Memory Lane was well travelled Friday night, when nurses gathered to celebrate the class of 1968.
Every year, the Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital (OSMH) Nurses Alumnae honours the graduating class from 50 years earlier. Eight of the 14 graduates of the former Orillia School of Nursing from 1968 were in attendance for the event at the Best Western Plus Mariposa Inn and Conference Centre, including Caron Harrison.
“It was absolutely wonderful — something to be very proud of,” Harrison said of being a graduate of the Orillia School of Nursing.
The annual event is important because “it keeps us connected,” she said.
“I haven’t seen some of these girls in 50 years.”
One of those “girls” was Cindy (Evers) Graham, who taught the class of ’68.
“Nobody impacts your life like a teacher, and no one impacts a teacher’s life like a student,” Graham said. “What a heartwarming experience it is to reconnect.”
After dinner, each of the eight nurses who graduated in 1968 gave a brief update of what they’ve been up to in the past 50 years. Some stuck with nursing until they retired, while others, like Linda Lee, took a different path.
After graduation, Lee worked at the Huronia Regional Centre and was director of care at a nursing home before getting into real estate. She then went into business, running a Curves franchise, then Little Caesars.
Marilyn (Denning) Austin worked in labour and delivery in Mississauga after graduating.
“I think we were having more babies there in the late ’60s than they were in downtown Toronto,” she said.
She then worked in orthopedics and spent the remainder of her career in Brampton, until retiring in 2009.
While the class of ’68 was the centre of attention Friday night, OSMH Nurses Alumnae past president Sylvia Cole turned the spotlight on Evelyn Reid, who will turn 100 in October.
Reid graduated from the nursing school in 1941 and has been active in the Nurses Alumnae ever since.
Born in the former Medonte Township, Reid “was a hard-working child, as farmers’ children were,” Cole explained.
Reid is still active in the Eady community and is a volunteer with seven organizations.
“She has dedicated her abilities to family, nursing and community,” Cole said. “She has always cared about her neighbours.”
Following that presentation, retired OSMH surgeon Chris Decker took attendees on a sort of virtual tour of the hospital, with photos from its inception to the present.
Other members of the class of ’68 who were in attendance included Gail Burns, Marg Furzecott, Mary Lee MacMillan, Lorna McDonald and Glenna Patterson.
The OSMH Nurses Alumnae will celebrate the class of 1969 next year. Graduates from that year are encouraged to contact Glenna Tinney at 705-835-6711 or [email protected].
