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t mmm a4 tribune may 15 1985 editors mail memories dear sir its with a great deal of diffi dence that i write this letter but here goes i had the unique experience of being the last person to teach in the white frame schoolhouse at gari baldi then in a makeshift clas sroom after the building burned and then the first to teach in the new brick building i was awakened about 4 oclock in the morning on the 17th or 19th of january 1934 with the sound of the schools on fire very quickly the woodshed was soon converted into a classroom a plank floor was laid and two win dows were installed side by side on the north wall a woodburning stove was placed near the- south wall close to the doorway there were two blackboards side by side on the east wall the teachers desk was placed in front of the black boards many desks one in front of the other filled the centre of the room the aisles were very narrow children sitting next to the stove nearly cooked while the ones near the windows were cold the floor was always cold during the winter i couldnt write on the blackboard until 1030 in the morning they were always covered with frost i remember the inspectors arrival on a hot day in early june the door was wide open to let in the fresh airhowever the flies came in too mr ferguson spent part of the afternoon with us some of it out side on leaving he gave us the rest of the day off we all departed with whoops of joy the new school was built during the summer holidays a fine red brick building all this happened in less than one year sincerely alma ward haynes gowanstown ont you asked me to buy something unusual the kids would enjoy the tribune the tribune established 1888 james thomas bruce antwvn pat pappas editor publisher advertising manager editorial dept chris shanahan brian kirlik display advertising dept lois wideman real estate classified advertising joan marshman distribution doreen deacon national sales representative metroland corporate sales 4931300 published every wednesday by metroland printing publishing distributing at 54 mam st stouf fvilie ont tel 6402100 single copies 50 subscnptions s1700 per year in canada 4750 elsewhere member of canadian community newspapers association ontario weekly newspaper association ontario press council and suburban newspaper of america second class mail registration number 0896 the stouffville tribune is one of the metroland groupof suburban newspapers which includes the acton free press ajaxpickering news advertiser the aurora banner brampton guardian the burlington post the burlington weekend post the etobicoke advertiserguardian the georgetown independent the mitton champion the mississauga news the newmarket era the willowdale mirror oakville beaver oakvillo friday beaver oshawawhitby this week oshawawhitby this weekend the richmond hill liberal thor- nhill liberal the scarborough mirror the markham economist and sun and woodbridge liberal metroland printing publishing and distributing is a division of harlequin enterprises ltd 6402100 6492292 roaming around enjoyable assignment by jim thomas editorials york regions utopia what we hoped would happen is hap pening whitchurchstouffville stouff ville in particular is growing not with the intensity of markham or vaughan but in a gradual and orderly manner after several years of virtual stagna tion this is a welcomed change while there are those who hold to the belief that stouffville should remain smalltown this will not and should not be nor will it become a metropolis comparable to our neighbor to the south water and sewer restrictions will see to that acceptance of residential buildup here is apparent in the fact many of the new homes and proposed new homes in fairgate heights westfield and lake- view estates and greenpark have been purchased by residents already living here this speaks well for their faith in school days relived weekend assignments are usually just thatassignments or in another word work while most people are doing what they want to do the journalist is doing what peopleexpect himher to do attend their events its not that much fun especially when the reporters aware members of hisher family are at home doing nothing- but an event saturday was different it was an occasion we enjoyed to the f ull- the garibaldi public school reunion while not a part of ss no 9 ux- bridge we felt a part of the program because committee members allowed us to participate in its promotion through this kind of close cooperation the event proved successful and tribune read ership soared former residents long since moved from the area latched on to every morsel of news related to the occa sion classroom photos became scrap- book memoirs it would be unfair to state it could only happen in uxbridge there have been successful homecomings elsewhere however in completing preparations the committee never lost sightof the pro jects main purpose renewing friendships r while nofa part of it geographically we felt a part of it personally it was good to be there to the many people responsible con gratulations you rekindled memories that will last a lifetime v our quality of life it also speaks well for their faith in the qualityof homes however all relocations are not occurring intown families are moving here from markham from unionville from scarborough and miles beyond while relocating presents problems a recent doortodoor survey of home owners in fairgate heights showed almost 100 percent satisfaction we love it was a common reply and no wonder the properties are beautiful especially those where sod ding is complete boulevard trees add a touch of permanency to each site in the greenpark development build up is proceeding at a fast pace at west- field estates owners begin moving in the end of this month a number of pre- sales have been recorded by lakeview at present all things point to the posi tive with an improved balance in in- dustrial assessment whitchurch- stouffville will indeed be utopia within the region of york since my coming to the tribune as a journalist 34 years ago and to stouffvil le as a resident 26 years ago the name garibaldi always prompted a smile there was a public school there that i knew the location was the second con cession of uxbridge a mile or so north of hwy 47 but what else to warrant a name like garibaldi or any name for that matter there had to be something more than just a school however in my travels up and down that ohcedusty rural road i never found it not even a togetherness of homes to constitute a hamlet to the west was island lake to the north was siloam to the east was good wood and to the south was glasgow but smack dab in the centre of garibaldi i never saw anything more than a school my problem was i never stopped long enough to look i mean really look had i taken the time id have found a heart beating there the heart of a coun try community as immense as a moun- tain fortunately for me i was afforded a second chance i attended the garibaldi school reunion in the goodwood hall saturday and discovered firsthand what community isjor was all about yes it was a homecoming a gather ing like id never seen before they came from hundreds even thousands of miles former teachers and students with one thought in mind reliving memories of a time in their lives none could ever forget so what was i doing there i asked myself that question as i stood in line i hoped no one would notice a foreigner in the crowd but they did i could feel their stares so i bypassed the nametag counter feeling just a wee bit embarrassed at taking up my two feet of space however the lonely feeling was soon dispelled the warmth known only to the rural roots of uxbridge township soon enveloped the entire hall me too the interloper from ss 19 markham was quickly adopted into the family of ss 9 uxbridge i enjoyed the rela tionship so much i stayed the entire afternoon there was something magic about the little red brick schoolhouse and the lit tle white frame schoolhouse too gari baldi knew both and some attending the reunion saturday remembered both the frame building erected in 1869 was destroyed by fire in 1934 a new brick structure now a private home was ready for occupancy the following september the replacement cost was 4000 the behindthescenes organization that went into saturdays homecoming was excellent however the formality required in putting such an event together was not part of the program mc bob mcgillivray saw to that he encouraged platform guests to speak their remembrances and each re sponded admirably what was said from the stage was undoubtedly expanded upon throughout the audience this reunion was a lighthearted friendly affair however pleasant memories often prompt tears the beautiful singing voices of the garibaldi school choir with the late glen gould in attendance was an emotional experi ence mere words cannot describe former teacher jessie greig now of oshawa was responsible for the tape there are no people like you in the whole world she said i cherish every memory barbara hewlett pratt former prom queen at stouffville high and ev ery bit as lovely today was described as the heart of the reunion event the committee chairman was ivan degeer while some folks must surely have wondered at my being there i can hon estly say it was more than just another reporting assignment for once a rural school pupil always a rural school pupil regardless of location i could relate to the inner most feelings of each person present my memories like theirs are as keen today as yesterday however i hadnt planned on staying so long but i became caught up in the magic of the moment a moment in the life of a community that until saturday i didnt know existed thank you committee members for allowing me to share in your day i wouldnt have missed it for the world buried head in the sand dear editor i am not a party person lam also not a leader person i vote for the candidate in my riding who in my opinion will do the best job in 1981 1 supported mr hodgson i also supported mr stevens in 1984 on may 2 1 supported mr sorbara of the liberals be cause i felt mr hodgson failed to go to bat for whitchurchstouffville on the dump issue he was much like an ostrich content to bury his head in the sand hoping the problem would somehow go away im now having second thoughts about mr stevens i feel his action or lack of action with respect to the silver jubilee clubhouse was not only weak but two- faced im sure if hed put forth an effort he could have retained this premises for the club without putting the town the tax payers to the expense of having to buy it i wont forget his mishandling of this project when another federal election rolls around sincerely mildred gadsby stouffer street stouffville phys ed instructor honored at the conclusion of the june term jim rchill centre concludes his association with the physical educa tion program at stouffville dist secondary school recently he was honored at a reception in christ anglican church here he talks with two athletic greats from yestery ears wayne feasby left and jim hill two main organizers of the jim rchill reunion were larry and col- leen bacon of stouffville the event included a daylong volleyball tournament at the high school a banquet and dance at night through mr renins guidance many athletic championships have been won by sdss he is considered the most successful phys ed instructor in the history of the school jim thomas i