooms in the
building.
The buildings are heated by steam generated into large boilers in the basement. Hot water is
provided by an automatic steam heating device. During the time that the boilers are not in use
a jacket heater provides plenty of hot water for the building.
Lockers for day pupils are also located in the basement, and there is also a large recreation
room on the West End, with a smaller room adjoining. The laundry is also located in the
basement where bedding, etc. is washed, but the pupil’s personal laundry will be done
outside by contract.
Headline: Teaching Staff
Rev. A.L. Zinger CRMA of the Resurrection all Fathers, is Superior of the college. North Bay
College will commence with all classes of the four-year high school matriculation course as
prescribed by the Department of Education of Ontario. A commercial course will also be given
which comprises the usual branches of a thorough business course, with the addition of
French composition, and German and Italian languages if desired.
During the next scholastic year one or more grades of the University arts course will be
inaugurated. Full arts courses will be given as soon as the number of students desiring the
course warrants. Asked about the registration of pupils for the coming term, Rev. Father
Zinger stated that this was very satisfactory, considering this was the open year, and the
conditions were far from normal.
The plans of St. Lawrence Hall were so drawn up that additional units may be added from
time to time as the attendance demanded. (Nugget, 1930).
North Bay Nugget October 13, 1990
Headline: Reflections of the Past
It is time for reflection. With the first part of a multiphase expansion at St. Joseph Scollard
Catholic secondary school completed, many people associated with the school are compelled
to reflect on memories built up over the years.
Even while dear old Scollard underwent immense changes through the years it has kept its
traditional values and beliefs and remains a historical landmark in North Bay.
Scollard Hall was named after Bishop Scollard of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, who
purchased the land in the late 1920s, and asked the Resurrectionists from Kitchener,
Waterloo, to come and build and run a boy’s school.
Scollard was built and began operating in 1931.
Father Zinger, the school’s first principal, had a staff of six Resurrectionist priests, four lay
teachers or hired teachers, and 90 students between the ages of 12 and 20 years old.
In 1931, Scollard was a combined day boarding school for boys only, with boarders and
residents occupying the third and fourth floors. Boarders came from all over northern Ontario,
some came from Quebec and some even came from the United States.
“We had a quite broad spectrum of resident students and it was a lot of fun meeting students
from different places.” Recalls Thomas Smith, who was among the first graduating class at
Scollard Hall.
The only other high school in North Bay at the time was North Bay Collegiate Institute and
Vocational School or NBCI&VS, now called Ecole Secondaire Algonquin and as a result the
two schools rapidly became arch-rivals in sports and athletics as well as scholastics.
In the fall of 1932, Scollard formed its first rugby football team but they were inexperienced
and not supplied with helmets, cleats or shoulder pads. This was during the depression and
many could not afford to buy their own. However, at the time, Scollard had a hockey team that
had immediate success and when the city championship the first year they competed.
In 1934 the football team won their first game, beating NBCI&VS 21 to 20. The entire team
was taken to the Arcadian restaurant and treated to the biggest ice cream sundae they could
eat.
In 1953 the Memorial gymnasium was built and was officially open by Bishop Ralph Dignan.
Students attending Scollard had very little free time, either they were playing sports, working,
or studying and Resurrectionist priests and brothers took individual care in students, assisting
them with problems they had, whether they were personal or they were making career
choices.
In 1959 the Carter building was constructed and named after Bishop Alexander Carter.
In 1973 the Nipissing Roman Catholic separate school board assumed responsibility for
grades nine and 10. Until this time the financial responsibility was placed entirely upon the
congregation of the resurrection.
Prior to receiving funding from the board, Scollard Hall spent three very financially difficult
years and was on the verge of closing its doors.
In 1977 Mr. Donald Houle was given the appointment as the first lay principal to be hired to
run the school.
1980 was the year that students no longer lived at the school as a cost cutting measure.
When the school first opened in 1931, board and lodging cost $250 and $50 for tuition. When
the boarders left in 1980 they were paying $3500 in fees. In 1985 Scollard Hall and St.
Joseph’s school for girls amalgamated primarily for practical financial and sound educational
practice reasons.
A newly equipped athletic field was formally dedicated as Cundari field in memory of late
Father Michael Cundari, a much loved priest, teacher and coach.
Rapid enrollment growth and a school that was not able to meet its demand constituted a plan
to be formulated to create and design a new facility to be added to the existing school.
The planning stage took four years to develop, and in the fall of 1989 construction began on
the first stage of the multiphase project to be built over a three-year period.
The first phase is now complete and students were able to occupy the facility for the
beginning of the school year in September 1990. “This new facility holds the promise of a
bright future for Catholic education in our community, but that future is in our hands not the
facility itself”, said Mr. Houle. “Now it’s time to look at the future”. (Nugget, Reflections of the
Past, 1990).
APPENDIX C
North Bay LACAC write up, date unknown (Committee, 2014)
APPENDICES D – Evaluation Scoresheet
Works Cited
Alumnae. (1969). Alumnae Newsletter of St. Joseph's Academy. St. Josephs, St. Mary's Commercial
Academy.
Committee, L. A. (2014). St. Joseph Scollard Hall Heritage Report. North Bay: City of North Bay.
Hall, S. (1934, 1969, June). Green and Gold Yearbook. Bear Tracks.
Hill, R. G. (n.d.). Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950: dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org
Kennedy, W. (1961). North Bay. North Bay: T. H. Best Company.
Nugget, N. B. (1930, July 16). An Impressive Ceremony. North Bay Nugget, p. 1.
Nugget, N. B. (1990, October 13). Reflections of the Past. North Bay Nugget.
Pigott. (1930, April 28). Specifications for North Bay College. Specifications for North Bay College. Toronto,
ON, Canada: Pigott.
Pigott. (1931, January 21). Correspondance to Father Zinger. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Pigott. (Unknown). Pigott Portfolio. Hamilton: Unknown.
T. Eaton Co. (1930). Estimate. Special Contracts Estimate. T. Eaton Co.
University, M. (n.d.). McMaster Library. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from McMaster Library:
http://library.mcmaster.ca/archives/findaids/fonds/p/pigott.htm
Recommended Further Reading:
Servos, P., Wall, D., Evans, J., The Emergence of St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Catholic
Secondary School. http://icsoh.nipissingu.ca/courses_projects.html#Scollard
Description:
This project takes a look at the conditions of St. Josephs and Scollard Hall before their
merger in 1984-85. Both students and faculty are interviewed to determine what both schools
looked like before the merger, how the staff and students reacted during the merger, and their
opinions as to whether or not the merger was beneficial in the long run.
Scollard Hall Yearbooks, 1955-1967 and 50 year celebration edition:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cannor/nipissin/northbay/scollard/index.htm