Do you know the history of the old locomotive bell that hung in School House for nearly 50 years? Or what was discovered in our campus time capsule from 1908 when it was opened almost a century after its burial?
50 Treasures From Our Archives is a new, self-published book from St. Michaels University School that celebrates our history through memorabilia, photographs and more from our archives. Using treasures from The Wilson Archives, the book highlights our school history through the stories that each of these items tells.
"It was such a pleasure revisiting all of these archival treasures to create this book for our community," says Adrienne Davidson, Director of Advancement & Campaigns. "We have such a rich past and an amazing archives collection. We are excited to be able to share what we've found to chronicle our history during a milestone year."
The 50 Treasures book was commissioned to mark our Jubilee, celebrating 50 years since the 1971 amalgamation of our two founding schools: St. Michael's School and University School.
St. Michaels University School today is steeped in the history and traditions of more than 115 years, with a strong community of former and current students that is more than 10,000 strong. Our hope with 50 Treasures From Our Archives is to record a sampling of the many events, activities, people and things that collectively frame who we are today, and record for posterity where we have come from.
This book features beautiful photographs of trophies, articles of clothing, sports equipment, newspaper clippings, musical instruments and much more, and tells the fascinating histories behind each one. It was a challenge to limit the book to only 50 items, but we have endeavoured to broadly represent some of the most significant or interesting moments that have helped define us.
Our community is incredibly fortunate to have a physical school archives that has been built and curated over many years by countless dedicated individuals, too numerous to list. We are deeply grateful to all those who have contributed their time, knowledge and items to our archives. Special thanks must be given to Peter Gardiner, Ian Mugridge, Michael Nation '70, Michael Symons '63, Andrew Timmis '65 and Rob Wilson for their assistance with this book in the form of insight and institutional knowledge.
Purchase 50 Treasures From Our Archives for yourself from our Campus Shop website. Donors get a free copy of the book when they support the Annual Appeal with a gift of $500 or more. We value our past, as it informs who we are today, but we also look to the future with innovation and creativity with our new campaign.
We hope you enjoy reading this book and learning about our history as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you.
