Old Macdonald Had a Farm - Post 4

I can’t keep pace with Marti’s Montreal Memoirs, so won’t even try. This week’s blog is a history lesson (lots of photos!).

As some of you know, we moved out of our small, on-campus residence hall apartment last week into a spacious five-bedroom home in the small village of Beaurepaire (pronounced “Bo repair”), only a 10 minute drive, or 20 minute bike ride from campus. More on that later.

Before sharing about our new location I should first review the last location, the McGill Macdonald Campus and campus of John Abbott College. Yes, there are two colleges co-located here. AUTHOR’S WARNING: Those of you not too interested in  history, etc. can look at the pictures provided and skim the text (just like when you were in college), and hope I post another Marti’s Montreal Memoirs Bonus Blog soon.

Until 1971 McGill Macdonald Campus was known as Macdonald College. Sir William Macdonald, born 1831 on Prince Edward Island – died 1917, was a Scots-Quebecer tobacco merchant and major education philanthropist in Canada. He made his fortune during the U.S. Civil War with tobacco shipped to Canada from the Southern States by selling it to the Northern States. He contributed vast amounts of his tobacco fortune to McGill University, paying for many buildings, even paying faculty salaries during a time of low budgets. Hello, Warren Buffett.

He is particularly close to my heart because, when the university's engineering building burned down - which he had originally paid to build - Macdonald paid the costs to rebuild it.

In 1904 Macdonald made his largest gift and purchased three farm properties in an area on the western end of Montreal Island known as Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. On the 300 acres he planned and built Macdonald College, an agriculture training institute. Hello, East Campus, UNL.

Constructed in 1905-06 and opened in the fall of 1907, the facility's entire construction and furnishing costs were funded by Macdonald, who also provided a $2 million operating endowment. Hello, 2014 dollars.

Named President and Chancellor of McGill University in early 1914, Macdonald also provided funding to create McGill University College of British Columbia which ultimately became the University of British Columbia. (background information courtesy or Wikipedia)

Selfie with Sir William Macdonald

Former Macdonald College center piece building

Building of John Abbott College

There you have the history of one campus I was living on, and the following is the modern history of that same campus. While the university here is called McGill Macdonald Campus, it is really not located in the original facilities of the former Macdonald College. Stay with me here.

Those buildings (see pictures) are now used by John Abbott College, a junior-college-type public college that post-high school students are required to attend here in Quebec. There are eight English speaking and many French speaking colleges. Started in the 1960's it is a unique system, even for Canadian provinces. After high school, all students spend two years getting either a technical school degree or a university preparation degree. If they choose the university path they then register for university, which is only three more years. Hello, increased graduation rates.

Facilities of John Abbott College

First modern building on John Abbott campus. First opened for 2013-2014 school year.

This public subsidized college has little or no tuition fee – it’s about $200 per year, yes, per year. (financial background for tuition cost courtesy of a former teacher at John Abbott who now sells hand-crafted soap at the Ste. Anne Farmer’s Market – in her retirement.)

That’s it. If you are still awake I can share with you the one inside story I know about Sir

William Macdonald. He was a life-long bachelor, however, when he died he left a large portion of this fortune to his secretary’s wife. Yes, to the secretary's wife. Macdonald’s personal secretary, as was common in the 19th Century, was male. Macdonald left the fortune to the secretary’s wife, which in today’s scandal-mongering culture, raises some eyebrows. A portrait of the secretary’s wife hangs in the break room in the Bioresource Engineering Department where I am working, not in the Dean’s office.

Bonne Journee,

Tom

The wife of Sir William Macdonald's personal secretary.

 

Memorial hutch to Sir William Macdonald housed in Macdonald-Stewart Hall where I am working. Includes his top hat, gold watch, Knighthood Medal, and more.