Luella Noble recently celebrated a very special graduation ceremony.
The Boissevain native was in Brandon on June 13 to visit Lorna Workman. They are two-thirds of the surviving class of nurses of 1945 in what Noble said will be their last reunion.
“We probably started having them about 20 years after, because some of them were working,” Noble stated. “It was really after they retired we started doing the anniversaries. We did them every five years.”
Noble (nee Patterson) said she originally applied for teacher’s training after finishing high school in Boissevain, but when she was turned down there, she switched over to nursing. She was accepted into the training in Brandon General Hospital on her 18th birthday, a week behind some of her classmates. Her schooling began in 1942, for three years of training.
All graduating classes build memories that last a lifetime. The Boissevain Class of 2020 is no different. What is unique is not what they have built for themselves, but what the world has built for them.
What would have been just another graduating class, smaller than many, became the COVID Class. Due to a worldwide coronavirus pandemic, schools in Manitoba were shuttered in March to try to stem the spread. Originally, no one knew for sure how long the schools would be closed, but in the meantime, students went on spring break and remained home while being taught in a remote-learning situation. It was unprecedented, and left June graduation ceremonies up in the air.
As the province continues opening up from the coronavirus, golfers are hitting the links and enjoying more optimism and better weather.
When the world, including Manitoba, was in the middle of the COVID-19 shutdown, many events and activities were under the gun, unsure of what would happen. Golfing was among them. However, courses were able to open as of May 4 with quite a few restrictions. Boissevain Golf Club duly opened on May 11 for members-only, with no sit-down meals at the clubhouse and a host of other social distancing and hygienic restrictions. Over time, with the province starting Phase II of reopening, restrictions were further eased, although still exist. According to Peter Neufeld, club co-president, everything is running smoothly.
The Class of 2020 will indeed be able to have a graduation ceremony in June, albeit with a few changes.
Allowing the students graduating this spring an opportunity to celebrate their achievement and say goodbye to their school has been a major concern since the middle of March. The coronavirus pandemic shut the schools down prior to spring break, with distance learning replacing traditional classrooms. As the months wore on, and some restrictions began being lifted, as the worst seemed to pass, there were still questions regarding graduation. Social distancing rules and the inability to have large crowds together made many wonder exactly what would happen for grads, and when. This was true for those involved in Boissevain School, as explained by Vice-Principal Allan Hicks.
