A chance to put together the puzzle pieces of Windsor Park Collegiate

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2011 (5617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The lockers were in that part of the school.

No wait, wasn’t that the band room?

And what about the cafeteria, when was it converted into a weight room?

Hold on a second, there’s a second gymnasium?

As the group of organizers for Windsor Park Collegiate’s 50th anniversary began to chat about their alma mater, one thing became more and more clear: while they all attended the school, their experience of it was influenced by the decade when they walked the halls.

Each of them hold a piece of the puzzle of Windsor Park’s 50 years, and one organizer hopes that every person who attends the celebrations gains a broader knowledge of their school’s history.

“I think it’s important that you celebrate the history of all the decades, because we were only here for three years,” said Brenda Bourns, a graduate of 1986.

As if to prove the point, Carol Rogers (née Muggaberg), who graduated in 1964, shocked her fellow organizers by telling them how she wasn’t allowed to wear pants when she attended Windsor Park.

It was a familiar rule for Janice Hallem (née Gardner), who now lives in St. Vital.

“We had to wear dresses, we couldn’t wear jeans,” she recalled.

That idea is shocking to Bourns and Mike Heilmann, River Park South residents who graduated in 1991.

“Oh my god, I didn’t know that,” exclaimed Bourns, before adding that her generation faced its own rule. “We couldn’t kiss.”

Heilmann is now a vice-principal at Glenlawn Collegiate, and has returned to his alma mater a number of times for work-related visits.

He said he’s shocked at how much the school has changed in 20 years, and hopes others will come out to see how their old school has continued to evolve as well.

“For anyone who came to this school, no matter when they graduated, that walk-through is going to be a blast,” he chuckled, referring to a tour that’s part of the anniversary celebrations.

The festivities include:

• A reunion event at the collegiate on Fri., May 13, with school tours, live music, food and drinks.

• A faculty brunch on Sat., May 14.

• A gala dinner on Sat., May 14 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, followed by a dance.

Rogers, who now resides in Southdale, added the anniversary committee is asking alumni who plan on attending any or all of the events to purchase tickets as soon as possible to ensure the organizers can best plan the events.

Heilmann added at its most simple level, the anniversary is meant to be fun.

“It’s important just to reconnect with people, to see how things have changed.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.wpc50.com or call 256-7316.

arielle.godbout@canstarnews.com