PART FOUR: DAUPHIN DAYS
1989 to 1995

INTRODUCTION:

It is with some trepidation that I undertake the task of writing a history of the first six years, 1989 through 1995, of Western Christian College in its new location at Dauphin, Manitoba. However, since it was not so much a matter of who would "bell the cat," but rather "who would be the cat," I accepted the challenge even though I knew it would be difficult to follow a historian as adept as Miss Torkelson. Since I have never kept a daily diary, I have had to depend on a number of sources for details of the events that have happened during the last six years.

Major sources of information include the Dauphin Herald, the _Weyburn Review_ (to a lesser extent), _The Messenger_, _The Alumni Reporter_, the _Gospel Herald_, Academic reports to the Board of Directors, my own letters to parents that were sent out regularly with report cards, items listed in the annual Year Books, recorded details contained in graduation programs and information detailed in other handouts for such events as homecomings, lectureships, musical performances, youth rallies, etc.

In addition to these sources, I have relied heavily on information turned over to me by individuals including Vince Anderson, Bob Andreas, Don Husband and others who provided details of many events not listed in the above named documents.

I am also indebted to many individuals who helped collect data from school records. My deep appreciation is extended to Karen Close, Carole Harvey and Cheryl Cox for their generous help in this respect. Also, special thanks is extended to Bill and Betty Hart who kept a scrapbook of all items appearing in the various publications, especially the _Dauphin Herald_ newspaper.

Above all, I wish to say "thank you" to my wife, Helen, who searched through stacks of files and other records and duplicated, sorted and categorized an endless volume of material, so that the job of producing this historical record might be much easier and indeed possible. Especially do I want to express my appreciation to two typists, Lorraine Murray who typed and retyped "Diary Update" and made it available on computer discs, and Helen, who typed all of "A Vision Splendid" and "Radburn's Memoirs" into the computer so that this mass of material could be submitted to the printers in a state of readiness for preparing the printing plates.

May I remind the readers that each section of this "historical record" was written at a different time during the span of years covered, and therefore that each section has its "dated peculiarities" relative to the time period during which it was written.

While Miss Torkelson has presented her viewpoint of the move from Weyburn, Saskatchewan to Dauphin, Manitoba, I would like in this section to provide a second perspective of that event. I trust that our readers will understand that these are "personal views," and that if any other persons were doing the writing, the descriptions would be different for each one.

At the Annual Meeting in October 1988, the chairman of the board painted a very bleak picture of the financial condition of Western. Over a period of several years a back debt of some $420,000.00 had accumulated. That figure alone was enough to shock everyone present at the meeting. There was a strong feeling by the board that we could not go on with this kind of debt hanging over us. Interest payments were eroding financial contributions so that it was becoming more and more difficult to keep up with operating expenses over and above fees collected from students. There were present at that meeting about 300 shareholders and friends of the school. I recall going out to the parking lot and observing the large number of vehicles parked there. I also noticed that out of all of them, only three or four were very old. I estimated in my mind that most of the vehicles would have a value of from $12,000.00 to $15,000.00. Multiplying the number of vehicles by that estimated value, I came up with a cost of well over $1,000,000.00. This did not take into consideration the motor homes, campers and vans that were parked out at the college rink. The thought came to me "why are we thinking of closing Western because of a debt load of $420,000.00 when we have driven in comfort to the meeting in well over a million dollars worth of vehicles. We buy cars because we feel they are a necessary item. Is Christian education a necessary item? I believe everyone present at the meeting believed that Christian Education was absolutely vital for our children. I asked myself the question: "What has happened to our priorities?"

The bleakness of the situation was expressed in a headline in the Weyburn Review which in essence said: "WESTERN IN DIRE STRAITS." Enrollment was at its lowest level in about 20 years. An urgent letter from Lowell Hodgson, chairman of the board of directors, asked that all shareholders attend the annual meeting to discuss the "critical financial situation." To add to the financial crisis, a news release from Lowell Hodgson indicated that the entire campus of MacKay Residential School in Dauphin, Manitoba was up for sale by the Federal Government, and that tenders on the property would be called for in the near future.

I personally felt that if we really wanted Western to continue, there was no alternative but to clear off the back debt of $420,000.00. This did not seem to me to be an impossible task, especially if everyone pulled together. After all, 420 people each giving $1,000.00 would clear the books of this problem. I knew that some could not afford that amount, but if we all did what we were able to do, some more and some less, we could have a fresh start, financially.

As for the idea of moving to Dauphin, I was not in favour of such a prospect. In fact my remark to Helen at that time was "Why not go a little farther north and rent some igloos"; after all, Dauphin was so far north, that would make sense. However, after looking at a map, I noticed that Dauphin was only about 60 miles north of Regina, and everyone knows that everything south of Saskatoon is in Southern Saskatchewan. So I swallowed my words and my pride and looked for other good reasons why the school should remain in Weyburn. I was not in favour of the move!

The lectureship weekend in retrospect became a turning point in the history of Western. A total of $70,000.00 was raised Saturday evening at what was called "gift night." Many of us felt that for the size of the audience and the urgency of the situation, this was not enough. If we really wanted to dig ourselves out of the hole we were in, we needed to increase that amount substantially before the weekend was over. I am glad I was a part of a group of "thirteen" who decided among them selves to add another $29,000.00 and urge the brethren present to dig deeper and increase the amount. To our delight, the total rose to $130,000.00 by the end of the Sunday afternoon service. Brethren really did believe in Christian Education after all!! What a thrill! Helen and I later decided that we would write a letter to members of the alumni and shareholders and urge everyone to get behind the school financially. I do not know how much help came in as a result of our letters. We did receive two responses that were significant, both from senior Christians. A dear Sister from Thessalon, Ontario sent a cheque for $1000,00 and a brother from Regina (who had given previously) sent $1,000.00. We received a few smaller gifts through our mail and many others sent funds directly to Western. Hope was building that we really could salvage Christian education in Western Canada. The November issue of the _Messenger_ had this to say about the weekend: "Despite these present financial problems, there was a spirit of unity and agreement as to the importance of Western which charged the week end's activities with excitement."

During the fall months the board tendered a bid on the Dauphin campus along with several special conditions that had to be met before the deal was final. Among those stipulated conditions was the ratification of the proposal by the shareholders by March 31, 1989. The bids on the property closed on November 16, and the Department of Public Works recommended to the Federal Government Treasury Department that Western's bid of $200,000.00 be accepted. The government decision had come through much more rapidly than usual. However, chairman Hodgson assured the Corporation member ship via the Messenger that opportunities would be provided for full and complete discussion of the matter.

In the meantime my own attitude toward the move began to mellow when we purposely made a trip to Dauphin to see for ourselves what was there that was being made available to Western. I have to admit that after seeing the property first hand, both inside and out, I was ove whelmed that so much was being made available to us for so few dollars. I began to feel that God was having a real part in the destiny of the school.

After six years I still have many nostalgic feelings about the Weyburn campus. However, I have resigned myself to the reality that the board really had no alternative but to move the school. When hundreds of Christians pray diligently over a lengthy period of time for Divine guidance in a matter, then I must accept what seems inevitable as the Lord works things out in a certain direction. As I look back I believe the move was according to the Lord's will.

When word reached the Weyburn town council that there was the possibility of Western moving away from their city, efforts were made to come up with some alternative plan that would help the board change its mind. A hastily put together plan was for the school to move into the north-west wing of the Souris Valley Regional Care Centre. I was personally skeptical about such a plan because of the number of conditions that were attached. When the cost of such an arrangement was revealed, $177,000.00 per year for paying back for renovations and $475,000.00 rent, plus higher priced meals for students, I couldn't help but think that someone has been misled about our financial resources. I don't think anyone took that offer seriously. I couldn't help but think, "they've got to be joking." At any rate that alternative was not given serious consideration.

Town hall meetings were arranged under the direction of Bob Andreas who had been appointed by the board as Project Manager and Move Co-ordinator. As Miss Torkelson has reported in her diary update, a special meeting of the membership was requested in a petition signed by 24 shareholders. The meeting was to be for the purpose of informing the membership regarding all recent developments, options and recommendations of the board. This meeting was then scheduled to take place during the Homecoming activities.

I had resigned myself to the reality of Western disappearing from the Weyburn scene. For the past several months I had been doing construction work for the Ken Cugnet family, building sheds to protect oil well equipment from the winter weather. Sometime in early spring when most of my "carpenter work" was finished, I received a phone call from Vince Anderson, President of Western, asking me if I would be able to accompany the Western Chorus group on a tour of Manitoba, part of Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia during spring break. After considerable thought about the request, I finally consented and immediately began to prepare a slide preparation to give during each performance. The theme of the presentation was that much of what we spend our time, effort and money on "Comes to Pass." Material things rust and decay and wear out and leave us with an empty feeling. Time, effort and money spent on children and youth in Christian Education goes on through life and into eternity. Investment in "people" is the only investment that is everlasting. Each time I made the presentation to congregations along the route, I became more convinced in my own mind, based on our experience with our family, that investment in our youth is the greatest investment we can make. Each year as we experience new things, I am more and more convinced that this is true. Christian Education doesn't cost! It pays great dividends!

About a week before we left on the chorus tour I received a second phone call from Vince Anderson, asking me if I would consider taking on the responsibility of principal and move with the school to Dauphin. It is amazing how complicated retirement can be. After discussing this with Helen, mostly by phone as I travelled on the tour, we finally consented to take on that responsibility, and upon returning to Weyburn, set about with house renovations so our place could be rented out, and packing our belongings in preparation for the move with the school. On August 1, 1989, at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, after driving all night, we pulled into Dauphin with our belongings, and set about organizing what seemed like a thousand things in preparation for school to begin early in September.

In the meantime there was a steady stream of trucks and trailers making the trip back and forth to the new site of Western Christian College. One load in particular that I remember was the semi-load of library books that had to be loaded and transported to Dauphin. I found out later that the load was so heavy that, when it was finally parked on the pavement beside the buildings at the new site, the rear wheels sank into the pavement about three inches.

The job of moving was made much easier because of so many volunteers from the Weyburn area who came day after day to help pack books, lab equipment, office records and everything else that had to be moved. I recall that one of the helpers was Brother Norman Straker. During the packing of the library, many of the bookshelves full of library books were prepared for transportation by nailing sheets of plywood across the front. One of these shelves began to tip over, and Brother Straker was right in line with the direction of fall. I quickly gave him a push out of the way and he fell headlong on top of a pile of cardboard boxes lying on the floor. That however was the desirable choice since he could have had several broken bones if the several hundred pounds of books had landed on him.

Loads of materials and equipment continued to flow east even after students had arrived for the fall semester. Most of us did not realize how much "stuff" had accumulated over the years, but as the move progressed, it became obvious that the volume of material exceeded all expectations.

It is fitting at this point to include a few descriptive paragraphs from others who were closely involved in this major task. I have asked two men to highlight events that stand out in their memory about the months preceding the move to Dauphin, and the process involved in the transition from the Saskatchewan location and educational system to that of Manitoba. Vince Anderson, President of Western, and Bob Andreas, Project Manager and Move Co-ordinator, were both at the centre of the myriad of activities, meetings, interviews, consultations, decisions and scheduling activities involved in this transition period. I have utmost respect for both of these men and the tremendous load that each of them carried during the latter part of 1988 and through 1989.

Included here are some of the highlights mentioned in information provided by Vince Anderson, who was appointed President in April, 1988, when the indebtedness stood at over $420,000.00. One of his first priorities was re-organization which Vince described as a "painful process," since it involved job cuts in an attempt to reduce operational costs and the debt load. Among his early challenges were such items as:

1. Meeting with officials of City council and the Provincial Government who were attempting to hold the school in Saskatchewan;
   
2. Searching for a new principal to replace Jack Close who had resigned in order to return to full-time teaching; and a new girls' dormitory supervisor since Karen Close had earlier resigned that position.
   
3. Holding town hall meetings and fund raising dinners (He and/or Bob Andreas met with shareholders and alumni in all of the four Western provinces);
   
4. An endless number of meetings, interviews and consultations with the Hamlet board, the board of directors, present staff members, bank and insurance companies and other groups regarding the implications of the move.

Other activities in which Vince was involved included selecting replacement faculty and staff, arranging for ballots for the membership vote on whether or not the move should take place, meetings with Provincial government officials and Dauphin Town Council in Manitoba, speaking at the Carman lectureship on the values of Christian education, travelling to various congregations in U.S.A. regarding continuing support for the Bible program, and a host of other activities that occurred on a daily basis.

There were many specific areas to be cleared up regarding teacher accreditation, a pension plan for all employees, and student recruiting in the absence of a P.R. person. Glen McMillan was chosen to spearhead the "debt-reduction" pro gram. Three congregations in Saskatchewan agreed to allow their full-time preachers to take part in student recruiting in three Western provinces. John Smith from Yorkton agreed to cover Manitoba; Allen Close was assigned to Saskatchewan and Dale Elford was to cover Alberta. Roger Peterson agreed to come out of retirement and take over the position of Principal. Bob Andreas forged ahead with arrangements for the moving of all equipment and supplies.

On March 1, 1989 the ballots on the question of whether or not to move Western were counted and the results tabulated. In summary, 713 ballots were mailed out to shareholders, asking for a vote of "yes or "no" regarding the move. An overwhelming 86% of 638 ballots that had been returned favoured the move to Dauphin. Only 82 ballots opposed the move, while 6 ballots had been spoiled. As a result of the support for the move, the stage was set for the monstrous task of moving the school "lock, stock and barrel," about 450 kilometres to the new campus in Dauphin. The "fun" was about to begin!

By June 1989 a number of milestones had been reached. A number of staff members had decided that they were going to move with the school, arrangements were made for an auction sale of all items not needed in Dauphin, and the deficit reduction program had gone well with $245,900.00 or 58.5% of the total needed having been raised.

On June 29, 1989 Vince and Stacey Anderson and family made the move to the Dauphin cam pus to begin preparations for the opening of school in September. In the days that followed, one by one, the "pioneer families" packed and moved their belongings to the new site of Western.

I asked Bob Andreas, who was appointed by the Board to act as Project Manager and Move Co-ordinator, to highlight some of the more dramatic events that he experienced during his involvement with the transition from Weyburn to Dauphin. Because of the historical nature of many of the events, I will record here some of Bob's observations relative to the events that transpired during several months of 1989.

Agonies of the Board of Directors:

"I believe the Board did a good job of filling its leadership role, as good as it has on many of the tougher issues over the years. I believe that the Board had the following characteristics during this time:

1. A very business-like, yet godly chairman in the person of Lowell Hodgson. He made sure the board functioned as a board should, while at the same time being sensitive to the feelings of those who disagreed with some decisions.
   
2. Major decisions after much lively discussion enjoyed unanimous support of all members." (The above comments are paraphrased)

Concerns of the Board:

Bob mentioned three concerns that faced the board during these days of rapid change:

1. The political climate in Weyburn and Saskatchewan with impending provincial and civic elections.
   
2. Rumours of Western moving had surfaced previously in the mid-70's.
   
3. As many as five other proposals were in the wind and had to be considered by the board.

In order to inform the membership about the opportunity of purchasing the Dauphin property and the alternatives that were offered in Weyburn, the board decided to arrange for "town hall meetings" in centres where a number of shareholders could attend. Consequently Bob Andreas was asked to arrange and chair these meetings in centres from Victoria to Winnipeg. According to Bob, a total of 23 meetings were held in the weeks that followed. Much of Bob's travel to distant points was by Air Canada, thanks to a special arrangement through Keith Hoover, vice president of Air Canada, with whom Bob had worked on a Saskatchewan Tourism board. As a result, much of the travel was done at 35 to 45% of regular cost. This enabled the meetings to be conducted in a much reduced time frame. "Even though the discussions at times were lively and sometimes 'heated,'" as Bob said, "the prevailing mood was sincere concern and a genuine desire to understand the Board's recommendations."

The Deal:

The tender for the Dauphin property was submitted by the deadline in November 1988. The bid was to be accompanied by a 10% deposit and was to be unconditional. Because of by-law restrictions it was necessary to submit the bid with several specific conditions. These included acceptable accreditation, a feasible pension plan for staff, the services of the engineer, Tom Bloomfield to train personnel to operate the new plant, some suitable arrangements with the city for rink facilities and some property tax concessions, possibility of registration in Manitoba as an educational institution, and ratification by a minimum of 75% of the society membership. Government officials were skeptical that the membership would ratify the deal by 75%.

When a contract was finally agreed upon, it was a surprise to the board that much more was included in the deal than had been originally anticipated. The "possession date" was extended by six months; additional improvements were completed at no cost to Western; maintenance on vehicles was upgraded; furnace oil tanks were filled; and the engineer's six-month service agreement didn't begin until the takeover date.

Included in the property were two school buses, a van, a tractor, a pickup truck, and a lawn tractor. The amount of supplies and equipment inside the buildings was also surprising, including an abundance of Maytag washers and dryers, office furniture, a complete computer setup, a Xerox copy machine, kitchen and dining room dishes, pots and pans, cutlery, etc., beds and bedroom furniture (some of limited value) auditorium chairs, filing cabinets, typewriters, etc.

The Move:

"Moving was done bit by bit with a 16 ft. flatbed trailer. In addition, a large semi trailer owned by Goliath Trucking from Calgary, was brought to the campus at Weyburn by Jack Mooney. The entire library was loaded into this trailer. Walter Seibel also brought his tractor/trailer and hauled two trailer loads of desks and dormitory furniture on one weekend. Lab tables were dismantled and reassembled at the new facility. The 'liberty bell', which had been donated by Morris and Marie Taylor, and the W.C.C. sign, items which were considered to be important landmarks of the Western campus, were loaded on the flatbed and transported to the new campus at Dauphin. Some items included in the Dauphin property that were not needed for the school were brought back to Weyburn to be sold later at a huge auction sale conducted by Bob and Ivadelle Good in the WCC rink.

Renovations:

Most of the renovations required to the new facilities were for housing of dormitory supervisor's families. Previous supervisors at MacKay had been single personnel. Some classrooms were divided with new partitions. The administration area was moved and renovated. A chapel was developed and science labs installed. Many people came to assist with cleaning and painting in the dormitories. Several seniors, Herb Start, Mickel Jacobs, Pete Johnson, Harry Meakes and Leonard Bailey were as faithful and conscientious as anyone on the project. Dauphin ladies Mrs. Shaw, Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Hart, Mrs. Hegdahl, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Rogers and Mrs. Smith were very diligent in providing lunch and coffee for volunteers who came to work.

Appreciation:

Bob Andreas concluded his comments on the move to Dauphin with these words: "Someone has said that there are six phases to a project: enthusiasm; disillusionment; panic; search for the guilty; punishment of the innocent and praise and honour for the non-participants. I believe we have been through all these phases." He concluded his remarks with a word of tribute to his father Ernest who taught him the value of putting out the extra effort, and to his family whose untiring support helped carry him through an impossible schedule that was fraught with much criticism by some who looked on.

It is interesting at this point to read again some of the articles contained in the _Dauphin Herald_, the weekly newspaper of the Dauphin area. As early as December 13, 1988, a major front page headline read "Dauphin will get Christian college," even though that decision was not to come until over three painful and emotional months later. Some highlights from the news article are stated here:

"Dauphin-Swan River MP Brian White said he was told by Public Works Canada officials that the decision was made between the West Region Tribal Council and the Saskatchewan based group."

"The two groups were the only ones to submit tendered bids for the 14-acre multi-building site. The 30-year-old facility was closed June 30 by the Department of Indian Affairs."

The January 3, 1989 issue of the Herald was quick to follow with additional comments: "Top l5 _Herald_ stories of 1988--Mackay sold." A February 7, 1989 issue headline read "Weyburn trying to hold school with incentives," under which were these statements:

"Saskatchewan MLA Lorne Hepworth offered the college the northwest wing of the Souris Valley Regional Care Centre, with additional guarantees for major renovations and a new gymnasium. Frank Jennings, the chairman of the Weyburn economic development committee and a city council member said the college will be missed if it leaves."

On March 17 the announcement came out: "Private school prepares for Dauphin move." The March 1989 issue of the _Gospel Herald_ carried an article written by Manley Jacobs, one of the first board members, who served on the board for 19 years. Manley expressed his confidence in the present board in these words: "My own opinion is that the school now has a board of directors and a president who are qualified and capable of bringing this matter to a successful conclusion." Not all shareholders agreed with his viewpoint.

On March 14, 1989 the _Dauphin Herald_ reprinted an article from the _Weyburn Review_ which bore this headline: "No bitterness expressed." The writer of the article said:

"It came as no surprise to anyone when Western Christian College shareholders last week voted by a substantial majority to move the secondary school facility to Dauphin, Manitoba."

"--The college had an offer that could not be turned down, and it is difficult to imagine our community offering an acceptable alternative, such as a multi-million dollar facility, for a pittance."

"--In the meantime let's be grateful for three decades of W.C.C's presence here, offer everyone connected with the school congratulations on their good fortune, and wish them well in the future."

On March 21 it was announced in the _Herald_ that the Dauphin town council "promised the Western Christian College more than $90,000.00 in grants and concessions to woo the school to town." "Western will receive $30,000.00 per annum for the next three years. Council will also give Western a 10-acre property tax exemption on the school grounds. Council also promised to help Western secure lower rental rates for DMCC ice for the school's hockey team as well."

It is interesting how distorted newspaper reporting can become. On June 21, 1989, the _Winnipeg Free Press_ printed an article entitled "Overflowing subsidies," in which the following erroneous statement was made by a reporter:

"Mr. Derkach has rapidly increased government grants to private schools at every opportunity. Any private school that hires certified teachers can now bill the province $1,672.00 per year for each student enrolled."

"--Western Christian school, formerly located in Saskatchewan, is now moving to Dauphin to take advantage of Mr. Derkach's largesse. The students will board in town."

"--When schools are moving to Manitoba to get the grants, they are giving Mr. Derkach a message. His grants are lavish far beyond the modest amounts needed to keep private schools going. The way to stop the spillage is to stop filling the bin above the brim."

Sometimes it is wise to keep one's mouth shut lest one's ignorance be made evident. This reporter would have done well to determine the true facts of the situation before "running off at the mouth." Private schools, by taking on the responsibility of teaching Manitoba students, save the Manitoba government several hundred dollars per year of money it would have to spend if those students were enrolled in the public school system.

Fortunately this editorial from the _Free Press_ was dealt with very frankly in the June 22 _Dauphin Herald_. The article stated:

"It appears as if the W.F.P. is unaware that the Western Christian College was far more interested in an attractive piece of real estate--the former Mackay Indian residential school--than it was in Manitoba's support for Christian or other types of private colleges."

"--Perhaps if the _Free Press_ editorial writers were to view the property and buildings which the college bought from the federal government for a song there would be no question as to why the institution is moving to Dauphin."

The controversy over government grants did not subside for some time. Previous to the arrival of Western, a grant had been given for all students enrolled in private institutions. Most schools had Manitoba students. When Western arrived with a potential influx of out-of-province students, the government officials began to take a hard look at their past policies. In reality the administration of Western had not expected to receive a grant for students enrolled from outside the province. The grant of $1672.00 was lower than what had been received in Saskatchewan, $1870.00 per Saskatchewan student. It was aptly pointed out in published articles in the _Herald_ by college officials that much of the revenue for operating Western did not come from grants, but from other sources such as student fees and free-will contributions. More about school grants will follow as we deal with developments in chronological order.

On May 28, 1989 the entire student body of Western was brought to Dauphin to tour the facility and have a personal look at the new campus. It was felt by the administration that this trip would allay any fears students might have about returning to Western in the fall of 1989.

James Willet announced his retirement early in June after serving with the college for 21 years. James gave as his reason his health problems. He said. "While I am still doing pretty well, I am finding things a bit more of a burden all the time." James had been director of the choral program for all of the years he served as teacher at Western.

As indicated elsewhere, the summer of 1989 was extremely busy for everyone connected with the school. The final graduation exercises were held at Weyburn, and the farewell banquet was filled with nostalgic memories of the past. The sun was setting on the Weyburn era and was about to rise on the new campus in Dauphin, Manitoba. In the meantime, fund raising dinners continued and the job of moving progressed well so that by early September when students began to arrive, at least there was some semblance of similarity between the Western of yesteryears and the new Western at Dauphin, Manitoba.

Since James Willet had elected to retire and not move with the school, one new teacher was added to the faculty. Ronald Johnson began teaching and took over the music program, chorus and band, as well as the teaching of art and other subjects.

Time tabling was a problem since many staff members had chosen not to move with the college. The number of teachers was greatly reduced, down from thirteen in 1988-1989 to eight in 1989-1990. In spite of this drop in numbers, we were still trying to offer the same basic curriculum with the exception of industrial arts.

When school opened in September the enrollment was as follows: Grade ten--18; grade eleven--26; grade twelve--22; College--14. After one student withdrew because of family reasons, the enrollment remained at 79. There had been much speculation as to how many students would go with the school to Dauphin. While the number was down some, in view of circumstances I was pleased that we had a good nucleus of students in each grade.

The number of teachers qualified to teach in the College program had dropped to a bare minimum. Whereas there had been several Liberal Arts classes available in Weyburn, our offerings in Dauphin were limited outside the Bible classes. As a result we approached the registrar at the University of Brandon and were able to make arrangements for a class to be offered during the first semester at the campus at Dauphin. Dr. Parnell, the head of the history department, agreed to drive to Dauphin one evening each week for a three-hour class. Seven students from Western along with five students from the surrounding communities made up that first class. The class went very well and as a result our students were able to receive one credit in a liberal arts class. There was a possibility of a second class being offered during the spring semester, but as it turned out there were not enough students interested to warrant an instructor driving from Brandon.

A change had taken place in the girls' dormitory with the beginning of the fall term. Since Karen Close had resigned as dorm director, a replacement was needed. Nina Crawford from Medicine Hat, Alberta accepted the challenge and became dorm director.

The J. C. Bailey lectures which had been sponsored by the Weyburn church of Christ were not held after the school moved to Dauphin. There was some feeling that the lectures could have continued in Weyburn, but the Weyburn congregation declined the offer. A class in counselling was conducted in the spring, taught by Jim Hawkins. This class had been a tradition for several years and has continued each year since that time.

Attempts to establish credits with the University of Brandon were not successful. We were reminded of earlier times when accreditation was sought with the Universities of Regina and Saskatchewan.

One of the disadvantages during the first several weeks of school in the fall was the fact that we had no bell system of any kind. Arrangements were made to purchase an intercom system capable of two-way communication. We were fortunate that Ernest Andersen from Big Beaver Saskatchewan volunteered to install the wiring to all classrooms and other vital areas. The installation took several days. Two students, Steve Andersen and Larry Elford were very helpful in the installation process. Peter Nykolaishen from whom we purchased the amplifier unit, did all the connections to get the system operational. It was a relief to be able to signal the beginning and end of classes.

Very late in the fall the lab installations, electrical, water, propane, etc. were finally completed. The same lab tables which I had built for the labs in Weyburn were back in service again. Jack Close was most patient while waiting for the job to be finished.

An interesting event took place early in September as a special student activity. In past years get-acquainted parties were held at the beginning of school. In September 1989 staff organized a "Medieval Week" under the direction of Ron Johnson and Matt Jackson. During this week a number of activities were arranged centring around medieval times. Cock fights, jousting and armour building were some of the fun activities. A medieval church service was arranged following the Wednesday night service.

Sports teams began early in the fall to integrate into the area leagues and schedules. Girls' volleyball was coached by "Doc" John Harvey and the boys' team by Ron Johnson. Both teams played in a tournament at Gilbert Plains in early October against four area teams from Winnipegosis, Ethelbert, Rossburn and Gilbert Plains. The boys team advanced to the final as a result of the round robin competition. They were defeated in the final games by Gilbert Plains. The girls team won only one game in the round robin competition and so were eliminated from the finals.

The girls played in other tournaments at Winnipegosis and at the DRCSS comprehensive in Dauphin. They played hard at all games even though they were not successful in winning many. Both volleyball teams played in Districts but were defeated in the final games. Our team members received many compliments as to behavior and sportsmanship. This was always encouraging. Many of the players were rookies but the season was filled with a lot of "fun" for all.

The hockey team was organized early in the fall with Rod Davis and Peter Melnyk (from the city) as managers. Several exhibition games were played against teams in local towns and tournaments were played in Minnedosa, Weyburn and Williston. Steve McMillan and Curtis Parker coached the team. A comment in the yearbook says: "If success is winning lots of games, then we weren't too successful. However, if success is having fun, then we were very successful. Highlight of the year was not so much the hockey hut the 'sing- alongs' on the trips." Derek McMillan was chosen most valuable player, Malcolm McMillan most sportsmanlike player, and Todd Jacobs most improved player.

Boys basketball hegan in mid-November under the coaching of John Harvey. Trevor Wise was captain of the team. There were only seven guys on the team. At the homecoming game, Western was defeated by the Flin Flon Kings 74-61. Our team had led at the end of the first quarter and at half time, but towards the end "ran out of gas." Later in the season the team played in the DRCSS junior tournament and won in the final game against Swan Valley Tigers by a score of 75-39. They had earlier defeated the Dauphin Clippers by a score of 88 41. Top scorers were Lawrence VanDyke and Jamie Lobert. The Swan Valley coach made the comment after the game: "We were outmatched. They outplayed us and outshot us for the entire game." At the awards banquet in June, Jamie Lobert was named most valuable player and Nathan Close rookie of the year.

Areas of understaffing that first year were evident when there were no substitute teachers available when a teacher was ill. We were also without any library help, and a backlog of work in that area just sat there and didn't get done. Teachers were teaching full loads, supervising study hall periods, coaching sports and attempting to adjust to new curriculum guides and text books. In spite of these circumstances, there was no noticeable grumbling or complaining.

Lectureship in October, the first in Dauphin, was highlighted with the grand opening ceremonies for the Dauphin Campus. The _Dauphin Herald_ gave this account of the activities on that opening day:

"The wait is over. Western Christian College has officially arrived. Representatives from three levels of government and the town welcomed the school to Dauphin in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the site of the former Mackay Residential School Saturday.

"Mayor Martin Bidzinski said the college will make a definite impact on the town. 'For Dauphin, the move of Western Christian College has opened enormous economic potential,' he told a crowd of about 1000 people."

The front page of the October 10 _Herald_ also featured a picture of Miss Torkelson carrying the school torch down the driveway to the front of the main building where the opening ceremonies were taking place. Miss Torkelson has described the torch run in her epilogue to the Diary Update. She closes her epilogue with these words:

"Saturday afternoon October 7, on a warm, sunshiny autumn day, the official opening ceremonies of the college were conducted on the steps of the administration building in front of several hundred guests assembled on the college campus. Near the end of the ceremonies I met the last rider of the torch run.

"Then, followed by students singing the school song, I walked up the main driveway, holding high the lighted torch to present it to President Vince Anderson with these words, 'May this torch light the way to a great future.'"

Feature speaker at that lectureship was Dr. John Bailey from Bedford, Texas, who based his lessons around the theme "Encouraging Tired Christians." The three main lectures at the DMCC curling rink attracted about 900 people.

In late October a social evening was held in the auditorium and featured several "air bands," many strange costumes and a general display of hidden talents.

The November issue of the _Messenger_ reported the appointment of Dale Elford to the position of Public Relations Representative. Dale's responsibilities included student recruitment, fund raising and other public relations areas.

The end of the fall term was concluded with a Christmas banquet with lots of excellent food prepared by the Davis's and the kitchen staff. After a delicious meal had been enjoyed by all, the "man in the red suit" made an appearance. Bill Stroll, a grade ten student, as "Santa" did an excellent job entertaining the children and students. Musical entertainment was provided by Bonnie McMillan with John Pennington at the piano. "Dox," a male quartet of Leland Morris, Curtis Parker, Larry Elford and John Pennington, provided musical numbers for the program.

In January, the Parkland Winter Games were held in Dauphin. Two students from Western, Larry Elford and Jamie Harvey played on the Dauphin basketball team. The team was successful in winning first place and qualified to go on to Carman for further competition in March. Several students from Western assisted with the games in various capacities.

The winter banquet that year was not held until February 13. The meal was provided by Jerry McCutcheon who operates the Bonanza restaurant in Portage La Prairie. The food was prepared and transported from Portage and served by his regular staff. The meal was delicious. Entertainment was provided by Vince Anderson, the men's quartet "Dox," and Bonnie McMillan and Rebecca Tucker.

Vince Anderson showed his skill at "picking" on his guitar.

The homecoming weekend was held on February 2 and 3, with activities taking place at the college and in the Comprehensive gym. Classes of '50, '60, '70, '80 and '85 were guests of honour. Candidates for homecoming queen were Andrea Bourassa, Tamara Jacobs and Bonnie McMillan. Andrea Bourassa was crowned queen for the occasion. All three girls had participated in many activities such as yearbook, student council, musicals, dorm council, drama and other school events. Earlier in the week the College class constructed a replica of the old campus at Weyburn (in miniature) from snow in the front yard. Activities of the weekend included sports activities, the annual alumni meeting, a band program, choral singing, a banquet and evening program on Saturday and class gatherings in various homes later in the evening. About 300 attended the evening program.

A ski trip to Mount Agassiz took place on January 31 with many of the students on the slopes, some for the first time, even though the temperature hovered around minus thirty degrees. Classes were suspended for the day to encourage as many as possible to participate. The experience is considered a part of our physical education program. A ski instructor was on hand to teach some of the basic fundamentals to those who had not gone skiing before. Mount Agassiz is located about 50 miles south east of Dauphin.

On March 15 a talent show was presented in the auditorium with the program open to the public. The entertainment included singing groups, skits, instrumental numbers and a few comedy acts. The evening was enjoyed by all.

On Tuesday March 13, an article in the _Dauphin Herald_ indicated that the government grant for Manitoba students at Western was to be delayed for one year. Government officials had tried to bring in legislation requiring new (new to the province) private schools to wait a three year period before they would become eligible to receive the grant. However, thanks to some excellent lobbying by Mr. Frank Neufeld, head of the Manitoba Federation of Independent Schools, and a lot of hard work on the part of Vince Anderson and others, Western did not have to wait the two or three year period, and although the funds were late in arriving, they did eventually come through. The announcement was made public in the June issue of the Messenger. The grant the first year amounted to $23,000.00, a welcome addition to the fund raising efforts.

At the same time the grant issue was being debated, the government also introduced "accountability rules" for private schools. These regulations were to include such things as submitting financial statements and students' academic achievement records as well as administrative criteria such as proving the schools are legally incorporated with a board of directors. These regulations did not pose a problem to Western since all of these documents were readily available. Vince Anderson commented: "That is no problem as far as we are concerned. If government is going to be paying grants to institutions, there has to be accountability...it is a fair arrangement." Vince went on to say that Western already had a good accounting system and would have no difficulty complying with the new regulations. Department of Education and Training Minister, Len Derkach also announced that over the next eight years the province would increase funding for private schools from 50% to 80% of support received by public schools.

The chorus tour was conducted during spring break with the first performance in the WCC auditorium on Wednesday March 21. Many visitors from the community attended. The trip took the singers through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and part of North Dakota. "There are a lot of memories of Chorus tour '90 such as 'returning to the old campus', shopping in Polo Park, singing in the Cathedral in Gravelbourg and the Legislative building in Winnipeg." Two performances, one in Moose Jaw and one in Portage, were videoed by cable T.V. Oliver Engel of Engelheim Bus Service was the driver for the trip. Almost $3000.00 was contributed to the "Diesel Fund" bucket along the way. Students reported, "We had an awesome tour."

I have not mentioned "Sonshine," the twelve member mixed singing group. This group did an excellent job of providing inspirational singing at several activities during the year. This group has been a Western tradition for several years and continues each year with new members being added to replace those who have graduated.

On May 3, a sports awards banquet was held in the cafeteria. John Harvey was in charge of the event. He said regarding the first year of athletic activities in Dauphin, "We were very pleased with the reception we received from the local coaches and community. We felt like we fit right in." Malcolm McMillan, Leland Morris, Lisa Hamilton and Tamara Jacobs each received awards for volleyball achievement. Hockey awards went to Todd Jacobs, Derek McMillan and Malcolm McMillan. Basketball awards went to Nathan Close and Jamie Lobert. Spirit awards went to Derek McMillan and Tamara Jacobs.

College graduation was held on May 12, 1990. This was the first College graduation on the new campus. At that time Tim Pippus was awarded the Bachelor of Theology degree. He was the thirteenth person to be given this award. The degree had been offered for the past seven years. Because a number of staff members had elected not to move with the school, the emphasis of the program was changing to a one year certificate program and a two-year diploma program. Five other students, Dawn Buckmaster, Chandra Allen, Steve McMillan, Curtis Parker and Mark DeYoung received the one-year certificates at this graduation. Two other students, Rebecca Tucker and John Pennington received letters of recognition for academic achievement. Other award recipients are listed in the awards section of the Appendix of this publication.

The musical production prepared for Youth Rally was "The Mikado," by Gilbert and Sullivan. Larry Elford and Leah Rodriguez were directors. A large number of young people attended the weekend from many centres across Western Canada. The "Mikado" was ably played by John Pennington. Guest speaker for the event was Bob Harrington from Calgary.

The Zone 8 regional AA track and field meet was held in Grandview on May 24. Trevor Wise placed first in the Senior Boys' 200 metre race, Jamie Lobert placed first in the long jump and second in the triple jump event, and Aaron Morland first in the shot put event. These three along with Derek Mcmillan also placed first in the 4x1OOm relay race. In the 100m race Jamie Lobert was second and Trevor Wise was third. Rick Jenkins won fourth in the high jump. As a result of the wins those placing first through third were eligible to go on to provincials in Winnipeg on June 1.

Soccer was also introduced in late spring. The boys had only a few games and for the first year were not too successful on the score board. However, there was a lot of fun experienced as each did his best in the competition.

Spring retreat was held early in June at the Dauphin Bible Camp near Riding Mountain National Park. This is an excellent facility for such an activity. It is about ten miles from the school. The retreat provides a weekend of relaxation before the final examinations.

Late in the year Mr. Frank Neufeld as representative of the Education department visited the school and observed the routine activities and the facility. The report in the _Messenger_ stated

"After taking a look at the program, curriculum, facilities, teaching techniques and student responses, he called a staff meeting to give his general impressions of Western. Generous in his appraisal of what he had seen, he was very impressed with the physical plant and especially with the library. He was positive as to the quality of teaching that he witnessed, and impressed with the quality of the questions and answers given by students as they responded to the subject being taught."

It is interesting that for some reason during this first year rumours were being circulated that the academic level at Western had fallen during the past few years. However a check of the records indicated that the pass rates for June of the previous year were 96%-grade ten, 98%-grade eleven and 98.5% for grade twelve. These pass percentages were excellent when compared to Provincial pass rates.

On June 9, 1990 the 45th class to graduate from Western Christian College but the first to graduate from the Dauphin campus were honoured at the banquet and graduation exercises. Both events were held in the school facilities. A total of nineteen students were honoured on the occasion. The class theme was "On the Edge of a Dream." Jack Close was selected by the students to be the guest speaker. The program bore the traditional marks of many previous graduation exercises with the "passing of the torch," singing of the school song, and presentation of the many awards, and thus gave credence to the fact that Western had indeed become established in its new home. Miss Lillian Torkelson, who was the first teacher in the high school program in 1946, and who had come from Weyburn for the celebration, presented the valedictorian and salutatorian medals and the art award and the "A" pins.

Bonnie McMillan was valedictorian for the class and Tamara Jacobs was salutatorian. Bonnie also received the Math-Science Award, the Band Award and the Parker Bible Award. The "A" pins which are awarded to students who maintain an average of at least 80% for each term spent at Western, were awarded to both Bonnie and Tamara and also to Yvette Gagne and Andrea Bourassa. The "Faye Brazle Christian Woman Award" was presented to Tamara Jacobs and the Art Award to Yvette Gagne. The Mr. and Miss Grad Awards went to Mike Reid and Andrea Bourassa. Male and female Sports Awards were presented to Leland Morris and Genevieve Bird.

I would be negligent if I did not mention two contributors to this first year in Dauphin. The first person was Roy Bailey. Roy provided much professional advice to the board as well as to the administration in the new location. He was actively involved meeting with officials from Manitoba Education and others in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan as attempts were being made to arrange for transition from one province to another. To him we extend our sincere thanks. The other contributor from behind the scenes was the Women's Service Club. This group of faithful supporters was invited in many projects as they endeavoured to make the Dauphin facility more homelike. Through their efforts much time and money was contributed toward the improvement of the facility. To them we say a hearty "thank you."

At the close of the 1989-90 school year, John Harvey requested a leave of absence from teaching. Bill Earnshaw and his wife also announced plans to return to Australia. As a result of these two vacancies on the faculty, two new teachers were to join the staff for the year 1990-1991. Mark Husband from Regina came to teach mathematics and computers and help with coaching sports. Both he and his wife Christina had graduated from Western. Mark graduated from the University of Saskatchewan and worked for three years as youth minister with the congregation of the church of Christ in Regina. Gordon Goldsmith was hired to teach history, social studies, geography and biology, as well as physical education. Gordon had attended the Bible Department at Western in 1976. He received his professional training from the University of Brandon and then served with the Wawota congregation for three years, two of which were spent in Papua, New Guinea doing mission work. His wife, Ruth (Husband) was also a graduate of Western.

Matt Jackson had also announced his intentions to terminate his teaching in the Bible Department. During the summer, arrangements were made with Hugh and Donna Gannon to move to Dauphin in order that Hugh could teach Bible in Matt's stead. Changes in other departments were taking place too. Elaine Vance resigned as bookkeeper since the Vances were moving to Red Deer, Alberta. Elaine had served in a variety of positions for eleven years. Additional help was also required for the dining

The second year began with an increase in enrollment from 80 the first year to 93 as of September 1990 with distribution as follows: Grade 10-25; grade 11-31; grade 12-30; College-7. Of the number, 43 were new students,91 were full time and two were part time. The _Herald_ reported: "This year the college has 35 students from Saskatchewan, 19 from Manitoba, 12 from Alberta 10 from British Columbia, 2 from the Territories, 7 from the United States, 4 from Hong Kong and 3 from Saudi Arabia. In a letter to parents on October 1, I made the following observation: "There is an atmosphere of optimism among both staff and students. The trauma of the move from Weyburn is now history and every area seems to be more settled. The expressions on the faces of students are those of happiness and contentment for the most part. We feel we are off to an excellent year." The increase in the high school area was just over 30%. Previous to the opening some were very skeptical as to whether there would be an increase. However, I felt if we had a good program, the enrollment would improve and the opening numbers in September showed that this was the case.

Besides the new teachers, Marilyn Muller was appointed to the position of Dean of Student Life. New personnel were also added in the dining area and in maintenance. Mary Gurel began work in the food services area and John Gurel half-time in maintenance. Cheryl Cox was moved to the bookkeeping department and Karen Close became academic secretary/receptionist.

Once again students were treated to a medieval period in history with some variation of activities from the previous year. This activity served as an opportunity for students from so many different areas to get to know each other better and feel comfortable among a lot of new friends.

One of the first events of the fall term, after the timetable problems were resolved and everyone was settled into the usual routine was arranging for a training session in volley ball. The volleyball teams were selected and arrangements made for a volley ball clinic to be conducted by Brian Kan from Fairford, Manitoba, a former fellow teacher of Gordon Goldsmith. Brian had for three years coached International teams, both boys' and girls', in Hong Kong. The students co-operated fully with Mr. Kan, and as a result learned a great deal from the workshop. Two other workshops, one in basketball and one in hockey, were also in the plans for the fall term.

On Sunday September 30, a number of students took part in a Walk for Life event in Dauphin. The Sonshine group went to Wawota for a Kids' Rally. The chorus was busy getting ready to perform at the annual lectureship. Other items reported in the letter to parents at that time included a "lates and absences policy," whereby unexcused absences were to be compensated for by "work detail" around the campus. A long weekend was announced for late October because of the upcoming teachers' convention.

The September _Messenger_ contained some exciting news in the financial report, under the headline, "Old Deficit Cleared." The announcement read as follows:

"July 23 was a day of rejoicing in the office at W.C.C. as the accumulated deficit from prior years was completely eliminated.

"At year end in July of 1988, the deficit stood at $420,263.00. During the subsequent months, a deficit elimination campaign spear headed by Glen McMillan was begun. By July 31, 1989, the deficit had shrunk to $158,917.00 through a combination of giving and tight budgetary controls which resulted in being under budget in the expenditure category. The deficit elimination drive continued through 1989 and 1990 with the final dollars being given on July 23rd to completely eliminate the operational debt."

"We are thankful to many people who have given selflessly to see this goal realized. We are thankful to Glen McMillan and the sever al people who helped him in the various areas in the fund raising drive to accomplish what some people thought was an impossible task."

Although the past indebtedness had been eliminated, circumstances through this year had created problems in the area of finance. Taxes were expected to run at around $5000.00, but instead Western was informed that the taxes would amount to $37,278.00. New legislation regarding Municipal assessment passed by the Manitoba Government meant that the dormitories would be taxed under the highest rate, 73.2% of the assessed value of the buildings, the same category as apartment buildings. As a result of this turn in events, the next few months were to witness a struggle between independent schools in Manitoba which operate dormitories, and the Provincial Government's new legislation. We will report the final decision about this struggle in order of events.

There was however some good news regarding grants for Manitoba students. It was learned that Western would not have to wait three years to receive this assistance.

During the past 18 months the number of shareholders in Western had grown from about 300 to 700 in number. The Women's Service Club had been active in raising some funds to help pay off the back debt in addition to other improvements they were providing for the students. Another item of interest was that the bylaws had been changed to reduce the number of board members from eleven to seven, each serving three years instead of the previous five years. Vince reported that 192 contributors to Western were using the Pre-Authorized Payment method of contributing, whereby their donation is automatically drawn on their bank account on a monthly basis.

The Academic report for the previous year indicated that the pass rates for grades ten, eleven and twelve were 95.82, 95.0 and 99.99% respectively.

A special tribute was paid via the Messenger to Wayne Knote, Secretary of Cedar Foundation in U.S.A., who had served faithfully on the Foundation for many years and had given much time and effort to the successful operation of this organization.

The 1990 lectureship was held on October 5, 6 and 7. This was the first time the lectureship was terminated on Sunday evening instead of Monday morning. This enabled staff to clean up after the evening service and also gave guests extra travel time to drive home from the week end. Highlights of the annual meeting included the resignation of Lowell Hodgson from the board of directors. He had served on the board for five years and as chairman for four of those years. He had worked diligently and effectively through some very difficult times of major decisions. At the Saturday night gift-night, almost $47,000.00 was raised. Lectureship speakers and class participants that year were Darrell Buchanan, Dwight Morris, Charles McKnight, John Smith, Jim Pennington, Bob Parker, Don Killough, Hugh Gannon, Brian Cox, Harold Parker and Dan Wieb. The theme of the lectureship was "Fellowship--Imitators of Christ."

The December issue of the _Messenger_ reported that the former campus at Weyburn was to be returned to the Rural Municipality of Weyburn. Little interest had been shown by anyone about purchasing any of the buildings. Since the buildings were no longer being used for educational purposes, the problem was further complicated by a tax levy of $44,413.97 by the R.M. Negotiations with the Rural Council and the Hamlet board failed to produce any con cession on this matter. I have not been able to understand how the R.M. could levy a tax on buildings that no one wanted and that were in a state of disrepair. To me a levy of over $44,000.00 was totally unreasonable. I still hold to that view. At any rate the Board decided to turn the buildings over to the R.M. for tax arrears in order to avoid further expenses relative to the property.

A decision was made by the Board to increase student fees by 7% for the 1991/92 school year. As a result the yearly cost for high school rose to $5,380.00. College students taking 12 hours of credits would be charged $4,510.00.

Changes in the academic area saw an increase in class time for the foundation subjects such as English, math and science. This was deemed advisable in view of the fact that these subjects are so important to students continuing on in university. The recommended amount of time for each credit was 110 hours. Western was now allotting up to 130 hours instruction in these basic subjects. Other changes in the academic department included a course at the grade ten level called Skills for Independent Living. This course was introduced by Manitoba Education as a compulsory credit class at that level. Limited standardized tests were also introduced at the grade twelve level for the Province.

A proposed change to the College Bible pro gram was announced in December of 1990 in these words: "Western offers intensive Bible studies beyond the high school level. Our college Bible program presents an excellent opportunity for students to go deep into the Word and build up a personal faith. We are prepared to extend our Bible program to the three-year study when there are students interested in such a program."

As the fall semester progressed the volley ball teams continued to improve. The boys' team, coached by Ron Johnson, played in tournaments in Gilbert Plains (losing in the semi-finals), and Winnipegosis (first place). At districts they advanced to the semi-finals and lost in a close match against St. Vlad's, who then went on to provincials. The girls' team got off to a slow start, but improved as the season went on, and eventually played in districts where they were defeated in the semi-finals. Mark Husband was their coach.

Further, in the area of sports, two more clinics were held during the fall semester. A training session in basketball was conducted by Ron McCutcheon, assistant coach of the Brandon University boys' basketball team. Doug Parker came from Regina to conduct a hockey clinic with our team. In the meantime according to a report by Ron Johnson, athletic director, both boys' and girls' volley ball teams had advanced to the semi-finals at the regional level.

Students from Western participated in a "mock disaster," staged at the Dauphin airport. The occasion was a simulated plane crash, designed to test the response of airport personnel and the airport's backup agencies. Twelve students were treated by makeup artists to rep resent crash victims with head lacerations and other injuries. The exercise involved local R.C.M.P, ambulance personnel, the fire department and other emergency organizations.

The basketball clinic got the teams off to a good start. On January 27 the Dauphin Herald carried the headline "WCC Mustangs take St. Vlad's tourney." Four teams participated in the event: Winnipegosis, Roblin, St. Vlad's and Western. The Mustangs defeated Winnipegosis 60-34, and then went on in the final to defeat St. Vlad's. The zone playoffs were held at the Dauphin comprehensive gym on March 9. Western defeated the Winnipegosis Lakers 47 28 and then the number one team, St. Vladimir's College Knights 55-52 in overtime. John Harvey who coached the boys, said concerning the boys' games: "The boys played tremendously. All nine of my players came in and made a major contribution either offensively or defensively, or just playing a few solid minutes while the other boys rested." As a result of these wins Western qualified to play in the provincial A basketball tournament at St. Boniface Diocese on March 15-17. The first game in provincial competition pitted Western against Rossburn. Final score was 58 57 in favour of Rossburn. In the second game Western played the defending champion Morris team where the WCC squad lost 48-44, to end the season. One of the strongest players on Western's team, Lawrence VanDyke was unable to play in the provincial competition because his younger brother had been killed in an accident just prior to the game. The entire team was emotionally down because of the tragedy.

Not much was said during the fall term about the girls' basketball season. A report in the year book did shed some light on this segment of our sports program. Larry Elford and Mr. Goldsmith coached the girls. The team included Crystal Elford, Jann Tetreau, Liz Pfeiffer, Kristi Close, Terri Greenslade, Charlotte Bell, Jenny Cox, Kem Starnes, Bethany Close, Tara Laliberte (co-captain), Heather McMillan (captain) and Charla Muller. Lack of experience showed early in the season, but much progress was made as time went on, and a good foundation was laid for the coming year since all but one of the girls would be returning for the 1991 92 year.

An interesting addition to the sports scene that year was the formation of a pep squad consisting of twenty students whose desire was to cheer the teams on to victory.

The hockey team had an interesting year with a fairly strong team that improved greatly as the season progressed. The team attended tournaments in Regina and Saskatoon, finishing as "C" side champions in both places. The provincial finals were played in The Pas where Western won the consolation final after losing a tough match to the host team.

Homecoming'91 was held on February 8-10 on the campus. Approximately 100 alumni attended the Saturday banquet. One event that was missing from that year's homecoming was the Friday night basketball games. Because of a city-wide basketball tournament, no gym was available to rent. Alumnus of the year ('90) was Gerry Bell from Shamrock, Saskatchewan. Ron Pauls from London, Ontario received the Alumni Certificate of Distinction. Scott Roberts was elected president of the Alumni Association.

For the second year in a row students enjoyed a trip to the ski slopes at Mount Agassiz. Because of the nearness of this ski slope, it provides a relaxing get-away from school activities.

A decision was made by the board early in that year to convert the heating system from oil to natural gas. Because of high oil price and stable gas prices, it was felt that the savings in heating costs would pay for the conversion in a short time. The changeover was to be completed by March.

The March 1991 issue of the Messenger contained good news about the taxation situation. The matter of taxing the dormitories went to court in Winnipeg and Court of Queen's Bench rendered a decision in favour of Western and granted tax exemption on the buildings including the dormitories. The Province was expected to appeal the decision. The decision meant a drastic decrease in the amount of property tax charged for the operation of the school.

Two other items in the March news concerned a provincial change in the fiscal year for schools and the availability of Visa and Mastercharge cards to make donations to Western.

During spring break, the chorus group per formed in several communities in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Included in the itinerary were Wynyard, Saskatoon, Lloydminster, Camrose, Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Swift Current. Almost $2400.00 was given toward the diesel fund for travel.

College graduation was held on May 11 with only six students participating, the lowest number in many years. Charlotte Wiebe won several awards as follows: Alumni academic award; Alumni Bible Award; Jannine Annita Farr Bible Award; Ottinger Bible Award. Guest speaker for the event was Ray McMillan. Faculty address was delivered by Hugh Gannon. One-year certificates in Biblical Studies were presented by Roger Peterson to Jennie Bird, Derek McMillan, Charlotte Wiebe and Lori Weir. Musical numbers were performed by "Mizpah," a male singing group, and "Agape," a female singing group. Members of the board of directors provided additional entertainment. Coffee and dessert were served in the dining hall following the program.

The Youth Rally weekend was held on May 17-19. The theme topic of the event was "God- Ruler of the World." The musical, "Brigadoon," directed by Jamie Lobert and Jennie Bird, was staged to an enthusiastic crowd of visiting young people. Leading roles were played by Malcolm McMillan, Justin Mooney, Kathy Kendig and Sara Muller and twelve other students. Twenty one students sang in the choral numbers of the musical. Featured speaker for the weekend was Tim Pippus from Estevan. Curtis Parker and Steve McMillan directed the singing. Two services of the church in Dauphin were held in the auditorium on Sunday morning.

The Regional Track Meet was held on May 21 at which time several students were winners in various events. Justin Mooney placed first in javelin. Jamie Lobert placed first in triple jump, long jump and the 200 metre race, and second in the 100 metre race. Chad Parker placed first in the 400 metre, second in the 800 metre and first in the 1500 meter races. Both Mike Parker and Trevor Seibel placed first in their hurdles events. Ken Jacobs placed first in the 3000 metre race. In the girls' competitions, Crystal Elford and Laurie Meadows each placed third in javelin events; Elizabeth Pfeiffer was first in the 1500 metre race. Crystal Elford also won third in discus and fourth in shot-put. Tyler Knibbs placed fourth in javelin. Our relay teams also won two second places and a third place in 4x100 and 4x400 metre relays. Three of the students, Lobert, Parker (Chad) and Mooney were chosen to take part in the provincial track meet in Brandon on May 31.

The sports program for the year was concluded with the formation of a soccer team.

The graduation banquet in honour of the senior class members was held on June 8 with the banquet being held in the dining room and the exercises in the Arts Centre in downtown Dauphin. Twenty three students qualified to take part in the exercises. Valedictorian was Lawrence VanDyke and salutatorian was Michael Parker. For a list of all other awards to the graduating class, see the appendix section at the end of this book. The senior class had enjoyed a class outing at the Elkhorn Resort area in Riding Mountain National Park. The most "fun event" on the outing was "horseback riding."

Farewell activities took place on June 15 with a large number of awards being presented to students for excellency in music, sports, Bible, citizenship, academics, journalism, and other fields. The "spirit award" was presented to Ryan Nelson and Heather McMillan. Citizen of the year was Michael Parker.

Three events of 1990-91 not mentioned previously are worthy of notice. Early in February several students participated in the Canadian Mathematics Competition sponsored by the University of Waterloo, in Ontario. Two students, Brock Gunter-Smith and Elizabeth Pfeiffer scored in the top 25% of Canadian students who wrote the test at the grade ten level. They each received certificates of distinction. They along with Jokim Woo received the high est team score for Zone three in Manitoba. Brock and Erica Ulrich each received medals for the highest scores in their respective grades. The second event was the organization of an Environmental Club under the direction of Mr. Goldsmith. The purpose of the club was to make 169 us aware of the need to care for and preserve a healthy environment. The third event involved a student who had graduated in June 1990. Tram Do received a Canada Scholarship from the Federal Government for continuing her studies in science. The scholarship amounted to $8,000.00 to be given over a period of four years. Tram was attending the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

The second year at Dauphin proved to be excellent in most respects. Western was now well established in its new location. Many of the traditions of the school were again revived. The three-year Bible program had been re-established; the financial picture continued to look positive and we entered the summer break with much optimism about the new school term and the future of Western Christian College. Victories had been won and milestones had been reached. Students and staff alike took a well earned break from the busy life that is "Western."

The third year in Manitoba began with another encouraging increase in enrollment. On September 5, a total of 100 students had registered for classes: 26 enrolled in grade ten; 26 in grade eleven; 34 in grade twelve; 14 in College (some of whom were taking credits at the high school level). In three years the high school enrollment had increased from 66 to 84 students, an increase of 27% over the first year. I found this to be very encouraging and felt the future of Western looked brighter. I say this because I believe that Western exists for the students who enroll there. Students came from Manitoba (20), Saskatchewan (47), Alberta (14), British Columbia (9), the Territories (2), U.S.A. (1), Hong Kong (5), Saudi Arabia (1) and Japan (1).

One new faculty member was added to the teaching staff for 1991-92. Sharon Olson, a graduate of Western agreed to move to Western to teach English, French and Girls' physical education. Other returning teachers were Jack Close, Hugh Gannon, Gordon Goldsmith, Mark Husband, Ron Johnson. I continued on as principal and teacher.

An exciting event happened in Dauphin during the summer when Blair and Susan Roberts and family returned from Belgium to begin work with the congregation in Dauphin. Since students from Western are closely involved with the congregation, this move by the Roberts family had a very positive effect on the spiritual growth of both staff and students . Blair 's lessons were inspirational and faith-building and added to the effectiveness of the total pro gram at Western.

Looking back over the records, I think this could have been called the "year of policy development." We developed policies for lates and absences, policies regarding students leaving early on long weekends, and a "code of behavior in the classroom." Policies were also in place regarding study-hall attendance and use of spare periods. Concern for others and courtesy toward others could have eliminated the need for written policies. However, not everyone has developed the maturity to have these qualities, and so the policies came into existence.

Two new courses were added at the grade twelve level: French 300 and math 301. French had not been taught at the grade twelve level since Western moved to Dauphin. Math 301 was added to accommodate those who had difficulty with algebra or trigonometry.

Classes began at 8:15 a.m. with chapel being held at shortly after nine. Classes ran through to 4:15 followed by sports activities. This schedule made for a long day. However, not many students had a full schedule for the entire time

One of the students enrolled for the fall semester received a lot of publicity in the local newspaper. James Mooney, son of Jack and Judy Mooney from Calgary, was enrolled at Western, but he was also involved with the Dauphin Kings junior hockey team. James had a good record in hockey, having played with the Calgary Buffaloes triple A midget team. He was described in the Dauphin Herald as an "A" student who hoped that a year with the Dauphin Kings would lead to a full scholarship from U.S. college hockey. With that in mind he had passed up an opportunity to play with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League, choosing rather to concentrate on his education. The Herald goes on to say, "One of the attractions about Dauphin for Mooney is that it is the home of Western Christian College where he is now enrolled in grade 12, joining his younger broth er Justin who helped liven up Kings games last winter by playing his trumpet." James attended a school in Calgary with about 2500 students, and he found that with his involvement in midget hockey he did not get a chance to know any of his fellow students. He said in the Herald article, "My life was hockey and school. This (attending WCC) will give me a chance to be a person." In a player profile in the same issue of the Herald he is described as "Probably one of the most sought after 17-year-olds in Western Canada." James lived up to all expectations and was not only an excellent player, but was an excellent student who often came home from late trips to out-of-town games, but was present for the early classes the next morning. In early April it was learned that James had received a four-year scholarship amounting to about $20,000.00 (U.S.) per year at Brown University in Rhode Island. The University had been watching James for about a year, and arranged to fly him down for interviews where he signed a contract to enter University and play on the school hockey team the following year.

The fall lectureship was held October 11-13 with Gary Montgomery (accompanied by his wife, Sandra) from the Daugherty Street congregation in Eastland, Texas, giving six of the nine lectures presented at the weekend. Other speakers were Tom Clark, President of Great Lakes Christian College in Beamsville, Ontario, and Roy Merrit from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The theme of the lectureship was "Winning the Christian Battle in a Modern World." The lectures were held in the Multi-purpose rink on the DMCC grounds in downtown Dauphin. Those attending the lectureship were warned to wear warm clothing since there would not be much heat in the building. A report in the December '91 Messenger said the messages taught by the three speakers were well prepared and present ed, and further stated that everyone who provided feedback stated how meaningful the lessons were. The student's yearbook commented "His messages-encouraged and inspired many brethren who travelled from all over Canada and the United States to hear him speak. Attendance was about 600 persons. The Gift Night contribution to Western amounted to almost $38,000.00. As to my impressions of the weekend, I felt it had been a tremendous time of inspiration and had spiritually strengthened all who attended. I did hear some criticism later from someone who had not attended, but brushed that off as unfounded.

By late fall the enrollment had stabilized at 98, down 2 students from the September report. A report on the college Bible program suggested that in one semester of intensive Bible study in the University level Bible classes, the average student (11 that semester) would have spent about 216 hours in intensive study each semester besides the many hours of research and study done outside the classroom. "In one year these young men and women will have spent the equivalent of 12.4 years of 'Sunday School' time in this intensive study." Multiply this by three years and you get some idea of the value of the program.

The academic progress of students in the high school was commendable. 59% of the students had mid-term averages of 70% or above. That meant that their grades were in the "B" or above range. This was considerably higher than the provincial record.

In October several students competed in cross-country races in the Regional meet at Lake of the Prairies. One student was chosen to go on to provincials at The Pas. Both boys' and girls' volley ball teams were progressing in an excellent way. The boys had taken third place at a tournament at St. Vlad's in Roblin, third at one in Rossburn, first at Gilbert Plains, and "not too well" at the tournament in Dauphin. Later the team lost in zone playoffs in a tight battle with St. Vlad's, but because of their sea son record were qualified to enter a "wildcard" tournament at Neepawa and were successful in winning, with the result that they then played in the provincials at Rossburn December 5-7. There they won their pool, but lost in the consolation final. Of special note for the teams was the level of sportsmanship that had been evident throughout the season. Coach of the team was Ron Johnson.

Mark Husband was coach of the girls' volleyball team. Ten students played, managed by Rachael Muller. During the season there were some wins and some losses. In the zone playoffs it was necessary to consider total points to declare a winner. The team with the highest number of points had earlier been defeated by Western girls. Tara Laliberte was team captain.

Hockey started off rather slowly, but picked up as the season progressed. Once again Doug Parker had come from Regina to conduct a clinic to help the players improve their performance on the ice. Coached by Mark Husband and Travis Sass, and managed by Sharon Olson, the team moved up to win as "B" side finalists in two tournaments and "A" side finalist in Birtle, Manitoba. Chad Parker was team captain.

1991-1992 was a rebuilding year for boys' basketball. Only one player had come up from the previous year. Nathan Close was captain of the team. We were fortunate to obtain the coaching skills of Mr. Brian Bilinski, a teacher/principal of one of the city schools. Brian had taken his University work at the University of Regina, and had played on the University basketball team there. With an almost totally inexperienced roster of players, it was necessary to do a lot of basic training. The boys attended a tournament at Foam Lake, Saskatchewan in January. I had the privilege of driving the van to that tournament. Many of the boys were astonished when they saw that I had brought a hair blower along (we were sleeping in one of the classrooms). They were relieved when they learned that the purpose of the blow er was to inflate my air mattress so that I would have a soft place to sleep. I have not had a need for a hair dryer for many years!

By March we were able to report in the Messenger School News and Notes that "we have witnessed considerable improvement in each of the teams (hockey included) throughout the season. The basketball teams were preparing for Zones with the possibility of going on to provincials. The boys were not successful at the zones and no further reports were entered in either the Messenger or Herald.

The girls' season started off with 12 players, two of whom were later injured. Heather McMillan, who was enrolled in the College pro gram, along with Mr. Goldsmith, were coaches of the team. Many of the games during the sea son were against stronger teams from the Double A division. At a tournament in Grandview the team took second place. Most of the players would be returning for the next sea son. Tara Laliberte was the captain of the team. Players added to the roster of the previous year were Carolyn Wiebe, Shannon Tucker and Erica Ulrich.

Getting back to the first semester, three additional events took place in late fall. The grade twelve class members were sold as "slaves" in a fund-raising effort for graduation expenses. A Drama' Night was arranged at which time two plays were presented: "The Frog Prince," directed by Elizabeth Pfeiffer and Miss Olson; and "The Blackout Mystery" directed by Tanya Jacobs and Carolyn Wiebe. We also had a gentleman from Winnipeg, "Grampa Tom," who used a few magical tricks to put across lessons against use of drugs, tobacco and alcohol. He had a humorous way of presenting some excel lent ideas against the abuse of these sub stances.

At the end of the fall term the "Christmas banquet" provided a final get-together for staff families and students. I need to say here that the dining hall staff under the direction of Dorothy Davis provided some of the most delicious meals at the banquets that I have tasted anywhere. The members of the kitchen staff are to be commended for their excellent meals (on a daily basis too). As usual the man in the red suit appeared and provided some good laughs. Staff and students were looking forward to the December break and the opportunity to be back home with family and friends. Speaking of banquets, the Winter banquet (a celebration of semester exams being over and an event to help everyone forget about winter doldrums) was held in mid February, close enough to Valentine's day to give students a chance to ask that special person for a dinner date. It is always a source of amazement to me how hand some the guys are and how beautiful the girls are when they dress up for such occasions. These events are a beautiful experience.

Another event for December was the annual choral concert. As in other years, the Chorus performed on the evening of December 12. The concert was open to the public and was held in 172 the auditorium. About 80 people (besides chorus members) were in attendance.

Homecoming weekend was held on February 7-9. High school graduates from '52, '62, '72, '82 and '87 were honoured along with college classes from '73, '83 and '88. At the Friday night festivities the crowning of the Queen took place. Three candidates had been selected, Josie Bellavance from Radville, Saskatchewan, Victoria Dronsfield from Bienfait, Saskatchewan, and Terri Greenslade from Winnipeg Manitoba. Vicki Dronsfield was chosen as queen. Alumnus of the year, chosen by the Alumni Association, was Raymond Jacobs from Vernon, B.C.

The Environment Club continued to be active during this year, again under the direction of Gordon Goldsmith. President of the club was Deanna Cook. Reduce, reuse and recycle became the motto of the club. Money for the club was raised by collecting and selling aluminum cans. The money was used to purchase magazine subscriptions for the library.

The ski trip did not take place that year mostly because of the lower number of students who signed up or who felt they could afford the cost of a ticket to the slopes.

The March 11 issue of the Dauphin Herald announced that the a cappella chorus was ready to head out on its annual tour on March 26. The ten-day tour included performances in Minot, North Dakota, Glendive and Bozeman, Montana, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, Kelowna, Vancouver, Victoria and Salmon Arm, B.C. and Medicine Hat, Alberta. Forty-four students made the tour. The Chorus performed on March 25 in the auditorium at Western before setting out on the trip. In addition to this tour, the chorus performed at other places closer to home including Winnipegosis and Gilbert Plains.

On April 24-36 the Moose Mountain Alumni sponsored a chorus trip to Kennedy, Carlyle, Wawota, and Maryfield in Saskatchewan. On Sunday several of the young men participated in the worship services at Wawota and Whitewood, Saskatchewan, and Manson, Manitoba.

For the second year in a row a number of teachers from Saskatchewan visited the campus for a Spring Renewal Week, from April 20 through 24. Visiting teachers attended class sessions, taught classes, spoke in chapel, conducted dorm devotionals and in general lent encouragement to staff members with suggestions, words of praise, and other positive things. The teachers in Saskatchewan have spring break later than teachers in Manitoba. Those who came that year were John and Carolyn McMillan, Tim Pippus, Brian Cox, James Willet, Miss Torkelson and Murray Sanders.

As a result of some persuasive words by Murray Sanders with a computer firm in Northern Manitoba, arrangements were made to have a computer program installed in the academic office at a fraction of the original cost. The program was being used extensively across Manitoba and was sanctioned and recommended by Manitoba Education. That program is capable of handling a wide range of records from basic student file information to report cards, transcripts, attendance and lates/absences, class enrollments and a large number of other tedious record keeping chores. It was programmed to coincide with the departmental records at year-end so that our final grade results could be placed on a storage disc and sent to the department where they are brought up and placed on the Manitoba Education records. Special thanks were extended to Murray for his efforts in procuring this helpful program.

The accustomed counselling class was held from May 11 to 15, with Dr. Jim Hawkins teaching the class. Topic for the session was "Counselling for Health." The text used for the class was "Minding the Body, Mending the Mind," by Joan Borysenko.

A Pep Squad was organized again this year with Erica Ulrich as Captain. The purpose of the group was to put a spirit of enthusiasm back into not only sports activities, but also to encourage the "Christian" spirit in other activities such as devotionals, leadership classes, etc. Cross country racing was held again and Western entered a three-man team consisting of Chad Parker, Rick Jenkins and Kevin Hodges. Zone meet was held again at Roblin (Lake of the Prairies). Chad Parker came in first and was later sent on to the Provincial meet where he placed number 56 out of 300 runners.

Track and field enthusiast Jason Parker placed 2nd in five track events and 4th in the triple jump. Tammy McMillan came 3rd in junior discus, Justin Mooney 1st in senior javelin, Trevor Seibel, 2nd in the 800 m. and 4th in the long jump, Malcolm McMillan 3rd in 100 metre and Jeff Stone 1st in 100 metre and 2nd in high jump. The relay team placed 2nd in the 400 metre.

Badminton competition was introduced that year. After playing against the DRCSS, two teams, Andrea Muirhead with Shannon Tucker, and Trevor Seibel with Jason Parker went to regionals in Gilbert Plains. The last sport of the year for the boys was soccer under the coaching of Gordon Goldsmith. Only a few games were played against the DRCSS team. The girls wound up the year's activities with formation of a softball team. Again the number of games was small. Shannon Tucker was the pitcher. Western lost 10-9 to the DRCSS in the first game and won 14-7 in a second game.

On May 9 the recognition banquet honouring the College Class was held in the cafeteria at the College. Guests were entertained with musical numbers by Hugh and Gregory Gannon. The program followed in the auditorium. Ten students received Certificates in Biblical Studies. Six additional students took partial loads in college classes and the remainder in high school classes. The Alumni Academic Award was presented to two students, Angela MacLeod and Dwayne Davis. These two students also received the Alumni Bible Award. Angela also received the Janine Annita Farr Bible Award. Dwayne Davis received the Ottinger Bible Award. A special faculty award was presented to Duana Davies. Mizpah, the men's quartet, provided musical entertainment.

Youth Rally 1992 was held on May 15-17. Troy Hodgson, an alumnus of both the high school and college programs and now youth minister for the congregation in Victoria, B.C. was guest speaker at the Rally. The theme of the weekend was "Christians Can Make a Difference." His lessons-were clear, witty and to the point. He showed us that 'Soon and Very Soon We are Going to See the King"' The Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, The Pirates of Penzance was staged by the students of Western. The performance took place in the all-purpose auditorium at the DRCSS. As usual, the musical was well received by the many young visitors that came for the youth rally.

The spring retreat was held on the fourth weekend in May at the same Bible camp near Riding Mountain Park. The yearbook described the event in these words: "It was a time of spiritual growth through discussion, encounter and personal times. Malcolm's 'candle' devotion and the 'sharing memories and appreciation' touched everyone there. The weekend was encouraging, uplifting and an excellent time to grow closer to God and friends." The weekend was organized by the S.R.C.

Headlines in the June 17 Dauphin Herald read"WCC Graduates 33 students." This was the third graduation in Dauphin. The theme of the program was "Today's Impossible Dreams are Tomorrow's Reachable Stars." Chosen Scripture was from Romans 8:36, "If God is for us, who can be against us." The exercises took place in the banquet hall at Selo Ukraina, south of Dauphin next to Riding Mountain Park. Decorations included a pond, bridge and garden swing surrounded with flowers and greenery. Guest speaker was Jack Close who welcomed the graduates to the adult world of environmental concerns and national debt while encouraging the enthusiasm and hope he found within the graduates. Dan Morris gave the valedictorian address and Erica Ulrich the salutatorian talk. The exercises concluded with a choral pro gram.

The final major event of the year again was the Farewell. As in the past, staff and students enjoyed an excellent meal, took part in relaxing games and activities, and enthusiastically received the many awards that are given out at the end of the year. All sports awards were included at this time. The Spirit award went to Dan Morris and Jann Tetreau. The citizen of the year was Malcolm McMillan. Farewell is always accompanied by strong feelings of nostalgia as friends say goodbye to friends they have made at Western. The words contained in the year book describe very well this saying goodbye. "Here is where the road divides. Here is where we realize the sculpting of our Father's great design. Through time you have been a friend to me, but time is now the enemy. I wish we didn't have to say goodbye. But I know the road he chose for me is not the road he chose for you. So as we chase the dreams we're after, pray for me and I'll pray for you. Pray that we will keep the common ground. Won't you pray for me and I'll pray for you, and one day love will bring us around...again."

As I have reached the half way mark of my portion of this history of Western, it has dawned on me that so far nothing has been said about the many people besides teaching staff that are not so much involved in the "activities" of the various programs that are in place at Western. I could talk about the maintenance people who keep the buildings warm and comfortable or the janitorial people who clean and scrub after we have finished our day. I do want to conclude this half-way point by paying tribute to the Student Life area of Western. If life in the dormitories goes well, life in the classroom goes very well. At the head of the student life program is a person that I have come to respect very highly "for her works sake." That person is Marilyn Muller. If I were to include the events of that other half of Western, the student life area, I would have to double or triple the volume of material recorded here. Much of the smooth operation of the school over the past five years is because that very important area, Student Life, has been very well taken care of by Marilyn and her co-workers in the dormitories and related areas of Western. As I thought about this, I came across a report that Marilyn printed in the Messenger in June 1992. I take the liberty to include her observations for your consideration.

"A month or so ago, my energy was lagging and I began to think about how to make those positive adjustments in my day-to-day living to achieve the school year's end in one healthy piece. Fortunately, in a growing daily dependence on our Lord, I laid at His feet the struggle I was having."

"In response, He has blessed me, letting me see almost daily examples in fascinating Heaven-Bound adjustments." Marilyn went on to tell about some of the daily happenings that helped her gain strength for the day: "hearing the comfort one student had received from another's listening ear about a relationship struggle he was having;-a generous gift one student set aside for a fellow student's year at Western next year;-the anguish one student was having for the church in Western Canada;-agony over the possibility of con fronting a best friend."

Marilyn concluded with these words: "What is going on here at Western is the moulding and challenging of lives, both young and old;-We believe in what God is doing here and are energized in the moulding process. (And yes, this whole process seems foolish to many who judge things by a worldly standard)."

"Everyone who works at Western is having a part in the total moulding process that is so evident in the lives of the young adults with whom they work."

Once again enrollment figures fluctuated, this time slightly down from the previous year. As of September 3, totals for each grade were as follows (numbers in brackets are for the previous year): Grade ten-23 (26); Grade Eleven- 31 (26); Grade Twelve-27 (34); College-10 (12); Part time-3 (0). Other students were expected from Hong Kong on the weekend. Thirty five of these students were here for the first time.

The first event of the year was a concert in the local Arts Centre that had been organized by Marilyn Muller, Director of Student Life. She had done all the footwork to bring the singing group, Acapella, to Dauphin for a concert on September 1. This was a Christian vocal group, first organized in 1982 by Keith Lancaster, songwriter, producer, arranger and former lead singer of the Acapella singers. The group included lead singer George Pendgrass, tenor Gary Moyers, baritone Wayburn Dean, and Duane Adams, bass singer. The group had released several albums of spiritual music since its beginning in 1982. Their latest album was "We Have Seen His glory," described as being "full of innovative vocal sounds and tight harmonies, all-vocal arrangements. What makes this group so unique is that all sounds are produced by human voices. It does not use instruments, which makes it a versatile performing group." (Herald) (Incidentally, one of Western's alumnus, Robert Orr, now (1995) works with Acapella.)

One new faculty member was added to the teaching staff to replace Gordon Goldsmith who had resigned earlier. Loreen Husband took over as teacher of social studies, history and biology, and to be in charge of the library. She has special training in library science.

Twelve three-hour classes were offered at the College level. "Hugh Gannon and Roger Peterson were regular teachers." Arrangements were made to have two of the classes taught by visiting instructors. Ron Pauls from London, Ontario, a graduate of Western, came during the fall semester to teach the class on Marriage and the Family. The Minor Prophets class was taught by Dr. Jack Lewis from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, during the spring semester. Each of these two classes was taught during a concentrated two-week period. The purpose of this arrangement was to enable students from other centres to come for the shorter period of time. Mention should also be made here of the fact that various classes being offered at Western were made available, through audio tapes and printed materials, to anyone in other areas who was interested in taking the Bible courses by correspondence. These classes received full three hours credit when completed.

During the previous spring semester, arrangements had been made to develop detailed curriculum guides for Bible classes at the high school level. Copies of these guides had been sent to Manitoba Education, where they were examined for content and value. As a result, permission was granted for Western to offer these Bible classes for credit at each grade level. The classes included "Skills for Lifelong Learning," based on the book of Luke; "Introduction to Old Testament"; "Introduction to New Testament"; "Life and lessons of Christ"; "Biblical doctrines"; and "The Christian and modern morals."

During the previous summer, one of the teachers, Ron Johnson, had attended a volley ball workshop in Winnipeg in order to be better prepared for coaching. Other staff activities included re-working the card catalogue and rearranging the library. Loreen Husband was involved in this project and was being assisted by Cheryl Cox when she was able to get away from the bookkeeping duties. Helen Peterson spent much time helping in this area as well as other needy areas. 176

The computer program, installed in early June, was now being utilized and studied by Karen Close. The plan was to use the program for both the academic and student life areas.

Jack Close had spent most of the summer working on "Hazardous Materials" and the regulations that were brought into effect across Canada by the Federal Government. He continued working on this project well into the fall semester. Under the new regulations, all chemical substances in the lab and other areas had to be properly labelled as to possible dangers and emergency treatment.

Manitoba Education was in the process of changing the structure of the Provincial system to include grade nine as part of the high school program. As a result of this move, the Board of Directors asked that a feasibility study be done as to the possibility of grade nine being included as a part of Western's program beginning in the 1993-1994 school year. It was decided that information should be sought as to the amount of interest there was in making this change, especially in the community of Dauphin.

The Annual Lectureship was held on the weekend of October 9-11. Lynn Anderson from the Preston Road church in Dallas, Texas, was the featured speaker. The theme of the lessons was "Finding the Heart to Go On," based on Lynn's book by the same title. The weekend activities opened on Friday evening with Hugh Gannon speaking at the men's leadership dinner in the W.C.C. cafeteria on the subject, "Teaching Bible in the 1990's." Lynn's topics included "Because he had the heart," "Facing giants," "Running from our roots," "God of death and God of dancing," "Families in the fast lane" and "When a father's heart is breaking." On Sunday afternoon, Willie Tolison, minister of the church in Minot, North Dakota, spoke on the subject, "Teaching the lost in the 90's." The lectures were held in the Dauphin Curling Rink. Lectureship is intended to be a time of spiritual growth and fellowship, and that year's lectureship proved to be tops in this respect.

Two observations, my personal opinions, were printed in the Messenger in September 1992. "I am more and more impressed with the calibre of students that are enrolling at Western. The potential for spiritual, social and academic growth is tremendous. There continues to be a high level of optimism and co-operation among all members of the staff at Western. We are very optimistic about the future of the church when we see the potential of this group of young adults." During the several years that my wife and I worked with the school at Dauphin, these observations were a constant encouragement to us. It speaks well for the family units and the congregations from which these students came.

During the summer a new family moved to the campus to begin work with the Student Life department. Kerry and LaVonne Roberts and family, from Salmon Arm, B.C., moved into the Girls' dormitory where LaVonne took over responsibilities as Dorm Director. The family moved to Dauphin in June and Kerry began work as a mechanic with the local Canadian Tire business. Mrs. Muller made this observation in her report in the Messenger in September of that year: "Lavonne is a good communicator; she is intuitive, but firm in directing her own children in what's right, and brings to this position a strong desire to share these characteristics with the girls in the dorm setting. As never before, our children need modelled before them, Christian families in action, and LaVonne and Kerry and family are a fine example of this. I look forward to the working relationship of the days ahead." (For personal reasons, I tended to agree with Mrs. Muller.)

The Board of Directors requested that an evaluation of the high school classes be carried out. As a result, Roy Bailey, who had been Director of Education for several years in Saskatchewan, was asked to come to the cam pus and spend two full days observing our total program. He then reported back to the Board concerning his observations and suggestions.

The December 1992 Messenger contained a notice that Western was requiring new people on the faculty and staff for the coming year. Since I had expressed a desire to turn the job of principal/academic dean over to someone younger, that position was to be filled by July 1. In addition, those of us who were working at Western were surprised to learn that Vince Anderson was resigning as president, effective January 1, 1993, and that a chief executive officer/president would be required almost immediately. A third position was to be filled for the coming school year. Doug Cox had resigned after several years as boys' dorm director, and a replacement was being sought for this position.

The sports program again got under way early in the term. Mark Husband was coach of the girls' volley ball team and Thessali Good was the manager. The team had what was described as an "up and down" season. They won the consolation in a tournament at the Swan Valley tournament, and placed third in the Dauphin Regional Comprehensive tournament. The girls played in zones in McCreary and ended up in third place to end the season. "We grew together as a team and had lots of fun," were the words that later described the year. It was the final season for five grade twelve students who were graduating at the end of the year.

The boys' team was again coached by Ron Johnson. The team developed well and attended several tournaments in Rivers, Gilbert Plains, Roblin (St. Vlad's), and Grandview. They came second in the Rivers and Grandview and first in Gilbert Plains and St. Vlad's tournaments. At the end of the season they were ranked number two for the province. At the provincial playoffs in Vita, Manitoba, the team finished second in their pool after falling to Riverton. However, the boys ended up in the final games against St. Jean Baptist where they didn't quite play their best, and ended up in second place for the province.

The hockey team that year was made up of players who had been in hockey for several years and other players who had not played previously. The team was coached by Mark Husband and Kerry Roberts. The highlight of the game according to Jason Stamm, one of the players was when they defeated the team from Holland. That team had not previously been beaten during the season.

The girls' basketball in 1992-93 was coached by Sharon Olson (her first attempt at coaching) and Nathan Close, a College student. Information about the season is skimpy, but the team played in zones at Grandview where they were defeated by a very strong Grandview team. The boys' basketball team was again coached by Brian Belinski. The boys lacked the "height" prevalent in some of the teams. However they did get to play in regionals, held at The Pas, where they lost out and ended the prospects of going on to provincials.

Early in the new year the Board of Directors appointed an interim president, John McMillan, to replace Vince Anderson, who had stepped down from the position to take the administrator's position at the Gilbert Plains Health Centre. Vince had been with the College since 1985. John received a "leave of absence" from his principal's duties and teaching job in Saskatchewan, to take on the responsibilities of fund-raising and student recruitment as well as administration of the school. While this was to be a temporary appointment, the May 18 issue of the Dauphin Herald announced that the Board of Directors had selected John McMillan to fill the full-time position beginning in the new fiscal year. The same issue of the Herald announced that Jack Close had been selected to take over as principal/academic dean for the coming school year.

The new year saw additional study into the feasibility of including grade nine in the high school program. Two "open house" nights were conducted on February 18 and March 11. Considerable interest had been shown in the idea of also including grades seven and eight in the program. Parents from the city and surrounding areas were given an opportunity to hear first hand about the program at Western and to ask questions about our expectations and standards. An announcement in a June issue of the Herald stated that the final decision had been made that Western would implement an "upper-middle years program" offering grades seven and eight, as well as adding grade nine to the present high school program of grades 10 12. This decision was in response to the many requests that came from local residents. Students in grades seven through nine would however not be dormitory students, but would have to reside in their own homes or, if they were from out of town, the home of someone else in the community.

Homecoming was held on February 5-7. An old tradition of having basketball games on the Friday evening was revived. The gym at the DRCSS was again available. The girls' game was played first, followed by the crowning of the homecoming queen. The boys' game followed this activity. The three candidates for queen were Jenny Cox, Tara Laliberte and Jann Tetreau. Tara Laliberte was selected as queen. At the Saturday night program, Wayne Muirhead was chosen Alumnus of the year (1992). Paul Brazle was guest speaker for the weekend.

On February 20 the grade eleven class tried a new activity that had not been attempted before. A dinner theatre was performed in the auditorium. After a delicious meal, a "wild and woolly melodrama" called "Westward Ho Ho Ho" was performed for a crowd of about 100 people from the community and school personnel. Because the event was so well received, the play was performed at three schools in Dauphin. In addition, the Regina Alumni Chapter arranged a fund raising dinner theatre in Regina, utilizing the talents of the class.

The large chorus tour, usually held during spring break did not take place in the spring of 1993. Plans had been made instead to have two singing groups, Mizpah and Praise, travel with Mr. McMillan and Mrs. Muller (primary driver), through two provinces and five midwestern states. The tour lasted ten days.

On Saturday May 8, a banquet and program were held in honour of the College students. Seven of the nine full-time students received Certificates in Biblical Studies. They were Kristi Close, Nathan Close, Kevin Hodges, Katherine Kendig, Owen King, Tyler Knibbs and Malcolm McMillan. Two other students, Jennifer Jocelyn and Jeff Stone had completed 27 hours of classes. The students selected R.J. McKenzie as guest speaker. Several awards were presented in the areas of academic proficiency, Christian Growth, psychology, and missions. The two singing groups, Praise and Mizpah sang as part of the program.

The annual Youth Rally was held on the weekend of May 21-23. Pete Brazle from Royal Oak Michigan was the featured speaker. The musical, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" was staged in the all purpose room at the DRCSS. Director was Malcolm McMillan assisted by Becky Andreas and Tanya Jacobs. An excellent group of young people were in attendance from across Western Canada.

A student from Western, Steven Cheng, received top honours in the 29th Annual Manitoba Mathematical Contest sponsored by the University of Manitoba. A total of 376 students had participated, representing 50 high schools.

On June 12, a total of 26 senior students took part in the graduation exercises, again held at Selo Ukraina. Theme of the event was "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand." The Selo Ukraina ladies catered the meal. About 300 guests attended the banquet with approximately 400 attending the program that followed. Valedictorian was Jenny Cox and Salutatorian was Cyrus Crook.

The students selected Mark Husband to be the guest speaker.

Farewell time again! On June 18 the staff again sponsored this event in the open-air rink. Many relaxing, fun activities were part of the occasion, including allusions to the Musical, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers." Other events included a nail-driving contest, pie-eating competition, various types of races and a water-balloon throwing event where staff members were the targets. With exams looming up in a few days, this was a time for lots of laughter and relaxation for all.

I mention in closing this busy year of activities that there were many other worthwhile activities: Badminton, softball, soccer, curling, special leadership classes, Big Brother, Big Sister activities, the Lite program and other things that made this an exciting year at Western. I must conclude by reporting the visit by the Wayward Bear. As we were preparing to begin another day of activity in mid-June, my wife noticed this huge dog just outside our living room window, leaning up against a tree. This "dog" turned out to be a brown bear that had strayed down from Riding Mountain National Park. We had some exciting moments for the next hour as the RCMP were notified and the animal control people summoned. In the mean time the bear took refuge in a large tree in our back yard. It was hard to keep the crowd of students back or to convince them to continue on to class. This was no time for a holiday from classes! It was exciting though, and an interesting diversion from the daily routine of school life. As for the bear, he was tranquillized, placed in a bear cage and hauled off to a different park, Duck Mountain, so that he could not again find his way back to our front yard.

The year 1993 brought about many changes at Western. In May, the Board of Directors announced they had selected John McMillan to serve as President. John had been serving as "Interim President" since January 1993. The March issue of the Messenger announced that Jack Close had been appointed Principal beginning with the 1993-1994 school year. It had been over a year since I had asked the Board to find a replacement to take on the Principal's job. When there were no applications, I had agreed to stay on for one more year. It was a relief to know that Jack Close had accepted the position. The June issue of the Messenger announced that Floyd and Marion Jacobs were retiring after many years of service to Western. Doug Cox who had served as boys' dorm director for five years had resigned to take employment with Mutual Life in Dauphin. So it was that many changes were happening. A new President, a new Principal, a new Boys' Dorm Director, two new teachers and new people in the custodial area.

In addition, since the middle years program was to begin in September, two new faculty members were hired. Rhonda Forrest who had graduated from the University of Regina in December 1992 was to teach in the junior science area since Jack Close was moving into the Principal's position. Carolyn McMillan was to teach in the middle years program. She had been teaching previously for almost six years. Larry Good, who graduated from Western in 1969, took up the responsibility of Dorm Director, replacing Doug Cox. He and his wife Gayle and family returned from Belgium after almost sixteen years work with the church in that area. Susan Roberts was also to begin serving part time as special education resource teacher and evening library supervisor.

The enrollment for each grade according to the best we can determine was as follows: Grade 12-33; Grade 11-34; Grade 10-19; (total- 86) College-07; Enrollment for the three new grades was as follows: Grade 9-10; Grade 8- 7; Grade 7-9; (total-26) Grand total for all grades was 119. Any discrepancy in these numbers is purely coincidental, since various reports do not always agree as to the exact numbers. 180

President John McMillan announced that the theme of the 1993-1994 year would be "Discover Us," with the hopes that all people will learn what Western is all about. The enrollment for the 1993-1994 year (compared with the previous two years) was as follows: (numbers in brackets are for 1992 and 1991 in that order) Grade seven: 9 (n/a); Grade eight: 7 (n/a); Grade nine: 10 (n/a); Grade ten: 19 (23, 26); Grade eleven: 34 (31, 26); Grade twelve: 33 (27, 34); College: 7 (10, 12). Totals for grade 10 through college: 93 (91, 100).

The most dramatic change at Western for that year was the addition of grades 7, 8 and 9. With the addition of 26 students in these grades, the total enrollment jumped to 121.

Because a number of students wishing to attend the middle years program were rural students, a request was made to the Dauphin Ocre school board to have these students trans ported on Division buses to Western, since they lived along bus lines that were already coming into Dauphin. Arrangements were finally worked out so that these students could be accommodated. The school division was able to claim a transportation grant for each of these students.

Spiritual emphasis week took place September 13 to 17. Mike Bolton from the Omagh church of Christ, in Milton, Ontario, was the guest speaker. Mike Challenged the students to "Walk the Walk," and to "Keep on Keeping on" in their faith. This was an opportunity for students to be spiritually uplifted and begin a good year by focussing on having the "mind of Christ." Mike's lessons were dynamic and encouraging for all.

Church services of the Dauphin congregation of the church of Christ were changed to try to make room for the increase in numbers attending Western. The building on River Street was not large enough to accommodate the crowd. The decision was made to move services to the auditorium at Western. Classes for younger children were conducted in the small dormitory.

The theme of the lectureship held on October 8, 9 and 10 was "The Bible....A Lamp Unto My Feet." Speaker at the Friday evening Men's Leadership Dinner was Cecil Bailey from Calgary, Alberta, who spoke on the topic "God, Give Us Men." Later that evening Bob Harrington, also from Calgary, spoke on the topic "A Lamp to My Feet in the Home." The annual meeting of Western shareholders was held on Saturday morning in the auditorium. John McMillan reported that official word had been received from the auditors that as of June 30, 1993, the "Yes We Can" campaign had been a success and that the budget was balanced and the deficit erased. The first afternoon lecture was given by Kelly Carter from Victoria, B.C. on the subject, "A Lamp to My Feet in Educational Pursuits." At the same time Charlie Murray from Minot, North Dakota spoke to the youth in the W.C.C. auditorium. Activities at 7:00 p.m. in the curling rink included a lecture, again by Kelly Carter, on the topic, "A Lamp To My Feet In Generosity," followed by a presentation by John McMillan. "Celebration Of Thanksgiving." Unlike other years, the "Gift Night" was not held, a change from an old tradition in past years. Sunday lectures were given by Jack Outhier from Faith, South Dakota, on the topics, "A Lamp To My Feet In The Community," and "A Lamp To My Feet In Peril." Bob Harrington presented two lectures on the topics, "A Lamp Unto My Feet In Hospitality," and "A Lamp Unto My Feet In The World." Charlie Murray again presented a lesson to the Youth in the afternoon.

John McMillan reported in the September Messenger that $23,000.00 had been donated during the past year to the Worthy Student Fund. A new program was introduced called "Job Creation." Up to $1000.00 was made avail able to student's tuition costs for those who would work for 200 hours (at $5.00/hour). Eleven students with 9 1/2 jobs were receiving help from this program. More and more friends of Western are donating funds so that worthy students can receive some financial help.

A Career Day was held on October 22, to give students an opportunity to hear first hand from individuals involved in various occupations and businesses. A special room, designated "Resources Room," has been set up where students can go to find information about careers, job opportunities and other topics of interest. This room is located on the upper floor of the classroom building. 181

A new organization was set up in the fall of '93, the Parent School Association. The purpose of the organization was to act as an advisory body to the Academic and Student Life Departments. Parents were being asked to con tribute $5.00 per family toward postage, stationery, envelopes, copying, and other costs. In addition any ideas coming from parents were to be addressed by the group.

During the semester break, November 7-14, I was privileged to make a trip with Mr. McMillan and the Sonshine Singers. The trip took us to Yorkton, Regina and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Salmon Arm, Vernon, Victoria, Coquitlam and Creston, B.C., and Calgary and Medicine Hat, Alberta. The group sang and acted in each presentation. The program was well received.

Late in November Mr. Thomas Chell, the Director of Education, Oxbow School Division, Oxbow, Saskatchewan, where John McMillan had previously taught, was invited to spend two days on campus to assist with teacher development and supervision. He also presented an afternoon development session to the Board. Much positive feeling resulted from his visit. On the evening of November 25, an "Open House" was scheduled for parents and the community. Mr. Chell was guest speaker. A number of items were included in the program, provided by the various classes and musical groups. Following the program visitors were given a tour of the facilities. Coffee and donuts were then served in the cafeteria.

In January the College class accompanied Mr. McMillan on a trip to Duluth, Minnesota to attend a youth rally of approximately 250 young people. Over the semester break, the singing group "Shabach" under the guidance of Mr. McMillan and accompanied by Mary Gurel made a twelve-stop tour through Southern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North and South Dakota. The College class also accompanied Mr. McMillan to the Abilene Christian University lectureship in February.

Other activities in the winter months included a dinner theatre production, attendance by five out of eight students chosen to participate in the Manitoba Students' Honour Choir in Winnipeg, and a special honour that went to a grade eleven student, Robin Adair who was chosen as first place finalist from among 850 entrants in Manitoba's 1994 Canada Day Challenge. Robin 's poster was later sent on to Ottawa for national competition. Robin eventually received a free trip to Ottawa in July, 1994.

The play performed during the dinner theatre was titled "Oh, what a tangled web," a hilarious comedy that provided lots of laughs for all who attended. The program was performed three times in Dauphin and once in Winnipeg where a large audience was in attendance. Eleven students took part in the event.

Since the addition of grades seven, eight and nine to the program at Western, the number of teams in sports had increased dramatically. Volley ball teams included a "7 and 8" Boys' team, a Junior Boys' team, and a Senior Boys' team, as well as Junior Girls' and Senior Girls' teams.

The Senior Boys' and Girls' teams' results are not recorded in any particular place, but I have located reports in the Dauphin Herald written by Shannon Tucker, that do contain some limited information. The following is information from her reports: The Senior teams played at the DRCSS on September 16. Both teams were defeated. Roblin visited the school and both Western's senior teams lost in 5-game sets. The Junior Boys played their first game on September 29, at Gilbert Plains, and lost. On September 30 Gilbert Plains visited Western (Senior Boys and Girls). Both Western teams won the matches. The Senior Girls took part in a tournament at Ashern on October 2 and placed third. The Junior Boys team won 2-1. The Junior Girls lost their matches. No further information was available.

The Yearbook report does say something commendable about the Senior Boys' team efforts: "This year's volley ball team was the most spiritually minded athletic team I have ever played on. We were definitely not perfect sportsmen all the time, but I have never been on a team that included God in the game so much." -Tim McMillan, Captain.

The Boys' Basketball team was coached by Jamie Lobert, assisted by R. J. MacKenzie. Details of tournaments was not available. Zone playoffs were held in Roblin. Greg Brockman scored 19 points to lead the Mustangs to a 100 41 win over the Sandy Bay team. Tim McMillan had scored 18 points, and Nathan Kirkham 14 points. In the final the team faced the host St. Vladimir's Knights. Jason Bandura scored 26 points to lead Western's team to a 95-69 win. Brockman chipped in 19 points and McMillan 18 points. As a result of this win, the boys advanced to provincials on March 17 in Trehern. Against the stronger teams there, the Mustangs took third place. This however was considered a positive accomplishment. The Girls' team had a successful year but again tournament results are not available. The zones were held in Grandview. The team was coached by Miss Sharon Olson, assisted by Tara Laliberte and Carolyn Wiebe. The Junior Boys' team involving younger students was coached by Dan Muller and Nathan Kirkham. A Junior Girls' team is not listed in the Yearbook.

The hockey team had a busy season as usual. Coaches were Mark Husband and Kerry Roberts. However, details of games and tournaments are unavailable.

Other sports activities were curling, bad minton, track and field, soccer and softball. In curling, a junior team skipped by Karl Roberts did quite well, winning all games during the regular season. A mixed team made up of Kris Roberts, Stewart McMillan, Andrea Muirhead and Jennifer Bell played in zone competition and won the consolation event. A measure of success was experienced in badminton. Mark Grasley and Paul Laliberte placed second at the DRCSS and then played in zones where they finished with a record of 3-2. Judy Jacobs represented Western in Girl's singles. She placed first at the Comprehensive School and went on to zones, finishing with a record of 2-3. In track and field, eight students did well in the Grandview meet and went on to rural provincials in Neepawa. Three students, Janet Bell, Todd Ashby and Mark Grasley went to City provincials in Winnipeg, where Janet placed second in Junior Girls' Discus. Blair Roberts helped coach the soccer team to a 2-1-2 record for the season. The girls' fastball team won both games of a double-header in Winnipegosis, one of two games against the DRCSS and suffered a loss in the final game to be squeezed out of zones. Larry Good was the coach of the team.

Spirit Week was held February 7-11, with students dressing in a different way each day through the week. Thursday was "silence" day. In the morning the girls could not talk to the guys, and in the afternoon the guys were not allowed to talk to the girls. Spirit week ended on Friday with "hero day," when each person dressed up to look like their hero.

The Winter Banquet was held on February 8 with the banquet being held in the Vernon Watson Arts Centre. The meal was catered and entertainment was provided by local talent. Tim McMillan and Shannon Tucker were chosen Mr. and Miss W.C.C. The winter banquet is always special therapy for the winter doldrums that seem to plague almost everyone.

Homecoming took place on the weekend of March 4 to 6. The change in date was an attempt to dodge severe winter weather, and to be able to rent a gymnasium for some of the activities. Classes from '54, '64, '74, '84 and '89 were honoured. Candidates for Homecoming Queen were Jennifer Bell, Melissa Quiring and Shannon Tucker. Shannon Tucker was chosen as queen. On Saturday night Scott Roberts, president of the Alumni association, presented the Alumnus of the year award to Sam Hawkins from Gravelbourg, Sask. Sam graduated from high school at Western in 1969, came back to study Bible the following year and then went on to Oklahoma Christian where he received a degree in Education. He presently operates Piche-Hawkins Funeral Chapels, located in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. Guest speaker for the weekend was Pete Brazle from Madison Heights, Michigan, a 1974 graduate of Western.

On March 25 - April 3, the A Capella Chorus, under the direction of Ron Johnson, presented choral programs in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kenora and Thunder Bay, Ontario, Duluth, Minneapolis, and St. Cloud, Minnesota, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Fargo, North Dakota, and Carman and Brandon Manitoba. The bus driver again was Oliver Engel. Cheryl Cox accompanied the group to assist John McMillan with supervision.

College Graduation was held on May 14, 1994. The following students received Certificates in Biblical Studies: Rebecca Andreas, Bethany Close, Russell Ferris, Tara Laliberte, Tom Varghese and Carolyn Wiebe. Alumni Scholarships for high marks were awarded to Carolyn Wiebe and Tara Laliberte. Guest speaker at the ceremonies was R. J. MacKenzie.

On April 14, an "Open House" was held to provide an opportunity for parents to become acquainted with the operations at Western and to witness some of the student activities first hand. The guest speaker for the evening was Mr. Al Johannson, Director for Independent Schools, Manitoba Eduction and Training

May 20-22 were the dates set for the annual Youth Rally. Guest speaker for the weekend was Charlie Murray from Minot North Dakota. His topic for Friday evening was "Body Building: Developing the Body of the Saviour. On Saturday the band and chorus groups per formed. Other talks by the guest speaker throughout the day were "Developing the Hands of the Saviour," and "Developing the Heart of the Saviour." The musical "HMS Pinafore" was presented at 7:00 p.m. in the all purpose auditorium at the DMCSS. A Bonfire Devotional and snack on the campus closed out the day's activities. A group of young adults from Regina sang and taught many new devotional songs throughout the weekend. Charlie Murray was the speaker at both services of the Dauphin congregation of the church on Sunday morning.

Each year for the past five years a "Work Day" has been scheduled when students and staff spend the day doing a thorough job of spring house cleaning and yard grooming. The grime of winter is washed away and raked away, and the campus takes on a new look for the summer. Flower beds are spaded in preparation for the bedding plants arrival pending the demise of frost danger.

Two special banquets were held late in May. One was in honour of the grades seven and eight students. Several awards were given out for academic excellence, Bible, spiritual growth, art, music, math-science and the Three C's award (the three C's are citizenship, cooperation and courtesy). Recipients of this first-time award were Chris Neufeld, grade seven, and Karl Roberts, grade eight.

The second occasion was the Sports Award banquet, where all of the sports awards for the year were presented. The Spirit Awards went to Leah Sass and Jason Parker.

The High School graduation exercises took place on June 11, 1994 at the Selo Ukraina facilities south of Dauphin. Thirty-one seniors took part in the exercises. Theme of the program was "Hold Me While You Let Me Go." The banquet was served at 5:00 p.m. by the Selo Ukraina ladies under the direction of Sandy Larocque. The students had asked Loreen Husband to chair the activities. Salutatorian was Paul Andreas and Valedictorian was Tanya Knibbs. Guest speaker was James Willet. Miss Torkelson presented the medals to each of these students. The "A" pins, provided by the Weyburn Alumni Chapter, were presented by Lowell Peterson. Approximately 400 guests were present for the exercises.

The 1993-1994 school year concluded with the Farewell supper and activities including the presentation of year-end awards. Citizen of the year was Tim McMillan. The students and staff enjoyed several hours of relaxing fun as final exams were forgotten for the moment. The fifth year at Dauphin was quickly drawing to a close. Mixed feelings of elation and sadness pervaded these activities. Some would be leaving Western to go on to other activities or training. Many would be returning in late August to enroll in the next grade or take part in the College Bible program. All in all this was a good year. Much growth and spiritual development had been evident in almost every student. Life is good when we approach it with a spirit of joy and optimism.

Preparations for the 50th year of Western's operation began early in the summer. The Celebrations for the 50th Anniversary in July 1995 had been under way for almost two years. The September issue of the Messenger gave further information about this event. Dates for the gathering were set for July 26 through 30, 1995. The publication of this history of Western is to coincide with the celebrations.

The March Messenger had announced that Mike Bolton would be joining the Bible Faculty in September as the Vice Principal in charge of the Bible program. Mike graduated from high school at Western in 1982 and from the Bible program with a Bachelor of Theology Degree in 1986. His wife Debbie is also a graduate of Western. They have three sons.

The June edition of the Messenger announced that two additional men would be added to the Bible faculty. Scott Roberts would join the teaching staff in September. Scott graduated with his Theology Degree in 1984 and began work with the church in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, where he remained until 1991. He moved to Regina, where he worked for Social Services and attended classes at the Canadian Theological Seminary, receiving his Master of Divinity Degree in April. Scott and his wife Cindi, who is also a graduate of Western, have two children, Michael and Sarah.

Also to join the Bible faculty that fall was Walter Hart and his wife Elaine (nee Start) (She is a graduate of Radville Christian college). Walter has preached mostly in Canada, but also in the United States, for over 30 years. He has been supported by the congregation of the church in Orange, Texas, and that congregation will continue his support at Western.

Another addition to the faculty for September was Dick Kirkpatrick who returned to Western to assume duties as Vice Principal of the Middle Years and High School programs. Dick taught previously at Western from 1976 through 1989, with the exception of 1982-1983, when he was away on a Sabbatical leave.

Earlier in the year Blair Roberts announced to the Dauphin congregation that he was resigning his position as preacher, and taking a year off from that type of work. Hugh Gannon, who had been teaching Bible for the past four years, applied for the position left vacant by Blair. In mid-spring the congregation accepted his application. This meant that he would no longer be teaching Bible at Western. Hugh had always felt that he was more suited to the job of preaching than that of teaching in a Christian School.

Other staff changes involved the hiring of Malcolm Tarrant from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, as half-time janitor. Malcolm planned to take classes in the Bible program.

185 Also since Blair was no longer employed by the church in Dauphin, his wife Susan resigned her work with Western and accepted a teaching position in Northern Saskatchewan at South End.

A new program was introduced for the early days of July. A Western Christian College Sports Camp '94 was organized. The camp was specifically for boys in grades 6-9 as of the fall of 1994. The dates of the camp were July 4-8 to be held on the campus at Dauphin. The workshop included instruction in volley ball, basketball, baseball and soccer. Director of the Camp was Allan Close from Saskatoon, assisted by Lyle Schmidt and Scott Brinklow, also from Saskatoon, Jamie Lobert from Dauphin and Travis Sass from Regina.

On August 29, the vocal group "Acapella," performed in Dauphin for the second time, at the Dr. Vernon L. Watson Art Centre. Arrangements were made by Marilyn Muller in the Student Life Department. The men who sing in the group are members of the church of Christ. Their centre of operations is Paris, Tennessee. Their acapella style of music is receiving extensive recognition in the music industry. Their album "Set Me Free" was seventh on Billboard's list of best selling albums in 1993. Their music products were nominated for five "Dove Awards" by the Gospel Association in 1993.

Late in the month of June, Helen and I began the job of moving our belongings back to Weyburn. Our house at the old campus site had been rented and our renters had announced that they were going to build a house of their own. In the meantime we had received two urgent requests, asking us to go to Nigeria to teach in the Nigerian Bible college, first for the spring semester, but later, for the fall semester. We had spent three months there in 1987. We accepted the challenge and began extensive preparations to leave on August 30 for a four teen week term there. Since we were gone for those months, we did not have contact with Western except by word of mouth. Consequently we were not able to be present for the fall lectureship or other activities at the College.

The enrollment in September was as follows: Grade 7-5; Grade 8-9; Grade 9-13; Grade 10-30; Grade 11-24; Grade 12-30; College- 23. (These figures were as of March 1995). The total was 134. It was encouraging to see the number in the college program increased so much.

Students and staff joined community people in a "walk for life" on September 2. The purpose of this "walk" was to publicly show support for the life of the unborn infant. The walk began at the campus and returned there later at the end of the walk, where the participants enjoyed lunch and fellowship.

The Annual Lectureship was held from October 7-9. The theme of the lectureship was "Remembering our roots." Theme lectures were presented by four full-time past presidents of the college. Classes for all ages, pre-school through adult, were also provided. The four featured speakers were Vince Anderson, Arborg, Manitoba; Glenn Dods, Abilene, Texas; Max Mowrer, Denver, Colorado; and Dan Wieb, Weyburn, Saskatchewan. The weekend started off with classes for all ages at 7:00 p.m. on the campus, followed by the singing group Sonshine at 8:00. The first lecture was at the DRCSS gymnasium at 8:30 p.m., presented by Glen Dods on the topic "Remember Those Earlier Days." Saturday's activities included the annual meeting of the WCC Corporation, the annual meeting and luncheon of the Women's Service Club, additional classes and a second lecture, by Vince Anderson on the topic, "Remember Your Creator." The evening concluded with choral singing by the Acapella chorus. Regular worship service of the Dauphin Church of Christ was held on Sunday morning at 9:30, at which time Max Mowrer spoke on the subject, "Remember the Wonders He Has Done." The speaker at the Sunday evening service was Dan Wieb, on the topic,"Remembering the Important." Special classes were again held at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, followed by a choral program at 6:30 and the final lecture at 7:00. The special classes for adults centred around the topic "Remembering Our Roots." These classes were lead by Walter Hart (Friday evening), Mike Bolton (Saturday after noon), and Lillian M. Torkelson (Sunday after noon).

Again a "spirit week" was held in October with a different emphasis each day. There was excellent participation by everyone. Such events help develop school spirit among both staff and students.

1994-1995 was the first year the school had a College level volley ball team. Western joined the Manitoba Christian School Athletic Association, which is made up of seven other schools namely, Winkler Bible College, St. Boniface College, Concorde College, Providence College, Canadian Nazarene College, Canadian Mennonite College and Steinbach Bible College. Both men's and women's teams participated. The first games were against Concorde. The women's team won their sets. However, the men lost to Concorde. Other games were played in Winnipeg at St. Boniface College. Both girls' and boys' teams lost to St. Boniface teams.

The high school volley ball teams (Varsity) had a busy season, with games in Gilbert Plains, at the DRCSS, and other locations. On September 16-17 both boys and girls teams played in a tournament at Rivers, Manitoba. The boys' team played against Rivers in the semi final and then in the finals against Ashern. They won both matches. The girls were not so fortunate and only won three sets during the games. Later in September at the Ethelbert tournament the girls had more success and played in the semi finals and finals to defeat both Gilbert Plains and Rorkton teams. The girls played in other tournaments at Ashern, Dauphin and in their own tournament. In the Zones they won in the semi finals but lost to Grandview in the finals. They ended the season with a match record of 17 wins and 26 losses. The boys played in three additional tournaments reaching the finals in Dauphin (lost to DRCSS), St. Vlad's (won against St. Vlad's), and in their home tournament where they defeated Rossburn in the finals. They went on to defeat Gilbert Plains in zones, thus winning a berth in the provincials. During the season they won 85 sets and lost 32.

A few more words are in order about Western's first home tournament, held on October 28-29, held in the DRCSS gym. Only three of the five scheduled teams were able to be present because of heavy rains. The three remaining teams played off, namely, Neepawa, Rossburn and Western (boys). Western lost first

to Rossburn, then defeated Neepawa and went J on to avenge the loss to Rossburn by defeating them in the final match, 15-3 and 15-2. Girls' teams were from Crocus Plains and The Pas. In the semi final, Western's girls played Crocus Plains, lost the first set, but then bounced back to win 15-4 and 15-6. In the finals the girls won the first set but lost the next two sets.

On November 24-26 the Western Mustangs, boys' team went to the Provincial "A" playdowns in Glenboro. They finished the round robin with a 5-3 record, defeated Wawanesa in the quarter finals, St. Jean in The semi finals and then faced Green Valley in the finals. They lost both sets 15-7 and 15-4. Following the games, Mark Grasley was named MVP and Todd Ashby was named to the all-star team. The team had won four out of six tournaments and had taken second in one tournament and second in the provincials.

The Christmas banquet was held on December 13 followed with a band concert and Choral singing.

In basketball, a new team was added at the College level. The boys' team played several games in the Manitoba Christian Colleges Athletic Association. As of March 14 they had played 8 games with a 3-5 record. The Varsity (high School) girls' team had played a total of nine games as of March 14. They had a win-lose record of 3-6. In the Zone playoffs in Roblin, the girls were forced to play two games in a row because of scheduling. They won the first game against Gilbert Plains by a score of 68-15, but ran out of energy in the second game against Grandview, losing 70-43. The girls had defeated Grandview in a tournament in Rossburn by a score of 54-48. They later lost to Rossburn, 75 40, but placed second in the tournament. The high school boys team had a very successful regular season with 8 wins and 2 losses in home and away games. The team also took part in tournaments at Neepawa, where they were "consolation" champs, at Rossburn (second place), at their first home tournament (champions), and in Zone 8 finals, champions. Their complete record out of 20 games played was 16 wins, 4 losses. As of March 10, they were rated number one for "One A" teams in the Province of Manitoba. The Dauphin Herald gave this report of the Zones held at St. Vlad's in Roblin: "The Mustangs first defeated McCreary while the host club, St. Vladimir's downed Ebb and Flow, meaning the Mustangs (WCC) and Knights (St. Vlad's) would meet in the final with a provincial berth on the line. The game was close-the teams were tied after the first quarter, at the half and at the end of regulation time. The Mustangs poured it on in overtime, downing the Knights 92-87." As a result of this excellent sea son the Mustangs were scheduled to play in provincials in Steinbach March 17 and 18.

Hockey results for the 1994-1995 year were limited to a won/lost record of 4-13. Provincial playoff was changed to Rural "C" from city provincials in Birtle.

The winter banquet was held at the Vernon L. Watson Art Centre on February 14. Following a delicious meal, Jason Bandura and Cherish Kirkpatrick were selected Mr. and Miss WCC.

Homecoming weekend took place the week end of March 10-12. The activities began on Friday evening at 5:30 with the WCC girls basketball team playing against Grandview girls. The game was close with the Western team several points in the lead at one time. However the girls came up short at the end of the game. The crowning of the homecoming Queen took place at intermission. The three candidates were Monica Bell from Shamrock, Saskatchewan, Thessali Good from Dauphin, and Cherish Kirkpatrick, also from Dauphin. Cherish was chosen by the students to be Queen. The WCC boys' basketball team then played an exciting game against the comprehensive team from Roblin. The winner was not determined until the last moments of the game when Roblin went ahead by three points to win the game.

On Saturday the alumni annual meeting was held in the auditorium. At 5:30 p.m. a sumptuous banquet was served by the ladies in the cafeteria. Guest speaker at the supper was Mrs. Mary Muirhead, a member of the Board of Directors. Honoured classes for 1995 were graduates of 1990, 1985, 1975, 1965 and 1955. Following the banquet, a program was presented in the auditorium, at which time Alumnus of the year 1994 was announced. Recipient of the citation was Mary Bailey Muirhead, from Macoun, Saskatchewan. Alumni President, 187 Scott Roberts, gave a long list of Mary's accomplishments and activities, most of which were involved with education. Becoming a grand mother in late February is Mary's latest achievement.

During the program, Lowell Peterson paid special tribute to a former staff member who had been coach of the hockey team for many years in Weyburn. Several men who had played hockey during their years at Western, gathered on the platform. At the appropriate time Roland Olson was asked to come forward to receive a token of appreciation presented on behalf of all former hockey players. Roland was presented with a special oil painting by Marlys Rivard of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The painting, "Remembering Hockey," shows several hockey players trying to defend Western's goal from the opposing team. In the upper right corner is a portrait of"Mr. Olson" looking on as the game progresses. Many former players expressed appreciation especially for the hospitality of the Olson home following the games, and for the special "goodies" served by Lois Olson on such occasions.

On Sunday morning, two services of the Dauphin congregation were held in the auditorium. Guest speaker for those occasions was Troy Hodgson, from Victoria, B.C., an alumnus of 1985. The weather cooperated for the week end with temperatures well above the freezing level. A prize was awarded to Brian Olson of Dallas, Texas for having come the greatest distance for the weekend.

For the first time in the history of the school a separate "College Rally" is planned for April 7 9, 1995. Guest speaker for the occasion is to be Allen Close from Saskatoon. A special singing group, the "Freedom Singers" from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, will be performing at the week end activities.

The 1995 chorus tour was scheduled to be held during spring break, with the chorus singing in Wynyard, Saskatoon, Gravelbourg, Moose Jaw and Regina, Saskatchewan, and in Red Deer, Camrose, Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, with Oliver Engel as bus driver and Michael Bolton, Sue Kirkpatrick and Marilyn Muller as supervisors. Thirty nine students were in the group.

Other traditional events were scheduled for the months of May and June including College graduation, scheduled for May 6, Youth Rally to take place on May 19-21 and high school graduation on June 10. Details of these events were not available in time to be included in this his tory. It was learned that the guest speaker for the Youth Rally was to be Michael Mazzalongo, from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

As my part in this historical record of Western Christian College approaches completion, I am aware of a number of things relative to what I have said. I am aware that there are many omissions, because my memory of events over the past five years is clouded by the continued presence of each days concerns. Thanks to the availability of past issues of the Messenger, The Alumni Reporter, regular letters to parents, academic reports to the Board, reports printed in the Dauphin Herald and information that was made available by individuals who were in a position to know and remember, I have been able to present a picture of the major events of each of the past six years.

I am indebted to Miss Torkelson for her' "proof reading" of the text and for her suggestions throughout the writing of this part of Western's history.

I am also aware that the opinions expressed in this part of the history are my own, that I have seen things through my own coloured glasses and heard them through my own "hearing aid," that they are expressed on the basis of my own feelings (which at best for all of us are very subjective), and that had someone else been putting this information together, it would have taken on a totally different dimension. I can honestly say that "as I see it" and "it seems to me" are expressions that well characterize what I have written. Nevertheless, I hope you will overlook the idiosyncrasies of the writer and read and enjoy what is recorded here for posterity. See it with your own eyes, hear it with your ears and interpret it with your own heart and perhaps you too will enjoy this history of a great "institution of learning," Western Christian College.

I have earlier mentioned many people to whom I am indebted for information and inspiration needed for this project. I would also like to say a word of appreciation to all of the faculty and staff who through the years have been an important support in carrying the load of work involved in the daily operation of the school. It has taken the efforts of many individuals to carry on this work. Our colleagues in Christian Education, whether in the classrooms, the cafeteria, the maintenance shop, the sports pro gram, the dormitories, whether the janitors, or the men and women involved in "beating the bushes" for financial support, or the parents whose sacrifices have made it possible for hundreds of children to attend Western,indeed for every person who has had a part in 50 years of Christian Education, I say thank you for every thing you have contributed toward the moulding of hearts and lives in the Christian way of life.

Finally, mention must be made of Roland Olson who designed the cover for this history book. He has done an excellent job of sketching a cover that aptly depicts each of the three campuses. Since I have had the privilege of living and working at all three locations. I personally appreciate his drawing for the cover, which is an excellent reminder of "where we have been all these years." "Thank you Roland for having a part in this project."