Pancake

The Pancake Greaze was introduced to Shawnigan Lake School by C. W. Lonsdale, who had experienced it as a student at Westminster School, where it started in the mid-1700s and continues to this day. The Pancake Greaze happens on Shrove Tuesday, which is the day before Lent begins. Tradition has it that households would make pancakes as a way to use up milk, butter and sugar before the beginning of Lent. "Greaze" was the term given to the dog pile of students all vying to get their hands on the pancake once it was tossed. To withstand the toss, the large pancake was bound firmly together by mixing straw, horsehair, or string into the batter. 

The first issue of the Shawnigan Lake Magazine, forerunner of the yearbooks, was printed in 1923, and includes a report of the Pancake Greaze, implying that it had been an annual event for some time already, perhaps since the School's beginning. The event took place in the Gym, with the whole School watching. Representatives from each Form (class) – and, later, from each House – lined up to ready themselves for the competition. Then, the cook would toss a large pancake into the air and the greaze would follow. Whoever secured the biggest piece of the pancake was deemed the winner and was awarded a monetary prize, shared with their Form or House. Like so many inter-House events today, the greaze brought out the competitive spirit in Shawnigan students. Unlike today, however, it resulted in many minor injuries – leg pulling included – which is likely why it eventually ended.