Running, Jumping, Wheelbarrows and Tug-of-War
Field days were likely held in Wolfville and area from sometime in the 1800s; the first known field day was held at Acadia University on 21 October 1882. The twenty-one competitions were a mix of events that are part of track meets today such as the 100-yard dash, the running high jump, the shot put, the quarter mile and pole vault. Others are now more associated with an old-fashioned country picnic such as the 30 yard sack race, throwing a baseball, a wheel barrow race and a three-legged race. The finale of the day was a tug-of-war between two teams of 18 men each, still a feature of community events in Nova Scotia.
From this beginning came track and field successes both at Acadia University and at Wolfville High School. Between 1882 and 1950 Wolfville teams won numerous intercollegiate championships while its high school athletes set many records and placed well in meets, often ahead of much larger schools. After 1926, Wolfville hosted the annual Acadia Relays, an annual interscholastic spring track and field meet.
Beginning in 1901, the AAAA sponsored an interclass track and field competition each spring, presenting a trophy to the class with the most points. Acadia entered its first intercollegiate track league in 1903, joining with Mt Allison University (NB) and the University of New Brunswick.. By 1905, it was regularly wining meets, thanks in part to Joe Howe, who single handily won track meets throughout Nova Scotia in the 1902-06 period. In 1912, Acadia claimed the intercollegiate title for the seventh time in ten years. Between 1930-1950, Acadia won almost every Maritime intercollegiate track meet. The 1930 team scored 78 points, winning 11 first places; two team members– Ryan and Eville– between them scored more points than the second place team. The 1946 team, competing in the first meet since 1940, carried on Acadia’s wining tradition, capturing the twelfth title out of 13 meets.
Wolfville High School also had marked success in interscholastic meets. While much smaller than some of the schools it competed against, it had some outstanding track athletes. In the 1928 interscholastic meet, both Harold Mitchell (60 yard dash, 100 yard dash, 12 pound shot) and Vern Eville (220 yard run, 440 yard run, broad jump) entered three events, each not only won his events but set a new record in each event. Wolfville High School scored 42 points at the meet, with additional points scored by the relay teams. Wolfville High School placed second in the 880 relay with the team of Hutchinson, J. Eaton and W. Oliver and third in the mile relay with L. Smith, J. Eaton, W. Oliver and C. Conners. A few years later, Arnold Tedford and Reg Lightfoot represented the high school in track meets throughout the province, winning their events. In 1931, Lightfoot held the interscholastic and Maritime junior record for the mile, while Tedford held the javelin record.
During the 1870-1950 period, track and field events were seen as sport for men and boys; it was considered too extreme for girls and women. In Beyond Heroes, Young notes: “The general feeling that track and field was not a “ladylike” sport had all degrees of proponents. Edgar Stirling, Jack Thomas and Fred Kelly, three of the more prominent coaches of the era, were themselves reticent to see women train hard…. Fred Kelly, did not believe women should be track athletes.” In spite of these attitudes, one of Nova Scotia’s most successful and most decorated track athletes was a woman– Gertrude Phinney, a graduate of Wolfville High School and Acadia University. Between 1927 and 1929, she won over 40 track and field events in Maritime and Canadian competitions and placed in a number of others. In July 1929 she pushed 1928 Olympics hero Myrtle Cook to a record in the 60-yard dash and in August that year, tied the record herself.
(Young, Beyond Heroes, 73)
