The Citizen, 2016-05-12, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2016.
Walton's `McGavin' school subject of July reunion
Time to reunite
The McGavin school, which used to be known as U.S.S. #11 Morris Township, will be at the
centre of a July reunion of former classmates, teachers and local historians. The event is set
for July 16 at the Walton Community Hall, but the school will be open for tours that day. (Shawn
Loughlin photo)
Jesus' good life is ours too
Continued from page 12
Bible, God gives us all the wisdom
we need to live in obedience to Him
and to receive His blessings. But the
story of the Bible is that none of us
has done this perfectly. We have
been foolish, we have failed to
believe God, we have disobeyed
God, and we have brought upon our-
selves the consequences of our sin.
As Proverbs 8:36 says, "we have
injured ourselves, and have brought
death (punishment) upon ourselves"
from God.
So where does the contentment,
joy and happiness come in? Where
is the peace in our hearts that we all
long for? It comes from knowing
Jesus as our Saviour. The Bible
teaches that Jesus embodies true
wisdom. In other words Jesus
always obeyed. All of His decisions
were informed by perfect wisdom
and not once did He ever do some-
thing that was contrary to God's wis-
dom. As a result He also attained all
the blessings of God. It is through
faith in Jesus, that God will also
bless us. He will bless us now with
peace and joy and contentment in
our hearts, and in the next life
with all the blessings of His inheri-
tance.
What about all the things that we
did that were contrary to God's wis-
dom? What about our sin that has
brought so much sorrow or, as
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Proverbs puts it, `injury' into our
lives? The sin that we have all com-
mitted in not trusting God and not
obeying has separated us from God.
The Scriptures teach us that Jesus
has also borne this on our behalf if
we trust in Him. Jesus has come to
be both our wisdom and our redemp-
tion (payment for sin) and by trust-
ing in Him, His 'good life' becomes
ours. The result is peace, joy, con-
tentment, and happiness now, and in
the age to come a great inheritance
with Him in heaven.
1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "Christ
Jesus became to us wisdom from
God, righteousness and sanctifica-
tion and redemption."
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Former pupils of the "old" Walton
School are planning to reunite this
summer and they want to bring as
many people to the hamlet as possi-
ble that day.
A group of former students of the
school, formally known as U.S.S.
#11 Morris Township, is spearhead-
ing the initiative after a makeshift
reunion last year went so well they
decided they had to have another.
Scheduled for Saturday, July 16 at
the Walton Community Hall, the
event welcomes all former students
from the school as well as communi-
ty members or anyone with an inter-
est in local history.
While the reunion will be held at
the hall, the school, which is now
part of McGavin's Farm Equipment
in the north end of Walton, will be
open for tours that day.
The group, which consists of Anne
Sills, Janet Webster, Linda
Gingerich, Graeme Craig and
Wenda Humphries, is hoping that
former students will come forward
and aim to make the trip back to
Walton for the special event, bring-
ing with them any historical items or
photographs they might have.
The school was built in 1907 and
closed in 1962, when students were
moved over to what would become
Walton Public School, which is now
also closed.
The idea for a reunion began last
year when Webster collected a group
of about 15 former students in
Bayfield. It was the first time in 40
years that many of them had been
together and she says it was a great
time reminiscing and catching up
with all of that time now passed.
Two of the school's former teach-
ers are also hoping to attend,
Humphries said, which is exciting
for organizers. Marjory Humphries
and Janis Vodden both taught at the
school and are planning to attend.
Craig said that at any given time
there would be between 35 and 40
students in the one -room school,
although others think it was closer to
22 students per year.
In those years, Craig said, an
emphasis was put on skills like read-
ing, writing and math and many of
the teachers focused on ensuring
that students knew the basics before
moving on to more complicated sub-
jects.
There were also plenty of fun
times away from the school's learn-
ing environment. The group remem-
bers school trips to London or
Penetanguishene and the hijinks
they'd get up to at recess, whether it
was ice-skating on the pond out back
of the school or Craig chasing other
students around with a snake.
Humphries says the school was
also a beacon for the community
back then, hosting Christmas con-
certs and Halloween parties, to
which everyone was welcome, not
just students and their parents.
Craig said that while schooling
now is different, it isn't necessarily
better or worse. He will say, howev-
er, that a lot of qualified and suc-
cessful graduates came out of that
one -room school.
Anyone planning on attending or
who might know a former student is
encouraged to spread the word so
that the reunion might be as well
attended as possible.
Registration for the event will be
at 11 a.m. on July 16, with lunch to
follow at noon. Donations to cover
costs will be accepted.
For more information or to RSVP
(the deadline is June 16), call Janet
(Shortreed) Webster at 519-565-
2353 or Linda (Travis) Gingerich at
519-204-2592.
Looking for local heroes
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so much to improve their community.
Now you have a chance to say thanks.
Nominate that special person for the 31st
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and Brussels and area communities to receive an award for contribution to the communi-
ty. If you know someone you think should be honoured, please fill in the ballot and send
it in. You may attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee should win, if
you like. If you have nominated someone before and he or she didn't win, please feel free
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Nomination Deadline July 31, 2016.
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