Henry Rowe Hocking Kenner
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Dr. Henry Rowe Hocking Kenner B.A., LL.D. |
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| Born | 28 March 1867 Mevagissey, Cornwall, England |
| Died | 1944 Peterborough, Ontario |
| Resting place | Little Lake Cemetery |
| Education | Bachelor of Arts |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto |
| Occupation | Principal |
| Employer | Peterborough Board of Education |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Isobel (Williams) Kenner |
| Children | Hugh Kenner |
| Parent(s) | William and Emily (Staples) Kenner |
Henry Rowe Hocking Kenner (1867–1944) was a university trained educator and influential member of the City of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He emigrated from the Cornwall area in England to Canada in the early 1870s and began his teaching career in Caledonia, Ontario. After graduation from the University of Toronto he continued in the education field for another 50 years retiring from Peterborough Collegiate Vocational School at the age of 76. In 1952, the Peterborough Board of Education named its second high school in his honour.
H.R.H. Kenner was born on March 28, 1867 in Mevagissey, Cornwall, England to William and Emily (Staples) Kenner. In 1872 his father, immigrated to Canada during a three-week voyage on a sailing ship and became a prominent and respected Methodist Bible Christian minister throughout southern and central Ontario. Kenner married Mary Isobel (Williams), a French and German teacher, July 23, 1918. They had one son, Hugh Kenner, who they raised at 396 Downie Street, now a heritage home in the City of Peterborough.
Kenner started his teaching career in Caledonia, Ontario. In 1886 took his High School Assistant qualifications and then took on the position in 1889. He completed his Bachelor of Arts and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1893. As expected for humanities teachers at the time, he traveled to Europe with a focus on Rome. The "Weekly Review" newspaper printed installments of his writing as a series titled "A Journey to the Eternal City" that had a limited publish as a book.
He then went on to teach Greek and Latin at the Peterborough Collegiate Institute in 1893. While he played football and baseball there, he also coached baseball and earned the nickname "Sam". Kenner became the first principal of Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School (PCVS) from 1908 to 1943. During the Great War, the proximity to the Peterborough Armouries was known to be a source of frustration for him as he was quoted to have complained to the City Council that, "young pupils are too keen on soldiering rather than studies." Kenner was awarded an honorary doctorate degree of law by the University of Toronto in 1936.
Upon his retirement, in recognition of 50 years of service, he was presented with a hand-lettered and hand-painted, illuminated certificate signed by James Hamilton (Peterborough Mayor), C.M. Scott (Chair of the Public School Board), and W.H. Gainey (Chair of the Separate School Board). Kenner was also presented with a Retirement Scroll from his last student cohort on June 4, 1943. His retirement photograph was adorned to the balcony foyer of the PCVS auditorium, since a tradition for each of his successors, and remains there today.
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