About
Forts in the Forest
It’s hard to imagine today, but many boys once brought an axe as part of their “school supplies.” They helped cut firewood for the woodstoves and, in their free time, turned those skills to more creative ends. A favourite pursuit was fort-building. In the earliest days, boys recall a fort on the hill where the Chapel now stands. As the campus expanded and firewood was no longer needed for heat, fort-building moved farther up the hill into the forests beyond the playing fields.
Not all forest adventures were entirely voluntary. A student from the 1940s recalled, “On Sundays, we had to go ‘up the hill’ from after lunch until 3 p.m., when we were allowed down. ‘Up the hill’ was the area behind the Chapel enclosed by the School property boundaries. I suppose it was considered unhealthy for us to sit around our rooms all day, so the School forced us into a kind of healthy exile.”
The boys built small “forts,” turning scraps of lumber and logs into rustic cabins – some little more than shelters, others surprisingly elaborate. Many had small cast-iron stoves, one boy remembering that his came from Eaton’s. A few were extraordinary, including a three-storey structure built between trees and beginning 15 feet off the ground. Even the simplest forts demanded cooperation, and the pride in the finished result was immense. At term’s end, a fort might be sold for $5, $10, or even $15.
Boys returned from home with supplies: pork and beans, pancake mix, tea, pots and pans, matches, and utensils. Candy bars – then forbidden in dorms – could be safely stowed away. The Headmaster, C.W. Lonsdale, often strolled by with his dog, offering advice and occasionally accepting a formal invitation to “dine” in a fort.
Axes and ambition sometimes led to mishaps. One boy recalled being struck by an axe “with very messy results,” while another remembered trying to open a can with a hatchet and hitting his finger instead. “I was then motivated to buy a can opener,” he noted.
Fort-building endured into the 1960s. While the structures eventually vanished beneath moss and forest growth, the stories – and the memories – remain.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
The boys built small “forts,” turning scraps of lumber and logs into rustic cabins – some little more than shelters, others surprisingly elaborate. Many had small cast-iron stoves, one boy remembering that his came from Eaton’s. A few were extraordinary, including a three-storey structure built between trees and beginning 15 feet off the ground. Even the simplest forts demanded cooperation, and the pride in the finished result was immense. At term’s end, a fort might be sold for $5, $10, or even $15.
Boys returned from home with supplies: pork and beans, pancake mix, tea, pots and pans, matches, and utensils. Candy bars – then forbidden in dorms – could be safely stowed away. The Headmaster, C.W. Lonsdale, often strolled by with his dog, offering advice and occasionally accepting a formal invitation to “dine” in a fort.
Axes and ambition sometimes led to mishaps. One boy recalled being struck by an axe “with very messy results,” while another remembered trying to open a can with a hatchet and hitting his finger instead. “I was then motivated to buy a can opener,” he noted.
Fort-building endured into the 1960s. While the structures eventually vanished beneath moss and forest growth, the stories – and the memories – remain.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
