More fond memories of Burnaby's Nelson Elementary
A friend emailed me the February 3 Comment page from the NewsLeader. The letter on Nelson School tugged at my heart strings and reminded me of many good memories. I too was in Miss Robinson’s Grade 1 and Grade 3 classes and in fact, Ila Appleby, the letter’s author, was one of my classmates.
I clearly remember receiving the fir tree from Mr. Gray, the Principal of Nelson School. I took my sapling home and my father planted it in the front yard of our home where it thrived. Quite remarkable, I think; since many of the saplings given to students that last day of school did not, unfortunately, survive.
In 1963, my father’s job transferred him to Toronto and we moved from beautiful B.C. to Ontario. Even though I didn’t have the chance to watch my fir tree grow as I grew up, I did visit “my” tree on each of my many visits back to Burnaby as the years passed. Each visit, I was always surprised at how big the tree had grown and I always took a photo of “my tree” to show family when I returned to Toronto. My visits to B.C are not as frequent now as they once were, however, to the best of my knowledge “my” tree is still thriving in its place of honour on the front lawn of our former home.
Like Ila, I have fond memories of Nelson Elementary and the teachers who were so instrumental in the early years of my education. I have had the good fortune to remain friends with a few classmates from Nelson school which has played an important role in my strong connection to B.C. I wish the Nelson 100th Anniversary Planning Committee the best of luck as they plan for the upcoming celebrations. I do hope they find a way to acknowledge and honour teachers such as Miss Robinson.
As the celebrations take place, a former classmate in Toronto will be thinking of Nelson Elementary with great fondness.
With best wishes and fond memories,
Marilyn Scott
Toronto, Ontario
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