|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Although Father Leonard Joseph Graf was a science educator at St. Mary’s College in Trinidad for many years, he was first trained in the Classics. For almost a century, St. Mary’s College had been one of only a handful of secondary institutions in the entire country and therefore, one of very few bridges between students and university education. When the College began offering the sciences to its students, Father Graf immersed himself in solitary studies and self-education in Zoology and Botany. He went on to teach these subjects in the science department at St. Mary’s College. During the years in which he taught science, the students of his school won the Island Science Scholarship 31 times, securing what one commentator called a “stranglehold” on the scholarship for 20 of those years.
Leonard Graf was born in Aachen, Germany on February 10th 1883. He had a desire to become a priest from a very early age. However, he grew up during the era of the Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, who had closed all the Roman Catholic seminaries. At the age of 10, young Leonard was sent out of Germany to begin studies for the priesthood at the Junior Seminary of Rockwell College in Tipperary, Ireland.
|
|
|
The Graf Wing at St Mary's College |
In Ireland, Leonard learned to speak the English language. Within two years of joining the school, he was one of Rockwell’s three prize-winners in public examinations. At the end of his secondary studies, Leonard Graf placed first in the whole of Ireland in the Leaving Certificate Examinations. He taught at Rockwell from 1899 to 1904, while also pursuing an external honours Bachelor of Arts degree at the Royal University of Ireland (National University) in the classics, which he completed in 1903. In spite of his academic pursuits and teaching responsibilities, Leonard Graf also performed actively on the Rockwell Rugby Team and was a member of the College orchestra.
Graf moved to Bath, England in 1905 to pursue his novitiate (first) year of studies in the seminary, taking his vows of chastity, poverty and obedience in the Congregation of the Holy Ghost at the end of that year. He was then assigned to St. Mary’s College in Trinidad as a Prefect, studying theology while teaching the boys of this Catholic secondary school. He spent 1910 in France, where he attended formal classes in theology and he became ordained as a priest in October 1910. After spending some time at his parents’ home in Aachen, he returned to Trinidad in 1911.
At first, Father Graf taught Latin, Greek and Ancient History at St. Mary’s College. Considering his academic background, his shift in curriculum from classics to science was remarkable, but very necessary. Father Graf entered St. Mary’s College during a time of transition, when the school was changing its emphasis, and it needed a qualified science teacher. Father Graf was willing to accept the challenge and studied to qualify himself in Zoology and Botany, which he then began teaching to his younger charges.
|
|
|
Hiking at El Tucuche |
Father Graf’s methods ensured that students were exposed to these subjects from a theoretical perspective but also by very practical methods. Father Graf made several field trips with his Botany students to El Tucuche (the second highest mountain in Trinidad), the Aripo Savannas, and Monos Island (a tiny, uninhabited island off the shore of Trinidad’s main coast) to teach them about different environments and to examine at the varied vegetation types to be found in those environments. Students who were not in Father Graf’s classes were also welcome to attend these trips, and thus were also able to benefit from Father Graf’s knowledge.
Many of Father Graf’s students have spoken of the tremendous influence which “The Lion” had in shaping their careers and their lives beyond the walls of the College. Professor Alan Butler, one of the pioneers in medical teaching in the Caribbean, recalls Father Graf’s patience and generosity and his practice of lending books from his personal library so that the boys could gain study references other than their textbooks. Dr. Theodosius Poon King, hailed as the “Medical Researcher of the Century”, was a scholarship winner in the classics who was planning on studies in law and economics until Father Graf gently encouraged him to study medicine. Aside from his teaching duties, it was Father Graf who also liaised with the authorities on behalf of St. Mary’s to seek aid in staffing and in improving the education provided at the College.
Father Graf was Dean of Studies between 1920 and 1957 and Senior Greek Master for 60 years. He also edited the College’s 50th anniversary annual and its 100th anniversary annual (as well as the 49 other Annuals in between), a testament to the number of years he dedicated to the school. An integral part of St. Mary’s, Father Graf was head of the Drama Club for 30 years, directing and producing the club’s annual Shakespeare play. He also was in charge of the Debating Club and Library, as well as College choir. Aside from these responsibilities, he was a member of the College orchestra, being proficient on the cello. Knowing however, that there was life beyond the classics, Father Graf also entertained the students by organising Friday evening film showings at the College. A later Principal of the College, Father Eugene Lai Fook, described Father Graf as “the pillar of St. Mary’s”.
Outside of teaching, Father Graf also contributed to the wider society. He was an active member of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club, which he had joined in 1924. He was a frequent lecturer there and in 1931 presented a series of lectures in botany and zoology for the Club's younger members. He functioned as its President from 1940 to 1945 and served on its Management Committee from 1930 to 1970. He also was an amateur photographer and took photos and made short movies of the groups’ botanical excursions. He made 11 trips to the top of El Tucuche; the last trek he made was at the age of 72 years.
|
|
Father Graf retired from active teaching in 1966 at the age of 83 years. During the 61 years he taught at St. Mary’s, he had only missed two days of school!
In 1969, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago awarded Father Graf the Chaconia Medal Gold for his long and meritorious service to Trinidad and Tobago in the sphere of Education. His award was one of the first national awards bestowed following Independence, and the presentation was witnessed by one of his many outstanding past students, Governor General Sir Solomon Hochoy.
In 1970, after a period of declining health, Father Leonard Graf passed away at the age of 86.
This Icon is also featured in the Kids’ Booklet :
|
|
St. Mary’s College Past Students Union Hall of Fame 2002
De Verteuil, Anthony (1996) The Holy Ghost Fathers of Trinidad. Litho Press, Trinidad.
De Verteuil, Anthony (1994) The Germans in Trinidad. Litho Press, Trinidad.
http://web.archive.org/web/20050224191432/http:/cicpsu.com/halloffame/LeonardGraf.html
Selected Publications:
Graf, Father L .J. (1961) Natural savannas of Trinidad. Journal of the Field Naturalist Club p.7-9
Education:
Junior Seminary, Rockwell College, Ireland
Royal University of Ireland
Memberships:
Field Naturalists of Trinidad and Tobago
Awards:
CCST
Secretariat
4 Serpentine Place, St Clair, Trinidad W.I.
Tel: 868 622-7880 E-mail:
ccst@niherst.gov.tt
