The History of Kennedy Collegiate Institute
By Debbie Wallace
The Honourable W.C. Kennedy Collegiate first opened its doors on September 3, 1929, with an enrollment of 640 students and a staff of 20 teachers. Kennedy was named after the Honourable William Costello Kennedy, a Windsor Politician who served two years as Minister of Roads and Canals before his death in 1923. Mrs. Kennedy, along with the Governor General, was in attendance at the opening of the school. The school cost $750,000 and was built on an eleven acre site. At the time of it’s opening, the gym was the largest in the province with a seating capacity of 1200. There were 36 telephones, 38 clocks and 50 wastebaskets in the school when it first opened. Along with the building of Kennedy, the Board of Education also built the Windsor Stadium on the field behind the school. At one time this stadium was called Kennedy Stadium. The City of Windsor also purchased a 64-acre parcel of land from the Windsor Jockey Club adjacent to the school site. This land was called Jackson Park after the mayor in 1929, Cecil Jackson. In 1960 the park was split in two with the building of the Ouellette Avenue overpass, in order to have a more direct route to Highway 401. Kennedy and Jackson Park have become synonymous with each other as landmarks in the City of Windsor.
ALTIORA PETO – I seek higher things – was picked in 1929 after a contest was held. The Yuffy brothers, Bernard and Murray, wrote the school song, Merrily, We Sing of Thee, in 1936. Mr. A.G. Hooper was the first of the 16 Principals that have led Kennedy to date. Under their watches as Captains of the Clipper Ship, they have all upheld the legacy of instilling in their students the quest to strive for “Higher Things”. Changes to the original blueprints of Kennedy occurred when the Cafeteria and Geography additions were built in 1966 and the newest wing was added in 1998. The towers were refurbished in 1996, to maintain the unique style of Kennedy’s architecture. Renovations at this time included a new roof on the gymnasium, chimney upgrade, brick restoration, building of a modern computer lab, library renovations and the creation of a Learning Support Teacher and In-School Suspension room. School life was enhanced even more through the sports teams, clubs, Kencoll and Forum and Kennedy students have won a reputation for excellence in both scholastics and athletics. A school steeped so deep in tradition and loyalty is exemplified by this comment:
School Song:
 Merrily we sing of thee
Kennedy our own
You can hear the loyal cheering
As the goal our men nearing, playing, fighting
Here's to you, our colours true
Our guide you'll ever be
Tho' we may leave you, our hearts shall ne'er forget
Dear Old Kennedy!
Rah! Rah! Rah!
HISTORIC LAND ROOTS
W. C. Kennedy Collegiate Institute stands on historic land. Once forestland, it became part of the French farm system. These plots of farming land were numbered starting from Turkey Creek (Lot #1) with Kennedy being situated on Lot #84 and half of Lot #85. The original owner of Lot #84 has been traced to Josh L’Esperance and Lot # 85 was registered to Julian Parent who later sold to James McDougall. At this time a lot was approximately equal to a city block in width.
The KCI as we know it .... that almost wasn't!
Political propaganda and game playing almost resulted in Kennedy Collegiate not being built on its current site. In a ploy to secure votes in an upcoming reduction of aldermen at City Council from 12 to 6 members, certain Aldermen clashed with Trustees from the Board of Education regarding this campaign. This led to uncertainty as to the location of Kennedy Collegiate and the Trustees halted plans to proceed with the building until these issues were settled. The Aldermen wanted frontage along Tecumseh Road to be sold off for real estate purposes. As was intended that the purchase of the Jockey Club parkland be used for both park and educational purposes, the ballots in a previous vote only specified park usage.

The Board of Education was desperately in need of a definite site in the park for the school and the deed to the land. The Aldermen who were pushing for the sale of the frontage also wanted to see the plans for building Kennedy dropped, a large number of voters promised to sent out a strong message by voting against the frontage sale and voting for the full park. It was then that the Parks Board got the approval from the School Board Trustees to secure a 400 foot piece of land on which to place the school at the corner of Tecumseh Road and Ouellette Avenue.

On review with the architects, the Board found out that there would be added costs incurred from their original plans of building at the corner of Tecumseh Road and McDougall Street, which had to do with making changes to the lighting arrangements. The Parks Commissioner was afraid that the noise and odours from an auto factory on McDougall Street would be a nuisance to the staff and students if the school were built at the originally planned site. But aware that this site was probably the best site that the Board of Education could get, the Commissioner decided not to oppose its selection any more.

There was also controversy over the size of the site being planned for, stating that other new collegiate sites in the province were limited to 4 or 5 acre sites. Debate rambled on until Mayor C. E. Jackson brought things under control. A motion was tabled to give the Board of Education the entire Tecumseh Road frontage and have this land extend back to the south by 400 feet. That’s the entire area between Ouellette and McDougall. The vote was defeated. The next motion was to move the site back a block from Ouellette Avenue eliminating any subdivisions and killing the idea of selling off frontage while maintaining the park setting. This motion passed.

Thus the plans to construct Kennedy Collegiate proceeded on 10 acres of land in Jockey Club Park instead of the original 15 acres. Situated on the northeast corner of the Park, the site was bounded by Tecumseh Road and McDougall Street, with an athletic stadium to be built south of the school.
Birth of the Kencoll
In 1938, under the guidance of Mr. H. Riggs, the first school magazine, “The Kencoll” was launched. It’s predecessor, “The Key Hole”, was the first paper. The pioneers of this magazine were eager to share their stories and memories and show their pride for their school. As with most new endeavors, finances were a problem, but one that was overcome by these magazine pioneers on the completion of the first Kencoll, which sold for 15 cents for the 38 pages it contained.

And so the changing faces of the Kencoll have evolved over the years and students to this day look back on their yearbook with pride on knowing that they have been part of the KCI tradition.

SEE ALSO: The Kencoll

Hon. W.C. Kennedy, P.C., M.P.: The Man
The Honourable William Costello Kennedy was born in Ottawa in 1868. At a young age his family moved to Toronto where he attended school and graduated from college. His first business experience was attributed to his job with the London and Canadian Loan Agency Company and at age 29, Mr. Kennedy move to the Windsor area to work for the Walker Oil Company in Walkerville. Moving on, he became President of the Windsor Gas Company in 1908 and four years later Mr. Kennedy sold off his interest in the Gas Company and dedicated the rest of his life to his other business interests and public service. He became a Separate School Board Trustee and after WWI, Mr. Kennedy was elected as a representative to the House of Commons for North Essex. Re-election in 1921 saw Prime Minister King appoint Mr. Kennedy as a Member of the Privy Council and Minister of Railways and Canals which he held until his death in 1923.

The Honourable W.C.Kennedy Collegiate Institute stands as a tribute to a man whose pioneering leadership in education, business, civic life and Canadian government will always be admired.

SEE ALSO: The Principals