Where has the summer gone? We waited forever for spring to arrive, and then waited again for the storms to cease. Our weather often turned toward tornado watches; severe thunderstorms and pounding hail has become the norm.
I seem to recall calmer summer holidays on the farm – long, hot days, with the drone of bees, dragonflies flitting from flower to flower. We could hear frogs at night and the occasional coyote yipping in the darkness. A steady chorus of peaceful sounds soothed our souls. We watched northern lights frequently, a bright flare against the blackness.
When the time came to think of back to school, we were ready. We had enjoyed a long, relaxing break. Well, not relaxing completely as we had a long list of chores: garden weeding, barn and hen house cleaning, rock picking, as well as helping to can fruit and vegetables for the winter.
School beckoned. I was excited to see my friends, revisit the library, dive into learning. I loved school. With my arms full of binders, paper, and a new pencil case filled with pens, pencils, erasers, I was ready.
We were usually assigned to a classroom before we left in June. We knew which friends we were paired with, which teacher was going to instruct us. We stood in line outside the high school door, waiting. The doors opened, we were greeted by Mr. Marfleet, encouraged to do well and we streamed inside in an orderly fashion. Another year had begun.
Recently I was able to attend a general school reunion in Sundre. With three of my siblings we registered at the Sundre rodeo grounds and slapped on our name tags. We were pleased to label ourselves as “Spicer” with our married names as well.
There were no fellow students from my grade but I saw plenty of familiar faces. I recognized several from Judy’s group and Larry reconnected with many of his own classmates.
Bob Clark, our former MLA, was also present. He had been one of Larry’s teachers. He had an opportunity to bring greetings and offered praise and encouragement, almost as if he were sending us off after graduation. Larry was able to speak with him for a few minutes.
We chatted with friends who remembered Marvin, our brother who passed away in the mid-1960s. Judy found many that had attended the Nazarene youth group with her and were a part of the Youth for Christ centre.
We enjoyed a lot of reminiscing and laughter. Some folks had to remind us of how they fit into our school history but the memory was quickly twigged. Our stories overlapped and we had fun trying to fit the pieces back together.
Our school years shaped us and helped us to grow into responsible adults. We owe a great debt to our teachers. Our mentors sent out generations of hard-working, sensible citizens and we are thankful for the guidance.
– Joyce Hoey is a longtime Gazette columnist
