Skule Cannon: Difference between revisions

''Research on the history of the Cannon was conducted by Kevin P. Siu, Mike Hawkins, Jen Pollock, Juan Fantin, Jen Assal, Dave Woods, Adam Trumpour, Alex Curelea, and Will Smith.''

===1899-1900===

1929 also saw the firing of one of the two cannons in front of Hart House. Unfortunately, both were supposed to fire. The caper was repeated in later years, including 1943.

The Mark I was built by a machinist working in the mechanical department. The barrel was 10" long with a 6" bore, and was machined from axle stock. The base was made from a cast iron pillow block, the base of which was 8" wide, 4" deep and 1" tall. It was built in the four hours before the 1936 School Dinner (which was Nov. 20). Because the authorities at the time were trying to track down those responsible for the earlier cannon, the construction and early firings were surrounded by great secrecy. This is likely why many earlier histories of the Cannon do not distinguish between the Mark I and its predecessor, and give the Mark I's date of construction as 1929.

The Cannon was stolen by University College in 1941, but was instantly returned.

On November 23, 1944, the Cannon was fired at the Mulock Cup (football) final between SkuleTM and University College. UC won the football game. They also stole the Cannon. On November 30, SkuleTM placed an ad in the Varsity asking for its return. An ad in the next day's Varsity asked how much powder was required to load the Cannon. On February 13, 1945, it was announced that UC had the Cannon and would present it to SkuleTM at their annual Arts Ball on the 15th. SkuleTM agreed to send a representative to receive it, but also began plotting a way to avoid this severe humiliation. As the Cannon was being taken into the Arts Ball, six brave engineers rushed it and retrieved it.

[[Image:Feb23.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Toike publishes plans for destruction of UC (with tactical maps) (Toike Oike, Feb. 23, 1945)]]

The 1949 Chariot race, held on Thursday, February 3, had a good start. SkuleTM won the first heat, and the second heat was started by a blast of the Cannon. Then, disaster struck. The Cannon was grabbed by a Med student, beginning a huge brawl between all the parties present who wanted possesion of the Cannon - that is to say, everybody. Eventually a SkuleTMman managed to grab it and retreat to the Little Red Skulehouse. Even there, however, it was not safe from the thieving Meds. Two of them, standing just inside the door, took the Cannon from the exhausted engineer and made their way to the Medical building by a back route. The engineers quickly regrouped and entered the Meds building, but were prevented from recovering the Cannon by an overwhelming number of Meds. They took II Pre-Meds president Bob Sheppard captive, but were forced to release him later the same day. They replaced him by taking Bob Hetherington, Meds Society vice-president, from the frat where he lived. Hetherington was held hostage over the weekend while negotiations took place, and was traded for the Cannon at 17:30 February 7. On its return, the Cannon bore a blemish in the form of an inscription reading "Captured by Meds 5T2 3 Feb. 1949."

The Toike account of the events (Toike Oike, Feb. 9, 1949)

The engineers had arranged for a photo shoot of the Cannon with a Varsity photographer, yet when they arrived at the meeting a group of U.C. students snatched the Cannon and fled in a car. In order to recover it, the CA Paul La Prairie assembled a large group of engineers in front of U.C. while some SkuleTMmen dressed as construction workers entered the building through a side door. These engineers set up proper construction barricades around the main staircase, and carefully removed the U.C. gargoyle from the newel post on the stairway. When word got out that the wooden gargoyle was missing, the CA was summoned to Dean Young and President Sidney Smith, to whom he assured that it would be returned safely in exchange for the SkuleTM Cannon. A truce was then arranged with U.C. to exchange the Cannon for the gargoyle on front campus. The Cannon was handed back, and the engineers presented the artsmen with a bag of sawdust, supposedly the remains of the gargoyle. While this happened, the gargoyle was being placed back in its post by the SkuleTMmen.

Cannon is finally returned (Varsity, Nov. 2, 1949)

The Mark II Cannon was officially fired for the first time during the annual Chariot Races in January. This Cannon was built by W.H. Kubbinga, a machinist in the Civil Engineering department, and presented to the Society on Christmas day 1949. The barrel and wheels were made from a bronze alloy, and later given a heavy electroplating of nickel and chromium. The carriage was made of heavy steel plate, which was painted black. The Mark II had a barrel 11½" long, with a 2" diameter and ¾" bore.

The Engineering Society honoured W.H. Kubbinga with a scroll extolling his loyalty, courage, and good conduct and made him an Honorary Member in Ye Ancient and Honourable Company of SkuleTM Cannoneers with the rank of Sergeant Artificer.

On the afternoon of October 31, three men showed up at the Little Red Skulehouse claiming to be journalism students from Penn State, interested in writing an article on the Engineering mascot. They asked to see the Cannon, but the wary SkuleTMmen told them that would be impossible since it was against security regulations. The trio then feigned interest in the history of the Cannon and, after being shown a copy of the Toike with an article on it, they were escorted out and the door was securely bolted behind them. The engineers later found UWO stickers and textbooks on their car in the parking lot, and gave them two flat tires so that they'd have "something to think about on the way home". The same three students again tried without success to enter the building later in the evening. Apparently, the Varsity had been aware of the plot for a few days and was involved in it.

===1955===

Medsmen, knowing that the Cannon was usually carried inside the engineering float during the parade, launched a tear gas attack on it. The Meds outnumbered the SkuleTMmen and a fierce fight ensued that lasted for over half an hour. The SkuleTM float was almost completely destroyed, but the Cannon remained safe thanks to the ingenuity of the CA who removed it from the area without anyone noticing.

'''Cannon stolen by Engineers'''

1967 saw perhaps the most infamous Cannon steal. Two graduate engineers, Mike Chapelle, 6T7, and Howie White, 6T6, managed to steal the Cannon, and took it with them to University College in England. Don Morno, 6T4, and five other SkuleTMmen, followed the Cannon all the way to England, where two of them entered Chapelle's room and recovered the Cannon. On the way back home, the Cannon made a stop in Coventry to pay homage to Godiva. The statue of Godiva was adorned with an engineering jacket.

The year 1971 was the year of the first gangbang with the Ryerson Engineers. The purpose of the gangbang was to see who had the better Cannon. Not only did the SkuleTM Cannon win, but the UofT engineers made off with the Ryerson Cannon and the distributor wire to their bus!

In SkuleTM's centennial year, the Cannoneer decided that a new Cannon would be an ideal way to celebrate. So a new Cannon was built. It had an 18" barrel with a 6" bore, 3" diameter, weighed 40 lbs, and was mounted on a mahogany base and had bronze wheels. At the Centennial Ball the new Cannon fired for the first time (although it took three tries for it to actually work!). The old '67 Cannon was presented to Dean James M. Ham for his retirement.

The Cannoneer at the time, Robert Gilmour did not want to fire the Cannon at his own Grad Ball, so a former Cannoneer named John Vanneste was called from retirement to fire the Cannon. The Cannon was found to be badly corroded and in need of cleaning. When the barrel was removed from the base, Gilmour's name was found chiseled into the bottom. The Engineering Society executives passed a motion of censure against Gilmour, and the entire deed was exposed in the Toike Oike. At John Vanneste's suggestion, the Cannon Guard wore black hardhats (as opposed to the traditional red) for one year to show the Engineer's displeasure. After the year was up, they decided to keep wearing the black hardhats, and they also decided to wear black t-shirts to create a new image.

Godiva Week in 1982 saw another gangbang between our Cannon and Ryerson's, Devonshire House's and a fraternity's on front campus. Decibel meters quickly eliminated Devonshire's and the frat's cannons from the competition. Both SkuleTM's and Ryerson's were off the scale. A second round was held at Ryerson, this time using heavy-duty audio equipment with special shielding. Ye Mighty SkuleTM Cannon triumphs, being measured at 113 decibels from 200 yards away.

The 1973 Cannon is fired for the last time at Gradball and presented to Professor Emeritus L.E. Jones for his outstanding contributions to SkuleTM over more than 50 years. The new Cannon successfully fires for the first time shortly after 11 PM on Saturday, March 23, after two misfires.

'''1988-89:'''

'''LGMB Steals the Cannon'''

The Cannon Guard foolishly left the Cannon in the EngSoc offices in the winter of 88/89. The Bnad "borrowed" it and kept it at Knox College while the CA was sweating over a fake letter from Waterloo, complete with a picture of the Cannon on a Waterloo jacket.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Mighty SkuleTM Cannon, and with the support of Assistant Dean Malcolm McGrath and the Engineering Alumni Association, Chief Attiliator Ken deJong establishes a new uniform for the Cannon Guard. The new outfit featured black coveralls, belts and vests in addition to the standard black hardhats.

Seven fire trucks respond to the Earth-Shattering Kaboom of ye mighty SkuleTM Cannon at the Royal York Hotel during Gradball, setting a new record.

The SAC president breaks into the Engineering Society offices one night during Reading Week in search of the Cannon. Using a drill, he tries to break into the storage room where he believed the Cannon was kept. He failed and left the mutilated door unopened.

SkuleTM's first female Chief Attiliator.

For the second year in a row, the SAC president led a conspiracy to steal the Cannon during the homecoming parade. Due to a leak (the president's boasting), the guard learned of the plot. The guard left the uniforms behind and showed up at the parade undercover. The Cannon was fired before the thieving group found out what happened.

The annual manifestation of the Cannon at Cannonball was a SMASHING success. It was like deja vu as the Attiliator once more set up the piece and prepared to fire. The management once more intervened and insisted that the Cannon be fired out a bay window, even though the Chief Attiliator explained that it was much safer to fire the Cannon inside the spacious building. The manager, however, would not listen to 'sound' Engineering logic and insisted the Cannon be fired out the window. The Attiliator shrugged his shoulders and said 'OK.' The resulting concussion shattered six, one-foot square panes of glass. The sound of shattering glass hit the floor as cheers poured from the assembled Engineers and Alumni (Assistant Dean Malcolm McGrath out-cheered just about everyone). Surprisingly even the manager cheered (we got the bill about a month later).

Due to recent attempts to steal the Cannon, it was decided that the new Chief Attiliator go underground. No one except the officers of the Engineering Society, the BFC Chief, the Bnad Leedur, and a regular array of guards would know the CA's identity before that year's Gradball. Brian Campanotti, the 1992-1993 CA, designed the mirrored face shield and hood in use by CAs to this day.

26 years after the last successful attempt, the Cannon was finally captured. After the Cannon was set off for the incoming F!rosh on the first day of orientation, the Chief Attiliator foolishly left our symbol unguarded in the trunk of his car, mistakenly thinking that it would be safe. Thieves finally got their hands on the piece, but not until they peeled the trunk off his car. Nobody saw them, even though the car was next to the Engineering building. A ransom note signed Fahrenheit 1710 was sent some time later, demanding that a group of Engineers run onto front campus wearing only their underwear, carrying a banner of specific dimensions that said some nonsense about how artsies rule. The demands were, of course, ignored, and construction of a new Cannon began. The new Cannon would be a 90% scale twin of the lost 1983 piece, and would be made of cold brass. The stolen Cannon was finally recaptured just in time for the 1994 Grad Ball. The recovered Cannon was subsequently presented to a very deserving Malcolm McGrath (former Assistant Dean) for his leadership and contribution to student life that has aided so many undergraduate and post-graduate Engineers. The new Cannon was inaugurated on the first day of orientation in 1994.

Cannon is again fired at Queen's orientation.

By 1998, due to numerous firings, the 1994 Cannon was already showing its age. 1998/1999 was also the 125th anniversary of SkuleTM, and the 70th anniversary of the Cannon. The '94 Cannon was retired, and a new Cannon was built, with a stainless steel barrel and walnut chassis.

'''Queen's Grease Pole steal'''

2000 saw the famous Queen's Grease Pole Liberation. A small section of the Pole was cut off and kept by us before the Pole was returned. Part of the piece was sold on eBay, the other part was added to the belt worn by the CA, where it can be seen to this day. The belt, incidentally, is the chain that once protected Waterloo's Engineering mascot, the Tool, before it, too, was liberated in 1982.

Sergeant Steve Cox, an officer of the University of Toronto Campus Police and a major ally of engineering, retires from service. To thank him for his service, a 50% scale of the 1984 Cannon is forged for him and fired alongside the 1967 Cannon, 1973 Cannon, and 1998 Cannon after his retirement ceremony, which took place earlier in the day.

==Further Reading==