Allan Matthews School ~ Class of '57 ~ Reunion

Most of us have attended a school reunion at some point in our lives but some reunions are more special than others. It has been 53 years since we sat in our classroom at Allan Matthews School and that is pretty hard to believe when most classmates don’t even feel that old, but even more special was that our teacher, Mr. Len Fowles joined us.

Kay, Kerri, Don, Margaret, Maureen, Betty, Thea, Mr. Fowles, Alanna, Jo-Anne, Adrian, David, Lynne, Linda; (center) David, Kathy; (front) Sheila, Sue, Trudy

The class of ‘57/58 gathered to have lunch and celebrate the fact that we are able to ! It has been 53 years since we were in class in Allan Matthews School and there were 20 of us here to trade stories and catch up after all that time. Many had moved away but then moved back, which says a lot about our hometown of Kamloops.

Trudy Boultbee, Maureen Morrison, Mr. Fowles, Thea Boultbee

Many of us remain friends to this day and although some had lived away at times, we’ve maintained those friendships and have all returned to our hometown of Kamloops.

Linda Ashbee

Some brought pictures to share.  That brought back some memories of childhood friends.  Many of them had moved away many years ago, some have passed on but many of us are still living in Kamloops. 

David and Kathy Andrew

David no longer lives in Kamloops but travelled here with his wife to join us for this reunion.

Alanna Westerman

We’ve had several reunions over the years, some are grander than others and have always been based on our years at Kamloops High School.  Our 1965 class reunion is held yearly at a BBQ, thanks to Alanna, who organizes and hosts this event.

Len & Judy Fowles

Mr. Len Fowles was the Vice-Principal of Allan Matthews School in 1957and taught us in a Grade 5/6 split class.  He remembers us all and even our siblings, amazing how teachers just don’t forget !  He went on to become Principal in that school not long after.

 

David Marshall

David, who now lives in Kelowna, brought along his report cards and other memorabilia to share. He seemed to think that by giving Mrs. Fowles a chocolate bar, he could have her persuade his teacher to give him better marks on that report card! That didn’t work but gave us a laugh and he gets marks for trying.

 

Betty Johnson and Margaret Strom

1957 – Do we remember when?  Elvis recorded White Christmas Sept. 6, Paul Anka hit #1 with his song Diana on Sept. 9th and Perry Mason premiered on television Sept. 21.  These classics can still be found.

 

Lynne Beblow and Kay Delgarno

1957 – Buddy Holly’s hit “That’ll be the Day” was #1 Sept. 23, American Bandstand premiered on television Oct. 7.  We weren't even getting American TV here in those days.  Your rabbit ears had to be sitting right in order to see that black and white screen.

 

Susan Patterson, Betty Johnson, Kerri Colquhoun

You might recognize some of these classmates if you click here to see the picture of our Grade 6 class that was posted on another blog page.  Have fun!  Remember that picture was taken 53 years ago.

 

Jo-Anne Barrett and Adrian Taylor

1957 – Simon and Garfunkel performed as Tom and Jerry Nov. 22, Sam Cook had #1 hit with ‘You Send Me’ on Dec. 2 and Elvis was drafted Dec. 20.  We all have different memories of those days and many of them related to the music we heard.

Maureen Morrison and Don Youwe

This reunion stands alone due to the fact it is our classmates and our teacher, Mr. Fowles from elementary school.  We have a lot to be thankful for, that after all these years we are able to gather, celebrate and remember the days when we were young and things were simple.  Another reason why we love Kamloops, there is just no place like home.

Mr. Len Fowles passed away July 13, 2013.  RIP Mr. Fowles