A little piece of history

The new Tommy Douglas collegiate held its official grand opening last Friday, and I must say I felt like I was sitting in on a little piece of history. The band played (and there was J2 on the trumpet! and in the PP presentation on the football field!) Tommy Douglas' daughter Shirley was there. Premiere Lorne Calvert was there (and I'm glad he chose to break the rules and attend despite the election writ - maybe not a smooth move but the right move). The school board trustee who campaigned like a house on fire for the past 10 years was there, and was able to be a part of something very significant to her despite the fact that her last child graduated from high school last year. You know who wasn't there? Tommy Douglas' little sister, who couldn't make it due to health concerns. You know why that hit me so hard? Because she is very important to me. She was my homeroom teacher in high school, my English teacher and somewhat of a mentor. A wonderful woman, Mrs. Berntson. And to put a little more perspective on it, think of this: J2 will be in the first ever grad class to attend all 4 high school years in the new Tommy Douglas Collegiage. Mrs. Berntson, Tommy Douglas' little sister, helped me write my valedictory address to the first ever grad class of Martensville High School 23 years ago. And there was Tommy Douglas' daughter, addressing my son, in his Grade 9 year. I chatted with Mrs. Douglas afterwards, but became overwhelmed by all that crazy irony and mostly just babbled incoherently. Thankfully I managed to avoid chatter about my crush on her son Keifer Sutherland, and she was very gracious. Even George Strombolopolis gave a video podcast shout-out to the TD student body (he was in Regina for the Geminis and is a huge TDphile).

What made it great though were the students. Wow, what a unique school. The spirit and comeraderie is really quite poignant. Even last night at the football banquet, there is something in the air that is more than school spirit. The teachers, the kids, the whole TD body are grabbing onto their school and their schoolmates with an intensity you don't often see. They get it. They get how good they've got it. And they've got it GOOD.

And the school is pretty sweet, too.