During the early years, the primary focus of this physical labour was on clearing the land and cutting and splitting wood for the wood stoves, but eventually included digging ditches, filling potholes in the road, and general upkeep of the grounds and flower beds. Apparently, on occasion, Occupations was actually a fun hike or a sport – but more often than not, was just hard work. One Old Boy wrote, "We all disliked this 'forced labour', as we called it, but it did give us a certain pride and feeling of ownership in the School which we grew to appreciate as we grew older. It also had a side benefit in that those of us who were city slicker types soon became, in varying degrees, competent with saws, axes, shovels, picks, hammers, and so on. I must admit that this side benefit did not become apparent till a good many years later." (Harry Lake, 1921-1928) 

Boys in the 1960s remember, not so fondly, carrying sloshing buckets of diluted pig manure to fertilize the garden beds under Herr Dinter's direction. But, in time, even they might have viewed the results of their labour – healthy, lush gardens – with a sense of pride and accomplishment.