NELSON HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1954

Irene (KRANE) Grant

My Family:

Some of you may remember I left school at the end of grade 11 to go to work.  I finished off my education by correspondence and night school.  Margaret Ann, do you remember the boy with the dark curly hair, wearing shorts, who was with Langs who bought the Balfour Beach Inn from your parents?  I married him.  Allan and I celebrate fifty years next year.  We have raised five children, one fishing-crazy son at Campbell River. aA daughter lecturing at university in Hong Kong – Kirstie also does some acting for educational TV there. Stacey has a master’s from UBC and is Occupational Health and Safety Coordinator for the Nelson Area Health Council. Jean is U. of C. grad, married to an engineer – Frank and Jean have three boys, three, two and seven months – Frank also farms so we are in Alberta spring and fall for seeding and harvesting grain. Allan works and I play.  Our youngest, Leslie, was born with a heart condition back when it was “a big deal,” and spent a fair amount of time in Vancouver hospital before having surgery.  It hasn’t stopped her from becoming a chemical engineer.  She is married to Steve Dew, a PhD in Physics, and is a professor at the University of Alberta.  They have two children, a boy and our only granddaughter.  These children range in age from eight down and are our pride and joy.

Working Life:

I worked for the Bank of Montreal, bookkeeping, and also a radio station.  Allan was environmental control for Cominco but we also have been involved in logging and have done some small time farming, raising cows and sheep.  We of course followed the old rule, “buy high, sell low,” and farm until the money is gone.  Everyone was a pet hard to part with, and even our chickens were allowed to die of old age.

Memories:

My memories of school were playing bridge while eating lunch.  Mr. Loomer allowing us to combine our lunch with chemical experiments.  I thought he was the neatest guy.  I remember one day we were nearly driven out of school when someone made a stinkbomb – but not one of our guys, I’m sure.  Hey gals, remember how those matcho guys used to line up on both sides of the hall and make life miserable for the females?  School bus times.  The time the Greyhound bus slid diseways and pinned us against the rock bluff … the winter snowstorm when the bus broke through the ramp of the ferry, trapping us on the wrong side of the lake and we didn’t get to school until the afternoon, nearly frozen as there wasn’t any room on the ferry to put us all while repairs were done.  And of course playing strip poker in the back of the bus.  Those were the days.


Life has on the whole been good to us.  The Kootenays have kept a tight grip on us.  We have been able to keep a cottage on Kootenay Lake until a few years ago, but now have a house in Riondel.  I recently found that Jane Kleep lives four houses up from us and we will get together later.  What a wonderful time we have been privileged to live through and I mourn for our classmates we have lost.