Question 16 (Part 1: Elementary School): What were your favorite subjects in school? Explain why.

So...my favorite subjects in school...well, in Grade One, I think I liked to learn everything. Just learning was so interesting! My teacher, Mrs. Ellingson, always complimented me on my art, so I guess that would have been a favorite. It is nice to be complimented. Somewhere along the way, my art stopped seeming so great to teachers, and I lost confidence, but in Grade One, I felt like a successful artist.

I wrote in one of my fictionalized accounts, Marnie's First Report, about how I was away from school with yellow jaundice and the class learned to write reports without me. But after Mrs. Ellingson helped me through that crisis, I was a good writer, and enjoyed writing assignments. In those days, Math was pretty easy, too, despite Bradley Parker always wanting to copy my work.

Apparently I was still a pretty good artist in Grade Two, which is when I drew these pictures of me and my family. I guess that I secretly wished all the girls in our family were blondes?

I remember learning about the planets in Grade Two--probably because of that near miss with the strap that I already wrote about--but I remember recess better than school. Which is kind of sad, because I really, really hated recess. It was my least favorite part of the day! Full of terrible things like playing kissing tag--I never got caught; I was a very, very fast runner. But I will save recess problems to write about for the topic of question 17, subjects that I didn't like!

In Grade Three with Mrs. Odland, my favorite subject was probably Social Studies, only it was called "Enterprize" at the time. I love Canadian Social Studies--learning about places all around the world. I remember particularly the unit about Holland, or the Netherlands. I loved it! I loved drawing and coloring windmills and dykes and wooden shoes and tulips. That was the year that my friend Bernice Campbell was away for a semester because her father, Dr. Campbell, was doing some training at a hospital in Hawaii. When Bernice came back, she told us all about Hawaii, and she even showed us the hula dance--except we all had to close our eyes and then open them quickly because she was shy about it, and I opened mine too slow and missed the whole thing! I also vividly remember the units on transportation and communication. So fascinating! (And a bit science-y, too.)

I had always loved the library, but in Grade Four, we didn't just visit the library anymore: we had an actual library class. Mrs. Redel was the librarian, and I loved her class. I started making masking tape labels for all my books at home, which exceedingly annoyed my mother--and would really, really annoy Patrick if I were to do it now! Miss Sheila Fisher was my home-room teacher, and she taught me literature, language and art. Mrs. Grace Shaw was my writing teacher, Mr. Clarence Wentz was the science and physed teacher. Mrs. Martha Woolley taught reading. Isn't it interesting that we had classes in language, literature, reading and library? Mrs. Helen Jensen taught "Enterprize" and music, but in Grade Four, music was not a formal class. It was at lunch hour. And I loved it. Mrs. Jensen was a dynamic music teacher. And Mr. Oshiro, our principal, was everyone's math teacher. We were definitely enjoying a liberal arts education at the time, I would say!

I was in Mr. Wentz's home room for Grade Five, and he also taught me science and physed. My other teachers were:
Mrs. Martha Woolley - reading
Mrs. Helen Jensen - social and music (we stopped calling it "Enterprize" I guess)
Mrs. Grace Shaw - language and writing
Mrs. Elaine Slauenwhite - art and literature
Mr. Jim Oshiro - math
Mrs. Gerry Miyashiro - library
I sat near the back in Science class--we sat at long science tables, not in desks--between Holly Wong and Cindy Fallon. I always had to borrow their notes because I could not see the blackboard. Or walk up closer to the board and then back to write down what I had seen, which made note taking a slow process! Now, I had been complaining that I could not see for many years, but that was because Arlene and Colleen both had glasses and I thought they were cool. So, when I really could not see, it took a long time for my parents to believe me! I got glasses at about Easter time that year.

I am not sure if Holly Wong moved to Canada in Grade Four or Grade Five. She came from Hong Kong and knew almost no English. Her sister Elaine Wong was temporarily put in our grade though she was much older. I remember, in reading class, where we would read aloud, how faltering Elaine's reading was. Some of the boys began to laugh at her, and wow, did Mrs. Woolley ever let them have it! She told them that she would like to have them trying to read Chinese, and then we would really have something to laugh at, because they would be so bad at it.

My favorite classes were still the same: music and library! I have a gazillion newspaper clippings about music at Dr. Hamman School. Because I could read music, I was assigned to sing alto, which I did from Grade Four on, despite my super high and squeaky speaking voice. And Mrs. Miyashiro made library class, and my working for her on the side during recesses and at noon hour, even better than it had been under Mrs. Redel. Which had already been good.

In Grade Six, I was in Mr. Oshiro's home room. Here we are:

Back row L-R: Ken Visser, Ladene Williams, Bonnie Irwin, Linda Oddan, Richard Harris, Robert Gardner, Robert Ellingson, Kathy Morris, Kelly Dougan, Mickey Hansen. Middle row: Lloyd Lehto, Colin Valgardson, Tim Coombes, Tim Jespersen, Tom Coombes, Randy Sparks, Ronalee Bennett, Christine Litchfield, Trudy Shockey, Cynthia Saunders, Marilyn Christensen, Mr. Oshiro. Front row: Tona Holman, Judy Jensen, Beverly Pauls, Barry Pollard, Jim Graham, Laurel Fujimagari, Myrna Layton (me), Brad Parker, Donna Cheyne.

Because of Mr. Oshiro's principal duties, he had a co-teacher for homeroom, Mrs. Dorothy Francis. She also taught health. Again, I had Mrs. Woolley for reading, Mr. Wentz for science and physed, Mrs. Jensen for social and music, and Mrs. Miyashiro for library. Mrs. Nina Russell was new at our school teaching language. I liked language -- which is like nouns and verbs and participles and things--but Mrs. Russell was mean. If I told you that she would hit kids on the head with the dictionary, you probably would not believe me, because that would not fly in today's world. But she did. We had a suggestion box in homeroom, and a lot of people put suggestions in about firing her. Mr. Oshiro would read the suggestions, and discuss them during our weekly class council meeting. So he had a class meeting about the Mrs. Russell problem. He told us to just tell her as a class about our concerns--maybe he also talked to her, given that he was the principal! But we did it--we followed Mr. Oshiro's suggestion. We chose the day, and Laurel Fujimagari was chosen to be the spokesperson. She raised her hand and asked to speak, and then she outlined the problem as we saw it and asked Mrs. Russell to be nicer. Mrs. Russell apologized. And everything was good for the rest of the year. (Laurel is a lawyer now! Legal Counsel at the Court of Appeal, Alberta)

Definitely, my favorite subjects every year of grades four-six were music and library. I can't say enough about the influence that Mrs. Miyashiro and Mrs. Jensen had on me. Mrs. Miyashiro trusted me with the library absolutely. I was hungry to learn, and she was happy to feed me. And Mrs. Jensen--she would play the piano and look over her shoulder at us, and sing enthusiastically. We did have a pianist, Mrs. Beckman, but most of the time Mrs. Jensen was on her own.

Mrs. Helen Jensen

In June 1967, the Taber Times had this to say about our school chorus: "These children are very talented, and worthy of a TV appearance and those present showed their appreciation by a sincere applause and a hope that they will return later on..."

In the Spring of 1969, our school chorus raised $600 (the article says $699 another place) toward the cost of building a new civic centre (ours had burned down) by presenting a TWO HOUR program. This was a full-on variety show with backdrops, costumes, individual student performances--it was a big deal for an elementary school teacher to put together.

 How interesting that I grew up to be a Music Librarian! I loved music, and I loved libraries, and if I could have gone straight to university from elementary school, I would have gotten my major right. I got confused about what path to take, so it took me a long time to get where I am today, but when I was a child, I knew!

Canada 2015: July 26 and 27

I had another lovely sleep, this time in my sister's nice bed, and woke up at 7 AM. Colleen and LeRon were also up. Colleen, as promised, was steaming more new potatoes for breakfast, and scrambling eggs.  With no church until 1:00 PM, there was lots of time for doing whatever anyone wanted to do. Except that Colleen was also baking new potatoes for the ward Linger Longer that she and LeRon would not even get to go to. I helped in the kitchen as much as I could without getting in the way.

Then LeRon asked if we would mind if he played the organ--it is his habit to give himself an organ recital on Sunday mornings. OF COURSE nobody minded--we WANTED him to do it! And I decided to snap some pictures while he was playing.

Here you can see the beautiful music room

LeRon at work/play

Coffered ceiling designed and built by Craig and inspired by the ceiling in the PIVA room

LeRon switched to accordion to play pioneer songs from the Primary book in honor of Pioneer Day.

 After the morning recital, Craig wanted to take us out to where his new house will be built. He has it staked out, but though in this picture the kids are standing in the living room, it just looks like sage brush (which smelled fabulous!) with a canola field in the background. And the beautiful sky. There was a herd of deer nearby, too.

Craig is holding his house plan; Rosie, Josie and David

 David and I went to Taber early to meet up with Abra and her kids and go to church with them. We all sat together, except for Colleen and LeRon because she had to pass some papers out to some women and so she sat in the back to grab people as they came in. Michael sat on the stand because he was giving a talk. And Eric sat behind the organ because he was playing. On our row, there was Malachi, Deklan, Piper, Me, Josie, Abra, Rosie, David, Eric and Jocelyn. There was a little space for C and L, but this random lady and her daughter sat there.

Michael gave a really good talk about being pioneers throughout the world. He talked specifically about going to church on Fridays or Saturdays in other parts of the world, and also about singing hymns in Arabic. His talk was very inclusive, and Josie and I, for two people at least, really liked it.  When I went to tell Michael "good job" he was talking to the random lady who was sitting on our row. Hmm.

After sacrament meeting, I was just behind the other girls as they were going down the hall (Eric and Jocelyn were taking the kids to their classes) when I stopped to say hello to Susan Jensen at the door to the primary room. I noticed that there were hardly any leaders, and no pianist. So I volunteered for duty, and that was how I became the primary pianist for the day. There was the chorister, Denise Sugden, the primary president, Sister Johansen (wife of Phillip who lived across the street from us in Raymond) and me; and the teachers. That was all.

In senior primary, the PP asked if there were any visitors. There was one: the little girl who had been at the end of our row with her mom. She said her name was Delilah. When asked who they were visiting, she said "Michael." OHHHH. That lady did not randomly sit on our row like we thought she did! My Hmm was an actual Hmm...

The children had been asked to sing at the Linger Longer, so I played for that, too. It was their ward's nod to a Pioneer Day celebration, the children singing "You don't have to push a handcart." 

Remind me to sit up straight when I play!

 "You don't have to push a handcart...to be a pioneer"...clearly, the Young Ambassadors needed to pay better attention in Primary, because when they were in Nauvoo in June, they were definitely pushing handcarts!

Lauren, Melissa and Josie pushing along, completely ignoring the advice of the Primary song!

During the Linger Longer, all the Torries plus Abra and kids and Dawn Davis and Delilah and Josie and Rosie ate together, crowded around one table. So when I got my food, I sat with my cousins John and Ellen and Caleb and Emily Emma. Emily Emma is so nice. I hope she and Abra can be friends. We were joined by David and Craig, because the Torrie Table was too full. Caleb entertained us with their red-tape tales (Their marriage license was not properly registered through no fault of their own, so though they were sealed they were not actually married. It took 8 months to work that out while they were living together as husband and wife at BYU-I. But the delay meant they could not apply for a green card for Caleb, so he could not work. And Emily Emma could not legally change her name, and her passport was in limbo. After school ended, Caleb had to go back to Canada to work, and Emily Emma stayed at school. Last week, her passport card finally came, so she is in Canada for the first time ever. So many border problems, those two have had!)

After church, we sent the kids home with David to play games while Abra and I waited for the landlord. Who never came. But at least we got to have a nice opportunity to visit with each other. Josie and Rosie took naps--everyone thought they were at Eric's house, but actually they were upstairs asleep--and David and Abra's kids and Delilah played games. Delilah thought Piper was the BEST.

Josie, Malachi, Rosie, Piper and Deklan hamming it up

 Josie and Rosie did a bit of a photo shoot outside, but I guess the light was not the best, so they did not stay at it for a long time.

Rosie, outstanding in her field...or possibly being careful not to step on cacti or thistles

Abra finally texted the landlord, who put off the visit until Monday (which ended up being Tuesday) and then we discovered that Abra's Mr. X-man was going to refuse to meet her in Claresholm to pick up the boys. We remembered that Dawn Davis, mom of Delilah, who by the way is a really nice person who we all liked immediately, was driving back to Calgary. But Mr. X-man would not even agree to meet them in Calgary. So, just as David and I were thinking we would take the kids back to Priddis, Dawn volunteered to take them all the way home. We did all this over the phone while Abra and I were NOT at the Torries with everyone else.

We took a few pictures:

David, Deklan, Abra, Malachi and Piper (in front) all standing in front of the nunnery. As was.

Same people, plus me.

And sent them on their way. I did ask Dawn if I could give her gas money, but she said, "Oh no, Michael gassed me up already." And also "I have an ex-husband, too, so I understand." David and I went back to the Torries. We found a great game of "Ticket to Ride" going on, and Josie was the winner. Colleen and LeRon returned from Calgary--oh, I forgot to say that they had gone to Calgary to attend a fireside at which Kevin Torrie's music was being performed, which was why they could not attend the Linger Longer. David, Eric and Jocelyn were discussing games, and had to go and look some up on the computer.

 Then we went to E and J's house so we could see how it turned out inside. The last time Rosie and I were there, it was all just barely getting drywall. David and Josie had not seen it at all. It is a cute little house!

After a good night's rest, we got up, had another delicious breakfast that included fried new potatoes, and then we sadly bid adieu to our cousins. A quick stop at Abra's so that Rosie and Josie could properly say goodbye, and we were on our way home. It was a whirlwind trip, and we all worked our tails off, honestly! Josie and Rosie said, "Can we please come back some time JUST FOR FUN?" Maybe one day we can...

Piper, Abra, Josie and Rosie

Canada 2015: July 24 and 25

I must say, I was THRILLED that Abra got a new job in Taber.  I mean, that last bit of the drive from Lethbridge to Calgary after driving for such a long time is a killer! To think of being able to shave a few hours off that drive was wonderful! I really, really wanted to make sure to get her to Taber and settled in somewhere.

David had to get out of one play practice and take a couple of days off work. I had a holiday (July 24) on Friday and took a holiday on Monday. Josie also had the Friday off, and Rosie had to take a day or two off work and we were set to go.

It was more difficult to arrange stuff like finding a truck to rent and deciding how best to do that, and to make sure that Abra had a place to move into. That was pretty frustrating, but with the help of David and Nancy and Michael Torrie, we got everything done.And all the pieces fell properly into place.

We left Utah at exactly midnight.  David drove, I drove, Rosie drove...we spelled each other off fairly frequently for the first few hours. We needed to get to Lethbridge during business hours to pick up the Enterprise truck that we were going to be renting.  I also thought that I would need to go to a bank to change money--but that ended up being impossible. Instead, Michael was notified, and he ran to the bank in Taber to get enough Canadian cash, and I would give him my American cash. Another hurdle we did not see until we were upon it, but fortunately, there was a solution.

Abra wanted to have her children help with the loading up. We needed to see Amy in Calgary either Friday night or Saturday morning. Jim and Donna Thompson invited us to go to a High River ward activity...what to do! Josie and I were driving in the moving van, with David and Rosie following behind in the car. Josie and I decided to pull off the road in High River, to park there and call Abra to make a plan. So we decided to load the van on Saturday morning at about ten o'clock.

That meant we could stop driving--hooray!--and stay in High River starting right then, which was about five pm. We drove over to Jim and Donna's, where we found a place to leave the van overnight on their cul-de-sac. We went inside for a visit--and for Jim to have a chance to give Rosie the bug challenge, which she declined to take him up on.

Josie is eating, and Rosie is trying to eat, the lovely chicken and vegetable soup that Donna had ready. Jim has the meal worms and crickets out and is telling Rosie about why they are good for her.

Jim said that he tells the missionaries, when they are taking the bug challenge, that it is like missionary work: you explain why it is good for people, and then you let them choose. If they don't want to do it, that is fine. They are still great people, just they didn't want to take the challenge. That is okay. He doesn't like it if people try to trick others into eating bugs--he likes it to be a choice. And so should missionary work be like that. It is a choice.

We all loaded into one of Jim's passenger vans to go out to Silverlands, out by Spackmans, for the ward 24th of July supper and camp-out. It was Hirsche beef on a bun and all kinds of salads and desserts, and it was really good food! I had a great talk with Kaly and her parents, with the Battrums, with Deb Duce, spoke briefly with Grant Hirsche and Keith Spackman and Chris Pearl. David was happy to see both Chris and also Jen Battrum, who were both his age. He also met the British aunt of some of his British friends and the sister of one of his friends from Brazil. Those were unexpected connections to make in small town Alberta!

Bernie told me that Greg would like to leave early, so he took us back to High River by about 7:30. David was sleeping at the Thompsons, and all the girls at the Lilburns--Donna and Bernie had decided how to do the room assignments.  I was in bed by 8 pm and let me tell you, that was a welcome sleep since I had been up by then since 6 AM on Thursday morning, so about 38 hours. And the bed was uber comfortable!

In the morning, I heard the pitter patter of little people on the living room rug upstairs--it was Atlas. He and Otto had come home with Bernie for a sleepover. I had a lovely conversation with Atlas. Then Bernie asked us to wait a moment while she got something ready for Abra--she sent a card for her with a little bonus inside--and then we were on our way. We picked up David and the rental truck, and were on our way to meet Amy at the Tim Horton's on Southland Drive. We were about ten minutes late, so thank goodness they did not give up on us!

Clockwise: Rosie, Amy, Leola, Scarlett, Josie and David

I had a super yummy berry burst muffin, Josie had a lemon poppy seed muffin and David and Rosie both had maple donuts. And Tim Horton's does not disappoint: Rosie said it was the best donut she has ever had. 

And it was fun to visit with Leola and Amy, and Scarlett talked a blue streak to Josie, but I am not sure that any real communication took place there--Josie was not following Scarlett's train of thought very well! Rosie and Scarlett got reacquainted:

We did not have long to spend because we had to go and load up the truck, but it was so nice to see them. I just really like Leola a lot. She is definitely a kindred spirit.

Leola took this picture of the rest of us: David, Josie, Me, Amy, Rosie and Scarlett

Driving the moving van really freaked me out, but I did it! Leola gave me really clear directions about how to get there from Southland Drive. And I managed to get there, although I did what Leola predicted I might do--I drove past the turn because it is hard to see where the driveway for the storage unit was. But I only wasted a kilometer or so. So maybe 40 cents. Plus gas. Not too bad.

I did not take any pictures of us loading, though I thought about it. Let me just say this: Rosie is the best van loader ever! I mean, Josie and David and Abra and all the kids were troopers, but the actual making it fit part--we might have been able to do it without Rosie, but it would have taken much longer. She has a knack of seeing and fitting things in the best way possible. So grateful she was there to help! Because I really did not think everything would fit. But with putting only one piece in David's trunk, and completely filling Abra's back seat, we got every single thing in a vehicle!

And then the drive to Taber. Other people wanted to stop and eat, the kids having left their dad's house without breakfast, but I said that Josie would be going without, because when I got in the van, I was not planning to stop until I got there. That thing is big and hard to park! So I told them I was going out on the Trans-Canada highway and then taking the Highway 36 turn-off to Taber. I kjnow that route--since we lived north of Taber on Highway 36, of course that was the way we would go to Calgary. It was shorter. But Abra didn't know that route. Probably should have just let her go the way she knew...

So Josie and I left. We actually did stop twice...once because we were so thirsty, so we stopped at an easy off and on exit for a water break. And we stopped in Vauxhall for gas. Then we drove to Taber and were going opposite ways around the block where St. Mary's School is to where David was. So I stopped and parked by the school. Rosie came walking along to tell us where we were supposed to be.

And it was the nunnery! When I was a child, the building Abra is now living in was the residence of nuns who taught at St. Mary's or St. Patrick's schools. We learned later that Earl Ellingson bought it at some point in the past and turned it into apartments. One of those is Abra's.  This in itself was a miracle. Michael had paid a $200 deposit when he looked at the apartment, but the rental agent never said a definite YES. I left him a rather angry phone call at the end of the day on Thursday! However, on Saturday, he texted Abra to tell her where the keys were, so we figured that meant she could rent it. Hallelujah, brother!

We had trouble finding the keys, but finally Rosie and Josie found them under a can of wasp spray. That should have been a clue! Because both Michael and I got stung by wasps--on the baby finger of my right hand for me, and on Michael's neck. As we all pitched in to unload the van, Abra and Deklan got lost, having missed the turn off for Highway 36. Oops. They got a nice ride to Medicine Hat, and a nice visit. Just as we (David, Josie, Rosie, me, Piper, Malachi and Michael) finished unloading, Colleen arrived with Craig and Eric. They brought food in a cooler. Colleen's sons started to put furniture together. Abra and Deklan arrived. The guys unloaded her car. Eric and Craig ran to the hardware store to get things they needed for furniture-erecting and some lightbulbs and things. Rosie and Josie swept out the van, and the four of us left to return the van to its home in Lethbridge.

While in Lethbridge, we took the time to go on a shopping spree:

 Then back to Abra's, where David and I ran her (and Deklan) to Walmart to buy food for a couple of days, and soap and things like that, and David bought Abra a microwave as a housewarming gift. Then we were off to Grassy Lake where we would be sleeping.

Colleen and LeRon have built an addition to their house. So we all got our own bedroom--Rosie in Eric's room upstairs, me in Michelle's room, Josie in Heather's room downstairs, and David in the new bedroom in the new part of the basement. Before going to bed, we had a light supper of whatever we could find. What I could find was a small dish of new potatoes, with only four potatoes in it. And there were four of us. Perfect.  But, Rosie did not take one. I said, "Aren't you going to have a potato?" She said, "No, I don't really like potatoes." I said, "Oh...this is different. It is not like any potato you have tasted before!" And she agreed to take a small piece. And then promptly took all the rest! THEY WERE SO GOOD!!! I am not even kidding.

My favorite part of the day: driving to Grassy Lake, and Rosie says, "I just love our family! I am so glad that you guys and everyone else here is my family! Everyone is so nice!" (Including her Torrie cousins in the compliment.) I agree. We have a really fabulous family. And also friends! So grateful for the Thompsons and Lilburns, who have been my good friends for 20 years. Love all these people!

A poem for Nancy's latest pregnancy: too late...

Today I had a long conversation with Dr. Wise (not sure if that is how it is spelled) because he was THRILLED that our mutual friend John had made an appointment to meet with Carol Lynn Pearson while he was in California this week. I had told John about Sister Pearson's book "Goodbye, I love you" which he then read and loved, so he found her on Facebook and asked if he could meet her, since she lives in the same city his sister lives in. She said she would be happy to meet him, and that she does her best talking while walking, so why not go on a walk together? So Dr. Wise was thrilled about that, and also just about John's awesomeness and potential as a composer.  So, in the midst of all his talking--and Dr. Wise is a very profuse conversationalist--he began to quote Carol Lynn Pearson poetry (because John would like to collaborate with Sister Pearson, setting some of her poetry to music) and one of them he began to say, and I knew that I knew it! And I love it, and wish that I had shared it with my daughters during their pregnancies. But here it is!

The Ninth Month

Being a duplex
I have been happy, my dear,
To loan you half the house
Rent-free and furnished
As best I could.

You have been a good
Tenant, all in all
Quiet, yet comfortably there
Tapping friendly on the wall.

But I hear
You have outgrown the place
And are packing up to move.
Well, I will miss
The sweet proximity.
But we will keep in touch.
There are bonds, my dear,
That reach beyond a block
Or a mile or a hemisphere
Born of much love and labor.

I approve the move
And gladly turn from landlady
To neighbor.
--Carol Lynn Pearson

Question 15 (Part 2: Junior & Senior High School): Where did you go to school? Give some details about what was school like for you and some of your memorable experiences.

 In 1949, the year that my parents got married, a new high school was built in Taber. It first opened its doors to students in 1950. This is what it looked like that year, when it was new and state of the art.

Taber High School,

 The new school allowed for the older half of the children to have their own building away from the younger half. Prior to 1950, everyone on the north side of the town attended Taber Central School regardless of grade level. That was the school that my dad and his siblings had attended most of the time. (There was a smaller school they had attended earlier, but when Dad was in High School it was in the building that I knew as Central School, built in 1910, a picture of which is below.) Such a gorgeous building, I always thought, but I think they tore it down. And I should KNOW because I worked at Central as a teacher's aide for several years during high school, and I THINK the original building was completely gone by then. But when I imagine Central School, it pops up in my mind looking like the picture below, so what is true? Where is the Wikipedia Article when I need it? (The answer lies in a BOOK, my friend, specifically the heavy tome called "From Tank 77 to Taber Today" which I pulled out and can now confirm that the old school was torn down in 1972.)

Cemtral School in Taber

There IS a Wikipedia Article about W. R. Myers, the school I attended, so I know that "In 1960 a Junior High wing and fine arts room, dubbed the “Lemon Squeezer” was constructed on the north end of the high school. The addition included two large gymnasiums, one for the Junior High grade 7-8 classes and one for the Senior High, a library and an office. At the time the new Junior/Senior High complex was named W.R Myers School in honour of Walter Ray Myers, a 27-Year school trustee." The old Taber High School building was connected directly to the junior high building, with the gyms in the middle.

 Our Lemon Squeezer was quite the famous piece of architecture at the time! Now I can't even find out the architect. That was the room where I had chorus/choir for six years of my life! Here is another picture of the Lemon Squeezer with people on top of it. My Facebook Friend Linda Fong, who was my brother Bruce's actual friend in High School, posted this picture with the caption: "Probably can't do this anymore (climb on top of the Lemon Squeezer)--I set up this photo when I was the yearbook editor in 1968. With Patty Haslam, Terry Holman, Valeen Jensen, Donald Cook & Jim Corbett."

I was wishing for a color picture, and I happened to find this one, which I am shamelessly borrowing. Judging from the attribution, I think that this picture was taken by John Fujimagari, the younger brother of my elementary school friend Laurel Fujimagari. It is beautiful!

So now that the stage is set, and you can imagine the school/schools--well, when I was there even though we were divided into junior and senior high schools, there was only one principal over the whole thing, with a vice-principal responsible for either junior or senior high, so it was only one school. We all had classes in various parts of the building, with some teachers teaching a variety of grade levels, especially the shop and home economics classes.

 By the time I was going to this school, it was 1969. I was excited to have the chance to get to know kids from all over Taber (Dr. Hamman, Central, and Westlake students) and also Barnwell, whose students were bussed into Taber for grades seven through twelve. You would THINK that I would have learned from my grade seven experience and not ever subjected my children to mid-year moves, but apparently I didn't learn that, because I DID subject them to that. I didn't actually MOVE in Grade Seven, but just when we were all getting into "groups" of friends in our classes, our family went to Utah to take my brother sister (it would have been her first year) to BYU, and were gone for at least a week, maybe two, and I never recovered from that. The kids I had been friends with before we left had moved on, and I could not find a place to belong. Actually, that set the tone for the whole NEXT SIX YEARS. I was a misfit. This is not to say that I didn't have friends, or that I was always miserable, but just that I didn't really have a group of friends, just people I was friendly with. My sister and my cousins Marie and Margaret were my best friends, and they all had their own friends which thankfully they shared with me.

Question 15 (Part 1: Elementary School): Where did you go to school? Give some details about what was school like for you and some of your memorable experiences.

I attended school in Taber, Alberta. There were four elementary schools in Taber: L.T. Westlake, also known as the South Side School; Central School, which was across the street from our Taber 3rd Ward chapel; St. Patrick's School, the Catholic elementary school; and Dr. Hamman, which was the one that I attended.

I am not sure why we went to Dr. Hamman. It seems to have no logic to it--the kids who went on our bus attended three out of the four schools. Just not Westlake. So I am not sure how it worked, deciding who should go to which school. Dr. Hamman's website tells the history of the school:
"The school was named after Dr. Alfred Hamman who was born in Cheshire, England in 1866 and who came with his family to Taber in July 1909 where he was a Mine Doctor for the Canada West Coal Company.  He practiced medicine in Taber from 1909 to 1941, and also served at a school trustee for twenty years.  Dr. Hamman lived in Taber until his death in 1958 at the age of 92. The school was named after him as a tribute to his service and work in the Taber community.  The school was officially opened in September 1954, and was later closed in 1988 to be modernized and renovated.  The school then re-opened in September 1989."

Dr. Hamman as it was in 1954, before the roads around it were paved. Here we see the north and east facades of the school. When I attended, the door you see at the left was the door through which grade five and six children entered. The door to the right is the teacher's door. Children never went through that door. The smaller door at the far right is the emergency exit for the gym. We used that door one day a year, on track meet day.

I liked Dr. Hamman school. I had already visited it frequently because my siblings went there first. One vivid memory I have is from when my brother was in Grade 6, and I went to his class Halloween party. He had gone as an upside down clown. My mother had made the costume in red and blue fabric, and a clown head that went between his legs which were dressed as if they were arms, and clown shoes that went on his hands since his arms were legs. It was a clever costume! His vice-principal was Mrs. Vera Burroughs and dressed up for Halloween as a witch, she really looked like a witch to me. No, I mean a real witch. After that, I always thought Mrs. Burroughs was really a witch in disguise as a teacher. Mrs. Burroughs was East-Indian, and had just the right kind of long wavy black hair that was perfect for witchy type-casting.

By the time I attended Dr. Hamman, Mrs. Burroughs had retired. Mr. James Oshiro was the principal and Mr. Clarence Wentz was the vice-principal. I was really happy and excited to start school--it had been pretty boring to be home alone with just Mom and no siblings for company during the day. So, my siblings decided to change that. A scared Myrna is WAY more fun than an excited one, am I right? So they told me that on the first day of school, all the new grade one children would be lined up and receive the strap.  The strap was a leather or rubber strip about the length and width of a 12 inch ruler and it was used on a child's extended hand when s/he got in big trouble at school.  I protested that they couldn't possibly strap children who had not done anything wrong! Oh, but they do, my siblings assured me. That is how children learn that they don't WANT it; because they remember how it feels. If they did not feel it, how would they know? Needless to say, I was suddenly terrified to start school, and crying, and begging not to go, and my mother had to practically drag me into the classroom the first day, and I cried and carried on like a real baby because I didn't want her to leave. And of course, no straps were given! (Not that day. Not that year, to anyone in my class.)

In Grade One, my teacher was Mrs. Edith Ellingson. I mostly liked her, but when Ronalee threw up and Mrs. E. made her clean it up herself even though she was as pale as a ghost and obviously ill, that made me super mad. I went and helped Ronalee, ignoring Mrs. E. telling me not to. My first experience with righteous indignation at school. That happened to me a lot! Grade one was the year that I pooped outside behind the school. Grade One got out at 3:00, so the bus students were just supposed to play outside for a half hour until the buses arrived and the other classes were released. When the buses got there, usually five or ten minutes before 3:30, the other bus students ran to their buses. But I needed the bathroom. What to do? I was so afraid that I would miss my bus, that I decided to just go behind the school and squat down and poop. And so I did.  The next day, as we were playing outside, one of the kids said, "Ew! Look at that poop! A dog did that." I just said "Ew!" along with the other kids. (Was I in Grade One or Grade Two when I pooped in my pants on the way home in the bus? I am not sure. But it was winter, and I was wearing many layers: underwear, tights, long pants, snow pants. Nobody around me commented on the smell, so maybe the odor did not permeate through all the layers. Or buses full of children just stink, so nobody noticed. But my mom sure noticed when I got home and stripped the layers off!) I have written about other Grade One experiences here and here.

Part of my Grade One class picture. Back row, Mrs. Edith Ellingson and Judy Jensen; middle row Tim and Tom Coombs and Cynthia Saunders; front row, Bradley Parker and Myrna Conrad

In Grade Two, I was happy to be in Miss Mary Nishima's class. She was young and pretty and usually really nice. But she could also be tough. My most memorable experience from Grade Two was the time that Miss Nishima left the room leaving Cindy Fallon in charge. She was supposed to write on the blackboard the names of any children who talked, and those children would GET THE STRAP. Cindy and I had been good friends, but then she started to be friends with Jody Wenbourned, and Jody and I did not always get along. Well, in my opinion, I got along with her, but for some reason she seemed to resent me for reasons I did not understand. So, long story short, Margaret T. whispered to me "Which planet has rings? Jupiter?" And I whispered "No, Saturn." And Cindy wrote MY NAME on the board. And Margaret's name. And we were not the only whisperers. For example, Jody had been whispering, but Cindy did not write Jody's name--she wrote just a couple of names on the board, including mine. I was mortified. And also terrified. Miss Nishima came back, acting all tough (probably laughing on the inside! as a parent I have learned about that!) but she just gave us whisperers a good tongue lashing, and spared us the actual strap. Phew!

In Grade Three I was a little bit disappointed to get Mrs. Gertrude Odland instead of Miss Tanner, who was the young pretty teacher. But Mrs. Odland was kind and good. That was the year that I peed my pants in class. Mrs. Odland was quite strict about her students using recesses for going to the bathroom and getting drinks of water. So, during the lunch hour, I DID go to the bathroom, I really did. But soon after we were settled in our desk after the break was over, I felt the urgent call of nature again. So I went up to Mrs. Odland, who was writing on the board, and asked to go to the bathroom. She said, "Myrna, you should have gone at recess." I said, "I did, but I need to go again." She told me that we would be going into the gym for PE soon, so I could wait until then, and go to the bathroom on my way to the gym. So, disappointed and worried, I returned to my seat and when I sat down, I just knew that I could not hold it any longer. What to do? Well, my pink sweater was hanging on the back of my seat, so I just pushed it to the floor, and used my feet to arrange it under my desk, and then I just peed. The water ran down and dripped onto the sweater, so there was no puddle. And I just sat there in my wet pants and did my school work. Then it was time to stand up and walk to the gym for PE. I had a wet bottom. The girl behind me in line--Margaret Toth--said "Myrna, your seat is all wet." And I said, "I know! I fell in the snow at noon recess." She said, "It sure looks like you wet your pants." I said, " Really? Oh, I am so embarrassed! When I fell in the snow, I landed on my bottom, and it got soaked!" And you know what, she totally believed me!! I dried off pretty good while running around in the gym, and then after school I just had to gather up my wet sweater and cram it into my lunch box (probably the one with the Beverly Hillbillies on it, and Jed wearing red and white striped underwear) and take it home to be washed. I was pretty proud of my problem-solving skills that day!

This is about what it looked like! The red and white underwear was on one of the side panels, so you can't see it here. The boys would always laugh and say "Jethro's red underwear!" which would make me so mad because it was JED!!!

Grade Three was also the year that I discovered that my voice was high and squeaky, instead of normal like I thought it was. We did a lot of choral speech in elementary school. This means that the whole class recites a poem together, complete with expression. It is actually pretty cool, and I don't think anyone does it anymore. Our class was doing a poem about a flower garden, so there were some individual lines that would be spoken by only one person representing a particular flower. I wanted one of those parts so bad!! Mrs. Odland had the children audition for those parts, and she did this by recording us saying the lines, and then playing back the recording, and we would all vote on who sounded the best. I said the line I was interested in, putting so much expression into it! But, when the recording was played back, Holy High and Squeaky, Batman! Pretty well, nobody voted for me. Even I didn't vote for me. I could not BELIEVE that I sounded like that! What a great disappointment.

Mrs. Odland and I when I was in Grade Three. I smiled with my teeth half covered because I did not like my two front chiclets...  I mean teeth.

At Dr. Hamman School, we changed classes in Grades 4-6. So, we had a homeroom teacher, but went to all of the six teachers who taught grades 4-6 for various subjects. The teachers stayed in their room, the children moved from room to room. It was really nice, not having to sit in the same desk for hours each day. I got the coveted teacher in Grade 4, Miss Sheila Fisher. (The other one was old. Mrs. Grace Shaw.) My most memorable moment in Grade 4: we were supposed to hand in our picture money and pick up our packets of school pictures.  Sitting at my desk with my packet, I opened it and drew out my pictures to look at them, and I looked up and my desk was SURROUNDED with boys. I am not even kidding. Like, I knew that some of the boys thought I was cute--I was both terrified and disdainful of them--but this was ridiculous! They were all saying, "Can I have a picture? Can I have a picture?" I looked down my nose as best I could while sitting down and therefore looking up at them, and said, "Maybe. I'll see." I only traded pictures with two of them, Barry Pollard and Randy Shields. They were short like I was, so we always sat near each other, and I liked them as people. And sometimes had crushes on them.

Barry Pollard and Randy Shields, the only boys I condescended to give photos to, in Grade Four. Or actually ever.

 Another thing I remember from Grade Four is that we all were weighed--in Math we were doing weights and measures and graphs and such--so that we could graph the weights of everyone in our class. The smallest person in weight was Barry Pollard, who weighed 42 lbs, and I was second smallest at 45 lbs. 

I also exchanged photos with some female friends in Grade Four, and here they are. (My mother did not buy so many small photos that a lot of exchanging could go on.) Dorothy George was the daughter of the High School Principal, Mr. George. She was noteworthy because she played flute in the junior high band. Nobody in elementary school did that! Only Dorothy. Mona was in my ward as well as my school, but only for a couple of years and then her family moved. Bernice Campbell was our family doctor's daughter. When I got the measles, her dad stopped in at our house on highway 36 on his way from the clinic in Taber to the clinic in Vauxhall to make the official diagnosis. Jill McMurchy was new at our school in Grade 4. Her full name was Linda Jill McMurchy and her dad and mine were friends.

Dorothy George and Mona Hirsche in Grade Four

Bernice Campbell and Jill McMurchy in Grade Four

The summer between Grade Four and Grade Five, a terrible thing happened. My friend and neighbor Cheryl Kaga had a family tragedy. Cheryl rode on my bus. I am sure that, in this whole post, you are noticing a lot of Japanese names. Well, our farm was surrounded with good Japanese neighbors--the Miyanagas, three families of Kagas, the Setoguchis, the Nakamuras all rode on our bus. The middle Kagas had Blair, Debra, Cheryl, Darrell, Keith and Louise in their family. The summer after Grade Four, they went on a holiday to somewhere in the Crowsnest Pass. Keithy, as we all called him, had been a grade one student. He was crossing a road and was hit by a truck and killed. Now, people on our bus had been less nice to Keithy than we should have been, especially me. I mean, I was not actively MEAN to him, but I didn't go out of my way to be nice, either. I felt terribly guilty about his death, as if by missing opportunities to be nice to him, I had somehow failed him.

Grade Five pictures of Cheryl Kaga and Trudy Shockey

Grade Five saw me in Mr. Wentz's home room. This was the year that I learned several hard lessons about myself. For one, I learned that I could not see. I remember writing this somewhere else---but, I was in the back of Mr. Wentz's Science class, and he would write notes on the board, which we then had to write down.  This was the normal way of teaching back then--both paper and printing ink for paper was precious so we didn't get handed endless pieces of paper. Instead, the teachers wrote things on the board, and we wrote them in our notebooks. Actually, this is probably a pretty good way to learn since it engages more senses than filling in a worksheet does. Well, I could see nothing on the board. He could be standing there writing, and moving his body as he wrote, but on the board I saw no change. Kind of a good indicator that I needed glasses! The other thing I learned about myself was that I was messy. Mr. Wentz held up my science notebook as an example of what NOT to do. I was mortified. After that, I made myself be tidier. Erase more, scribble things out less.

Apparently I had many more small pictures to exchange in Grade Five, because I exchanged with more friends than I had in Grade Four.

Grade five pictures of Donna Cheyne and Kelly Dougan. They were cousins. Donna's Mom taught at Central School.

Grade Five pictures of .Cindy Fallon and Margaret Toth, who both rode on my bus

Holly Wong moved to Canada from Hong Kong in Grade Five. She was actually two years older than us, but put in our grade to help her with learning English. She was such a sweet girl!

Grade 5 pictures of Kathryn Morris and Marilyn Christensen. Kathryn was the daughter of the United Church Minister. She and her little sister lived in the manse with her dad and step-mother. Her mother had died. Kathy had one leg shorter than the other, and had an operation on her growth plate in one leg in about Grade Five or so. I am afraid that I do not know much about Marilyn. She was very quiet, very tall, very nice.

In Grade 5, the recess game of choice was Big Valley. This play was headed by Jody, who I am sure you realize by now was someone who, though I tried to like her and be nice to her, just did not always get along with. Jody and her cousin Heather were "horsey" people: rodeos, barrell racing, bareback riding. Big Valley was a popular TV show about a family on a ranch, so Jody and Heather spearheaded the reenactment of Big Valley during recess. There were only two women on the show regularly, the mother and Audra, the pretty daughter. Guess who was always Audra? (Did you guess Jody?) Guess who was always the mother and had to stay home and cook and clean? (Did you guess Myrna?) Everyone else could be either the brothers or just any old cowhand they wanted to be.  Since the real Myrna did not know how to ride a horse, obviously she could not ride a pretend horse!

Grade Five pictures: Heather Ferguson, who lived close to me and was always on my bus. Jody Wenbourne was her cousin. Her mom, Mary, was Scotty Ferguson's sister. I totally LOVED Mary Wenbourne, and also Jody's little sister Shari. But Jody and I often did not get along!

Grade 6, I was in Mr. Oshiro's homeroom. During this year, I was given lots of responsibility. Once Miss Nishima had to leave due to an emergency, and Mr. Oshiro had Christine Litchfield and me go into the Grade 2 classroom and teach the children until a substitute could be found. Several times during that year, Mrs. Miyashiro, the librarian, would not be able to come to work, and Mr. Oshiro would hand me the keys and empower me to run the library. I loved the library! I loved working there with Mrs. Miyashiro. I loved processing books and checking out books and shelving books and helping people find books. I do not think that Mr. Oshiro or Mrs. Miyashiro would be surprised to find out that I grew up to be a librarian!

The rest of the family time: Sunday and Monday and the rest of the week (July 12 through 16)

On Sunday July 12, Nancy and Andrew had their baby's blessing. This occurred outside on the lawn in front of Andrew's parents house. Bruce drove up early to pick up his mom, so they could spend a little time with the grandkids on their last day in Utah (R, M and B specifically) and before the crowds descended. Josie and I came straight home after church to meet David, Patrick and Rosie, and we all drove up to South Jordan together. When we arrived, Uncle Bruce was already there. We were waiting for Aunt Judy and Elizabeth and Mindy and crew, but when Elizabeth texted to say they would be late, we proceeded without them. Which turned out to be a wise decision because their GPS misdirected them, and they were an hour late! Only through Andrew's dad talking Aunt Judy from where they were to where they were supposed to be did they actually arrive. We were glad they came, but they were sad to be so late.

Apparently I took no pictures at all, but others did. Here it was the baby's day, and I didn't even take any pictures of her! But here are a few snapshots borrowed from others--once Nancy posts her pictures, look there for more! We took, for example, a family picture, which I am sure she will post.

Don't I have cute kids? I love this picture of Patrick, Josie, Nancy and David

Another really cute picture! This time of Josie, Rachel and Rosie

Josie and Miriam

Benjamin and his cousin Gavin, son of Emily

Mindy and her children plus Elizabeth's Bridget. So Jacob is behind, then Abigail, Melinda, Bridget and Kali in front

Elizabeth wanted to have FHE together on Monday night, so we met at their house (by which I mean Aunt Judy's house) at 7 pm. We had a blanket on the lawn outside, and sat around in a circle. Each person chose a favorite primary song or hymn and we sang them, then talked a bit about music and how it enriches our lives. It was good. After a treat of watermelon, David went inside to play games with some of the kids (Matthew and Jacob and Kali) while we talked some more. After Rosie and Matthew left, so did my girls and I. It was nice to be together again.

Nancy and baby Zoe

Josie, Nancy and Zoe

 This picture would be even better if it was Benjamin with Nancy instead of Zoe. Benjamin was born in June 2009, Abigail in July 2009, and Bridget in October 2009. So they are all the same age. But, alas, Benjamin had gone home to North Carolina already, so Zoe had to pinch-hit for him in this mommy/child photo opportunity.

Nancy with Zoe, Elizabeth with Bridget, Mindy with Abigail

Josie, Rosie, Matthew, Nancy and baby Zoe

Same people, only with David added

Rosie and Zoe (and Matthew)

May I just take the opportunity to say how much I admire my granddaughter Rosie? She is an awesome individual, so responsible and kind and just amazing. She took so much initiative to make sure that she had the opportunity to spend time with Nancy while she was here. She took the initiative to make sure her brothers did, too. She just understands how relationships work, and that family ties are important. I have so much respect for her. She is a great girl. Rosie spent time with Nancy every week of the three that Nancy was here; she would call or text Nancy to set things up. That was so much appreciated. She really made Nancy feel loved and important.

These pictures are from Wednesday, Nancy's second last day here. Baby Zoe had a hard night on Tuesday night, so we were all a bit draggy from lack of sleep, but Nancy and I managed to fit in a field trip to the aquarium. I just love the aquarium! If I can't go to the sea, the acquarium is the next best thing!

Bruce was going to come with us, but decided he needed a nap more than he needed to walk around for a couple of hours. Before we went, I took these pictures of him and Zoe. They were both just so pink, they were begging for a photo opportunity. I took a ton, and I can't decide on the one best one, so here are my top three:

 And here are the shots from the acauarium. I just liked the red guys in this exhibit, so I took their picture. I can't even remember what they are.

 I wanted to show how this creature is barely visible from the top of the water, just lurking there ready to eat you up!

 And here are Nancy and the baby in the very jaws of death!