Happy 100th Birthday Hillhurst School!

Hillhurst School, the big sandstone school at the base of the hill south of the Jubilee Auditorium is turning 100 in 1912, along with the Calgary Public Library. Another connection with the Louise Riley Library is that both the school and library were built on Riley land. Ezra Riley sold the land to the school board for $10,000.

Eleanor Garrett wrote a fine history book in 1987 titled Hillhurst School: 1912-1987 for the school’s 75^th anniversary. You can borrow a copy from Louise Riley branch. Her father Charles A. Richardson was the first principal when it opened in 1912. During World War I there were rifle drills for the boys.

Ernest Hilton Stephens, still known as Stevie the janitor also started in 1912. He died in 1928, and children in 2012 are still telling stories about his ghost.

In 1935, Hillhurst became a junior high school. While organizing the 100^th celebration, it was interesting to speak with students from the 1940s. Here is Howard’s memory of learning to drive,

Driver training,courtesy of Alberta Motor Association and home room teacher, was provided to 5 boys.These training sessions were bi-weekly for several weeks. .The car was a 2 door 1936 Chevrolet sedan. It was equipped with a dual controlled clutch which enabled the instructor to assist beginners in operating the clutch smoothly along with gear selection of a standard 3 speed transmission. A milk bottle was often used standing on the floor to establish a smooth motion when starting.

In 1953-1957 Hillhurst became an elementary school, and then a combined elementary and junior high from 1957-1963, and back to just an elementary school from 1963-1967.

Terry, a student in the 1960’s remembers that there were separate playgrounds for the boys and girls, and that they were not allowed to intermingle at recess or gym. The principal Mr. Dibble took the boys out in the yard in June. He would hit balls with a baseball bat and pay them a nickle if they could catch one barehanded! This was also the decade that taxidermy animals are first mentioned in the display cases in the front hallway. Terry remembers owls, a bear, a cougar and a duck.

Here’s a memory from a student who started in 1968.

Some of my favorite memories are when we would sit in the hallway, drag out the old piano and all sing Christmas Carols. I remember the feel of the sheet music and just the camaraderie of everyone. Also, I always looked forward to the Christmas concerts.

Other memories include; playing baseball and the ball slamming into my nose, watching kids dare others to stick their tongues to the fence in winter. One student did this and his tongue got stuck. Had to get the teacher to bring out some hot water!

Having the park so close was a great bonus. I remember taking "field" trips to the park in the summer. And yes, the ghost stories were around even when I was there!

It was in 1964 that the gymnasium was added. In 1973 Erna Penner was the first female principal. In 1977 Hillhurst became a Community School

Robin attended in the 1970s. She remembers, “At Christmas, we all sat in the front foyer every day to sing Christmas carols. So much fun. Such a small group that we didn’t have to go to the gym.” She was taught by Ms. Jacqueline Robbins, one of a pair of actress twins who went on to star in movies and a famous Tom Cochrane video.

Here’s a recollection from Patti, the mother of students who attended in the 1980s:

My children went to Hillhurst Community School (as it was then known) between the years of 1980 and 1992. The word “community” in the name says so much about what I remember, as it truly was a warm, welcoming and wonderful school. As parents we were encouraged to volunteer and participate as much as we were willing and able.

Hillhurst Community School was a small school in the middle of a growing city. It was easy to get to know most of the students, teachers, staff and families. The school was interwoven with other aspects of the community such as childcare facilities, the HSCA community centre, Riley Park and Bowview Pool. Some of the families that I met during that time still pop into my life occasionally. I remember carpooling to the school, events, fieldtrips, extra-curricular events (gymnastics, swimming and soccer in particular). I remember walking with the children up the hill to SAIT for swimming lessons. I remember the end of year picnics in Riley Park when the families spread out on the grass to eat their picnic suppers, to visit and to go for a dip in the wading pool. I remember taking my turn volunteering for the lunch program, before they had paid employees. I remember having a candy-floss table at the Hillhurst/Sunnyside Fall Fair and a bake sale at Safeway. I remember being astounded and delighted by some of the plays and seasonal events in the gymnasium.

One hundred Happy Birthdays to you Hillhurst School! May you have 100’s more children fill your classrooms and hallways with their inquisitive minds, laughter and chatter, and may you continue to help generate well educated community oriented citizens with many fond memories of the time they spent within the walls of your beautiful sandstone building.

Nicolas was a student in the late 1980s. He remembers the taxidermy animals were still there, but they disappeared a while later when his sister attended Hillhurst. His favourite was the golden eagle. His mom made a stuffed mascot of Hooter the owl. He remembers the ballet students practicing in the upstairs auditorium.

Laura attended in the 1990s. Here are some of her memories,

“I remember helping to plan the new playground (it used to be wood and metal with gravel). I got to sit in the staff room and talk to the committee members about what kids liked and recommend pieces from the playground catalogue. Generally I was made to feel very important and special. This is a feeling that I got a lot at Hillhurst. I am incredibly grateful for the cool teachers, the library and librarians, the clubs and beautiful building/ big fields.

I remember so much more... the creepy basement and mudrooms. The science room filled with dead bugs and other specimens. The janitors' office. The 'bladder balls' we used for dodgeball. The worn-in wooden steps all the way to the 3rd floor (I counted once, there are about 75). The fire escapes. Rooftop picture day. The old IBM computers withblack and green screens (we used to fight to play the Tarzan game)

I am happy to report that everyone I know from Hillhurst is doing very well. The majority have or are nearly completed their University degrees, they are all creative and politically engaged, and most importantly, they have an appreciation for nature and the environment that I can't help thinking is, in some part, due to our unique education at Hillhurst. We were lucky enough to attend outdoor school, spend time in Riley Park, and learn about ecology from people like Mr. Smith and Mrs. Hudson.”

One of the popular volunteer programs is grandparent reading, and Hillhurst is fortunate that some of their school grads are volunteer grandparents who have returned to read to the children.

To celebrate the 100 years, the students are painting a historical mural for the outside of the gymnasium under the direction of artists Stan Phelps and Carole Bondaroff. Carole’s mother Francis went to the school in 1936, and is still in touch with two friends she met there.

Hillhurst School is turning 100 years old, along with the Calgary Stampede and Calgary Public Library. We're collecting stories from former students about going to the sandstone school. It has alternately been an elementary and junior high school. Here are some memories...

In the 1980s and 1990s, there were taxidermy stuffed animals in the glass cases at the front door. Where did those animals come from? Where did they go?

When was the owl adopted as a school mascot? For a while the owl was called Hooter, and a local mom made a stuffed mascot. Now the owl is named Hibou.

Did kids always tell stories about Stevie the ghost?

Several students remember Alberta Ballet practicing upstairs in the old auditorium.

A student in the 1960s remembers the principal Mr. Dibble taking the boys out in the yard in June. He would hit balls with a baseball bat and pay them a nickle if they could catch one barehanded!

We have a great book called Hillhurst School: Then and Now which was written for the 75th birthday by Eleanor Garrett. Her father was the first principal at Hillhurst.

Today I noticed the headline on the front page of the Globe and Mail: "What We Talk About When We Talk About Cottages." What grabbed my attention, aside from the fact that such a calm and inward-looking piece should be front page material, was that the "What We Talk About When We Talk About" schtick has become so ubiquitous that a national newspaper could reference it on the front page. The unspoken message seems to be "If you get the Raymond Carver reference you are going to like this article." This seemed an improbable idea to me at first but the more I thought about it the more fascinated I found it to think of the journey this quirky sequence of words has taken in the last three decades. I simply had to explore the question: How has the title of a Raymond Carver collection of short stories published over thirty years ago managed to become a recognizable turn of phrase?

It all began back in 1981 when Raymond Carver, the acknowledged living master of the American short story, (a title which, alas, brings about as much fame and fortune to the one it is bestowed upon as does the title of World's Greatest Fooseball Player) wrote a story called "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." Undoubtedly this would have made no impression on the general public except that the collection in which this story appeared also bore the same name. There is something so good about this title - the rhythm is almost hypnotic and it forces the reader to slow down and really think about the meaning of the sentence: that we are going to get to the truthful heart of the subject that we have, until now, only been talking around. That the subject is love makes it all the more compelling. It is an undeniably great title and one that sticks in the mind for a long time.

Carver wrote in a style often labeled "minimalist" or "realist" or, if you are really into labels, "minimal realism". In short, he has a writer who didn't use two words where one word would suffice and this produced an effect that everything in the story mattered—there is a concentration in the style that demands the concentration of the reader. He was also a remarkably consistent writer—the level of excellence in his early stories was pretty much equal to his later work. You can pick up any of his books and find yourself reading superior fiction. There are no bad Carver books but if you are looking for a place to start why not check out the book we are talking about?

Carver was a critic's darling and his work was much admired by other writers and students who wanted to impress people with the quality of fiction they read (I was just such a student in the 1980's) but he didn't make a deep impression on the general public. His books sold moderately well, but his chosen form—the short story—was terribly out of fashion. It still is. He made a great impression on the generation of writers to follow not only in America but all over the world. One such writer who openly sites Carver as a model is the superstar of world literature Haruki Murakami. At first glance the surrealistic fiction of Murakami bears little resemblance to the realism of Carver, but Murakami was a very impressed with the obvious craftsmanship of Carver's writing. In fact Murakami was such a big fan of Carver that he felt compelled to translate some of his idol's stories into Japanese. In 2008, when Murakami needed to come up with a title for his non-fiction book about running it seemed natural that he should settle upon "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running." The Murakami title not only pays homage to Carver but it hints at the connection between running and writing and this connection is the main theme of the book. In fact you don't have to be a runner at all to enjoy this excellent book.

Last year Nathan Englander released a collection of short stories titled "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank." This title neatly sums up a lot about Nathan Englander; he is both an "intellectual" (hence the Carver allusion) and a smarty pants (hence the way he uses the allusion). Nathan Englander is not afraid to offend and is willing to be controversial to make a point. Not only does he borrow Carver's title, he follows the plot of the Carver story in his own version. In the original Carver story two couples are disscussing the topic of love while drinking gin. As they all get increasingly less inhibited (drunk) they let more and more deeply gaurded thoughts and feelings escape until, inevitably, it goes too far. In the Englander version the two couples are Jews living in Florida and the topic is not love but who among their Christian friends would save them if there was an American Holocaust. I confess I have not read this collection yet but I did read his earlier short story collection, "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges" and can recommend it to anyone who is not easily offended.

Just last month saw the release of a book By Noah Richler called "What We Talk About When We Talk About War." I have not read this book yet, but it seems to me that the title is meant to be completely un-ironic. Like the original Carver title, it is simply meant to imply a "cutting through the bologna" and getting to the heart of the matter. In this case Richler is examining the long held idea that Canadian troops are "peace keepers" rather than "war makers."

This "straight up" use of the Carver title signals that the whole phrase is now part of the common lexicon we all use. Don't be surprised to hear people start saying "What are we talking about when we talk about hockey?" or "books" or "freedom" or just about any topic in which we need to cut through all the noise and get to the truth.

I recently read two popular books about teens with special skills. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender is a fantastical tale of Rose who can taste the emotions of people who prepared the food she eats. This isn’t as enchanting as it sounds, because Rose's mother is unhappy, and all the emotions flood over her daughter. Rose is also trying to figure out the mystery around her brother, who also has an unusual talent.

I read this at the same time as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children which is also about children with magical skills. I preferred the character portrait of a family in Lemon Cake over the more plot driven Unusual Children. ( In fact, I would say a large part of the appeal of Peculiar Children are the accompanying photographs). Underneath the story of fantastical gifts, Lemon Cake is a portrait of a girl being overwhelmed by the world. Watching her learn to cope is a realistic and moving experience.

I should note Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is technically a young adult book. The writing may therefore be of greater appeal to teens. Like many adults, I have been stealing out of the young adult section since they attract such great writers. Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games), Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass) and Libba Bray (Going Bovine) are all amazing fantasy writers worth sneaking into the Teen Zone at Calgary Public Library. Last year my book club read the real world novel Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett, a talented Australian writer for young adults. It was a compelling reminder of the vulnerability of being a teenage girl.

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An Historic look at Hounsfield Heights by Marg McCready

Hounsfield Heights is the NE ¼ of Sec. 20, Township 24, Range 1, West of the 5^th meridian. A Canada Territories Certificate of Ownership for this piece was issued on 7 Oct. 1889 to Eva MacKay Sutherland, wife of Robert. She sold it to George Alexander, Barrister and Henry B. Alexander, rancher on 12 July, 1890. It was purchased by Georgiana Jane Hounsfield Riley on 8 July 1902 and annexed by the city in 1910.

When Georgiana died Jan. 4, 1907 she left this property to her sons. According to the 1912 tax roles the property was owned by Newcombe Limited, Real Estate, FarmLands, and City Property. Presumably the lot plan for the area was laid out by them.

In 1912 the land between 16 Street and 19 Street in Hillhurst was prairie. The trails across the prairie converged on 17 St as this was the only road up the hill to the farm houses beyond. Once up the hill there was nothing but rolling prairie. The wind must have been terrific at times. Wind breaks would have been a must.

On June 10, 1910 ‘The Morning Albertan’ featured the headline “HounsfieldHeights; all view lots – an ideal location for an ideal home. Prices quoted were $800 to $1000 for a 50 foot lot – very high prices for the time.

You could go up the hill on Morleyville Trail (10 Street) or 17 Street. The road on 14 Street only went as far as 10^th Avenue. Seventeenth St. and 14St. had board sidewalks. Obviously access was very limited and that partially explains the lull in development after the initial 11 houses were built. Another part of the explanation would have been the “bust” which began in 1912 and the economy really didn’t recover until after the second world war. There was one house built in 1920 and only a few over the next 20 years. By the late 40’s development was quite rapid. I don’t imagine there were many cars in the area in 1912 but you will see evidence that possibly horses were kept by some people. Many of the residents such as Alexander Calhoun were great walkers. For many years Ralph McCready walked from 16A St. toMount RoyalCollege at 7 Ave. & 11St. West.

After WW2 the City ofCalgary, to help ease the housing shortage and protect servicemen from speculators, introduced a plan to sell individual lots for half price providing a start was made on a dwelling with a year. This may have been the impetuous for building to start again in HounsfieldHeights. I know of several families who took advantage of this help.

As late as 1951 when I moved into Hounsfield Heights 19 Street did not go down the hill. The only public transportation was on 10 Street or 5^th Avenue. The nearest grocery store was Jenkins on the corner of 14 St and 20 Ave. The local children went to theUniversity Demonstration School which was at SAIT and every spring there was a regular creek running down the east side of 14 St. Some father would go out and put boards across so the kids could cross safely on their way to and from school. I did not go to UDS because classes sizes were limited, I went to Hillhurst Junior High. Some of the neighbours would pick me up on the way home for lunch which I greatly appreciated. It was quite difficult hiking up the hill twice a day in the winter. Going down was easy. Winter driving got quite exciting at times. I remember once the only way my Dad could get home was up Center Street and then across 16 Ave.

Between 15 St and 16 St, north of 13 Avenue there was a natural slough which the Dads of the area decided would make a good skating rink. The city co-operated with a street light, power and water for flooding. The Dads also built a hut where we could put our skates on. In February of 1952 we had a skating carnival with prizes for best costume and hot dogs. It was a wonderful day.

In 1951 improvements like curbs and gutters, sidewalks, grading and gravelling of roads began. The assessment charge for a 62.5 foot lot was: curb and gutter $19.90 / year, concrete sidewalk $33.48 per year, Grading and gravelling $12.00 per year. The tax bill in 1952 was city and school taxes $53.75, local improvement and special tax $88.41 per year for a total of $242.16.

I am amazed that across the street from my home, virtually the centre of the city, there is virgin prairie. The hillside has many underground springs. Many years ago a basement was dug on 17A St part way up the hill and it immediately filled with water. As children this provided us with endless fun, catching tadpoles etc. and in the winter it made tobogganing pretty exciting if you didn’t steer properly. Crocuses and shooting stars were abundant. Some people kept horses in the field during the clement months. The community has guarded this area zealously over the years and it is now dedicated parkland. My grandchildren are the 3^rd generation of McCreadys to hike through this prairie to go to Queen Elizabeth School.

The nearest library in 1951 was on Kensington Road where Pages Book Store is. A favourite Saturday activity was to go as a group to exchange our books. We roamed the prairie trapping gophers and making up all sorts of imaginative games. We played Kick the Can, Hide and Seek and anything else that kept us active from sunup to sundown. No worries about obese children in those days.

The Polio epidemics in the 50’s were very trying times. Movie theatres were closed, swimming pools were closed but we had the prairie isolated from the crowds. Dr. Willard Allen and Dr. Huxley Johnson Jr. both contracted the terrible disease. Sadly Dr. Johnson did not recover.

The Hounsfield Heights Community Association was founded in 1949. In 1952 it joined with an interested group from Briar Hill to form the Hounsfield Heights-Briar Hill Community Association which was incorporated in 1953. A community hall was built in 1956.

By Laurie Schut

I attended the reading at Central Library last week of The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam. I didn’t know what to expect, I hadn’t read the book, (gulp) and had only heard that he’d won the Scotia Bank’s Giller Prize in 2006 for Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, a book of short stories. I found out he’s a medical doctor to boot. This was… daunting. And all before he’d even stepped to the podium to read.

He began by reading a difficult passage about the Vietnam War, prefacing it with a short but comprehensive history of the occupation of Vietnam for thousands of years. He then talked a little about the merchant class in Vietnam, being Chinese Vietnamese. As he said drily, “Being a merchant is not easy when a communist regime takes power.” We are ready to hear about … torture.

I had to look away several times as he described a scene that was as hair-raising as it was dry. This is a taut psychological thriller, no doubt about it, but it is also a lesson in history. Many of the ‘facts’ of the novel were expertly researched and provided the background of it. While the facts don’t drive the novel, they certainly pin it within a certain time and place. Lam made sure to make that clear.

In fact, in the question and answer, he told us that he’d written the novel a number of times, trying to ‘get it right’. Third person, then first person, then back to third person once he was sure that he’d got the story going. He said, that aside from having to cast away 1000 pages, he knew the story was finally going well when he could ask the characters, or the story, just what it needed to do next. That sounded rather… spooky.

You will probably like this novel and also will probably learn a lot about the time of the war. Just be warned… torture is never easy.

As you may have heard, Maurice Sendak passed away today.

Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are was one of my most treasured books as a child. Chances are it was one of yours too. Nearly everyone I know remembers reading it - again and again - as a child. Next year will mark fifty years since the book's original publication, and I would guess it has probably sold more copies in the past half century than any other childrens book, including those of Dr.Suess. What made this book so captivating to such a wide audience? Perhaps because it was so different from all the other picture books; the story seems to have actually been written in a way that makes sense to children, rather than trying to force children to see the world as adults see it. Max behaves badly (threatening to eat his mom up) and is punished, but is not sorry for what he has done. In fact he runs away - at least in his imagination. The important thing is that he comes back and that when he does, his dinner is still warm.

So goodbye Mr.Sendak and thank you. Your work touched the wild thing inside millions of children, including me, and made us feel understood.

RILEY LIBRARY ADULT

Book of the Month

The Sentimentalists, by Johanna Skibsrud

Haunted by the vivid horrors of the Vietnam War,
exhausted from years spent battling his memories,
Napoleon Haskell leaves his North Dakota trailer and
moves to Canada. He retreats to a small Ontario
town where Henry, the father of his fallen Vietnam
comrade, has a home on the shore of a man-made lake.

Winner of the Giller Prize.