Macdonald High School Alumni Association

The Macdonald High School Alumni Association (MHSAA) has just hosted a very successful Centennial Celebration and the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) has been scheduled.

This is your opportunity to learn the final outcome of the Celebration and to map out plans for the Association.

Come join us, be part of the action and help set the future. Let’s keep Mac on the map! Do the right thing and bring your ideas.

The AGM meeting will be held on Saturday, June 9th at 11:00 am.

at

The Royal Canadian Legion - La Légion Royale Canadienne
Churchill (Quebec) Branch 91 - Filiale Churchill (Québec) 91
28 Rue Ste. Anne, Ste Anne de Bellevue, Québec H9X 1L3

Rcl91@Bellnet.ca    514-457-9332    http://www.rcl91.com

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask them - I’ll do my best to answer or re-direct: vivian.bruce@gmail.com

Good news, everyone!

Your class photos went into the mail TODAY. Now that’s what I call good service!

Also, there is a new Photo Album available for all Alumni to add their own reunion photos. To visit: CLICK HERE and start adding your memories now!

Victor Allison (victorallison1@cox.net) so generously offers:

If any of the other classes want to copy our template and have a
website for their year I can provide the files to them. It will
require someone with some computer skills to make revisions and
someone to host the website.

View the Class of ’70s website: http://www.praedium-advisors.com/machigh1970.html

Please e-mail me at vivian.bruce@gmail.com if you have lost or found an item. I will do my best to reconnect you.

1. FOUND: A sony digital camera in Authors’ Alcove (reunited with owner!)
2. LOST: Notebook - navy hardcover, 8-½ x 5½ x ¼” wide, with a permanent elastic bookmark, lined pages. Sentimental value. FOUND!!!
3. FOUND: Silver ring
4. LOST: Black Sanyo Flip Cell Phone / Friday night, May 18

Order before Wednesday when the prices go UP!! Here’s your contact info:

http://www.reunionphoto.net

News on DVD and Memory book to follow, as these are alumni initiatives.

Registration online is now closed but have no fear, walk-in registration on Friday and Saturday is still available though space will be limited. Further, once we reach those limits, we will have no choice but to close down the registration desks.

Please Note: For those that are unable to attend the Centennial Reunion, there will be two Webcams (links on this page) starting Friday. Enjoy!

Mac authors…what an impressive gathering! Lyrical and historical, technical and sociological, childrens’ books and biographies - we have it all. Learned at the knee, honed in school and tempered by life, the brainchild of each author speaks of a passion for teaching and sharing.

We invite you to come by the library, Saturday afternoon from 2-4p.m., while touring the school. Bring your families (it’s free!); introduce them to the world of writing. Ask our writers how they got started and what their motivations were. Find out what makes them tick! But before you stop in, swing by Mac Store (room 242)and pick up a centennial tote bag to hold the treasures you might find and want to read or listen to at your leisure.

Have a gander at the Beacon display that librarian, Sandi Davis, has set out. Catch the memorabilia collection in the glass case in the hall that she arranged using keepsakes from Anda (Kajaks) Hannah’s collection.

And feel free to TALK in the library - Sandi promises not to shush you!

Thanks very much to all who have registered for the Macdonald High School Centennial Reunion May 18-20.

As some alumni experienced difficulties with PayPal and as PayPal registrations for the Reunion continued to arrive after the midnight Friday deadline, the MHSCCC decided to continue to accept registrations via PayPal until 18:00 on May 16.

We also decided that alumni registrations received after 15:00 today will be subject to a late registration charge of $20.00. All other fees remain the same as before.

In order to limit potential problems at the registration desk (“But I mailed it yesterday! Why do I have to pay again today and get a refund when you receive my cheque next week?”), the mail-in registration form has been removed from the web site.

Due to strict fire and SAQ restrictions, a very limited number of “walk-in” registrations may be permitted. However, once we reach those limits, we will have no choice but to close down the registration desks. So, if you were planning to register at the door, perhaps a PayPal late registration would be a better choice…

John Marrett
Volunteer Alumni Database Manager
Macdonald High School Alumni Association

Norman St. Aubin

Class of 1937

A conversation with our celebrity turned out to be not only informative but also nostalgic. Norman, a raconteur par excellence with a prodigious talent for detail, is a gold mine of knowledge about local maritime history and technology.

He recalled when the train to school from his Vaudreuil home cost $2.50 a month. No school buses in those days! His after-school life focused on repairing, as well as operating, cars and engines. This knowledge equipped him with valuable skills. (Apparently, the English-speaking girls were another attraction in the Hudson locale!)

He noted that in 1937 Macdonald was a demonstration school for the Education faculty at Macdonald College. He spoke highly of his teachers, including the redoubtable Miss Grace Revel, who were hand-picked role models for Macdonald College students. He produced a Grade 11 report card which demonstrated that he had offered them a challenge! Barely sixteen, he graduated from “Mac”.

A very young Norman served in the RCAF during WWII, as part of the vital ground crew in Gander, Newfoundland. Shortly after the war, he purchased Marina Ste. Anne across from the Post Office, with another Mac grad, Ivan Brown. The Marina enterprise soon became successful and the partners took pride in building its reputation. Perhaps he derives his greatest joy from the Marina itself, which still boasts a few of the “old-fashioned” pieces of equipment that function as well as ever.

The Marina is now owned by yet another Macdonald graduate, Kerry Gillings!

Norman met his wife Marjorie (Marge), also a Macdonald grad, after high school, at a ski resort. They enjoyed a happy marriage until, sadly, Marge passed away in January, 2007. Because home is in Hudson, both of their sons attended Hudson High.

When asked to what he attributes his extraordinarily good health, memory, wit and joie de vivre, Norman stated that he never smoked and always tried to work hard in the fresh air every day. He still does!

Submitted by Don Barnes,

Vice Principal (retired)