“Cheers for 70 years!”
That was the message Mary Gilholme (née Goudie) gave her fellow classmates and the motto she chose for their high school reunion—the 70th for Lord Tweedsmuir’s Class of ’55.
Mary planned and organized the event—held June 24—along with Sid White and Gladys Bittner (née Ziola). Nine grads met for a picture on the steps of Cloverdale Traditional School on Hwy 10. In 1955, Cloverdale Traditional was Lord Tweedsmuir High School.
“We were a very small class,” Mary said. “We had maybe 35. In the '50s, not all your students went to Grade 12, or finished Grade 12. There were jobs to be had. Things came up that didn’t allow some to graduate for different circumstances. It was quite different then.”
After some fond hellos and hugs—and the picture—the group, with significant others, headed across the street to a restaurant to eat some lunch and reminisce.
“We were just so happy to see each other,” Mary said. “It was just such a lovely day.”
She said they take the picture on the stairs because that's traditionally how class pictures were taken 70 years ago.
Mary said she reached out to everyone who she still has contact details for, about 20, and noted some were unable to attend. One person, Carole Kilik (née Hamre) came up from California, Peter Eggleton made the journey from Montreal, and Walter Fenske and his wife Linda came over from the Island. Mary, Sid, Gladys, Nola Renney (née Rutherford), Virginia Delcourt (née Marron), and Len Jones all arrived from the Surrey area. Both Sid and Gladys were teachers in Surrey for their entire careers.
“We always talk about the people who have passed away; we go over the memorial roll for the people that we’ve lost,” she said. “I also bring greetings and updates for the people that weren’t able to make it there."
Mary revealed that one grad was gearing up to celebrate her 70th wedding anniversary. Virginia and her husband Harry were married on July 2, 1955, a few weeks after Virginia graduated.
At lunch, Mary said the group had a fond time reminiscing about high school days and has some fun telling old stories.
“We laughed and laughed,” she said. “There are some great stories going back.”
Mary noted many in the class also went to elementary school in a building beside the old Lord Tweedsmuir. Long since torn down, she said Peter recalled his first day at school. He was six years old and starting Grade 1.
“Peter lived on a farm on 192nd Street,” she said. “On the first day of school, his father doubled Peter on the back of a bicycle and pedalled it all the way to Cloverdale, over three miles, and he gave Peter a nickel so he could catch the tram to take him back home after school." (Back then, 192 was called Latimer Road.)
Peter’s father left him with Carole Kilik’s mother, Mrs. Hamre, outside the school in the morning and asked if she could see Peter into the school.
“So Peter played and did everything on that first day of school and when he went to go catch the tram, he found he’d lost his five cents,” Mary explained. “So he had to walk all the way home. And when he got there, he declared to his parents that he was never going back to school.”
Mary said everyone howled at Peter's story.
Sid White thought things "went really well" at the reunion.
“We only had nine show up, but when you’re 88 years old not everybody could make it for different reasons,” Sid noted. “And of course, we’ve lost quite a few.”
He said there were a lot of memories at the event both recalled and shared from others.
“Going back to 1955, it’s amazing what stories do come out,” he said. “We all were asked to try to think about one or two things that we remember from our school years, or who our favourite teacher was. It’s amazing how people do remember.”
Mary said she hasn't even thought about her class's 75th reunion yet.
“No, I’m just really enjoying celebrating 70.”
