Fire, water, and flowers: The Rose Bowl at the OAC

Time, like fire, is one of the chief consumers of old structures. Fire was never likely to consume the Ontario Agricultural College's (OAC) reservoir but time has always brought new things to campus and taken old things away.

So it was that the the old water reservoir, often called the "Rose Bowl," would soon "be history" (Sands 1956). The campus was being updated and, as it no longer served its original protective purpose, the reservoir was being filled in.

The history of the reservoir begins in the spring of 1896, when the OAC's Chemical Laboratory burned to the ground. Fire was ever a hazard for individual buildings but, as the College grew and its stock of buildings increased, the potential loss to fires increased rapidly. The College's existing fire-fighting equipment was no longer up to the task of controling blazes, so measures to improve it were undertaken.

In the previous year, wells had been drilled to supply the campus with water but there was no place to store water for use in emergencies such as fires. So, as a new Chemical Building was erected on the site of the old one, a rectangular pit was dug between it and the Massey Library to act as a reservoir. The pit was 100 ft. long, 63 ft. wide, and 10 ft. deep, holding about 250,000 gallons of water. It was lined with cement and pumps and hoses were set up so that water could be extracted and used to douse any campus blazes.

(The Gymnasium Building reflected in the new reservoir. Postcard published by Rumsey & Co., Toronto, 1906. The swimming "tank" in the basement of the Gymnasium was also set up to act as a reservoir for fire-fighting when the need arose.)

A report in the OAC Review states that first- and second-year students were employed to dig the pit! If true, then we can only lament that standards for extra-curricular activities on campus have sadly fallen since that day.

("Massey Hall and Library, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph." Postcard published by A.B. Petrie & Son, ca. 1910.)

In any event, students were called out to witness and participate in the system's first test (Mercury, 24 Nov. 1897). It was conducted by Chief Robertson of the Guelph Fire Brigade and went well:

The students were called out and a detachment detailed off to work the hose. The double fire pump was started up, forcing the water into the hydrants. The first trial was made on a hydrant at the foot of the gymnasium, when a stream was thrown about twenty feet over the dome of the barn, a distance of about 60 or 70 feet, while the gauge showed 115 lbs. pressure. In front of the College proper, while the ground is a trifle higher, there was 120 lbs. pressure. At the rear of the main building two lines of hose were attached to one hydrant, and the water was thrown some 20 or 30 feet over the building. They have two new hand reels and 800 feet of new hose.

Success!

The reservoir seems to have proved its worth on a number of occasions. One fire of particular note occurred on 20 March 1942 when the main barns on campus caught fire. These structures were notoriously prone to fires and, being full of flammable things, tended to burn down rapidly. The first campus barns had burned to the ground in 1885 and their replacements, built the following year, in 1888 (Buchanan 1942). The third set lasted for 55 years but finally succumbed.

At the time, part of the OAC was in use as a military training facility, especially for RCAF Wireless School No. 4. It was two students of the School who turned in the alarm that evening. The fire-fighting effort went well (Buchanan 1942):

Fortunately, the splendid fire fighting equipment of the Air Force was close at hand and was quickly brought into use. A little later the Guelph city fire brigade arrived, and between them the fire was sufficiently held in check to make possible the safe removal of all the livestock, both horses and cattle. Then, too, by persistent fire fighting the fire was completely checked at the junction of the horse stable and the main barn, so that only the east wing and the main barn were destroyed.

In the effort to rescue the farm animals, OAC students and staff were assisted by Wireless School trainees, a collaboration that helped to ease tensions between groups then sharing the campus.

("Excursionists at O.A.C., Guelph." Postcard by unknown publisher, ca. 1905. The Chemical Building can be seen at the left margin, the Gymnasium in the centre, and the new barns in the background on the right side.)

Of course, campus residents found uses for the reservoir beyond fire-fighting. For example, in its very first winter, students began to skate on it and play hockey. In the summer time, the reservoir was used for swimming to cool off from the seasonal heat.

("Reservoir and Gynmasium." OAC Review, June 1907, v. 19, n. 9.)

Besides seasonal fun, a pool on a large campus afforded opportunities for students to discipline one another. One example may be illustrative (OAC Review 1913, v. 26, n. 1, p. 46):

I knew a big, stout fellow who came to school with the avowed intention of stirring the place around some—and he proceeded to do it too. After he had been held under the surface of the reservoir for half a minute he was only mildly profane. Another half and he could have posed as a model sheep. His fellow students enjoyed life more pleasantly because of his hazing.

At the same time, having a large pool of water around presented a hazard to safety, despite the presence of a three-foot-high fence. This risk was illustrated on 5 August 1916 when Billy Green, six-year-old son of Engineer A.E. Green fell into the reservoir and drowned (OAC Review 1916, v. 29, n. 1, p. 18).

("In memory of little 'Billie' Green, who was drowned on August 5th, in the College reservoir." OAC Review v. 29, n. 4, p. 114.)

On 4 November 1939, second-year student Ronald Miller fell into the pool and drowned while searching for insects beside it (OAC Review 1939, v. 52, n. 2, p. 80).

("Massey Hall and Library." OAC Review 1935, v. 47, n. 8.)

In aesthetic terms, the pool became widely admired for providing pleasing reflections of nearby landscape and buildings. After the Main Building was demolished in 1930 (among other things, it was determined to be a fire hazard), replaced by Johnston Hall, and its front gardens buried, the canon known as Old Jeremiah was placed next to the reservoir, adding another attraction and a focal point to the site.

("Massey Hall, O.A.C., Guelph, Ontario." Postcard published by F.H. Leslie, ca. 1935; from the Keleher Collection. Note the position of Old Jeremiah at the north side of the reservoir, not to mention what appear to be newly planted roses in the surrounding garden— the birth of the Rose Bowl.)

In the same year, the reservoir was chosen to be the site of the Rose Test Garden. The Rose Society of Ontario was looking for a site to house its program to develop varieties of roses, both for show and for commercial purposes. The OAC was chosen as host, in part because Paul Sanders, then in charge of ornamental horticulture at the College, was a fan (Rolph 1942). With the blessing of the College administration, work began with the planting of 450 roses in the garden in 1931. The garden was sited directly next to the reservoir, perhaps for ease of access to water and to enhance a place that was already regarded as a campus beauty spot.

("Administration Building, O.A.C., Guelph, Ontario, Canada - 4." Postcard published by F.H. Leslie, ca. 1935. Here we see the back of Old Jeremiah from across the Rose Bowl.)

In honour of this association, the reservoir and garden became known informally as the Rose Bowl.

The Rose Bowl worked its way into the culture and imagination of OAC students. Being of large size, the reservoir water did not heat up quickly and gained a reputation for being cold. This characteristic became the basis for poetic comparisons among students, as in this poem published about (and by?) a resident of Macdonald Hall, the Home Economics school for young women on campus (OAC Review, v. 53, n. 2, p. 84):

Apologies to Rossetti

The Mac Hall girl leaned out
From the cold and draughty sill,
Her eyes were cold as Rose Bowl water
In November’s awful chill.
She had three apples in her hand.
The curlers in her hair were seven.

The Mill’s Hall boy looked up
From the hard and frozen ground.
She looked down with intense displeasure...
He could not make a sound.
Still with his eyes he could be beg—
He got those apples—on his head!

Ouch! Not Romeo and Juliet's balcony scene but maybe more true to life.

("In the grounds—Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Canada." Postcard published by Valentine-Black Co., ca. 1945; from the Keleher Collection. Note the roses, Old Jeremiah, and the Portico in the background.)

The Second World War proved a setback for the Rose Bowl. Maintenance was cut back as energy was devoted to the war effort and control of the campus was divided between the RCAF and the Province of Ontario. After the war, the campus was restored entirely to the OAC but the Rose Test garden fell further into disrepair. By 1950, the Rose Society of Ontario decided to abandon it.

("Administration Building, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario, Canada." Postcard published by Alex Wilson Publishing Ltd., ca. 1950.)

In the mid-1950s, a newer and bigger water reservoir was built further east, near the water tower that had been built in conjunction with the erection of Johnston Hall. That made the old Rose Bowl reservoir redundant. The time had come for its removal.

("Administration Building, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario, Canada." Postcard published by L.F. Charter, ca. 1960. Note that the Rose Bowl has vanished.)

The ornamental fence was dug out, the hole filled in, and the site covered up. Memory of the Rose Bowl faded away, its image now confined to old pictures and postcards of the OAC campus.

("Massey Hall and Library, O.A.C., Guelph, Can." Postcard published ca. 1915 by International Stationary Co.; from the Keleher Collection.)

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Works consulted include:

• Buchanan, J. (1942). "Fire!—Fire!—Fire!" OAC Review, 54(7): 397–398, 435.
• Rolph, A.H. (1942). "Ten years of the Test Garden." Annual of the Rose Society of Ontario, p. 58.
• Sands, D.R. (1956). "The 'Rose Bowl'." OAC Review, 68(4): 16–17, 25.

Guelph gets in the swim: Swimming tanks invade the Royal City

The following notice in the OAC Review heralds the arrival of a new sport facility in Guelph, the swimming bath (1894, v. 5, n. 5, p. 6):

The sound of the hammer is again heard within the walls of the gymnasium. In the basement a large swimming bath is being put in, while in the hall a very capacious stage is under construction.

Previously limited to outdoor splashing, the Royal City was getting its first taste of indoor swimming.

As noted previously, the history of (outdoor) swimming in Guelph went through some interesting changes in the pre-WWI era. Bathing started out as a purely informal activity undertaken at "swimming holes" abounding in the Royal City's creeks and rivers. This sort of bathing was practiced mainly by young men and often without the benefit of dress.

Attempts were made to render this sort of bathing "decent" by mandating the wearing of bathing costumes and encouraging the setup of commercial bathing houses, the most prominent of which was Hazelton's baths. However, success was achieved only with the construction of a family-oriented swimming hole in Riverside Park, which combined the 19th century swimming hole with the Edwardian amusement park where a genteel standard of decorum was expected and enforced.

At the same time, swimming in Guelph was influenced by another change in the wider world, namely the rise of swimming as a sport. Bathing was an activity indulged as a social pastime and a relief from summer heat but swimming was a form of locomotion in the water and, thus, could be performed competitively. In England, indoor pools first opened in 1828 with swimming races following a decade later. Interest in the sport followed English migrants to the new world

In 19th century Canada, universities and colleges were centers of innovation in sport. Football, hockey, and soccer were first pursued in a broad, organized fashion in the nation's institutions of higher learning, with interest spreading from there to the wider public (Morrow 2017). Much the same was true for swimming, though the sport did not achieve the same profile as football or hockey.

The idea of "physical education" did find its way as a subject taught during instructional hours, especially activities such as marching or drill that had military associations. Sports such as football, that were regarded as having a warlike side were sanctioned also, though as activities pursued outside of regular teaching.

Although it was not a warlike activity, swimming was accepted in a roughly similar vein. Competitive swimming and diving were vigorous endeavours that could bring glory to the victors and their institutions. Swimming was also endorsed by luminaries such as Egerton Ryerson, the superintendent of education in Ontario from 1844 through 1876. So, it is not surprising that the Report of the Provincial Farm Commission, that laid out paramaters for the new Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) in Guelph, included the following recommendation (Mercury, 9 March 1874):

That there should also be a building attached to the main edifice, containing a sufficient supply of baths for the use of the pupils, and, if possible, a swimming-bath.

It is also not surprising that this recommendation was not carried out. Although desireable, a swimming bath was not a high priority at the small, rural college.

Things began to look up for swimming at the OAC when the Gymnasium/Convocation Hall was built in 1891. Although it was still a multi-purpose building, the gymnasium showed the commitment of the mature OAC to physical education. Two years later, a "swimming tank" was incorporated in the Gymnasium's basement, a normal place for a swimming pool at the time. The building operations column of the Mercury provides the following description (2 November 1893):

T. Matthews [a Guelph builder], swimming bath at O.A. College gymnasium, 16 feet deep, 20 wide and 40 long. Cost, $2000.

A nice image of the gymnasium is provided in the postcard below, by an unmarked publisher:

The postcard was sent in 1920, although the picture is from much earlier, to a Miss Helen Clifford of Ancaster from her friend, who was likely a student at the adjoining Macdonald Institute:

Box 19. O.A.C. Guelph // July 19, 1920. // Dear Miss Clifford :— Your letter received & I enjoyed it so much. Many thanks—but I would rather if you had not done that. We had some fine music & singing yesterday afternoon. Your sincere friend, May Muir

How odd to scold a friend for writing a letter! This response may be explained if Miss Clifford owed her friend a letter but had not sent one when the missive from Ancaster arrived. Perhaps feeling chastised, Miss Clifford has lashed out with this (mere) postcard of the Gymnasium in reply. After 100 years, it is hard to be certain.

In any event, the Gymnasium is a dignified building with large windows for good illumination (although the effect is diluted a little by the three milk cans holding open the side door). Windows along the ground level would have provided the main illumination for the swimming tank beneath.

There is little further mention of the swimming tank in the OAC Review for the next decade. In 1897, it is mentioned that the tank might be used as a water reservoir in case of fire, which, although practical, still seems like faint praise. It seems that use of the tank was casual, with certain professors perhaps taking classes there to lead occasional swimming and life-saving lessons as interest and their abilities allowed. This sort of use was not unusual for swimming pools in late Victorian Canada.

Even so, the swimming tank was enough of a success that it was eventually improved. In 1904, the OAC Review provides the following remarks (v. 16, n. 8, p. 68):

We are pleased to note the alterations and improvements being made in the basement of the gymnasium. The swimming bath is to be made fifteen feet longer, the lockers and other obstructions removed from the sides of the bath, and all the old wooden floor replaced by cement. These changes will give more room for swimming, and better access to the bath. They will also make the basement a bright clean place, instead of the dark dirty dungeon it was before. Greater interest in aquatic sport should result from this improvement, and next year we hope to see a large number of the boys joining in this excellent exercise.

[Unhappily, pictures of the swimming tank itself in the University of Guelph archives are not available at the moment.]

(Picture of George C. Creelman, OAC President 1904–1913; From "OAC—"Science with practice"", 1924.)

The improvements may have come at the behest of George Creelman, who became President of the OAC in that year. In 1906, President Creelman had Mr. Corsan, Varsity team swimming instructor at the University of Toronto, visit the College to give a lecture and practical demonstration of swimming and life-saving to interested students (OAC Review, v. 18, n. 4, pp. 188–189). One highlight was the life-saving demonstration, given in the lecture:

When the discourse turned on life-saving, it became necessary to have a subject on whom he could operate. For this purpose [he] chose Scotty Chisholm, and as events turned out, the choice was well made ; Chisholm’s struggles were so realistic that Mr. Corsan found him as hard to save as a drowning person.

Of course, the true highlight was the practical part:

After the lecture we adjourned to the basement, where Mr. Corsan proceeded to give us a practical demonstration in the water. He coached a few fellows, who took advantage of his very kind offer to help any of the students to improve their swimming. The final act was a race between Treherne and the instructor. The result was a dead heat.

Did Mr. Corsan hang back in order not to discourage Traherne? Who now can say?

After this point, mentions of swimming in the Review become regular, although not frequent. In May 1907, for example, a swimming, diving, and life-saving competition were included in a general, year-end athletic competition (v. 19, n. 8). The main event was swimming underwater for the longest distance—a modest beginning but a beginning nonetheless.

Finally, a Swimming Club was formed by students in 1909 (OAC Review, v. 21, n. 6, pp. 355–356). Its first event was held in February, whereupon Mr. Corsan returned to provide another demonstration and supervise the competition. Four teams of OAC students entered and competed in a variety of events. Reminiscent of contemporary picnic games, events included a 50- and 175-yard races—in addition to "walking the greasy pole" and "diving for plates," the latter two of which caused much amusement. Over 200 students witnessed the spectacle.

A select team of OAC students, Treherne, Ryan, Bell-Irving, Harries, and Cleverly, journeyed to Toronto to take on swimmers from the University of Toronto and McGill. Harries was the hero in the underwater swim and placed second in the "plunge for distance." Ryan placed third in the "swimming three styles" event. Although Varsity and McGill dominated the awards, as would be expected, the OAC team had made a promising start.

That fall, another OAC team had a friendly match against Varsity in which they improved their performance, although still losing overall to the more experienced team (OAC Review, v. 21. n. 7, pp. 406–408). This event consisted mainly of serious events such as a 100-yard race and "50 yards back swim," as well as diving. However, it did include a tub race.

For the first time, a picture of the OAC swim team is included:

At last, swimming had truly arrived at the OAC.

To top the matter off, the same issue notes that the OAC held an intramural water polo tournament. Each year of students was invited to enter a team, with only the fourth year declining. The second-year team was dominant throughout and went undefeated 4–0, the third year team went an even 2–2, while the first-year squad finished 0–4.

The following year, the OAC Review notes that the College registered with the Canadian Amateur Swimming Association and the Ontario Water Polo League, so that its swimmers could enter official competitions (1910, v. 22, n. 7). In fact, the OAC Water Polo team carried off the Wainless Trophy in a tournament against the Toronto Swim Club, University of Toronto, and the Paris YMCA.

The swimming tank was finally successful in its invasion of the OAC. Competitive swimming in a regulation, indoor pool was firmly established at the College. Like other sports practiced on university campuses in the period, swimming in pools might be expected to attract attention in town. But, that is a story for another time.

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The Gymnasium building was located where the MacKinnon Green is now, along the Winegard Walk. Construction of the new ImprovLab and theatre is taking place there, which will see the return of the site as a performance venue. Perhaps the shovels will uncover traces of Guelph's first swimming pool, ever hidden out of sight.