December 19th, 2011 by Barbara McKay
Memory Monday – The Bush Jacket
The "outdoor uniform" circa 1970's & 1980's.
Continuing our theme from last Monday – the cup and spoon, we had an email from an alumni commenting on the bush jacket in the picture. He mentions; “funny how bush jackets were akin to finger prints!”
This was true, you could always tell who the student or teacher was by which bush jacket you were seeing.
Who still has their bush jacket?
We’d love to hear your memories of the outdoor uniform. It was a far cry from the high tech gear used today.
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3 Responses to “Memory Monday – The Bush Jacket”
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The Bush Jacket was issued in the first week of school to a New Boy. I have to admit that secretly I desired a Blue Bush Jacket as my preference, but the reality was that there were none to be had when I lined up for uniform issue. The Green one that I received in 1973 served me well throughout my days at St. John’s and beyond. It was only last winter (2011) that I finally purchased a Blue Bush style jacket complete with metal snaps from Mark’s Work Wearhouse.
Part of the reason for the Blue was that a number of those in grade 12 strutted around wearing their Blue jackets and obviously they were making an impression on me that first week.
Look whose ‘strutt’in and styl’in’ now!
LOL
There were two items that seemed to fall under this category.
The bush shirt and the bush jacket. Like formal and semi formal bush wear.
The bush shirt had it’s first test when a lighter was passed underneath the sleeves and then the rest of it. The quick flash of fire singeing the fibres away made you look brave, and made the shirt look not-so-new.
This was usually worn most days in and around the school.
The Bush Jacket proper was the equivilent of the camping tuxedo up to around 1990 when goretex took over.
Some prints were similar and when you rounded a corner on a hike you would think, “that’s either Brown, or Jones III”. However, the more unique patterns were last remaining strains of issues of years previous.
“That’s PJ! Put it out!” You would never mistake his bush jacket for anyone elses on a canoe trip and grind your last smoke into the ground 8 days from the next town break! No sir! You learned to differentiate them quickly.
Looking at the pictures collections on picasa, http://picasaweb.google.com/sjsaab you’ll be surprised at how this comes back to you.
I rarely wore my bush jacket, and never had a bush shirt. My wife recently found my boring brown bush jacket in a box and excitedly claimed it as her own. It messes with my brain when she occassionally walks around camp in it…..
The bush jacket was worn for all seasons and duties. Once, while out on a weekend dog run, sitting around the fire drying gear , the temperature was the usual cold January. As we sat talking and drying ,the sparks rising up to be burnt out, occasionly landing on someone’s gear. One spark landed in a bush jacket upper left pocket, without anyone noticing it , the spark and jacket material soon grew into a heart size shape that glowed very brightly and soon very hot . Much to a staff members surprise. The funny thing at the time was, he was an Anglican priest, and the glowing seemed like something special was happening until , he let out a scream of discomfort and profanity. I guess he was human after all.