Scholars and Explorers - Trafalgar School for Girls

More documents

Recommendations

Info

$Math 3000 book 1.pdf - Trafalgar School for Girls$

Trees in the Wind Circleby Emily CarrDorothy Crabtree Davidson 1928Attended Trafalgar: 1924-1926Education: BA, Magna cum laude, McGill University; LLD, Mount Allison UniversityPhilanthropistDorothy Crabtree Davidsonwas born in Joliette, Quebec.An accomplished musicianand vocalist, she polished her talentswith further studies in Montreal,New York and London. In 1943, shemarried Edgar (Davy) Davidson, ayoung man from a cosmopolitanbackground. Dorothy continuedher music studies and did charitablework. The newlyweds embarkedon amassing what would become acelebrated collection of Canadiana artand books with their first purchase,Emily Carr’s Trees in the Wind Circle.Dorothy was the first woman to beelected to the Board of Governors ofthe Mechanics’ Institute of Montreal,the precursor of the Atwater Library,the sole survivor of the manymechanics’ institutes established inCanada in the 19th century. After thewar, the Davidsons began to collectin earnest, acquiring paintings by theGroup of Seven, Cornelius Krieghoffand Jean-Paul Riopelle, among manyother artists. Dorothy divided hertime between the arts and charitablework with the YWCA and Save theChildren Canada. In 1969, the coupleestablished the Davidson Chair inCanadian Studies at Mount AllisonUniversity, donating a rich collectionS e r v i c eof Canadiana books, imprints andmanuscripts, 18th-century furnitureand Canadian painting and sculpturefrom the 19th and 20th centuries.Her dedication to philanthropy wasrecognized by Mount Allison, which“first woman to be elected to the Board of Governors of the Mechanics’Institute of Montreal, the precursor of the Atwater Library”awarded Dorothy an honorary degreein 1969. She died in 2010 in Ottawa,in her 99th year. For sharing her loveof Canadiana with Canadians all overthe world, Dorothy is one of our 125Women of Trafalgar.Historical Note Mechanics’ Institute of Montreal: “In 1828, some prominent Montreal citizens formed the MontrealMechanics Institution because they saw a need to educate workers for the emerging industries of the growing city. Patternedafter mechanics institutions that had already sprung up in England and Scotland, the aim of the new Montreal Institutionwas, “to see to the instruction of its members in the arts and in the various branches of science and useful knowledge.” Ratherthan classroom activities, the institution ran a lecture program, organized weekly information sessions and had a library andreading room.” Source: www.atwaterlibrary.caGeorgina Eloise (Bunny) Fairie Falkner 1930Attended Trafalgar: 1924-1930Education: Arts, McGill UniversityVolunteer/Philanthropist“The common ingredients in all her volunteer work were her energy, enthusiasm and abilityto attract and stimulate volunteers to work together effectively.”Bunny had a lifelong love anddedication for helping others.A resident of the Square Mile,she was very involved at the Churchof St. Andrew and St. Paul, the Fairiefamily church. She performed inMcGill’s Red and White Revues andfundraising events and belonged tothe Montreal Junior League, beforemoving to New York to study. Withthe outbreak of World War II, Bunny’shusband joined the Royal CanadianNavy Volunteer Reserve and shejoined the Canadian Red CrossTransport Corps in Halifax rising tothe rank of Commandant, a positionthat reinforced her commitmentto volunteer work. In 1953, shechaired the financial campaignfor the Westmount Division of theRed Cross, and in 1954, she wasawarded the Red Cross Medal ofService by the Canadian Red Cross,Quebec Provincial Division. She alsovolunteered for the YWCA (the FairieMemorial Library is named for hergrandmother), the Red Feather andthe United Way. She was tirelessin her work with the Women’sAuxiliaries at the Royal Victoria andthe Montreal General hospitals. AtWestmount’s St. Andrew’s UnitedChurch, she taught Sunday school,chaired bazaars, co-founded theSt. Andrew’s Guild and chairedthe 75th anniversary committee.When the church burned down,Bunny’s fundraising expertise wasinstrumental in the reconstruction.As a member of The Trafalgar OldGirls Association (TOGA), she helpedmake the 1956 capital campaigna huge success and raised fundsto build the Simpson Street Wing,which was officially opened byGovernor General Vincent Massey.In 1958, as TOGA president, sheserved as TOGA’s first representativeto Trafalgar’s Board of Governors.In 1998, Bunny’s daughter, DianaEloise Falkner Hennessy (class of1958), established a scholarship inher mother’s memory, the GeorginaEloise Fairie Memorial Scholarship,noting that “the common ingredientsin all her volunteer work were herenergy, enthusiasm and ability toattract and stimulate volunteers towork together effectively.” For herdedication to her community and hertireless philanthropic work, Bunny isone of our 125 Women of Trafalgar.Traf History Lesson The Trafalgar Old Girls’ Association (TOGA) was founded in 1937 on the occasion of the school’s50th anniversary. TOGA’s objectives are to foster a spirit of loyalty and fraternity among the graduates and former students ofTrafalgar and bring about a united and concentrated action in promoting the welfare of the School.Traf Today More than 2500 alumnae, known as Old Girls, remain in touch with Trafalgar. Email and and social media makeit easy for women worldwide to reconnect with the school and with one other. The annual Montreal Old Girls’ Reunion takesplace each October at the school and Chapter reunions and other networking opportunities for Old Girls occur throughout theyear.40 | 125 Women of Trafalgar
S e r v i c eMadeleine Parent 1936Attended Trafalgar: 1934-1936Education: BA, McGill University; Honorary Doctorate, Concordia UniversitySocial ActivistMadeleine Parent, a unionorganizer, labour leader andsocial revolutionary, startedher education at the Villa Mariaboarding school. Even as a younggirl, she was deeply disturbed by theinequality between the nuns, thestudents and the women working atOver the years, Madeleine helpedset up the Canadian Textile andChemical Workers Union and foughtagainst the US-dominated labourunions in Canada. She campaignedfor pay equity for women and wasactive in the Fédération des femmes duQuébec. She fought for abortion ona heretic and harassed by PremierMaurice Duplessis because hebelieved her to be a communist. Shewas arrested five times and convictedof seditious conspiracy in 1948, butacquitted. In her 80s, she marchedwith 60,000 protesters againstthe North American Free TradeAgreement and criticized Westernmilitary involvement in Iraq. McGillhonoured Madeleine with a seminar“I believe young women of all origins and circumstances will, in their own way, continuethe struggle against long-standing injustices, building coalitions with their sisters around theworld and with men who care. They will overcome.”the school. Transferring to Trafalgarto finish her secondary education,she continued her studies at McGill,where she received a Bachelor of Artsin 1940. Madeleine started her careerteaching English to French-speakinggarment workers and worked as asecretary for the Montreal Trades andLabour Council. She helped organizeworkers in six Montreal CottonDominion Textiles mills and tookpart in a strike that led to the firstcollective agreement with the UnitedTextiles Workers of America in 1946.Jean Scrimger Wootton 1936Attended Trafalgar: 1925-1936Military Intelligence - DecoderImagine a Trafite getting involvedin espionage during World War II.That is exactly what Jean ScrimgerWootton did. After graduating fromTrafalgar, Jean found herself livingin England. Her career in Britishintelligence began as a driver for MI6,the espionage division. Jean soonclimbed the ranks at MI6 because shespoke German and French, whichmade her very useful dealing withprisoners of war (POWs). She alsoworked in decoding at Bletchley Park,the site of the United Kingdom’smain decryption establishment,demand and championed the rightsof aboriginal and immigrant women,devoting her life to improving therights of all women. She said, “Ibelieve young women of all originsand circumstances will, in their ownway, continue the struggle againstlong-standing injustices, buildingcoalitions with their sisters around theworld and with men who care. Theywill overcome.” Madeleine facedmany hardships to fight for whatshe believed in. She was denouncedby the Roman Catholic Church asthe Government Code and CypherSchool (GC&CS). The high-levelintelligence produced at BletchleyPark, codenamed Ultra, providedcrucial assistance to the Allied wareffort. Many have speculated thatUltra shortened the war by two tofour years and that the outcome ofthe war would have been uncertainwithout it. Of course, Jean was swornto secrecy. In fact, she could notin her name in 2006 and Concordiaawarded her an honorary doctoratein 2009. Even in her decliningyears, living in a nursing home,she organized her fellow patientsto protest against an all-lights-outat-10-pmrule…and they won! Shedied in March 2012. For her tirelessdedication to and passion for equalrights for all, especially women,Madeleine is one of our 125 Womenof Trafalgar.Source: The Montreal Gazette and TheGlobe and Maildiscuss her involvement with MI6 for25 years after the end of World WarII. Even her family knew absolutelynothing about her dangerous andvery important work until the early1970s. Jean died in 2010. For her“dangerous work in the predominantly male world of espionage”dedication to the war effort anddangerous work in the predominantlymale world of espionage, Jean is oneof our 125 Women of Trafalgar.Thanks to Jean’s cousin, Faith Feindel ‘37and sister Charlotte Corbett-Thompson ‘42for their assistance with this article.Valerie Sims 1948Attended Trafalgar: 1943-1948Education: BA (Economics), Sir George Williams University; MSW, McGill UniversitySocial Worker (Immigration/Health & Welfare)“Realizing there was little social research supportingFirst Nations communities, she and local staff…undertook asurvey to assess social needs in the Mohawk communityof Kahnawake near Montreal.”Valerie’s career began as alab technician at MerckPharmaceutical. She thenmoved to the Royal Victoria Hospital’sDepartment of Social Work, earningher BA in night school, majoring ineconomics, before attending theLondon School of Economics. Aspart of her course requirements,she worked for the City of Londonand the Plastic Surgery Hospitalin East Grinstead, Sussex, whereCanadian airmen with burns werebeing treated. Returning to Canada,Valerie completed her MSW atMcGill and moved to Ottawa towork in the Department of Labour’sVocational Rehabilitation Program,helping people overcome disabilitiesand return to or enter the workforce. A change in direction tookValerie to the research branch of theDepartment of Labour and then tothe Department of Immigration. AsDirector General of one of the newbranches, she visited many CanadianImmigration departments in Canadaand abroad. She joined the CanadianCouncil on Social Developmentas Acting Executive Director andcombined her experience in socialwork, administration and researchfrom a community perspective. Sheretired from government but stayedon the Council. Realizing there waslittle social research supportingFirst Nations communities, she andlocal staff, with financial assistancefrom the Canadian Department ofHealth and Welfare, undertook asurvey to assess social needs in theMohawk community of Kahnawakenear Montreal, which helped thecommunity develop its social services.After retiring from the Council, Valeriecontinued to do social research forFirst Nations communities with otherconsultants. For her exceptional workwith Canada’s immigration programand on the Canadian Council onSocial Development combining socialwork, administration and research,particularly in support of First Nationscommunities, Valerie has been chosenone of our 125 Women of Trafalgar.125 Women of Trafalgar | 41
Page 8 and 9: Caryl Churchill Harter 1955Attended
Page 10 and 11: Joanna (Joey) Nash 1966Attended Tra
Page 12 and 13: Andrea Mandel-Campbell 1985Attended
Page 14 and 15: Tara-Louise Montour (Perrault) 1988
Page 16 and 17: Ilana Weitzman 1992Attended Trafalg
Page 18 and 19: AthleticsA t h l e t i c sElisabeth
Page 20 and 21: Sally Johnson Ogilvie 1964Attended
Page 22 and 23: BusinessB u s i n e s sPatricia (Pa
Page 24: Tricia Pepper 1987Attended Trafalga
Page 27 and 28: E d u c a t i o nGloria Waters 1970
Page 29 and 30: H e a lt h and MedicineMarion Joyce
Page 31 and 32: H e a lt h and MedicineRuth Simons
Page 33 and 34: L awLawCaroline (Carol) Holland, Cl
Page 35 and 36: L aw - ReligionJulie Greenspoon 199
Page 37 and 38: S c i e n c eDonna Fairservice Berm
Page 39: S c i e n c eKrystyne Blaikie 1990A
Page 44 and 45: Sherry Daws-Knowles Richardson 1953
Page 46 and 47: Lisa Campeau-Fenzel 1986Attended Tr
Page 48 and 49: Kierstin Lundell-Smith 2007Attended
Page 50 and 51: Scholars and Explorers 2012 by Cate
Page 52: Mission StatementTrafalgar’s miss

Scholars and Explorers - Trafalgar School for Girls

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?