From: Andrew Baxter
Date: 2001-11-13
Time: 08:41:53 -0500
Hello there....my name is Andrew Baxter. I attended The Scarborough Boys High School from 1969 to when it formally folded in what would have been the summer of 1974. Most of the kids would have known me better with my nickname - Biddy. It was a great school. Simply the best spirit of any place of education I have ever been involved with bar none. In retrospect it was a true privilege to have attended and I am a better person today for having lived the SBHS experience even though my allegiances are with Canada now.
In September of 1974 I attended the Scarborough 6th Form College for about 3 months after which I moved with my family to Canada to begin a new and exciting life. I fondly remember those 5 years at the SBHS. I actually still have some memorabilia that I have kept including what we in North America would call a Yearbook. I also have some rugby and cricket photos and take them out once in a while to reminisce about those days. Names I remember on the faculty side include Gardiner, Speight, Ellis, Hopkins. Of particular note was Barry Beanland the P.E. Teacher. Playing school rugby, cricket, soccer and even swimming once I think, I used to see a lot of Mr. Beanland - he was a great guy.
Friends at the school who I have all lost contact with included Ronald Jaconelli (does his uncle still sell ice cream?), Keith Richardson, Stephen Gash (i think he married Sally Shales), Andrew Heald, Nick Dudding (his dad taught industrial arts at the school), Jonathan Gray, Carl Wood. We were the core of most of the sports teams although I also remember Brian Poole and David Clark being exceptional cricket players. David was a bowler who could generate unbelievable pace and movement from a new ball. He used to scare me and I was the wicketkeeper!!
I would love to re-establish contact with some of the old crew or just simply get up to speed on what has been happening to them. I am seriously considering a visit back to the old stomping grounds next summer and meeting some of the guys would be very special for me as well as my wife and children.
As for me, I am now 44 years old and have been married for 18 years and have a 15 year old daughter and a 10 year old son. We live in Calgary, Alberta which was the site of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. It is a beautiful, thriving City of almost 1 million people just an hours drive from the mountains. Many people come here from the UK to go downhill skiing as it is better and less expensive than the Alps. I work for Sun Life Financial in what we call the real estate department. I look after all our commercial buildings in Western Canada.
I have no regrets about moving to Canada but often wish my kids could experience the true meaning of kinship and camaraderie that I experienced in those 5 wonderful years at the Scarborough Boys High School.