The staff and sponsors of the 1956 Kampus respectfully dedicate this Annual to Mr. Frank X. Potter for his outstanding work among the students and on the teaching staff of Kamloops High School for the past twenty-nine years.
Mr. Potter was born in Cumberland, B.C., in 1904. There he completed his elementary and high school education. During vacations he worked in coal mines and lumber camps. After winning the Canadian Collieries Medal for Junior Matriculation, he enrolled at U.B.C., and with his trumpet, he played his way through University. Every Wednesday and Thursday, he crossed to Nanaimo and played for the silent movies in the old Nanaimo Dominion Theatre. During summer vacations, he directed the Travelling Road Shows on Vancouver Island, and was a member of the Nanaimo Band.
He graduated from U.B.C. with his B.A. degree in 1926, and finished his teacher-training the next year. Following the summer of 1927, during which he played with the Banff National Parks Orchestra, he came to Kamloops, and since that time has been associated with the teaching staff of Kamloops High School. For the past twenty-nine years, he has been a "live-wire" in school and community affairs. In his first years with Kamloops High School, he was in charge of Athletics, and was the first to introduce Grass Hockey to the school. He taught Agriculture and organized the Potato Clubs throughout the local area. He organized Debating Clubs and trained participants. On occasion, he played in the silent Movie House of Kamloops, where he met Miss Monica Mooney, whom he married in December of 1929.
To the late Mrs. Potter, he gives all the credit for the magnificent success of their musical undertakings. They organized and conducted Variety concerts in the Auditorium of the Lloyd George School, the Allan Matthews School, and the Elks' Auditorium. One of the first Musicals was "Yokahama Maid." This was followed by their first venture into Gilbert and Sullivan operas in 1929, when they conducted with great success: "Trial by Jury." In 1937 they staged "The Pirates of Penzance."
Mr. Potter organized the first student "Sing-Songs" which were carried on without the use of song sheets and were an excellent success. Their places of Assembly ranged from the top of Mt. Paul and Mt. Peter to the High School Auditoriums of Merritt, Vernon, Kamloops and Salmon Arm to the Court House in Vernon.
For many years, Mr. Potter was the solo trumpeter for the R.M.R. band. He organized the second Kamloops Scout Troop and was made District Scout Master. He is a charter member of the Kamloops Little Theatre. He played the lead in their first play: "The Man with the Bowler Hat." During the war years he organized the 204th Squadron, and was their first Commanding officer. Many of the young men of this squadron were decorated with the D.F.C.
He has always been an active participant of and at present holds office in the Fourth Degree of the Knights of Columbus Father Le Jeun Assembly. Since the demise of Mrs. Potter, he has taken over the Directorship of the Choir of the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Mr. Potter took his post-graduate work at the University of Washington, and attained his pre-medical, and first Year Medicine.
During the past 29 years, thousands of students have studied under Mr. Potter. From these students have come leaders in many professions. In particular there have been a number of McGill scholarship winners, Rhodes scholars, and some of the leading scientific authorities of Canada.
In view of his devotion to the school and of what he has done for the students, we feel that it is only fitting that the '56 Kampus should be dedicated as a tribute to Mr. F. X. Potter.
