My memories from Blythwood Public School are fleeting and varied.

In no particular order here they are:

I remember Super Balls. Boy could they fly. There was a game the boys played that involved throwing a ball against the wall and catching it after one bounce. Different types of balls were used but Super Balls were the best. If you managed to hit the ledge that ran between the first and second floors at just the right angle the ball would really take off. That was called a ledger.

I remember brightly coloured bell bottoms. I also remember that they didn't come in perma crease as pants do today.

I remember playing hockey on the ice rink and taking a check from Mr. Legge that sent me flying. He said that I should keep my head up. He was right of course, but I never embarked on a hockey career after that.

I remember going to the principals office often. I also remember getting the strap. Try as I might it was impossible not to cry. I felt that if I did cry "they" would win. After repeated visits they told me that if I was sent to the principals office one more time I wouldn't be allowed to attend any school in Ontario! I thought my whole family will have to move just so that I could go to school. It worked, I never got sent down again. Until the last visit my parents never knew that I had been to the principals office. I never knew why that was. I know that I never told them and to this day my mother can't believe that the school didn't call her. Was I the recipient of an administrative falling through the cracks or did they just think that this was something that a kid couldn't keep from his parents?

I remember girls. I remember being chased by them in the playground and looking over my shoulder to measure the distance between them and myself. The correct distance had to be maintained at all times. Just far enough to make sure the other boys didn't think you were interested in girls, but not so far as to discourage the girl. I think that it's ok now to admit that all those time I would have preferred to be caught. I'm sure that I wasn't the only one....is it too late to re-live my boyhood?

Is it possible that we had separate areas of the playground?

I remember Miss Cressman. She seemed so caring and gentle. I hope that she is still with us and can come to the reunion.

I remember Bobby Gimble (I'm not sure that this is his right last name). For some reason his jewel studded clarinet seems to stand out for me. We rehearsed in the auditorium for a parade to City Hall to celebrate our Centennial year. He seemed to be the quintessential Pied Piper. It also hard not to forget the song we learned that year...Caaaa, naaaa, daaa.

I remember playing a game on the ice rink that involved chasing and tagging the other person. I played it with a school chum that is still a friend to this day. Imagine that, 37 years and counting.

I remember hop scotch which I enjoyed and skipping which I would have liked but seemed to be a girls game.

I remember what seemed like long walks to school in the rain with those black and orange rubber boots. During rain storms the culverts on Stratheden west of Mildenhall would fill up with rushing rivers of water. The test for me was to see how deeply I could wade into the water without having it run over the tops of my boots. Usually I got a soaker.

I remember being chased on the way home by the older and bigger boys. At that time I was the smallest in my class. Several emergency routes were available. They included anybody's back yard. No area was off limits then.

I remember recess in the playground, and softball games.

I remember the joys, the tribulations, and the discoveries of boyhood.

I'm glad that I remember.

Jerome Pascaris - 1967