UPEI hosts PWC memorabilia showcase
On Friday, September 28, UPEI hosted a Prince of Wales College (PWC) memorabilia showcase. PWC alumni and friends gathered together in UPEI's Robertson Library to display and donate their memorabilia to the University Archives & Special Collections unit. As an added bonus, graduates of PWC reconnected over conversation and refreshments, taking a nostalgic walk down memory lane.
One artifact donated-among the many-was a correspondence seal that was found by Rogers Bell in his late father's belongings. His father, PEI Supreme Court Justice Reginald Bell, was a PWC alumnus and served on PWC's Board of Governors from 1965-1969. Justice Bell would have had the seal in his possession for various official College correspondence.
'I'm pleased to grant this to its rightful place-UPEI-the successor institution of Prince of Wales College' said Bell.
Dr. Ernie Prowse, a graduate of the last class of PWC, the only year in which PWC granted degrees, travelled from Truro, NS, for the event to donate his PWC 1969 graduation ring in mint condition for the archives. Russell Pickard, from Moncton, NB, brought many items including an issue of The Guardian newspaper dated May 16, 1969 that featured portraits of each graduating member of the PWC Class of 1969. It was a popular item-as attendees read the edition over Pickard's shoulder, four 1969 classmates realized their connection and were reunited.
UPEI's Director of Advancement Tracey Comeau was pleased to see PWC alumni come together to preserve their memorabilia and re-establish a special camaraderie. 'As the successor institution, UPEI has a sense of obligation to preserve the memories of our predecessor institutions which set the rigorous post-secondary education standards that remain the common threads in the fabric of a UPEI education,' said Comeau. 'When the PWC Alumni Executive made a decision to assign contributed funds to support preservation of their history, UPEI was able to put a call out for memorabilia with the ways and means to preserve and share these treasures.'
For nearly 40 years, the UPEI Archives & Special Collections unit has been collecting, preserving, and sharing unique material relating to the province of Prince Edward Island and the University. This includes PWC's vital contribution made to PEI's heritage of higher learning. As such, these archives have served as an invaluable source for writers and historians.
UPEI continues to accept memorabilia from its predecessor institutions. View the current collection online at http://vre2.upei.ca/pwc/. For more information, contact the UPEI Alumni Office at (902) 566-0687 or alumni@upei.ca.
