On Friday, August 31, 12 of them, one by one, strode across the parking lot at the Chamber of Commerce Art Gallery, fighting off a similar collection of trepidation, bravado and curiousity. Stepping through the door each was swept with a sense of relief as they realized they were, indeed, in the company of many dear friends, a sense of special kinship undiminished by four decades of separation.
They were joined by another dozen friends from the era, who were just ahead of or behind them, or left school early to start their careers.

The 40th anniversary reunion event, which most felt was overdue by about 30 years, was organized by Donna (Holmes) Vernon, her cousin Carroll (Holmes) Airey and Linda (Moroski) Blackwell. Linda and her husband Reg hosted the reception Friday night, ensuring everyone was comfortable and well-fed.

Friday evening was filled with handshakes, hugs and welcoming smiles. There were moments where recognition took a few seconds, but the obligatory name tags weren't as critical as many believed. Bill Peterson dropped by briefly to welcome former students. An ice-breaker was organized to engage the attendees; a list of possibilities, like 'do you have more than 2 grandchildren?'; 'have you visited more than 10 countries?'; 'have you had a major operation?' was distributed and everyone was encouraged to speak with people they hadn't already met.

Little has changed, it seems; the quiet ones are still quiet and reserved, while those already known for their loquaciousness didn't disappoint. And they had some wonderful stories to tell: 40 years times 20 lives makes for many interesting experiences to relate.

While many in the group have traveled far and wide, most live within driving distance of Burns Lake. Ken Locke, who manages a commercial kitchen supply company flew in from Toronto. Lois (Adams) Barrett, is home visiting from Comox. Rod Rolston, Wes Giesbrecht and James Bergen live in North Delta, Mission and Abbotsford, respectively.

Throughout the evening, various people took the floor, shared a fond reminiscence, raised an embarrassing moment many had forgotten or took the opportunity to talk about where they've spent nearly a half-century since graduating.

As the evening wound down, about a dozen retired to Mulvaney's Pub, where they pulled several tables together. When they left an hour and half later, their reputation for wild partying was in shambles - most of the group drank water, two or three took the hedonistic plunge by ordering soft drinks. Alas, they needed their beauty sleep; a tour of the school was planned for 10 a.m. Saturday.

Unfortunately, the old haunt wasn't available, but Vice Principal Debra Devine took a group of nine through the impressive new facility. Decidedly upscale compared to the original school, everyone commented on how much better-equipped schools are today. That said, the work benches and wood lathes in the industrial arts shop looked very familiar. The First Nations room is also impressive, giving today's students access to a rich culture and history few recognized just 40 years ago.

The afternoon was spent checking out some of the new eateries in town and a small group relaxed at Linda's Gifts and Gourmet, a wonderful shop in a truly beautiful location on the lake.

Saturday evening, the group reconvened at Kim's, for a meal together and more opportunities to visit. Some folks weren't able to attend, while others joined in who hadn't managed to be there Friday. Doreen Woodall and John Healy both joined their former students and added some anecdotes about life at LDSS. Several students were either encouraged or goaded into standing up and sharing either a remembrance or information about their lives; not surprisingly, many of those anecdotes involved corporal punishment at the hand of Vic Montaldi, the diminutive autocrat who ruled LDSS and had an impact on virtually every student.

The reunion wrapped up with breakfast Sunday at the Lakeland. At breakfast, plans were made to meet again in five years and most of the attendees headed off home, happy they'd made the trip.

Attendees included, in no particular order: Darlene (Martens) Jones, George and Trish Carlson, Harvey and Lois Loen, Verna (Wiebe) Hopper, Mary (Buhler) Goertzen, Sally (Johnson) Wiebe, Daphne (Martens) Konowalchuk, Della (Short) Weymer, Shirley (Shelford) MacKenzie, Sandra Holmes, Wayne and Sharon (Sandercott) Armistead, Robert and Heather (Addison) Anderson, Rob Gilgan, Donna (Holmes) Vernon, Reg and Linda (Moroski) Blackwell, Carroll (Holmes ) Airey, Wes Giesbrecht, Rod and Linda Sue Peaker Rolston, James Bergen, Lloyd Worthing and Carolyn Stanyer, Lois (Adams) Barrett.

James Bergen collected information from each of the attendees and will publish a 'yearbook' to mark the occasion.

(The edited version of this story appeared in LD News Sept. 19)

If you find errors, or have other information you'd like added, email rob@gilgan.com