Farewell to George Vanier Public School
Well, George Vanier Public School is no more. The Demolition crew moved in this morning and by nightfall, the entire old school was nothing but twisted steel, concrete rubble, and broken glass.. I previously photographed and posted about the last “official” day of school at GVPS a year ago. Just as a side note, Mrs. Grace Murray, who was in the photos, passed away shortly after the images were made.
It was interesting and touching to see how many people actually parked along the side of the street, and some even with lawn chairs, paused to watch the passing of a bit of our history. I have recently been reading Frances Mayes Every Day in Tuscany . In it she talks of coming across ancient Roman ruins in her walks through the mountainous countryside. Well, future generations will have no such luck around here. When we demolish something, it’s DEMOLISHED! So in my own little way, I have tried to capture a bit of our history, as it existed… and as it exited. Many of you will have fond memories of GVPS, our own daughter included.
Garth
4 Responses to “Farewell to George Vanier Public School”
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we are the farewell gang sitting in the lawn chairs, KIARAand JENNY were captivated to see their old school being demolished, they commented as to who’s class room came down and different aspects of the demolision, saw a wall clock swingingfrom a steel beam, we were there till they went for lunch and it was breakfast for us. our heartfelt THANKS to u Garth for sharing ur photos Lillian, Darlene, Donna, Kiara Jenny and Ally in the van, dog Sisu!!!!!!!!!! THANKS AGAIN
You can see some interior photos and more demolition photos here
http://www.ontarioabandonedplaces.com/upload/wiki.asp?entry=1725
wow…I had no idea that George Vanier P.S. was even set to close, let alone be demolished. I actually got a bit choked up and a flood of memories came swirling into my brain as I viewed your photos. I remember I came into the town of Lively one day for a doctor’s appointment. Once the appointment had finished, I thought it would be interesting to pop over to where I once went to school, a new girl in town way back then. George Vanier P.S. saw me arrive as a nervous and shy girl of Grade 5 and leave as a teenager ready to embark on new journies at Lively District Secondary School. I remember walking around the halls, noticing how small everything that used to seem so large now seemed to be. Even the stair well in the very middle of the front of the school seemed demure now. Thank you for sharing these photos. It made me remember a lot of good times that I had put away on the shelves of my mind. What a surreal feeling to know I can never take my future children to see the school that their mommy used to go attend. Ah, such is life.
I went to this school from 1962-70. Sorry to see it go.