November 15, 1995 will always remain tucked away in my memory. It was my last day
of teaching at Erin District High School. The decision to retire was made very quickly and came
as a shock to the staff. The School and Board Administrations were very supportive and helped
me to make my decision. My health had deteriorated much more than the previous year, when
I suffered a heart attack. I was experiencing angina when I went for walks, exercised or was
under stress. I had to slow down regularly. After a stress test in August 1994, my cardiologist
put me on medication.
I found it difficult to tell my three classes that I was leaving. Several students were
obviously upset but accepted the fact that I was leaving for health reasons. I found it quite
touching when I received farewell cards from my OAC class and three students from my 1994
OAC Biology class--Mike Smith, Mike Avarell and Sharon Webb. To top it all Mike Smith made
a farewell speech. I had enjoyed teaching two of my classes SBA 3G1 (Grade 11 General) and
SBI OA1 (OAC). My Grade 9 class, MST 900 was a bit more challenging. The students found
it difficult to cope with three different topics: Block Math, Unit Math and Science in one period.
One Grade 9 student who had been a discipline problem over the previous two weeks, was very
upset. At the end of the class she was very apologetic for her behaviour. She thought that she
was responsible for my retirement so I had to “put her mind at ease”.
I did not sleep very well for three consecutive nights. I found myself waking up
throughout the night and tossing around as memories of my past fleeted in front of me. It
seemed as if my life was coming to an end. I agonized over my decision. It was an abrupt end
to a long career of teaching at Erin District High School.
It was on a Sunday afternoon in May 1968, that I was hired by Mr. Norman Finnie, the
Principal. At that time, Erin District High School was under the jurisdiction of The Erin High
School Board and the school enrollment was about 350 students with 19 teachers.
I found Mr. Finnie to be very kind and considerate and had each person’s interest at
heart. When he had a difficult decision to make he took time and pondered carefully over it.
He was a gentleman in the true sense of the word. It was a most fitting tribute to Mr. Finnie
when the staff of E.D.H.S. donated a plaque in his memory.
At that time the school day comprised of eight 37-minute periods with each teacher
teaching six periods and having two spares. The school did not have a cafeteria so students
had to take their lunch on the bleachers in the old gymnasium. The school secretary was Mrs.
Evelyn O’Sullivan. She commanded a lot of respect from the students. They dared not enter
the office with their hats on or with gum in their mouths. Her favourite phrase was “Not in my
office!” Mrs. O’Sullivan and Mrs. Finnie now live in my neighbourhood in Guelph. I frequently
see them at the library or walking down the street on their way to the Mall. We enjoy chit-
chatting about the good old days at Erin.
A major expansion of the school took place in 1973-74 and a new principal, Peter
Durksen, replaced Mr. Finnie on his retirement. John Akin was the Vice-Principal. There were
many changes. E.D.H.S. became a Grade 7-13 school with an open concept area in the top
floor of the new wing. The two-semester system was also introduced with four 70-minute
periods per day. There were about twenty new teachers hired. It was a difficult adjustment for
many of the “old” staff. I recall having to teach a Science class in three different classrooms in
a six-day cycle; two days were spent in each room. That year was the most stressful in my
teaching career.
In 1976 our school had a team inspection by several superintendents from the
Wellington County Board of Education. My SBI 301 Grade 11 Biology Class was inspected by
Mr. Morrison. I had an excellent group of students; their participation was just great and this
helped me to get a very good report from Mr. Morrison. I feel that that class was the best group
of students that I have ever taught. I can still remember many of their names: Laurinda Lang,
Ian and Trevor Haws, Sharon Burt, Johnathan Doble, Adam Leigh, David Marshall, Scott
Moulton, Dan Wright, Sandra Butterworth, Karen Delaney, Lorie Gregson, Steve Lozinski,
Lilace McIntyre, Brenda Reilly, Karen Rodgers, Pam Walker, Paul Weber, Larry Wheeler and a
few others. I was fortunate to have several of those students in my Grade 13 Biology Class in
1977-78. Two of them, Trevor and Ian Haws, won the top prizes at the Waterloo-Wellington
Science and Engineering Fair and at the All Canada Science Fair. The title of their project was
The Piranha: Tests of Feeding Stimuli. They also won the Shell Canada award of an all-
expense paid trip to the London International Youth Science Fortnight.
In 1979, Peter Durksen and John Akin were transferred to Guelph and were replaced by
Paul Knox and Eric Holmes. Bud Fauteux replaced Paul Knox as Principal in 1985. I served
under two other Principals at Erin: Bill Blackie (1993-94) and Bob McEachern (1994-95).
At Erin I coached the Table Tennis Team for many years and took students to
tournaments in Toronto, Milton and Guelph. Our students performed very well and on one
occasion we won the top prizes. Some of the outstanding players whom I coached were Ian
Best, Trevor and Ian Haws, Stewart Eckert, Norman Smith, Marc and Paul St. Pierre, Josh Bell,
Scott Brown, Jeff Corbett and Janice Root. I recently met Stewart Eckert and Norman Smith
and both mentioned that playing table tennis at E.D.H.S. was a major highlight of their school
years For many years I supervised the Awards System. Activity Bars, Minor and Major Awards
were given for participation in athletics and sports activities, Students’ Council, Choir, Band,
Yearbook, Public Speaking, as well as for Attendance and Academic Achievement.
Another responsibility was managing the Supply Hut with Khalid Khokhar, Marilyn
Carlyle and recently with Ann Marie Lennie. It sold gym uniforms and school supplies. Over
the years The Supply Hut made financial contributions to the Phys. Ed. Department for the
basketball time clock as well as to the Yearbook Committee.
I have worked with many interesting people at Erin District High School. One of them is
Ivan Kukovica. He came to Canada as a refugee from Slovenia, which was then a part of
Yugoslavia. Ivan, an engineering student and a student activist, escaped from a train which
was taking prisoners of war to a death camp. His parents were both killed two weeks after
Ivan’s escape. On his arrival in Canada he worked during the summer with a railway gang
between Alberta and Saskatchewan. In the winter he worked at a lumber camp in Northern
Ontario. When he came to Guelph he first worked at a pickling factory and then as a technician
at the University of Guelph. After earning his BSA and M.Sc. degrees as a part time student,
Ivan entered the teaching profession in 1966 at the age of forty-seven years. Since his
retirement in 1984, Ivan has worked in Real Estate. He is still very energetic and enjoys
working around his property at Arkell.
It is a real pleasure for me to meet former students. At our fortieth reunion in May 1996,
I was thrilled to meet so many of them. Some of those whom I recall meeting were Lorraine
Knoepfer (Burt), Bob and Judy (McKinnon) Holtom, Linda (Wilson) Russell, Norman Smith,
Stewart Eckert, Terry Gregson (an N.H.L. referee), Marietta Marshall (an Anglican Minister),
Joanne, Jim and David Marshall, Lorie (Gregson) and Dave Partridge, Pam Walker, Valerie and
Laurinda Lang, Timm and Leanne Ramm, Clifford Dedman, Debbie (Frank) and Percy
MacDonald, and Cindy Lang. They are very appreciative of the tolerance, perseverance, caring
and dedication which the teachers of Erin District High School have shown to them. I feel proud
to hear that many are doing well in their chosen fields.
I can recall the many humorous incidents which I experienced at E.D.H.S. Bill Statten,
who started out teaching at Erin in the same year as I, was only twenty-one. He used to get red
in the face when his students called him by his nickname, “buttercup”. They gave him the name
when the buttercup plant was studied in his Grade 10 Science class. On another occasion his
friend Hugh Gomes put a $5 note in front of Bill’s face as a wager that Bill did not have the guts
to address Hal Copeland as Captain. At that time Hal, a teacher, was a Captain with the
School Cadet Corps. By chance Hal entered the staff room as soon as the wager was made.
Bill got red in the face and the whole staff room was in an uproar.
Hugh Gomes was a real “character”. I called him “Sir Hugh” because Hugh came from
Trinidad and the Governor of Trinidad at one time was Sir Hugh Foot. He was fun loving and
enjoyed playing at the race tracks as well as poker, at which he usually lost. Hugh was Head of
English and was responsible for putting on school plays. With a week to go Hugh was always
running around because there was still so much to be done. He seemed to have the knack of
“pulling it off at the last minute” with the performance being a great success.
There was the time that Janet Westra was very upset and called the police to report that
her car was missing from the teacher’s parking lot. A few minutes after she had to apologize to
the police. Janet had not even driven her car to school that day. The stress of the job can
surely affect one’s mind.
Pam Nesiobedzki was most embarrassed when she had to go on stage to make a
presentation at Commencement. Pam was wearing shoes: one brown and the other black.
When Fred Hoag was using the computer during a workshop for the staff, he lost his
cursor when the fuse blew. There was nothing that Fred could do to get his cursor back. It was
hilarious at the time and poor Fred was embarrassed.
There are a few students whom I will never forget. Heading the list are Clifford
Dedman, Bill Stubbington and Sari Ruth Davis. They kept their classes entertained.
An incident which took place in my Grade 13 class was when a semi-nude picture was
taped to the overhead screen. All I remember doing was flipping the screen up as soon as I
had pulled it down, much to the amusement of the class. I was embarrassed.
Like students, I enjoyed the snow days. During Mr. Finnie’s tenure, when E.D.H.S. was
under Erin District School Board, we had a severe winter and piles of snow accumulated on the
side roads. School buses were “snowed in”. We had 12 snow days and did not have to go to
school. Mr. Finnie usually phoned a contact person in Guelph and the word was circulated.
Many teachers came to my home and we spent many hours playing table tennis.
The talent and wit of Rick McLarnon and Al Schweiger (Big Al), ably assisted by their
“side kick” Khalid Khokhar (Ravi) have entertained us for many years. The “Pointer Sisters”,
Elda Watts, Gail Baldwin, Donna Patterson and Wanda Bates also added to our enjoyment.
The staff is very grateful to Vida Winegarden, Doug Sanderson, Gail Baldwin, Henri Gagne and
many others for their efforts in organizing and setting up for social functions for many years.
The contribution of Khalid Khokhar has been invaluable to E.D.H.S.. Khalid is always assisting
the office staff, teachers and students. Those of us who know him very well are amazed at his
energy and drive. He is always busy not only with school and Board work but is also very active
in his community. Khalid is a remarkable individual.
A memorable Science Department Weekend was spent at Doug Sanderson’s cottage in
the 1970’s. We, Doug Sanderson, Ivan Kukovica, Doug Davidson, Bill Hocken, Dave Miller and
myself mixed pleasure with hard work in a relaxed and peaceful setting. A lot was
accomplished on that weekend.
Doug Sanderson has been my Science Department Head for 25 years. It was a real
pleasure working with Doug and the other members of the Science Department. There was a
lot of cooperation and sharing within our Department. We found Doug to be hard working,
organized and very helpful. Doug is also an excellent cook and we were often treated to his
tasty dishes.
On Doug’s retirement, Bill Hocken was appointed Science Head. It was a smooth
transition and Bill is doing an excellent job. Bill has a pleasant personality and is quite popular
among the staff. He has the reputation of being forgetful and is always looking for his keys. I
was in the same car pool as Bill. On one occasion he drove home to Guelph without me.
When he reached our street--we both live on Youngman Drive--he realized what he had done
and drove all the way back to Erin only to find that I had already left. I was able to get a ride
home with Hardo Schulwitz, who lives in Guelph. Bill came in for a lot of kidding in the staff
room.
I miss Erin District High School. After all, most of my working life was spent there. I
miss my car pool: Bill Hocken, Liz Bayne, Khalid Khokhar. We shared our frustrations and
highlights of each working day. I miss my colleagues, some of whom have been at Erin for
many years. We have endured difficult situations and enjoyed good times together. I miss the
secretarial staff who have been so helpful over the years. I miss the custodial staff who were
always there to do a special favour. Last, but not least I miss the students. At a small school
such as E.D.H.S., I was able to watch many “cool” Grade 8 or 9 students grow up to be mature
and responsible individuals. Farewell Erin District High!
