I always find it interesting to uncover photographs of prominent citizens, and it’s always interesting to put a face to the name. Today is a picture of W.D. Lowe, whom the school on Gilles was once named after. This image is from the “Border Cities Era” February 1, 1919 edition.
The issue was devoted to the Windsor Collegiate Institute, later known as Patterson Collegiate Institute. The caption reads as follows:
W.D. Lowe, M.A., who is in charge of classics at the W.C.I. He was graduated from Queen’s University in 1908. His father, the late A.B.Lowe, was president of maintenance of ways of railroad employees.
Have a safe weekend everyone, I’ll see you back here Monday.
It would be interesting to know why a school built in 1922 was named after him as he still would have been a young man at the time.
Vince, according to Wikipedia:
“The school began as Walkerville Technical School, later Windsor-Walkerville Technical School.
It was renamed to W. D. Lowe in the 1940s after a former principal of the school, William Duff Lowe.”
I haven’t searched for biographical information on Mr Lowe in order to determine his dates of birth and death.
Therefore, in the 1940s he may in fact have been an old man or maybe even deceased…
According to David Hansen who posted here May 13, 2010 (see http://internationalmetropolis.com/2010/05/12/forester-secondary-school/ ), “The name change at W. D. Lowe took place in March 1947. Mr. Lowe died in June 1945.”
When I was a student a Lowe I worked in the Library in the late 60’s early 70s’. There were some year books from the earliest years of the School. I believe when the school opened it was called the Windsor Walkerville Vocational School for Girls and Boys. I did know the progression of name changes, but since it has been over forty years since I was student there I have managed to forget the rest of the details. The Vocational School for Girls and Boys I remember because at the time Lowe was a all guy school. As a point of interest with to-days technology my son thinks it is really funny that I went to “Low Tech”
Thanks for the further info JBM and Mike. I too was a Student at Lowe in the early 70s. It’s history is interesting to me. It’s a grand building. With an auditorium that could rival many theatres and the original gym converted to a large library few local schools could match it.
I got to see some parts of it that students don’t normally see. There was a small fourth floor apartment complete with a fireplace that had been converted to teacher offices. I also was on the roof between the towers at the front ( I think we were looking for a spot for an antenna).
The washrooms were marble, but the original oak doors were no longer there.
Giles blvd my friend Giles. : )
I was looking for yearbooks from Tech now W.D. Lowe from the early to mid 1940’s. I was
hoping to get pictures of my late mother. thank you
I unveiled a plaque in circa 1947, the other student with me was names Gates, sorry to hear the school is gone, I took too and dye making, left to work a Chryslers as all others did and was in the military for 3 years
I have a photo of my father and his 1938 basketball team. I am trying to identify the school. The uniforms say “J.V.” and the basketball is printed with “J.V.S. 1938 Champions). There are rows upon rows of bricks behind the team.
Does anyone think it might be W.D. Lowe? It might have been called Vocational in 1938. My father lived 2 miles from W.D. Lowe.
I can send the photo, if necessary. Thank you.
Gina, according to the linked article, W.D. Lowe was built in 1923 and called Windsor-Walkerville Technical School. I can’t think of a school with the initials J.V., but that makes me think of “Junior Varsity.” Maybe it’s not the school name. But then J.V.S. makes me think that maybe it is the school. I’m not sure.
http://internationalmetropolis.com/2009/12/03/w-d-lowe-1927/