Forty-three years after Shawville’s Victoria Avenue High School (VAHS) closed, nearly 200 former students gathered to celebrate the short-lived but long-loved school.
The event – the first and likely the last all-class reunion for the school – held at the Shawville Agricultural Hall on Saturday evening, was open to anyone who attended VAHS during its 13-year run from 1969 to 1982.
Originally built in 1913, the building at 183 Victoria Avenue served as both an elementary and high school, until the classrooms overflowed. In 1952, younger students were moved to the newly built Dr. S.E. McDowell Elementary and older students migrated to Pontiac Protestant High School.
In 1969, the school was officially designated Victoria Avenue High School under the English Catholic School Board. The bell at 183 Victoria Ave rang for the last time in 1982, when the building was sold to the Shawville Apartments Committee and turned into senior apartments in 1985, which are still open today.
On Saturday evening retro cars set a nostalgic tone for people arriving at the agricultural hall, while inside, attendees wearing name tags reconnected with classmates, some for the first time in over four decades.
“I feel like I don’t know anyone, but once I see their face, I realize I actually do,” said alumnus Mary-Lou Sanftenberg. She had moved away from the area with the military, but has since returned to live in the Pontiac.
The VAHS reunion committee, formed to organize this event, started planning the day well over a year ago. Shawn Hill, the president of the committee, said it was Patricia Mercer who planted the seed to have a reunion, a seed the committee put in the work to grow.
“It just felt right,” said Cecile Dumont, vice-president of the committee when asked why a reunion should take place now.
“We aren’t getting any younger,” she said, mentioning how this will likely be the last reunion for the school.
The reunion featured a slide show to commemorate VAHS alumni who have passed away, door prizes donated by the community, a catered dinner, and many hugs and stories shared between old friends.
When asked about some highlight memories from his time at the school, the evening’s emcee David Godmere recalled with fondness how the school’s gymnasium – the Shawville arena would often carry leftover smells from the Shawville Fair during the first few weeks of school in September.
“We didn’t have much but we had a lot of spirit,” said Dumont.
One element of the high school many were eager to share was their fondness for their teachers, some of whom were in attendance.
“We were very lucky,” Dumont said, noting how after 43 years, the dedication of their teachers remains at the forefront of their memories.
Godmere said he felt it was great to get everybody back together for the reunion.
“Everyone here has something in common,” he said. “We all share the same roots.”
