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We have a response to the May 11 blog! We now know a little bit more about the Aggie Ball.

Dan Cumming (BSA 1967, PhD 1975) shared his story:

“It happened 1966 and 1967 and has stuck with me like most other things from back then.

Each Spring we actually put on fancy clothes and went to the Aggie Ball. For a number of years it happened at the Biltmore Hotel. In the Spring of 1966 I went off to said Ball with my date (also a faculty student). There on the steps leading into the hotel, stood Dean Gage. He was greeting attendees and apparently having quite a good time. I duly marched up to him with my date and we introduced ourselves. I knew who the Dean was, but had never had reason to meet him. We exchanged pleasantries and off the two of us went to the party. I was only a little surprised later in the evening when I bumped into him and he spoke to me by name. His ability to do this was legendary!

A good time was had by all, and that was that.

Flash ahead one year to Spring 1967 and the Aggie Ball, also at the Biltmore.

Upon arriving with my date, there was Dean Gage in pretty much the same spot, almost as if he had actually just stayed there. Up we marched to greet him, but before we were close enough for polite introductions, he called out to me, saying “Dan, so good to see  you! I haven’t seen you since this time last year, but who is this lady? She is not the person you were with last year.”

He was absolutely right. We hadn’t seen each other and it wasn’t the same date I had been with the year before! He had also remembered me by name even though he must have meet hundreds or even thousands of students in that intervening year!

As may be obvious, I have been in awe these 50 years since.”

Many thanks for sharing, Dan.

Still a mystery is the Friends of the Aggies plaque. What was behind the dedication of the plaque? With all the new buildings and changes, where on the campus map does one go to see the plaque today? Any Aggie/LFS grads out there who can shed some light?

I was on campus in 1969 when the faculty of Agriculture changed its name to Agriculture Sciences. Engineering students were affectionately called “Gears” and Agriculture students “Aggies”. In 2005, it was rebranded as the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, to better reflect its expanded focus in the areas of Food Science, Nutrition, and Land, Food, and Communities.

In our book research in the UBC Archives we discovered some interesting photos. Clearly Walter Gage was a Friend of the Aggies. But we don’t know why.

We read one letter in the archives written by dean emeritus Dr. Blythe Eagles that tells us Walter Gage was deeply involved in Aggie student activities including the Aggie Ball and munching on applies sold to raise money for the Crippled Children fund. What was behind the dedication of the plaque? With all the new buildings and changes, where on the campus map does one go to see the plaque today?

Alumni Relations manager Caely-Ann McNabb is helping us find the untold stories that can shed some light. We’d appreciate if you would pass any information to her at caely-ann.mcnabb@ubc.ca.  Alternatively, if you have a story to tell, please submit so that we can include Aggie insights about a man who asked nothing in return of the many who benefitted from knowing him, other than asking that they consider helping others in a similar manner in future, if their circumstances permitted.

Friends of Walter Gage team members Butch Braidwood and Gary Wong attended Old Red New Red on January 19 2017.  ORNR is the annual Engineering Alumni event sponsored by the Applied Science Faculty Alumni Relations office. It takes place in the Engineering Student Centre during EUS E-Week festivities. Students generously volunteer their time to co-host and proudly display their Engineering Ball models.

Gary Wong gave a brief introduction on the book project to 150+ alumni. Grads were asked to drop by the display table to see the wall posters, read printed stories, share a story, and pick up a bookmark to remind them to add their story to the database.

Many New Red grads could easily connect the name Walter Gage to the student residences but knew little or nothing of his 50+ years on campus. It was an ideal opportunity for them to hear a few stories about this incredible man. They also learned why the area where the display was set up is named the Walter Gage Commons – a tribute to a kind and generous friend of Engineers. New Red that didn’t have a story of their own took a bookmark and promised to ask their parents and relatives if and how Walter Gage impacted them.

For Old Red, the posters and printed stories brought back fond memories about Walter Gage. We heard stories about a grandparent who was in Walter Gage’s math class in Victoria, a branch of UBC back then. One grad told us how he paid it forward by helping blind students with their education. He decided to make audio recordings of books using a reel tape recorder and submit them to the Crane Library. He let Dean Gage know about his volunteer work and received a warm reply.

To some Walter was a fatherly figure who didn’t mince his words. A student in his first year on campus was banned from a mandatory class for complaining loudly. The Dean of Interfaculty and Student Affairs showed no sympathy for his bad manners and made it clear that an apology was in order. It was a hard lesson but one he said served him well in his career.

If you have an upcoming Alumni event in the Lower Mainland and would like the Friends of Walter Gage to make a presentation, please let us know (email: alumni@apsc.ubc.ca). We’d be happy to attend.

$5,000 annual scholarship sponsored by Jim McEwen and Family

This scholarship honours Walter Gage, a graduate of John Oliver Secondary School in 1921.   He grew up at 5871 Argyle Street in South Vancouver and was a student at nearby Tecumseh Elementary School. As the child of recent immigrants to Canada, Walter Gage benefitted from the efforts of dedicated teachers at these public schools, got an excellent education, and became the first in his family to go to university.  He went on to become a professor of mathematics, a master teacher, the ‘dean of everything’ at UBC for many years, a Companion of the Order of Canada, and the much-loved president of UBC during a crucial period. He was an unforgettable and positive influence for thousands of students at UBC.  He had an uncanny ability to recognize students who were in need of help in order to overcome adversities they faced, and he generously and selflessly provided that help and encouragement to students for over 50 years, at just the right time and in just the right way. Most of those students went on to achieve their potential, and to contribute their best to their families, professions, communities and society.  Those students were his family and his legacy.

I was lucky to be one of Walter Gage’s students.  I also began my education at Tecumseh Elementary School and later was fortunate to have Walter Gage as my math professor.  I was profoundly impressed by this enigmatic professor’s ability to brilliantly simplify seemingly complex topics, and was even more deeply influenced by seeing his professor’s constant efforts to do what he could to help students and others succeed.  I was one of those fortunate students, receiving an unexpected series of scholarships and bursaries from Walter Gage when he was dean of student affairs, enabling me to overcome financial obstacles and successfully complete my BASc and PhD degrees at UBC. 
In fact, Walter Gage presented me with my diploma upon graduation, and continued to be my role model for years, presiding over the UBC Senate when I served as student Senator, and paving the way for me to become an Officer of the Order of Canada, thanks in part to lessons learned from him.

With this Scholarship at John Oliver Secondary School, I and my family seek to recognize each year the John Oliver graduate who best exemplifies Walter Gage’s best qualities: achievement of educational excellence; sustained efforts to recognize others in need, and to help them overcome obstacles and achieve their potential in life; and a selfless determination to always try to find new ways to help make the world a better place.  We ask all applicants for this Scholarship to become familiar with the exemplary life of an earlier John Oliver graduate, with information to be provided through the school.

We also ask each recipient of this Scholarship to consider what Walter Gage asked of his students:  If this Scholarship helps you succeed, and if your circumstances permit in future, please consider finding a way that you can ‘pay it forward’ by helping other students in future.

For over 50 years from 1925 to 1976 Walter Gage left an indelible personal impression on the lives of literally thousands of young Vancouverites, British Columbians and Canadians. We were thrilled when Laurenda Daniells, University Archivist Emerita, recently added her story to our collection. We learned it’s Lauren who we thank for taking care of Walter’s papers and placing them into the UBC Archives vault.  Her story below also offers a peek into the passionate heart of an exemplary human being.

My memories of Walter Gage are personal rather than academic and go back to 1948 when I first arrived in Vancouver. He was a friend of my new husband, Roy Daniells, and kindly included me in his friendship. As we settled in to campus life, he frequently dropped by in the evening when he was on his way home after a long day at the University. He became very interested in our plans for a new home on Allison Road and when we finally started landscaping our garden he enjoyed watching Roy as he struggled with the rocks and debris on our untidy lot which was the last one in the block to be developed.

As the days went by Walter became intrigued also by the baby that we were expecting. He called the baby, in his mathematical way, “one” pronounced by him as “own-ee“and followed my progress with interest. On the day after Boxing Day he kindly brought us home from the hospital (we had no car) and sat with Roy nervously listening to every breath our new baby drew. My daughters have Walter to thank that their given names do not appear on their birth certificates as he claimed that many people disliked their names and suggested that a good option would be to have them listed only by an initial. I did not agree with this theory but Roy thought it was a good one.

Since the new baby was colicky Roy undertook to take her over in the evenings where he perfected a technique of rocking her carriage, assisted by Walter, who began to arrive many evenings while I first lay exhausted in bed. However, his jovial presence drew me out of my exhaustion and I usually found myself in the living room with a cup of tea in hand listening to his many tales.. A handsome man, almost always with a pipe in hand, he sat smiling as he told stories of his days in Victoria putting on plays, enjoying the college life. He was a man of many anecdotes, some faintly mischievous, about colleagues and friends, but always cheerful and amusing. He and Roy loved to recite poetry. They belonged to a generation where memorizing poetry was encouraged, and as both of them had excellent memories they often spent an evening reciting old favorites. One of Walter’s was “Girt round with rugged mountains the fair Lake Constance lies”, (always in the voice of a nervous boy), and once when I found myself at a hotel beside that very lake I sent him a card reminding him of his favorite piece.

He was still visiting frequently when our second daughter was expected (“two”, pronounced “teewoe” by Walter), and kindly put up with all the household inconveniences of two babies, though I noticed his visits usually started later in the evening when they were safely in bed. But an unexpected Sabbatical leave finally ended the regular visits and when we returned from a year in Europe with our children he had made other connections and we saw him only occasionally.

He congratulated me when I was appointed the first University Archivist though he had once told me that he agreed with Henry Ford that “history is bunk”. Roy visited him during his last illness when he complained rather humorously about an over-zealous member of faculty who turned up at the hospital all too often. He asked for me and when I went to see him he gave me some of his papers for the Archives, and some gold artifacts that had been presented to him as President of the University. “I know you will look after them for me Laurenda.” he said. I put them in a display case which I took into the vault every day when we closed. The papers contained many thank you letters from students he had assisted and were quite touching. I had known of course that he had been tremendously generous to many students but had not realized the extent of his generosity. He was a wonderful man.

2017-01-14

It’s with heavy heart and great sadness that we announce the passing away of Laurenda. We’re so happy she attended our Dec 12 social event. We were all looking forward to chatting with her and hearing more stories about Walter Gage. Rest in Peace.