Above Left: Some of the former MacLean UTS students and their spouses who attended the party. Seated (L-R): Alison Taylor, Maria Gardner, Derek Bate ’44, John Gardner ’55, Former Principal Al Fleming, Judy Fleming; Standing (L-R): Tom Riley ’53, Bruce Taylor ’48, Bon Borthwick ’54, and Peter George ’58. Above Right: Bruce with greatgrandchildren, Flora (named for Bruce’s sister) and Paco.
teacher by establishing the “W. Bruce MacLean Mathletic Award”; first awarded at the undergraduate ceremony in October 2009, the award is given to one girl and one boy with high academic standing in advanced functions (Grade 11 math course) as well as a high level of proficiency in school athletics. Bruce has stayed in touch with many of his former UTS students, who invite him to all their class reunions. He is happy to attend, and feels humbled by the displays of appreciation and respect from these men who give him so much credit for having made a difference in their lives back in their school days. He was an enthusiastic participant in UTS Centennial events – just a few months shy of his own hundredth birthday.
The Textbook Project and OCE Early in Bruce’s UTS Career, OCE Professor (and former UTS match teacher) Pete Petrie and Bruce gathered some colleagues and started to create senior-level math textbooks for the province of Ontario. In total, Bruce was involved in the creation of 28 textbooks, mostly for the secondary level, published by Copp Clark. At one point, their textbooks were being used in every province of Canada; some years, Bruce’s royalties exceeded his salary! The ’50s and ’60s were boom years for teachers – especially in Ontario cities. To meet the need, OCE started summer courses to train new teachers as quickly as possible; while he was at UTS, Bruce taught several of these summer courses at OCE. In 1959, he became a permanent member of the OCE staff, becoming a full, tenured professor after about three years. He remained at OCE until his retirement in 1972.
Retirement Before and after his retirement, travel and camp-
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ing were very important to Bruce and his family. In 1963, Bruce and Wilma joined the club for Airstream motor-home owners, which became known as the Wally Byam Caravan Club International (WBCCI). In 1966, he was elected president of the Ontario branch of the club; in 1974, Bruce became international president of the WBCCI, which had 30,000 member families at the time. In 1975, he organized an international rally – attended by 15,000 people with 4,200 Airstreamers – in Brandon, MB. When Bruce retired from teaching, he had three goals for his retirement: • To become a proficient horseback rider and horse trainer. • To become proficient in sailing. • To achieve success in sales of some kind. Eventually, he attained all three goals – no surprise to those who know him well. Shortly after he retired, Bruce started taking lessons from – then formed a partnership with – the owner of a riding academy in Florida. With her guidance, Bruce bought, trained, showed, and sold a couple of horses each year for five years. In 1978, Bruce purchased a 30-foot Cape Dory sloop, and he immediately set about teaching himself to sail. He began racing his sailboat and competed until 1999 (the year his beloved wife Wilma passed away). In the early ’80s, Bruce achieved his third goal when he persuaded Sutherland Yachts to carry the Bayfield Yachts line of sailboats; Bruce put up the money for the franchise and concentrated on selling this line. He sold 14–25 boats per year before deciding to call it quits – right before Sutherland went bankrupt. To round-out his life-long passion for sports, Bruce has enjoyed playing golf for many years now. Proving that it’s never too late to strive for and accomplish a goal, at age 98, Bruce made headlines in the Venice, FL newspaper with his R first hole-in-one! l