Klaas Vander Baaren has added a new comment at “Cartierville School in Montreal”

Klaas Vander Baaren has added a new comment at Cartierville School in Montreal.

By way of bringing your attention to his comment, I’m posting it as a separate post.

In the process, I’ve added spacing between the paragraphs and have corrected the spelling for Morison. I learned some time back that the correct spelling is with one “R.”

Klaas Vander Baaren wrote:

Wow,

I’m glad didn’t gather my thoughts until now. All the previous comments triggered more memories so I can be a little more detailed and literate with my memories.

Yvonne,
I definitely have a Dutch name. I was born in Utrecht.

Ian,
I believe we were in the same class for grades 2 – 4. I recognize the teachers‘ names. Mr. Lawrence is someone I also remember though not well. And Mrs. Finlayson. I managed to get into enough trouble that I received the strap from her each year. I remember her crying as she dealt out the punishment my last year.

My time in Cartierville School started after we moved from Ahuntsic to 8th Avenue in Roxboro. Fred, we no doubt shared the exciting bus rides to school. The three memorable things I remember about the bus:

– If the snow was deep enough, the bus would get stuck on 8th Avenue since it was rarely plowed and we would get the day(s) off.

– One day the bus slide through the intersection of Somerset and Gouin Blvd and broad-sided the bus. No serious injuries.

– If you were late for the bus, it was gone and you would hitch-hike home. I remember doing it a number of times without incident. I can just see a school allowing that today.

I finished elementary school at Morison School when we moved from Roxboro to 2 blocks from the school. From there we moved to Barnes Street at the top of Somerset. Couldn’t get away from the area. That’s where we lived through my time at MCHS. More about my life in the autobiographies for the reunion.

Mr. Carswell,
I am so glad you put in a reply. Our connections are numerous. First, the Katiens. That’s where we first connected, at one of their parties where Paul Jr. and us kids ended up in the games room. Do you have any contact with Paul?

Then there was the Birks connection. My mother was a real estate agent for many of the Birks executives moving to Montreal. All though you parent’s connection with her through the Katiens. And your dad was instrumental in getting my wife Nancy her first job, at Birks in the back office, after we graduated from Acadia and moved back to Montreal. Please get in touch with me at Klaas@vanderbaaren.com. I just visited mom for her 94 birthday 2 weeks ago in Morrisburg, ON.

Hope to see all of you in 11 months.

[End of text from Klaas Vander Baaren]