Gordon Alexander Wright : A Bark Lake Legacy
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Gordon Alexander Wright - A Bark Lake Legacy
(January 18, 1911 – November 15, 2007)
I am sure any one who ever knew this man, would have known him as “Gord”, and it is certainly the way I knew him. Approachable, accessible, vigorous and truly a one of a kind person - he was a great friend to, and of, my family. I first met Gord in 1956.
My father though, Hart Devenney, had come to know Gord years before that - probably in the early years after World War II. It was, almost certainly, as a result of the various meetings of the band of Canadian physical educators who eventually grouped themselves together to form a professional association that became CAPHER - the Canadian Association of Physical Health, Education and Recreation - in the late 1940s and early 50s. Since I was born in 1949, I cannot be certain. Still, I do know there were significant CAPHER or pre-CAPHER meetings in 1952 and 1954, the latter in conjunction with the notable British Empire Games in Vancouver.
The reason they may have met, was among other things, a particular lesson, and Canadian concern, arising from the experience, at all levels of government and throughout society arising out of World War II. The problem was that ‘society’, in general, just did not have enough “leaders” to go around. How this deficiency might be addressed, was a hot topic for all - not the least of whom were educators.
Gord Wright was well placed to help formulate an “education” based solution to this problem. Along with many, many others (including my father), he was able to create and ‘sell’ his approach, and also the idea of using both athletic and camp venues to give instruction to skilled teens in their late formative years (16 - 19) in how to hone their personal skills to become better mentors, teachers and coaches - in short, better leaders. It was, and still is, a wonderful idea - both in the simplicity of its conception and how it could be implemented.
First to benefit, almost immediately, would be the high schools and the not-for-profit summer camps from which such teenaged candidates would come. Later as they went on in their lives, to university, to work, to their communities and to the places of community involvement, they would be able to take up leadership positions in any of the myriad of groups that are a part of all such human activities.
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Gord Wright with his Ontario Achievement Award
Bill Davis (William G. Davis),Ontario Minister of Education presented Gord with this award for his distinguished contributions to fitness and amateur sport on May 5, 1964 |
Finding and Founding Bark Lake
Gord Wright, being part of the Department of Education in the Province of Ontario, obviously made a quick and effective case for the adoption of these ideas to the Leslie Frost conservative government then in power in Ontario. It was agreed that the whole concept should go forward.
(Note to reader: This has been looked at closely and great detail in well-researched and erudite academic papers. For the full story please go to them, this is a mere synopsis for context.)
Lake Couchiching near Orillia was selected for the athletic based venue of the program and a search was on for a site for the camping venue. I am not familiar with the history and experience at the athletic venue at Lake Couchiching and from this point forward in this remembrance must restrict myself mostly to the camping experience at Bark Lake.
At the Bark Lake Reunion last May 2007, Gord recounted for a few of us there about how Bark Lake site itself was found and established. A group of specialists was put together, some whom were scientists, some Ontario government people; and Gord was among them. They decided to do some aerial surveillance to locate possible good candidate lakes by virtue of their location, access and interest, which could make them be of good use. If I recall correctly, he indicated Bark Lake, as a location, caught his eye early, and they flew over it often. Gord, being somewhat of a bulldog character on such issues, did not let up. In time, his view prevailed and Bark Lake in Haliburton County became the selected location for the camp program.
It was a long-term prudent choice. Not too close, not too far away from Toronto. Bark Lake, being situated right on the cusp of the Laurentian Shield, had around it, within a radial perimeter of just a few kilometres, maximal biodiversity. In fact, as it turned out, it was quite spectacular in that regard as compared to similar sized regions of North America. The number of species of plants, trees, animals and fish were greater than could ever be expected in such a small geographical area.
Moving at ‘warp speed’ - for a bureaucracy - Bark Lake got up and running and held its initial session in 1948. One of the members of the Friends of Bark Lake Association, John McCutcheon, was actually there at the second session in 1949 working in the kitchen, then located at Bark Lodge. In each of those years there would not have been more than two dozen “campers”. Soon the trial years of Gord Wright’s approach proved successful, both for the athletic leadership camp and also the camp leadership program at Bark Lake. More and more people were needed to cover the burgeoning administrative demands of the overall program within the Department of Education.
Gord Wright found a solution to this problem as well. One of his key acquisitions was his long-time assistant, Dorothy Walter. For the on-going staffing at both summer camps he, and his core team, continually enlisted many, many other fine educators from the high schools, universities and other institutions of higher learning both inside and outside Ontario.
Hartland (“Hart”) Devenney
The writer of this remembrance (Richard Devenney) is the youngest son of Hart Devenney. Following his War Time service with the YMCA Special Services group in England, North Africa and Europe, my dad was appointed as the Provincial Director of Physical Education for Manitoba, a post he took up in 1946. I do not know exactly when or where Gord Wright approached him about coming to Ontario; but I have found, in his personal papers, a curriculum vitae he had prepared, dated 1954, with a letter to the Ontario Department of Education.
And so it came to pass that he was hired by Ontario to serve in a position, where his duties would include being the “Director” of Bark Lake Camp - the Ontario Camp Leadership Centre - at Irondale. When he came to Toronto in 1955, he stayed at the Wright family home for many, many months as their guest. It was a time of which he often spoke fondly. The remainder of the Devenney family, including myself, did not get to Ontario until 1956. Among the very first places my mom and I went was to Gord’s home and met all his family including Gord’s son Alec (who is two years older that I) now a long time friend of mine.
My dad and Gord, I think, always worked closely in those early years and all the way until 1968 when my dad retired. I recall a few times when Gord was on site at Bark Lake when I was there too - let me tell you of a few instances.
Kayaks Come to Bark Lake
Gord must have had a lot of creative thinking going on at the Department of Education, or else, he was having a great many lunches with Kirk Wipper. A new educational tool was to be tried out - using some new sleek boats. Actually, Gord’s son Alec has told me, it most likely happened as a result of a series of education related conferences that Gord had attended in Europe in 1958. At one of these conferences, Gord was introduced to Mr. Bob Newton, an Orienteering Professor at Loughborough Teacher’s College in the middle of England where he ran a kayak-building programme. Gord liked the idea and decided to import it into the youth leadership efforts in Canada at Bark Lake.
Thus in early months of 1959, as I recall, there began talk by my dad at my family dinner table about a new trial Bark program where this English fellow named Bob Newton was to come to Bark Lake camp during August and give advice on how to build and use ‘kayaks”. And so he did.
Wooden boats based on a set kayak design were constructed by each of the four “sections” of the boy’s camp. They were covered with canvas that was then treated to be water impermeable, and skirts of canvas also were prepared. After that not only did the venerable Canadian ‘canoe’ ply the fair waters of Bark Lake, but these new sleek boats too. Successful “Eskimo rolls” became the hall mark of those who became proficient in adapting to this new fleet, and I have an image in my mind of Gord surveying this display with a smile on his face - which implied that he was well and truly pleased.
John Disley, also an Englishman, and Olympic athlete of bronze medal distinction (in the steeplechase) came in following years to do the same with these water craft.
Visits by the Ministers
It was not long before the two terrific “leadership” programs, conceptualized and implemented by Gord Wright’s ‘team’ rose in status and visibility both within the Ontario government and outside it. In 1960 and after, until he became Premier, John P. Robarts was the Minister of Education. A visit was arranged for him to come to Bark Lake. Gord was there. My mother was in a panic. My dad was fine. In due time, John Robarts showed up - I did not have a lot of time with him - but I got to shake his hand. I liked him - for one thing, he had a moustache, and so did my dad - that sort of criterion is kind of how an 11 year old thinks, if you’ve forgotten.
In just a couple of years, William G. Davis, became Minister of Education after John Robarts had become Premier. These were halcyon times for educators in Ontario. A new school was being opened somewhere in Ontario every week. In due course, it was arranged for Bill Davis to visit Bark Lake also, and when that day came, like Forrest Gump, I was there too. It was the same show with different players, but Gord Wright and Hart Devenney did the honours again.
As an aside, about three years ago in 2005, Bill Davis was at a book launch event where I was too. I mentioned to him I had shaken his hand 42 years before and where. He remembered the “little jewel” in Haliburton County called Bark Lake - Gord Wright’s discovery from the air. People have come and they have gone but do not forget this special place.
Disaster Exercises
Among the most amazing things I witnessed at Bark Lake were a few of the “disaster response” exercises that took place during the usual August “boy’s” camps. There were several over the years, yet I recall Gord being present for only one. It was the one which simulated a small airplane crash just outside the limits of the main camp not far from where the old “family cabins” were.
One of the male campers had been made up as a survivor of the crash, but bleeding and injured. He staggered into the main camp. It was quite a sight. Having been made up by a professional makeup artist, there was apparent blood and facial damage to this woeful survivor; the scene had every aura of plausibility to me. In the end, many things were learned from the whole exercise in the discussion sessions held in following days.
As I remember, Gord Wright thought this was a lesson about leadership that would be valuable to all. For one, I am sure it was, for I will always remember it.
There is no substitute for action. And it is for ‘leaders’ to know that principle.
Maybe that is why, if you call Alec Wright’s phone today, and he is not there, there is an invitation to please leave “an action oriented message”. …Now that is true.
Gord’s Bark Lake Legacy
I would be remiss not to point out the enormous legacy and meaning of the Bark Lake experience that Gord Wright has left to others. Handed on not only to those connected to the “Friends” organization, to Ontario generally, and to all who have had the privilege of taking a Bark Lake leadership course. His ideas, conceptualization and implementation of them have all proven to be correct.
By the time the Mike Harris government of Ontario transferred the ownership of Bark Lake out of the hands of the province in 1995, close to 70,000 persons had had the opportunity to take a ‘leadership’ or other course at Bark Lake. What this means, of course, is our society has been enriched immeasurably. We do not know how widely this influence has dispersed itself into the fabric of public life in Ontario, but some of today’s leaders and some of tomorrow’s leaders and some of the next leaders after that will have been influenced by the initiative described here which was led by Gord Wright. So it is only fitting that we take time and silently say,
Thank you for that Mr. Gord Wright. Thank you very much, indeed.
- Researched an written by Richard Devenney
Please read more about Gordon Alexander Wright here.
