Crosscut Saw
When C.W. Lonsdale purchased the property in 1916, it was thickly forested. Right from the beginning, Lonsdale started clearing one small area at a time – relying heavily on the boys' help. The main goal was to create playing fields. All the early students recall the fields “we hacked out of the bush," working on one end of a crosscut saw with CWL at the other end. This saw can be seen in the School museum.
Within a year, they had opened up an area to the southwest of the school building, a hard dirt field where they could at least run and kick a ball. The boys' efforts were aided by others with special equipment, such as a horse and scraper, and later, a small bulldozer to clear more area up the hill.
Gradually, playing fields were carved out of the wilderness. Legend has it that the boys were even given dynamite to help clear the stumps, while others remember burning the stumps. H.P. Bell-Irving ’29 recalls, "During that period, there were stones to be cleared, if not by the millions, then at least by the hundreds of thousands." All boys were taught how to use an axe, and one boy even attributes his survival in a POW camp during WWII to the skills he learned with an axe while at Shawnigan!
In the 1930s, apparently sheep were employed to keep the field mowed and playable, but that did not stop the stones from working to the surface. Before any game the team spread out in a line across the field and walked its length, picking up rocks as they went. The nurse was forever patching up knees skinned on rocks.
Much later, with the aid of modern machinery, clearing and levelling continued. Today the School has five turf fields, and two artificial turf fields. The early boys could not have imagined the beautiful campus we enjoy now, with watering systems and machines to mow the grass, carefully maintained by a wonderful grounds crew.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
