July 5, 2022

Winnipeg
19° C, Partly cloudy

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • Reader BridgeNEW
  • WFP EventsNEW
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Free Press Community Review
    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • LifestylesNEW
    • All Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photo and Book store
  • More

©2022 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Federal Election
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photo and Book store
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Support Faith coverage
    • Support Arts coverage
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • Community Review East
    • Community Review West

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Free Press Community Review News
    • East Edition
    • West Edition
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
The Free Press
Articles Read
Your Balance +tax
Day Pass Till
Day Pass
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Report an Error
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
    • Staff Biographies
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • Log in
    • Create Account
    • Help
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
    • My Account
    • Manage My Subscription
    • Change Password
    • Chat with us

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
Log in Create Account Contact Us
Contact Us Manage Subscription
  • Sections
  • Local
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Diversions
    • Environment
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Health
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
    • Manitoba's Top Employers
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Soccer
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • E-Edition
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Automotive
    • Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Merchandise
    • Pets
    • Real Estate
    • Rentals
    • Services
  • Lifestyles
    • Business Hub
    • Community
    • Drink & Dine
    • Life
    • Manitoba’s Top Employers
    • Wellness
    • Whiskers & Wings
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print
    • Ripley's Aquariums
    • The Bay
    • Staples Canada
    • Altitude Sports
    • Nike
    • Tuango
    • Ebay Canada
    • Sport Chek
    • Roots
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe$1.50 for 5 months
Home Local

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Two special grads, one common, important theme

Posted: 1:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Jun. 29, 2010

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Save to Read Later

There's an emotion unique to high school graduation ceremonies, at least there is in my experience.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/6/2010 (4389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Burton Cummings with school photo montage.

RUTH.BONNEVILLE@FREEPRESS.MB.CA

Burton Cummings with school photo montage.

There's an emotion unique to high school graduation ceremonies, at least there is in my experience.

It's the hat-throwing joy of accomplishment, muted by shades of sadness for what's passed, and then mixed with hope and fear of the future.

But Monday at the St. John's High School convocation, there were two grads -- one of them of the honorary variety for those who have already lived that hopeful, fearful future.

Their experience involves a different kind of emotion.

For both Burton Cummings, the famed rocker, and Mike McKay, the obscure army sergeant, it was the feeling evoked by looking back at the crossroads in their lives, and a path well-chosen.

Even if it didn't involve finishing high school.

 

-- -- --

There were 97 grads on the 100th anniversary of St. John's High, 98 if you count the Burton Cummings honorary diploma.

But 45 years after dropping out of St. John's, it was Cummings who brought the media pack to Pantages.

"Wow," Burton started. "This is tremendous."

Then he offered congratulations to the kids in the crowd, who like him, were wearing the black gowns with the V-shaped white fronts. The real stars of the show, as it were.

"They actually passed the exams," the 62-year-old former frontman for the Guess Who added. "I didn't."

Later, backstage, he shared in more detail why he dropped out.

Burton Cummings and Sgt. Mike McKay with degrees Monday.

RUTH.BONNEVILLE@FREEPRESS.MB.CA

Burton Cummings and Sgt. Mike McKay with degrees Monday.

How, just before he turned 17, the principal, Mr. Rykman, told Burton he couldn't sing the following year in The Pirates of Penzance because his grades were so poor.

Burton's self-created major in high school was singing in the operettas.

"I was heartbroken and it was enough impetus to make me leave school."

In retrospect, Burton considers the principal did him a huge favour.

"Because the Guess Who would never have asked me to leave school to join their band."

"My life would have been completely different. They would have got a different lead singer had I stayed in school that last year. Sure I would have gotten to do Pirates of Penzance but I might not have 20 gold records."

Sgt. Mike McKay's story was the same, but different.

McKay, like Cummings, already knew what he wanted to do when he dropped out of St. John's back in the late 1980s.

Before then even.

"I grew up in the all-too-typical North End home," McKay told his much younger fellow grads. "My family was very, very poor and we had all the problems associated with that."

McKay described where his walk to school started each day.

"I was actually walking down a very bad path. Without getting into great detail, I wasn't actually the most model student."

"I wouldn't say I was in a gang," McKay told me later. "But I would say I was well on my way."

And he was only 12.

"But I was lucky," he told audience. "I had one escape."

His parents, particularly his mother, forced him to join the army cadets.

By 15 he had decided he wanted to join the army when he finished school.

He didn't finish, though.

He was one credit short of his high school degree when he enlisted.

Then one day, years later, on his second tour of Afghanistan he had an epiphany of sorts.

"We had just finished being engaged by the insurgents. And we were conducting an after-action review."

McKay grabbed a coffee and began going over his notes to see if he had missed anything.

He had. That one credit. He began thinking about how the young soldiers under his command, some of them fresh out of high school, would talk about their high school years and where they graduated. McKay was embarrassed. He wouldn't say anything.

"I could blame it on economics," he told the audience. "I could blame it on a lot of things. But I knew deep inside that it was none of that. There's only one thing I could blame it on. That was me."

He decided right then he would return to St. John's and graduate.

"I wanted to finish what I started so many years earlier."

What he didn't know then was he was already eligible for a credit -- his one missing credit -- because of some of the courses he took in the army.

The Free Press | Newsletter

Winnipeg Gardener

What you need to know now about gardening in Winnipeg. A monthly email from the Free Press with advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing.

Sign up for Winnipeg Gardener
Sign Up

"Finish what you start," was his message to the Class of 2010.

There's another lesson in all of this.

Yes, education is important, especially today. But education can be obtained at any age and any stage.

There's nothing more important than doing what you love to do.

Nothing.

gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund
  • The Free Press is certified by

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Advertisement

Advertise With Us

Top