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Gerry Hagberg's Pages, Grade 5

Grade 5

This is Gerry's grade 5 class, 1956.

[Click here for audio ambiance from 1956!]

Gerry gives us a bit of background:

This photo taken at Willows School. The class started at the old OBHS in '55 and then transferred to Willows in the spring of '56 when the additions to Willows were completed. The bulk of the class moved to Willows, but those on the wrong side of Foul Bay Rd. (and perhaps Oak Bay Avenue) went to Margaret Jenkins. We seem to be in generally better humour here compared to Grade 4 - perhaps because we had moved from the old fire trap on Oak Bay Ave.

At the old OBHS, there was almost no level ground (little ground at all actually) and rocks and tree roots were sticking up everywhere. As a consequence (and also due to student population), from some point during Grade 4 running was forbidden anywhere on the school grounds. All games involving balls and running were outlawed. We had to amuse ourselves with marbles, hop-scotch, and skipping. Arriving at Willows, with its three huge playing fields, must have seemed like paradise.

Back: Rick Curtis, Ian Young, Alan McGill, Russ Tyrell, Richard Johnston, Mike Weston, Don Squires, Vaughan Mann, Keith Weatherdon

2nd row: Gerry Hagberg, Stuart, Pam May, Donna Burrows, Pat Morrison, Malcolm, Bob McLaren

3rd row: Elizabeth Simpson-Baikie, Anita Turnbull, (?), Diane Wade, Donna Bishop, Dianne McNaught, Heather Kern, Bonnie Craig, Judy Vaio,Carol Lundell, Wendy Stevens

Front: Jim Ogilvie, Rod Clayards, Berk Maddaford, Glen Smith, Victor Hornsby, Doug Shepherd, Lawrie Harris, (?)

Teacher: Mr. Cavin (again)

1956. The Western powers averted their eyes as the Soviet Union occupied Hungary. France, the U.K. and Israel stage a theatrical in the Middle East when Nasser nationalizes the canal. Pearson's U.N. force allows some face saving as all three must back off.

The very first trans Atlantic telephone cable went into service.

This was the year that the physics Nobel went to Shockley, Bardeen and Brattain. The work had started as a search for the physical reality of the field effect transistor, which was understood theoretically. It was a natural enough pursuit considering everybody's orientation to the high impedance, voltage controlled world of the vacuum tube. What they arrived at, of course, was the point contact transistor. Unsatisfactory though that early solid state device was, it opened the door to a universe of electronics and to the computer upon which this page is displayed.

On the tube technology box, families watched I Love Lucy, The Ed Sullivan Show, I've Got A Secret, The Perry Como Show and The Jack Benny Show.

john@munrotechical.com

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