Forty years later, students remember walkathon to raise money for new score clock

A11

By Meg Edwards
Times & Transcript Staff

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It was 1969 and a time of idealism when four young students sitting around a table at Reid's Diner decided that they would raise the funds for a new score clock for their school, the Regional Memorial School in Port Elgin.

The group -- Joanne Reid, David Reid, Ted Cole and David Hayward -- decided on a walkathon and inspired the rest of the student population with their hard work and enthusiasm.

"I tell you it was a sales job to get the students interested because they were really apathetic at the time," remembers David Reid, 40 years later.

By the time the walkathon was organized, however, they had 'in the neighborhood' of 50 students participating in the two-day walkathon.

"It was a two day trip," David says. "We walked the 22 miles to Amherst on Saturday, May 24, slept the night at the 'Y,' rose the next morning, ate breakfast and walked back to Port Elgin."

Reid remembers their group being called PEARL (Port Elgin Athletic and Recreational League) but his sister Joanne says it was PESO (Port Elgin Student Organization).

Under either name, the group raised $800 dollars for the clock.

"We used to have a regular unit on the referees' table so we wanted something more modern," David says. "We got a digital display with a countdown, the type of clock you see today in modern gymnasiums."

The fundraising had a big impact on the student body.

"After the clock was purchased the student body was on a high for the rest of the year," David says. "The cheering that went up in the assembly was amazing. It was out of pure pride and accomplishment for what they had done together."

Most point to Joanne Reid as the main organizer. She says that Memorial Regional had a beautiful gymnasium, but no electronic clock and that she remembered looking at the clock in Petitcodiac's school and wishing they had one too.

"Walkathons were coming on to the scene in the late '60s so we all agreed on that for a fundraiser," she says. "I had no sense of distance at the time or I would never have suggested all the way to Amherst and back."

At the end of the walk, Joanne's feet were so sore she could hardly walk and she still remembers her coach, Henry Davis, cheering her along from his car.

Davis, a well-loved coach, also supported the venture by going ahead a few miles along the route and setting up water stations.

"I never thought of that," says Joanne, "But thank goodness he did."

Ted Cole, president of PESO, remembers the time fondly.

"I still have memories of the night at the 'Y.' We all slept on the floor in sleeping bags. It was great fun. I may be looking back with rose-coloured glasses but it really did seem like a time of innocence."

According to Joanne, the students had support from businesses as far away as L.E. Shaw in Halifax and Crosby's Molasses in Saint John. There was a "sea of signs" supporting the kids and the walkathon on the first day. The high number of volunteers and participants surprised Joanne Reid.

As an avid sports supporter and player, Joanne was very sad to see Memorial School close down in 1971. The school created a close community and she says she would have been devastated if the school had closed before she graduated. The school had a reputation for winning provincial championships and a great amount of pride was generated within the community.

Ted Cole, who still lives in Port Elgin and runs a few local businesses, remembers that at the time of the walkathon the school and community spirits were very strong and there was no knowledge or sense of foreboding about the coming closure of the high school.

After it closed, the seniors were moved to Tantramar High in Sackville in October of that year, after some delays, and Memorial Regional remained a junior high until it closed. The building now houses Atlantic Windows.

Ted Cole feels that closing the school was a great disservice to the community.

"There is a good case to be made that the attitude changes in a community when you lose your 'gathering place,' he said. "I think there would be a different spirit in the kids of Port Elgin if they had more involvement in school activities."