When I read some of the comments about life at Feller in the 60's and reflected back on my time at Feller from 54-56, I felt that we were just as high spirited in the 50's, united against the teachers and preoccupied with the opposite sex. We had good times, some grief, lots of laughs and a very mixed bag of teachers. Some only lasted a year, if that and you wondered where in the world they had come from, while other teachers left a more lingering and positive impact. It was a most unique and unforgettable experience. Here are some things I remember about some of the teachers with more stories to follow shortly.
however he had a penchant for clutching and caressing the hands of his female students. I found this habit more and more offensive so decided to skip his classes and hide in the girls' washroom while my classmates told him I was too sick to attend classes. At meal times, I'd slouch down in my chair, hoping he wouldn't see me and was quite successful for several days until he caught up with me in the dining room, noting that my health had obviously improved. When I didn't reappear in class the next day, he managed to worm my whereabouts from the class and sent someone to get me.
He and I had a showdown in Mr. Boisvert's office with my parents on the other end of the phone. Mr. Bragatto was told to keep his hands to himself and I was allowed to drop Latin at the end of the year. He didn't come back the next year.
In Grade 11 (55-56) the girls would distract him while the guys cooked up stink bombs at the back of the room and then we'd have to vacate in a hurry. We'd feel so contrite when we saw him shaking and trembling with anger, then we'd do it again, another time. I didn't have a clue what was going on in Chemistry, so I used to copy all my boyfriend's work, including answers on exams and Mr. Cram never noticed. I may actually owe Mr. Cram a debt of gratitude for a strange turn of events that year. We had to write Provincial Exams in grade 11 that were sent directly to the Department of Education. I obviously was not going to do well in his subjects as the exam setting was very formal and we were spaced well apart and monitored by a couple of teachers. Mysteriously, (I still wonder if Mr. Cram
was responsible) the final papers for Chemistry and Algebra disappeared on their way to the department of Education and the Ministry decided that they would accept our Feller marks, lowered by 10 points, and with that miracle, I was accepted at Macdonald College and went on to have a long teaching career.
Mrs. Boisvert ran a tight ship in her
French classes, making us all toe the
line and it was wise not to
cross or provoke her. I didn't do my
homework one day and was subjected
to total humiliation by her in front of
my classmates followed by a week of doing my homework
in her pantry. Guess I was lucky because that was
where she strapped the boys. Anyhow, to avoid further
confrontation, I worked hard at French from then
on and thanks to Mrs. Boisvert, it served me well when
I later taught Core French and French Immersion.
In 1954-1955, a group of Feller
students met at the bus terminal in Montreal at the end of a long holiday
weekend ( possibly Thanksgiving) to take the bus back to the school. Some
students did take the scheduled bus back to Feller, however a group of
us thought that it was too soon to return, so after determining that there
was a later bus with connections to Grande Ligne, a group of between 15-20
students opted to take advantage of the situation. I remember walking
around the city and think we went to a movie. What I do remember vividly
is that we arrived back at Feller quite late in the evening, after lights
out. The school was dark except for a light at the front door. We tried
to enter by one of the other doors but found all the doors locked except
the main door. We fell silent as we headed towards the main entrance, hoping
to be able to sneak in undetected, however we were
shocked to find both Mr. Boisvert and
Mrs. Brouillet guarding the door, armed with paper and pencils. They made
us enter single file and as each student passed by, they diligently wrote
down our names. Our claim of having missed the bus had little effect. The
next day we were all suspended for a week only this time, our parents had
to come and get us as well as bring us back the following week.
I think this happened in 54-55.
That year I shared Room 401 with three other girls. This room was most
desirable because it had a balcony for sun bathing. It also had a
ladder with access to the roof.
Some of us decided to plan a nighttime
raid over to the boys' side, via the roof. Numerous notes were sent back
and forth across the Iron Curtain, alerting the boys to be ready and to
watch for us. The raid was planned to take place after lights out one evening
and the girls were to sneak into 401 then go up the ladder to the roof.
A couple of girls were designated as lookouts to warn us if any teacher
appeared. We didn't really have much planned beyond going over to the boys'
side. Everyone managed to silently sneak into our room and all went well
as we scrambled up the ladder and headed across the roof towards the boys'side.
We tried to call the boys quietly but with little response (that I can
remember) so someone picked up some stones on the roof and threw them towards
an open window, only the window was closed and the glass shattered. I heard
a loud scream then everyone raced back towards the ladder. As we reentered
the room, someone warned that the teacher was coming. I hopped into bed
but some of the girls were trapped so had to dive under the four beds in
the room. The teacher came in (can't remember who it was) and shone her
flashlight into our faces, asking us where the other girls were. We all
feigned sleep however the teacher had already gone up and down the hall
checking each room and had written down the names of all the missing girls.
Claiming to be sound asleep through the entire incident wasn't believed
either, so once again some of us were suspended and shipped home
for another week of holidays. My parents were not
impressed.