St. Pius X High School 50th Anniversary
Reunion
A beautiful shot of St. Pius X High School for the 1965 Falcon Yearbook taken from "the Brothers' Side"
Literary Version
September
1962 to June 1966
1962 was only 17 years after World War II and 9 years after the Korean War – a time marked by an
acceleration of social change in the West as well as in the whole world. The
war speeded up technological advancements and in the absence of men gone to war
many women discovered their ability to accomplish remunerated labour and to
enter professions. The post war years also witnessed profound changes in social
values, trends, and behaviours. Society became more mobile and forms of
communications evolved, such as expanding the reach of free phone calls and reasonable
rates for a wider range of long distance calls.
The 1950’s saw the emergence in the West of a greatly expanded middle
class made comfortable by the manufacturing revolution the war had engendered.
This affluence contributed to the emergence of a new demographic – the teenage
years – as parents increasingly sought to spend more of their new earnings on
their children. In the 1960’s teenagers continued to manifest their presence
through social trends like the proliferation of music groups appealing to them
and seeking their favour.
Conscious of the rapid changes worldwide and desiring the Roman Catholic
Church to continue to present to the modern world the timeless relevance of
Jesus Christ and his message for “Peace on Earth”, Pope John XXIII in 1959
called an ecumenical council, the first in almost a century. Our high school
years coincided with this historic Second Vatican Council as it took place from
October 11, 1962 to December 8, 1965.
The Sisters of Saint Anne who were responsible for our girls’ school, the
Christian Brothers of Ireland who were responsible for our boys’ school, and our
chaplains Father John Brayley (1959-1964) and David Gourlay (1964-1970) shared
with us their insights into this time of change. Three days after the Council
began we witnessed the Cuban Missile Crisis from October 14 to 28, 1962. On
November 22nd 1963 we probably all remember sitting in class as our
principals announced on the public address system, ending the school day early,
that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. The 1960’s witnessed more
dramatic events.
American astronauts circled the globe and before the ‘60’s ended they
landed on the moon. The Viet Nam War developed as did the protest of many young
Americans – many of whom came to Canada. Canada got a new flag under Prime
Minister Lester B. Pearson and our school raised it in solidarity with all of
Canada on February 15, 1965. The American Civil Rights Movement began to loom larger
as we heard songs that later in the late ‘60’s became associated with the
Hippie Movement which proposed to be the new normal as we all went to college
and university and witnessed campus revolutions all over the world as 1970 came.
While at St. Pius X we enjoyed a variety of music from American groups
like The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, The Temptations, The Supremes, The Animals,
Peter Paul & Mary, Simon & Garfunkel and such British invaders as The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Dave Clark 5, Gerry & the Pacemakers, and
Petula Clark.
In addition to “home movies” projected in the auditorium at the end of
term exams, some of us – with parental permission – went on school outings. In
May or June 1965 we rode buses to the Parliament in Ottawa, to Upper Canada
Village, and finished with a boat tour of the Thousand Islands with an
explanation of how the construction of the St. Laurence Seaway had flooded a
number of small Ontario towns. We went to downtown movie houses to see movies
such as the Ten Commandments and the Sound of Music.
Our 4 years at St. Pius X High School for Girls and Boys gave us some
excellent mentors in the Sisters of Saint Anne, the Christian Brothers of
Ireland, and our numerous lay teachers. We loved some of them and we still remember
them very fondly; others perhaps were not quite so memorable. Sadly, a few were
not so great, particularly for a few of us who experienced anything from simple
harassment to traumatic memories.
Nonetheless, we made friends, sometimes for life. We were profoundly
marked, mostly for the better.
50 years is a long time; yet in some ways it almost feels like
yesterday. We have lived lives with incredible moments and achievements as well
as all the ordinary seasons of life. We have contemplated the beauty, we have felt
the pain, we pushed the boundaries, we traveled the globe, and we scrutinized
the heavens with our many questions.
We have contributed to society, we have touched countless lives, we made
too many mistakes, and over the years we have fallen down and picked ourselves
up innumerable times. We have affirmed our faith in God through Jesus Christ or,
alternatively for some of us, we have given our life meaning by grounding our
life projects in the value of the human person; while still others have taken
roads less traveled.
There may be others, but at least one among us, Robert Scully, has
become a media icon, a face and voice seen, heard, and even trusted worldwide. We
have founded families, we have explored our humanity, we have shared the
adventure with loved ones, and we have built legacies.
We left behind the naiveté we shared with the rest of society in the
1960’s, which was best symbolized in the Expo 67 World Fair in Montreal. It was
an optimistic conviction that our generation would soon resolve all of
humanity’s problems with advancements in science, technology, and diplomacy.
As world events rudely awakened us, we found that the world, life, and humanity
require collaborative not armchair solutions. With time we also discovered that
life and its mysteries contain an inherent simplicity that points to our
meaning and purpose. We have been blessed to acquire some wisdom and we still
have time to share what we have acquired with those coming after us, if they are
willing to receive it.
We would like to propose to you that “The best is yet to come.” It may
be a Frank Sinatra song, but this idea of open ended hopefulness may have first
come to our awareness at Cana in Galilee of Palestine, in the Holy Land, when
Jesus turned 160 gallons of water into the best wine the people at that wedding
feast had ever tasted. Jesus gave a sign that with God the best is always “yet
to come” and that in Him, Jesus of Nazareth, God had come to Earth to
inaugurate a new era. The Brothers and Sisters and many of the lay women and
men who taught us shared the conviction that this is true, that Jesus is who He
claimed to be.
As Canadians we have been privileged until now to enjoy the freedom to
adhere to this conviction and make it our own, or to walk another path.
Whatever path we have chosen, we have probably all come to know that we are
part of something far bigger than ourselves, and our freedom is of great value.
Shall we pray?
“Father in Heaven and Creator of
us all, thank You for the time we have so gratefully received and lived until now.
There rises within us a vibrant “Yes!” to all that is yet to come. Each in our own
way we desire to put all that we have in service to our loved ones and to our
world. May our poor efforts effectively serve your powerful work lifting up
each person and all of humanity. Bless us O Lord and these, thy gifts, which we
are about to receive from thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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