Today I walked my son to school for the final day of regular classes at the original Charles Dickens Elementary School. The place is being torn down and replaced with a gorgeous new building which will begin classes after the Victoria Day Long Weekend. After opening in 1913 and seeing countless kids and educators walk the halls, this is actually "it" for the place.
My relationship with the school, and this neighbourhood, actually predates my son's attendance to the school. Back in the '80's I used to ride my bike through the immense green park on my way to rehearsing with a singer/songwriter. I remember just being amazed at the size of the old trees in the park, and how striking the big old red brick school house was. It was a hub of the community then, as it has been throughout its history, and remains to this day. Once I discovered the place I took my future wife and mother of our child on a picnic there. We ate chicken salad with baguette and white wine. We kissed passionately under a tree, fully in love and in the moment, unthinking of the future.
A few years later we were were hired to sing a concert for the kids in the school. It was a treat for us because it was actually close to our regular East Vancouver home, and not way off in Tumbler Ridge as was often the case. We usually had to travel hundreds of klicks to do a gig in those days. Dickens school was so interesting, and old, and welcoming, and positive that we never forgot it. That, coupled with our picnics there, made it a place we thought of when we bought a house. We live where we do today because of our pleasant associations with Dickens School from before we were married.
Our son was born shortly thereafter and has enjoyed spectacular education here, first at the Annex and for the past two years, at the big old Main School. His classroom is upstairs in the old wing of the place that was the original building in 1913. Although his classroom doesn't look much different from the rest of the them, I still like that for it's sense of history. I was walking past the school yesterday and some of my son's classmates waved at me though the high, tall windows. I imagined kids back in 1913, who have since lived full lives and passed away, doing the same thing back when this community was new, sparse and fresh. Honestly, the changes here over the past 95 years are astonishing.
There are politics about removing the historic building and replacing it. The reason is that it has been determined that the old building would not withstand a major earthquake and smart folks realize that one is probably coming. There was strife in the 'hood, and lots of politicking, and in the end I think the new plan for the new school has worked out well. There's an interesting synergy to the the fact that, during the final week of classes at Charles Dickens Elementary, there is dismaying news of an earthquake in China, with at least ten thousand dead, some of whom are kids who were in school that day.
The state-of-the-art eco-building that has been built looks to be beautiful, sustainable and just stunning. The history will be gone, though. Some parents are fighting to save the original school for other uses, and I really wish that could happen. Why is it that the powers that be are so reluctant to accommodate the past along with the future? The fight has been bitter, and looks to be lost, all because of "lack of money". Yet there seem to be plenty of money for the Olympics....
I feel privileged that my wife, my son and myself have been associated with the grand old place. We are part of its history, too, I guess... and will be part of the history of the new Charles Dickens Elementary. Maybe, in about a hundred years, some guy kinda like me will walk by and wave at the kids through the window, and stop to wonder who was there when the place was first opened, and pause to be astonished at how much the community has changed since then.
The pictures above are: the old school through the park, my boy on the steps, and a shot of the near-finished new school.
1 comment:
Well written article.
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