Tributes - "Bratuz Bash" 1993
In a letter received from Bruce Vogt, dated January
18, 1993, there was a rather mysterious
“P.S. Oh, I almost forgot: There is a
quiet groundswell of opinion amongst a number of your
past students that they would wish you to keep one
day in particular free – namely May 15, 1993.
More on this later. .”
Another mysterious note from my secretary, Mrs. Grace
Shewan, appeared on my desk calendar regarding Saturday,
May 15th, 1993 :
“Please keep this late afternoon evening
clear.”
Mrs. Shewan had also asked me for the key to my Faculty
of Music studio, where she wanted to retrieve some addresses.
I began to suspect that I would be receiving letters
from former students on the occasion of my upcoming
retirement from the University.
When May 15 arrived, Bonnie (Shewan ) Burroughs phoned
to say that Arthur Rowe (from Victoria, B.C., who was
obviously in town) would pick me up at a certain time.
I assumed he would be taking me to Bonnie’s place,
where I imagined I would meet with some former students
and friends, and where her children would perhaps perform
for me… But Arthur’s car turned right on
Windermere, before we had reached the road that would
have taken us to Bonnie’s house. He stopped at
Spencer Hall, the lovely manor built in 1932 in a parkland
setting that now serves as a conference center. Through
the lobby, and a couple of attractive rooms, Arthur
led me towards the terrace…
[PHOTOS – WITH DESCRIPTIVE COMMENTS TO BE ADDED]
I was dazed and overwhelmed by the surprise, by the
encounters, and was unable to think clearly enough to
make sure that photos were taken at each and every table,
and to retrieve all the name tags - which carried the
data of everyone’s degrees… I was also dazed,
perhaps, by the unfortunate overmedication from which
I unknowingly suffered at that period of my life. But
I did retrieve from a table at least the following paper:
for an old ‘Mitteleuropean’, in spite of
the decades spent in North America, such a careful outline
still remains a source of amazement - for all the skills
it reflects at organizing, at planning, for the attention
to detail, skills that have continued to remain somewhat
alien to me, and amusing… But what a precious
reminder it is:
“DR. B.” TRIBUTE
PARTY
Willow Room –
Spencer Hall – 5:00pm
Name Tag with years
of special contact / study
Sign Guest Book
Put up pictures or other
memorabilia
Greeting
Damjana (Art [Arthur Rowe]
will bring her at 5:30)
corsage / greeting
she will greet everyone Left to Right, latecomers can
sign and join at Right
Cash bar with
appetizers served.
Dinner – 6:30, Dining
Room
- tables organized
roughly in years
- Damjana begins at closest table to Buffet
- beginning table - each person tells:
1. where they live
2. latest project and/or what they do
when Damjana gets up to the buffet
table next, another table has an opportunity to have
her join them by doing the same
- finish all tables before we leave dining room
- tables / individuals
may order wine on a cash basis
- Tributes
read with coffee?
-
Return to the Willow Room
– approx 8:30 – (Bruce)
- gift/s
- other tributes / articles
- anecdotes, etc.
WRITTEN TRIBUTES
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