A “few ancient memories” will be revived next month when some of Richmond High’s last alumni get together for their 69-year reunion.
“We’ve had a few reunions in the interim, so we’ve got used to the fact that we’re considerably older than when we graduated,” said 86-year-old Paul Birch, who attended Grades 11 and 12 at the school and was part of its final graduating class of 1952.
Richmond High was located at Cambie and Sexsmith roads from the late 1920s until 1952.
“So we’ll see some of the old familiar faces and revive a few ancient memories.”
That includes recollections of “teachers’ quirks and odd characters,” said Birch, such as one social studies teacher who was “an interesting but rather confused fellow.”
“He’d get halfway through a class, of which he would be teaching English, and we’d say, you know, sir, this is supposed to be a social studies class… He was always subject to being victimized by the students. They knew he was so easily distracted or so poorly organized that we took advantage of it to our shame.”
And, in “typical school behaviour,” students would also try to sabotage their science teacher’s experiments, Birch recalled.
There was also Miss MacWilliam, who taught Grade 12 English, and was one of the teachers whose influence encouraged Birch to pursue his own career in education, teaching in Ontario and, later, North Vancouver.
“She was an upright and conscientious teacher. She probably influenced me more positively than some of the other teachers that I remember.”
There were 99 students in Richmond High’s class of 1952, he said – 50 girls and 49 boys – although only about 15 of them, plus some spouses, will be attending the 69-year reunion at the Newlands Golf Club in Langley.
While more of them are still around, the former students are scattered all over the place, Birch said, and it’s still a bit difficult to travel at this time.
“You think back 69 years, and you think, my goodness, the world was a different place. What seemed to be problems then were significant, they were important to us, but looking back from a distance of almost seven decades, (it) doesn’t seem that those were very major difficulties.
“So it’ll be good to meet the people who were part of that class, and I’m sure there will be a lot of old memories dug up, but there will also be some interesting gaps to fill in between then and now… People have been all over the place and done a great variety of things that we never would have predicted at the time of graduation,” he said.
“So, we’re looking forward to it. I think it will be a happy connection…We enjoy contacting one another and just having a good time, finding out what’s happened in the interim.”
