OCI 100th - HISTORY
OAKWOOD COLLEGIATE
INSTITUTE
1908-2008 : 100 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
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OAKWOOD COLLEGIATE
INSTITUTE
1908 TO 2008 - 100 YEARS OF
EXCELLENCE
By David Conboy Brownlow (OCI
1952)
By 1907, Harbord Collegiate was
at its capacity. The Toronto Board of Education realized that with the
expansion of the city to the north west, arrangements would soon have to
be made for a new facility.
The location of this new High School
sparked heated debates. However, on
In the meantime, in order to relieve the
crowding at Harbord Collegiate, it was decided to open up an annex on the
top floor of
John L. Cox was
assigned as the principal along with seven teachers. The Board was so
pleased with enrollment that it decided to make the school independent of
Harbord and named it North West High School.
Dr. Fred Conboy, who
graduated from the University of Toronto Royal College of Dentistry in
1904, had his practice in Ward 6 and became interested in the debate as to
where the new school was to be located.
He decided the best way to
influence the decision was to run for the Board of Education. He was
elected and took an active role in the discussions in 1909. It was through
his persuasive influence that the Board finally decided to purchase five
acres of open field south of St. Clair Avenue, west of the proposed
Oakwood Avenue. Many felt that this was too far out in the country for a
major school as the area north of Davenport Road was still woods and
farming fields.
The property purchase cost $15,000 and being under
the budgeted amount aided in the decision. A total of $135,000 was then
approved for the building construction providing 12 rooms.
In the
fall of 1910, there were 63 more students added to the new school and it
was renamed Oakwood High School. The new building at the corner of Oakwood
Avenue and St. Clair Avenue went under construction.
In the fall of
1911, the new school was ready, with Robert A. Gray as principal. The area
around the school was starting to develop. Oakwood Avenue was made into a
street and Dr. Fred Conboy's brother, Thomas Conboy, built his new home
several blocks south of the new school at 61 Oakwood Avenue.
Dr.
Fred Conboy enjoyed his experience with the Board of Education and went on
to serve Ward 6 until 1914. In 1935, he came back into municipal politics
as an Alderman for Ward 6, and in 1937 to 1940 on the Board of Control
where as the Chairman of Toronto City Council's Advisory Airport Committee
he was influential in establishing Malton Airport, again "out in the
country." He was the Mayor of the City of Toronto from 1941 to
1944.
Thomas and Gertrude Conboy moved into their new home on
Oakwood Avenue and their two children, Violet and Tom, both attended
Oakwood Collegiate. Violet Conboy graduated from Grade 12 in 1921 and went
on to get her B.A. from University College at the University of Toronto in
1925.
Violet married dentist Dr. Ralph Brownlow and joined him on
the first railroad dental car serving the isolated communities along the
CPR in Northern Ontario. ("Whistle Stop Dentist on the Ontario CPR
Dental Car 1931 to 1935" by David C. Brownlow @ whistlestopdentist.com). They moved into 61 Oakwood
Avenue in 1940. Their two children, David (OCI 1952) and Ruth (OCI 1953),
grew up there and also attended and graduated from Oakwood Collegiate
Institute.
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Updated 2007-09-08