Christmas Luncheon

DR. CRANFIELD:

Your Honour, Right Reverend Sir, Ladies and Gentlemen: the members of the Empire Club of Canada and their guests extend a warm and cordial welcome to His Honour the Lieutenant Governor and to his daughter Mrs. Haldenby.

Patterns of tradition are slow in forming. The first Empire Club Christmas Party was held from 6 to 9 p.m. 57 years ago on Friday, December 19th, 1913. Ladies were present and Albert Ham, a doctor of music, led a group known as "Ye Olde English Choir" in the singing of carols. They were tough in those days for the audience listened to three speakers as well.

The next time we hear of carols is on December 21st, 1921 when again there was a Ladies' Night and music was by the Boys' Choir of St. Simon's Church. The first time a Lieutenant Governor attended a Christmas party of the Empire Club was when His Honour Lieutenant Governor Cockshutt and Mrs. Cockshutt were entertained in the Crystal Ballroom of the King Edward Hotel on December 18th, 1924.

By 1949 the Christmas party was established in the Empire Club tradition as a time for Christmas carols and music, and the only year of variation from this was 1952 when a Christmas play was presented instead of music.

It was in the year 1963 that the Empire Club was first favoured with the gracious acceptance by a Lieutenant Governor of the office of Honorary Vice-President. This then was the beginning of our Christmas tradition as we celebrate it today, with our ladies, with a choir singing carols and with the presence of our Lieutenant Governor, both as the Queen's representative and as the Honorary Vice-President of our Club. You, sir, are assured of the loyalty of our Club to a United Canada, a continuing Commonwealth whose head the Queen of Canada is represented by you, as her Lieutenant Governor in and for the Province of Ontario. It is my honour to present you now as a member of our Empire Club family. Your Honour:

His Honour the Lieutenant Governor W. Ross Macdonald, P.C., brought greetings on behalf of the Queen to the Empire Club of Canada's Christmas Party. Having learned from his daughter Mrs. Haldenby it was the President's birthday he added his own congratulations to that of the audience.

DR. CRANFIELD:

Thank you, sir, for your gracious message and your personal greetings. We welcome here also one of His Honour's lovely daughters, Mrs. Haldenby, and now I ask Mr. H. Ian Macdonald, our immediate past president, to serve for me.

Mr Macdonald presented a bouquet of roses to Mrs. Haldenby.

Dr. Cranfield presented to the Immediate Past President, Mr. H. Ian Macdonald, an illuminated scroll and roses for Mrs. Macdonald.

DR. CRANFIELD:

Before you return to your place, Mr. Macdonald, it is my special pleasure to present you with a scroll of office. No president deserved it more and no president could ask for more loyal guidance, wise counsel or willing and cheerful assistance than you are giving me. You, sir, are the first past president to receive the modern certificate, the product and generous gift of Lt. Col. Peter W. Hunter and his talented colleagues. It bears the signature of our Honorary President, His Excellency the Governor General, and it records your period of service to the Club. I present it to you on behalf of the Board of Directors and every member of the Empire Club of Canada.

Sharing with Mr. Macdonald in this honour is Mrs. Macdonald for she contributed without recognition in the devotion and preparation he put into his office as President. Today we recognize you, Mrs. Macdonald, by this show of our affection and gratitude.

* * *

Mr. Macdonald eloquently and briefly expressed the thanks of himself and Mrs. Macdonald.

DR. CRANFIELD:

We, of this traditionally designated men's club, wish to recognize all the wives here today and their children and guests. None needs reminding that the enjoyment of these weekly meetings is not the result of a spontaneous occurrence. I could go through the complete alphabet to express my thanks appropriately to all, but instead, I will use only the letters G, H, I, J, K and L as symbolic of all. G for Gillingham, H for Hendy and Hoffman, I for Irwin, J for Jackman, K for certain secretaries and L for Leal and Legge. (I had to mention these specifically to draw attention to the secretaries in their various offices including 200 Bay Street.) Contrary to the Women's Liberation movement all of these lovelies collectively and individually pleaded not to be presented in name or person. I shall respect their wishes but extend to them a special warm and enjoyable Christmas.

(The choir under Mr. Lloyd Bradshaw had quietly taken their places facing the Head Table and Dr. Cranfield continued:)

Your Honour, the Very Reverend Doctor Howse, guests with me at the Head Table, Ladies and Gentlemen, Christmas without Carol singing is beyond consideration. This year we have come together with the expectation of pleasure and fellowship and we have every reason to experience fulfillment.

The University of Toronto Concert Choir is a source of delight to music lovers wherever both are brought together. This is most certainly true since their re-organization in 1968 under the direction of the now world-famous Lloyd Bradshaw. Mr. Bradshaw, organist and choirmaster at St. George's United Church, has, in the past ten years, taken another group, the famous St. George's Youth Choir, on tours to Britain, Europe and across Canada. Since he conducts and teaches at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, lectures in Choral Techniques and conducts a number of choirs and choruses of all ages it was difficult for him to select which of these would be with him today.

We are most fortunate that the University of Toronto Concert Choir was available and was his and our choice. This concert chorus of 75 mixed voices have performed under the direction of Dr. Boyd Neel, Professor Robert Rosevear and Victor Feldbrill and of course many times have been directed by Mr. Bradshaw. They are in demand and have performed in most Eastern cultural centres of Ontario and Quebec and many times in concert with outstanding symphony orchestras. They have a schedule ahead of them that nearly prevented their being free to be with us today. I understand that all the members of the Concert Choir are students in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto. Rather than say more I shall leave it to you to judge and to enjoy. If Mr. Bradshaw invites you to join with the Concert Choir I know you will sing out! Here then is the University of Toronto Concert Choir as directed by Mr. Lloyd Bradshaw.

(The Choir sang and in their repertoire the audience listened first to Dr. Healey Willan's Short Mass. There followed familiar carols in which Mr. Bradshaw directed the audience as they joined the famous choir.)

DR. CRANFIELD:

I know you would want me to thank the choir and Mr. Bradshaw. I shall do so by quoting from an earlier occasion when the great Dr. Healey Willan, whose music you have just been enjoying, Canada's most famous musician, at a Christmas party of the Empire Club on December 19th, 1940, said this: "One of the chief characteristics of the English carol was that you first of all had a very good meal," (which I assure you Mr. Gordon Cardy our innkeeper we have had!) "At the close of the meal the itinerant singers joined the party and entertained the guests. They sang some carols with a refrain to it, and if the guests there assembled did not know the entire carol, they did know the refrain, and so all joined in." We have done all these things and had great fun thanks to the ladies and gentlemen of the University of Toronto Concert Choir and to Mr. Lloyd Bradshaw. I ask you of the audience, isn't it so?

The meeting is adjourned.