Thursday, May 15, 2008

Class of '53 gives to school

Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 28, 2004


It took almost an entire year to track down all the names, but the Burnaby North high school class of 1953 held its first ever reunion last fall, and helped raise some money for their alma mater in the process.

A whopping 146 people came out for the banquet and, this week, they celebrated by handing over a $500 cheque to buy new books for the school library.

Bob Kuhn, one of a half dozen organizers of the reunion, said that out of a class of 125 students, the group was able to track down all but 11 of their classmates. Another 13 were confirmed as having passed away.

One of the class travelled back to Burnaby from her new home in the Grand Cayman Islands, while others came from across Canada and the U.S.

And those who came out had a terrific time.

"We've rekindled a whole lot of friendships," said Kuhn. "This class had never had a reunion before, and the only information we had to start it was an old annual."

The group got together last fall with a banquet at the Eagle Creek restaurant at Burnaby Mountain Golf Course, followed by a brunch in their old stomping grounds - the historic Lochdale Hall.

Among the reunion-goers were two of the class of '53's former teachers - Jack Gilmore and Florence Strachan Peterson.

The organizing committee - Bob and Marie Kuhn, Norma and Rolf Nilson plus Fred and Marilyn Myers - all attended North at the time, although Marilyn was two years younger than the others.

Norma Nilson went on to become a librarian at Burnaby North, and it was on her prompting that the committee gave its donation towards books for the current students.

Kuhn said one of his favourite parts of the reunion was trying to identify everyone from their class pictures. "Thank God we all had name tags," he said. "But it's true, 50 years melted away like nobody's business."

DORIS SHADBOLT MEMORIAL

A memorial service for Doris Shadbolt will be held on Sunday, Feb. 8.

Shadbolt passed away suddenly while vacationing in Mexico on Dec. 22, 2003, exactly one month after the Burnaby NOW published a front page interview with her on the relocation of the two murals painted inside her longtime Capitol Hill home by husband Jack Shadbolt.

Born in 1918, Doris Shadbolt studied fine arts at the University of Toronto and graduated Magna Cum Lauda before working at the National Gallery of Canada, where she met her future husband.

After the war, she and Jack married and moved to Vancouver, where Doris was the West Coast representative for Arts Canada. In the 1950's, Doris began work at the Vancouver Art Gallery, first as an art educator, and later as a curator.

Doris was also a noted author, having won two B.C. Book Awards for her publication of The Art of Emily Carr and Bill Reid.

With her husband, the Shadbolts established VIVA, the Vancouver Institute for the Visual Arts, now known as the Jack and Doris Shadbolt Foundation, which became a major benefactor of young students studying art in the Lower Mainland.

Doris received the Order of Canada in 1976 and honorary doctorates from the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the Emily Carr College of Art and Design. In 2000, she received a Governor General's Award for her contributions to the arts, and in 2001 she published her final book, Seven Journeys: The Sketchbooks of Emily Carr.

Doris will always be remembered as a woman who cared deeply for the people around her, and truly believed that an appreciation of fine arts would make the world a better place.

Doris Shadbolt's memorial service will be held at 5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8 in the Pacific Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel, 900 W. Georgia, Vancouver. A reception will follow at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 7 p.m.

JIM CLEMENT REMEMBERED

The folks over at the Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society were saddened by the early December passing of one of their longtime volunteers, Jim Clement.

Clement, who had been ill for some time, had been a tireless worker for the organization that provides peer counseling services, support groups and other services for Burnaby's seniors.

As well as being an active letter writer to the Burnaby NOW, Clement was also an accomplished painter, an active member of the artists guild, and a familiar face at the office of Volunteer Burnaby, too.

"We should remember him for his loyalty, friendship and humour, plus his hand painted cartoons were always a delight," said his friend Belle Smith. "He had a true commitment to the Burnaby community in all areas of endeavour," Smith said. "We all miss him dearly."

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