50 Peter Robinson College Reunion Special Issue August 9, 2014
Student Co-op moves into former PR College townhouses By Matthew Davidson
INside:
Twelve years after Trent University sold the Peter Robinson College, a student initiative is hoping to reclaim the old campus. Already, the buildings that once housed new Trent students have become the home of the Peterborough Student Co-operative. Within the next five years, those buildings may be student-controlled. Established in 2009, the Peterborough Student Co-operative is looking to establish a co-operative-based student and community residence in downtown Peterborough. An agreement with the current landlord of the Peter Robinson (PR) properties has moved that project forward, giving the Co-op a home. With Sadleir House now intending to purchase the PR properties, members of the Co-op are hoping that the dream of having a student-controlled residence will be realized. “The Co-op initiative began in response to Trent closing residences at Traill College and then over-booking the residences on Symons campus,” explained Elizabeth
Thipphawong, the Coordinator of the Coop. “There was a need for affordable, quality student housing which retained the sense of community that came with Trent’s college system. We’re very pleased that we are able to provide this at the very site of one of Trent’s founding colleges.” Thipphawong likens the Co-op initiative to the project that led to the purchase of Sadleir House by the student community in 2004.
A Late History of Peter Robinson
Under the tutelage of then-President Bonnie Patterson, Trent University had moved to sell off the historic PR campus during a major neoliberal restructuring of the school. The university community strongly opposed the plans and, following a long campaign of protest, the student body collectively purchased the focal point of the campus. “The Student Co-op initiative operates within the same spirit of student activism as the campaign to keep Sadleir House
Remembering the Jolly Hangman
PRC Arts
within the university community,” Thipphawong told Arthur. “Not only do we hope to expand the student and community controlled space within the historic PR College, but we will be working closely with Sadleir House to do so.” Sadleir House recently announced plans to purchase the PR townhouses, and are hoping to raise a million dollars over the next five years to do so. Though Sadleir House and the Co-op are separate entities, if Sadleir House is successful in purchasing the properties adjacent to it, it will mean a secure location for the Peterborough Student Co-operative. “Sadleir House has been a strong supporter of the Co-op, and they have indicated an interest in seeing the Co-op permanently based out of PR,” Thipphawong noted. “It was our dream when the Co-op started to take back this campus for our community.” For more information about the Peterborough Student Co-op, visit http://trentcoop.wordpress.com/
Flip Over For Schedules
Contents Page 3: The downtown college histories.
Page 7: Arts, Radio, and Music at PRC.
Pages 4&5: An alumni remembers.
Page 8: PRC reunion day schedules.
Page 6: The Jolly Hangman lives!
Editorial: PRC Community Lives on Through It’s Stories #Z .BUU 3BQQPMU BOE 1BU 3FEEJDL
Looking back fifty years, the world was a different place. In August 1964, the very first issue of Arthur was still more than two years away from rolling off the press and, as hard as it is to believe, there was only one Tim Horton’s store anywhere in Canada. Here in Peterborough, the summer of ‘64 saw a city filled with excitement as a bright, exuberant, young Toronto academic and an internationally renowned, modernist architect were putting the finishing touches on the first phase of a new university. It was to become an institution that would forever the change the social, intellectual, and built landscape of the community. Trent University, of course, didn’t just transform the Peterborough community. The community changed it as well. Town and gown grew together over time and forged a relationship rife with all the casual bickering, existential crises, and grumblings of love that characterize any truly strong union. For thirty-seven years, from 1966-2001, Peter Robinson College was situated on the vanguard of this wonderful relationship, occupying the all-important middle-ground between
two markedly different communities. Arthur has always had a special relationship to Peter Robinson College as a student and community newspaper. The founding editors of this publication were College members and its very first front-page was devoted entirely to PRC affairs. Now, more than a decade since the official closure of PRC, Arthur is immensely proud to still be operating out of the old PR Master’s Office, amid all the architectural beauty and history of Sadleir House. This is why when we heard that there was to be a Peter Robinson College 50th reunion we wanted to be sure to find a unique way to contribute to the occasion. This special PRC reunion issue is filled with volunteer submissions from College alumni and community members who wanted to share their memories of the PR and how their experiences here re-shaped and re-defined their lives. As you will discover in these pages, Peter Robinson College was, for some, a place of rebellion and radicalism. For others, it was a place adventure and new experiences. The common thread that binds all these stories, however, is that for everyone Peter Robinson College was viewed as home.
Over the course of a half century, many things have changed: Arthur now publishes more than twenty-five issues of community content a year and reaches a wider audience than ever thanks to the power of the Internet; and yes, there is still only one Tim Horton’s store ‌ on every street corner in Canada. What hasn’t changed in 50 years is the fact that it is the sharing of stories, memories, and experiences that constructs and maintains strong communities. Although Peter Robinson may no longer officially exist as a college of Trent University, there is no denying its existence and in the stories we tell, in the memories we share, and in the hearts and minds of the numerous groups that that have fought long and hard to keep the PR spirit, with all its the rebellion, radicalism, adventure, and experience, alive within the Peterborough community. To all the PR alumni, faculty members, affiliates, and honourary college members, welcome back! We hope you enjoy this day and all that it has to offer. Feel free to drop by our offices and share your own stories with us.
From the Archive
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History
The Downtown Colleges: Trent’s DNA Then, Now, Into the Future By Dr. Michael Eamon
In the beginning, there were the downtown colleges. Trent University’s first home was a meticulously renovated public school on Rubidge Street. Rubidge Hall had everything a fledgling academic institution required. There was a Junior Common Room where students could relax, as well as a corresponding Senior Common Room where the university’s new faculty could become better acquainted. The basement boasted a buttery, or small cafeteria, that the first students affectionately dubbed “the crypt.” Lecture rooms, science labs and administrative offices rounded out the interior of the building. It was a self-contained, collegiate hub of expression, learning, and sociability. Rubidge Hall was the essential centre of university operations while Master Planning architect Ron Thom completed the renovations on Peter Robinson (PR) and Traill colleges and developed his plan for a large, twelve-college main campus at the north end of the city. After the closure of Rubidge Hall in the early ‘70s, PR and Traill became the university’s main presence downtown. Both PR and Trail blended original Victorian structures with mid-century modern architectural flourishes. The Link at PR and Wallis Hall at Traill offer but two outward examples of the fruits of this creative milieu. Every detail, from the dining hall tables to the furnishings in the student rooms, was carefully designed and executed. The nascent university purposefully brought together downtown Peterborough’s existing built heritage with the latest in modern design. It was hoped that these inspirational spaces would fuel the
Then and now
new pedagogical philosophies and student optimism that embodied the 1960s in Canada. Like Rubidge Hall, both PR and Traill were self-contained academic communities replete with their own libraries, dining halls, lecture halls, entertainment and athletic facilities, and common rooms. Peter Robinson College was originally intended for male students. It was named after the nineteenth-century immigration agent who brought over 2500 Irish settlers to the region. At its height, PR contained eight separate buildings spanning from 733 to 755 George St. (Abbott House, Sadleir House, Denne House, East Lodge, Reade House, Stratton House, “The Cottage,” and North House). Its student-run pub, The Jolly Hangman, became a Peterborough institution inspiring a generation of student poets and musicians (see page 6). Traill College, on the other hand, was founded as Trent’s first all-women’s college and dormitory. Honouring Catharine Parr Traill, the famous nineteenth-century settler and author, the college’s first seven buildings were named after prominent women in the Peterborough area. The Trend, its pub, continues to be a vibrant hub of sociability and activity. The college’s most recent structure, Bagnani Hall, is named after Gilbert and Stewart Bagnani whose teaching, council and kindness touched Trent’s early students. From the very beginning, both downtown colleges were intended to be part of the community, embracing the people, past and present, of the Peterborough area. Originally, all Trent students were to live in the colleges. However, the university soon became a victim of its own success and by the early 1970s, the student population had outstripped the colleges’
“Then” photos from Arthur’s archives.
residence capacity. In spite of this, the downtown colleges remained important hubs for student life. In those days, there was no need for a central student centre. In a collegiate university each college is its own student centre, a comfortable and intellectually-engaging home for college members, faculty and staff. Students that could not live in college found accommodation nearby and integrated into the daily life of Peterborough. The downtown colleges themselves became an important part of the city, a tangible presence, an indelible reminder to the citizens of Peterborough of the fruits of their labour that brought an institution of higher education to the region. Trent University is in a unique category as one of the few collegiate universities in the world. Collegiate universities, by their nature, are decentralized and expensive to run. Administrators in higher education often find these conditions difficult to abide by. For most of its 50 years, Trent has existed under the spectre of deficit and the relationship of the colleges with the central university administration has been one of continuing negotiation and debate. Tensions came to a head in 2001, when PR was closed in a controversial cost-saving decision that continues to divide faculty and alumni. The impact on the greater Peterborough community, although less fractious, has been one of a gradual diminution of Trent’s presence and its importance in downtown life. In 2007, Traill also fell under the threat of closure and was only saved from PR’s fate by becoming a college for Trent growing graduate student population. The future, like the beginning, is in the downtown colleges. For 10 years, Sadleir House has continued to be Trent’s con-
science and sense of social justice downtown. Home of Arthur Newspaper and OPIRG, with Trent Radio nearby, the spirit of PR lives on and grows stronger every day thanks to the passion of countless students. Traill College, where engaging departments such as Cultural Studies, Canadian Studies and English Literature reside as well as the Trent Centre for Community Based Education and Trent’s Continuing Education program, remains—as originally intended—a welcoming space to the wider Peterborough community. Under my mandate as principal, I would like to make Traill College more relevant to graduate students and even more accessible to members of the Peterborough community. I would also like to oversee the long-overdue return of undergraduate members to the college. This article, of course, can only scratch the surface in relating the rich history of Trent’s downtown colleges. Please drop by the Bata Library and the University Archives during this anniversary year for more information on Trent’s incredible history. Also, make sure that you make it a regular habit of visiting Sadleir House and Traill College and participate in lectures, concerts and other events. The downtown colleges are home to Trent’s beginnings and its future. Engaged alumni and the Peterborough community have fashioned a wonderful past for this university together. It is now your turn to ensure Trent has a vibrant future downtown with the community that helped start it all. Dr. Eamon is the newly-appointed Principal of Traill College and former Principal of Lady Eaton College (2012-2014).
“Now” photos by Pat Reddick.
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The Hangman
For He’s a Jolly Good Hangman By Bill Shepherd (‘84)
Its hard to profess that Peter Robinson College and the Jolly Hangman pub were the best things going, knowing full well that’s exactly how others feel about their own college, but I’m willing to give it a go. Like with most pivotal events, we don’t realize how important they are until afterwards (long afterwards). So it goes without saying, some time has passed. I still recall being in my last year of high school and developing this ideal of what I wanted the next step in my life to be. Universities would come to my school and pitch their wears but i wasn’t buying. There was this sameness to it all and you got the sense you where being jammed through this mould that would make your life smaller in the end. I took a year off and worked. Some
friends where going to Trent and invited me up. It so happened that they were PR students and they took me out to the Hangman. Bingo! That’s what I was looking for! At the time, the ideal I was searching for could not be named or described and only now, years later, do I have the words and experience to be able to articulate what it was. Looking back, I see Trent University as being pure academia (with a liberal bent), Peter Robinson College was where the curtains opened just a little (cultural studies), and then the Hangman: where the blinds were torn down and the possibilities were endless. That’s what I wanted, thats what we all wanted. It was a place where you could go to reach beyond what you have been taught. It was a place where you could experiment without being judged, a place to
push both ideas and ideals further than they could ever go in the mainstream, something that sadly very few people get to experience. Was it by design or just dumb luck? I tend to think it was a combination of the two. It started out as a simple pub for students but it was left to the students to run. While liberal tenancies flourished at Peter Robinson College, they where overflowing in the Hangman. Essentially, the environment was created and the administration got out of the way, allowing things to naturally unfold. The Hangman was this wonderful place to explore music, art, and politics. For many, it represented the start of what would become their life long pursuit. For most, it shaped how we walk through life. There is a great fear by many that, as places like PR and the Hangman are closed
for more mainstream outlets, an important voice is lost. Some call it the hollowing out of the liberal class. I look forward to meeting up with my PR brothers and sisters today and discovering that just the opposite is true. That the seeds planted during our days at PR and the Hangman have indeed prevailed and that our roots run deep. Not only have we planted a forest, but that this forest is getting bigger. The generation before us where builders. Men and women of vision who built universities and colleges. As we gather together to celebrate the past, perhaps we can also spend some time thinking about the future. We could rail against the change that has happened or we could start building! Enjoy the celebrations and stay connected with your college at www.prcsa.ca.
For one night only the Jolly Hangman returns! Find it out where it used to be, with acts listed below.
Above: A musician (left) stands beside Louis Faigan (right). Below: A man removes empties from the night before. All pictures are from Arthur’s archives, circa the early ‘90s.
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www.trentarthur.ca
Arts
Trent Radio is Still Fun! By James Kerr (‘01)
Your back hurts. You have a hard time getting up in the morning. You keep falling asleep in front of the TV as soon as 8 o’clock passes. That’s okay - you’re 50 now, and a little wear in your concrete is to be expected. As your hip young offspring, we, Trent Radio wish you: “Happy Birthday, Trent University.” You may have forgotten, Trent, but as the hippest alumni know, it was the same group of hyper-productive rascals early in Trent’s history who went around founding All The Things: The Arthur, the Trent Student Association (TSA), and the “Trent Radio Service”, just to name a few. As your artistically off-beat offspring, we have matured since the late 1960s, and now our name is “Trent Radio”, thank you very much. It’s like being called “Jamie” when you’re a little kid and then having to run around correcting everyone when you’re a teenager - “It’s JAMES, actually”; not that I would know anything about that. Well, in that vein, if you’re not in the know, I shall say in my most nasally teenage voice: “It’s TRENT RADIO, actually,” and cite our numbers: “CFFF, 92.7 FM on your dial!” (I’m sure your car stereo and clock radio will both receive it well.) Radio is a transient medium and even those who were around don’t remember much of our murky, artistic, potentially obscene beginnings, but here’s what I know. When the Trent Radio Service began we broadcast only two hours on a Sunday night, all pre-recorded, providing the local content requirements for CHEX radio. CHEX has always been very kind to
us, and back in the 60s they put up with our tom-foolery beyond any reasonable measure. Of that time one of Trent Radio’s founders (also The Arthur and the TSA) Stephen Stohn said to me at a Trent Radio reunion in 2005: “We used to leave mountains of tape on the floor, all for a three minute news segment!” This waste says to me: fun. These people had a lot of fun. And programmers at Trent Radio continue having a lot of fun today, without quite so much waste. Now from the corners of Parkhill and George, right beside Peter Robinson College (or rather, the P.R.C.S.A) and Sadleir
House, we broadcast all day long with about 100 students programming in a broadcast season. These programmers are first-year to tenth-year students and beyond - all volunteers, who just decided that radio might be a pretty cool thing to do with their time. Do you want to spend an hour a week spinning classical records, talking philosophy, Star Trek, trans psychedelic ephemera, house music, or just the sound of crickets? Wait, have we been doing that for most of your 50 years? That’s a lot of radio. That’s a lot of fun. So, your back may ache and you may
need large print text books, Trent University, but you have left a strong heritage of creating student groups who love you. You are our big towered concrete rock. And a happy birthday also to Peter Robinson College - a strange collage of people. It was always just a short hop for all the wonderful weirdoes of Peter Robinson College to embrace the airwaves and play their reggae and their cricket sounds. On this occasion we broadcast for you both a birthday song. Check the back page for Trent Radio’s broadcast schedule for the Reunion Weekend.
Music At PRC
By Lee Shropshire
This photo was taken circa 1979 for a promo shot of Andy Wernick’s band, Vertigo, for it’s one-time exploratory summer tour of central and northern Ontario. Perhaps more a sociological research project to experience life on the road first hand, the band strayed from its origins of mostly blues and experimental jazz, partially succumbing to the whims of struggling bar owners who made their living from an insular and bleak patronage whose musical preference was mainstream radio. Luckily, Warren Zevon was on the airwaves or all would have been lost. Some of us had good pot, and some of us did bits of LSD here & there. The landscape was clean and beautiful back then and everyone took advantage of the lakes and the fresh air.
The couple of biker bars that we played in loved us. There were several versions of Vertigo through the mid 1970s,the 80s, and maybe into some part of the 90s. Early versions included the great and much missed talent of Topo Davis on guitar (google 20th Century Rebels,) Doug Cameron on bass & vocals, Greg Miss Clairol on drums, (Greg, we loved you!), a roster of horn instruments that included faculty members such as Frank Nutch, and so many other players and singers, including myself, that came and went. From left to right in this photo are: Andy Wernick on keys, Lee Shropshire on vocals, Peter MacGibbon on bass, David Tabatchnick on alto saxophone, and Lang Baker on guitar.
PRC 50 th Reunion Special Issue | August 9, 2014
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