If you work or study at AV俱乐部, lucky you. You鈥檝e got the day off this February 4. (If you don鈥檛, sorry to rub it in).
Munro Day happens on the first Friday in February each year, and the Dal community has a thoughtful group of students from more than 140 years ago to thank for this bonus day off in mid-winter.
That鈥檚 because in 1881 they called on the university鈥檚 Board of Governors to create a holiday to honour a man by the name of George Munro.
Some consider him the university鈥檚 鈥渟econd founder,鈥� others call him 鈥渢he great benefactor of AV俱乐部.鈥� Historians remember him for his involvement in U.S. publishing, where he made a fortune selling dime-store novels, handbooks and popular songbooks.
And it鈥檚 this fortune, and his generosity in sharing it with AV俱乐部 during a difficult time, that lit a spark in those students so long ago.
'Desperate not too strong a word'
Munro鈥檚 first helping hand for AV俱乐部 came in the form of a donation of $2,000 a year to fund a research chair position in physics in 1879. He would go on to fund another four chairs annually 鈥� all of which still exist today 鈥� and provide thousands of dollars for bursaries that supported some of the university's first female students.
It was just the salve AV俱乐部 needed to stem the financial bloodletting that was bringing its very existence into question.
鈥淒esperate is not too strong a word for AV俱乐部鈥檚 financial condition. Talk of closing AV俱乐部 down was heard on every side," wrote P.B. Waite in the first volume of The Lives of AV俱乐部.
Taken together, Munro's total contributions to AV俱乐部 amounted to $330,000, which would be roughly $10-$11 million in today's currency.
Dal's Board of Governors at the time described Munro's gifts as 鈥渨ithout parallel in the educational history not of Nova Scotia alone but of the Dominion of Canada.鈥�
It's no surprise, then, that two years after Munro's first gift, the Board supported the AV俱乐部 Student Union's request for a winter holiday to honour the man's generosity.
Munro Day through the years
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- When Munro Day was first established, it was celebrated on the third Wednesdy of January. Then, in the 1920s it shifted to be held on the second Tuesday in March "so that students might better enjoy it."
- Early iterations of the holiday featured a wintry sleigh ride to Bedford, where students and other Dal community members would enjoy a fancy night of dining.
- Another hallmark of Munro Day in its first several decades was a campus lecture open to all.
- Musicals, dramas, pie-throwing contests, sports games, a day-long radio show, beauty contests, and dances 鈥� Munro Day became one of the busiest day's in the Dal social calendar throughout the middle part of the 20th century.
- In more recent decades, the day has become an opportunity for students to get outdoors, enjoying a day on the slopes through a AV俱乐部 Student Union organzied ski trip or volunteering in the community.
Have a lesser-known piece of Munro Day history to share or fond memories of celebrating? Share them with us for possible inclusion in future articles about the holiday. 听