A CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE
Broadview Avenue Public School welcomes former staff and students on April 28
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Email stories and photos to upbeat@ottawacitizen.com, attention Up Beat, and include a phone number. Broadview Avenue Public School has welcomed students through its doors for 100 years — a century of learning and connections.
Former staff and students are invited to celebrate Broadview’s centennial on Thursday, April 28, from 12:30 p.m. until 2. Tour the school, visit a historical display and experience the vibrant arts scene at Broadview.
Broadview (or Broadway, as it was originally called), first opened its doors in 1914, but was soon destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in 1916, and again in 1927, after a second fire. Additions to the school were built in 1948, 1951 and 1957.
Huge elm trees divided the schoolyard in earlier days.
“So many recesses were spent playing around those trees,” recalls Christopher Sharpe, an alumnus from the 1950s. Returning to Ottawa as an adult, Sharpe spoke of “the nostalgia that washed over me when I’d sit down on the exposed roots … and wonder where all those years had gone.”
The youngest students played on the asphalt — now the parking lot near Nepean High School. Fran Kesler, a student in the ’60s, recalls, “I played on the asphalt as a student, then parked my car on that same asphalt in the ’80s, when I returned as a teacher.”
Until the early ’80s, girls and boys used different entrances, and had separate classes for physical education. That didn’t stop Elizabeth Harris and her friends from scratching at the painted windows by the Nepean High School gym during recess for a glimpse into the boys’ change room. Elizabeth Liberty (née Peddie) — an alumna from the ’50s — remembers the exciting times when “the boys were proficient enough to join us for square dancing.”
Separated classes for many subjects didn’t stop Peter Charboneau from meeting his future wife at Broadview, in Grade 7, in 1958.
“Seated behind me,” recounts Charboneau, “was Mary Weeks. One day, Mrs. Armstrong asked us what we would like to be when we grew up. … I wanted to be a veterinarian. Mary was crestfallen as that was going to be her answer. … In Grade 8 we sat beside each other and dated all through high school. We were married in 1969 and have remained so for 46 years.”
Their three children attended Broadview — a common occurrence in this close-knit community.
Bill Luxton, a well-known actor and local television personality, and his wife, Toots, saw three generations through the doors of Broadview — children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Treasured volunteers during the ’80s, Bill read to kindergarten and primary classes, often arriving in costume, while Toots sewed costumes for Broadview’s musicals.
Connections between school and community deepened in the ’90s, with increasing roles for volunteers in the classroom. Jean Abra — “Grandma Jean” to everyone at Broadview — was a “grandparent in the classroom,” reading with students, baking bread and sharing anecdotes about Westboro’s history. Her father-in-law, William James Abra, was the architect for the 1927 addition to Broadview.
Now 93, she still meets people in the neighbourhood who call her Grandma Jean and remember when she brought her dog to visit, to the delight of the children.
“I would sneak in the door and hurry down the stairs with the dog,” recalls Abra. “On the way out, the kids would check that the coast was clear.”
Sheila Gibson, a classroom teacher who worked with Jean, spoke of her importance. ” She contributed so much. … She was a friend to us all.”
A strong teaching staff is part of Broadview’s history. Alumni spoke of Miss Whelan, who not only taught English, but was the school’s secretary in the ’50s. Her classroom was next to the office, in case she had to answer the telephone. Elizabeth Liberty remembers Miss McKenzie’s art class.
“If you missed the field trip to the National Gallery, you had to make it up on your own time, during the weekend.” Elizabeth Harris, a student of the same era, reminisced, “I still think of her art appreciation class every time I visit the gallery.”
Much has changed in the past 100 years. Brenda Joe-Packman, who spent her teaching career at Broadview, remembers taking her class on field trips with no more than verbal consent from the office. Today, concern for liability requires paperwork to walk down the street. In the 1950s and early ’60s, safety drills at Broadview were “duck and cover” practice, in preparation for a nuclear attack. Today, Broadview students practise safety drills for fire and the presence of intruders.
Despite these changes, there is a constant thread of community, of high standards and of caring at Broadview Avenue Public School that has endured for a century.
Follow us on Facebook (www. facebook.com/BroadviewPS) for details of our centennial celebrations.