NWSS Maintenance Worker Memory
If you went to NWSS in the 1970’s you will likely remember the two (2) gentlemen who were on the high school’s Maintenance Crew. One of them was Mike Cacic (aka “Big Mike” to many of us). Prior to his maintenance career at NWSS, Mike was a Defensive Lineman in the CFL for 10 years, and part of the famed “head hunters” on the BC Lions defence. Attached is my favourite picture of Mike from the Kimtah ’76 Yearbook.
Together with his co-worker, Mike would drive around the NDub campus in a ‘small’ maintenance department truck . Being as big as he was, Mike was literally wedged into the front passenger seat. What was most memorable was the truck noticeably leaning to the side on which Mike was sitting. It was quite a hilarious sight to see.
Well, back in 1976, on the evening before our very last day of school at NWSS, myself and several other “soon to be Grads” thought it would be fun to create a memorable prank on the school grounds. Nothing defacing or destructive, just memorable. We decided on two things;
1). Write “GRAD ’76” on the rugby field using many bags of lime.
2). Hang several old tires over top of the rugby field goal -posts.
The latter was not an easy task but the mission was accomplished very late that evening.
The following day at mid-morning break, we proudly stood on the outside stairs from Pearson Gym overlooking the fields and admiring our work as numerous students wandered by wondering “who did that?”. Around that same time the Maintenance Crew arrived on the field driving their front loader tractor. With Big Mike standing in the front loader bucket, his co-worker raised it up to the level at which the tires were. Realizing that the bucket could not be raised high enough for them to get the tires back over the top of the goal post, Mike had to use a hack saw to cut each of them down. It was fun for to watch, for us at least.
That afternoon, the culprits went down to bar at the Mr. Sport Hotel (formerly The Russel Hotel) to ‘tip a few’ in celebration of our graduation. We were underage but it was a local “right of passage" back then to get into and be served at the Mr. Sport, or The Towers, or the King Eddie.
By late afternoon, guess who shows up in the same bar? None other than Mike Cacic and his co-worker. Perhaps it was the beers that had already been consumed, but we eventually got up the nerve, walked over to Mike’s table, and “fessed-up” to our pranks. Mike and his buddy laughed and thanked us for not doing anything destructive. Later on their way out they paid for the waitress to drop a dozen beers on our table and said “thanks again and congrats on your graduation”!! It was so nice of them to do that, something I’ve never forgotten.
Howard Walton
Class of ‘76