BHSN 50TH REUNION
North York Branson Hospital
School of Nursing 50th Reunion
BY BEV MATIKO, ‘69
THE 50 TH anniversar y reunion
of the North York Branson School of
Nursing was held May 10-12, 2013
at Kingsway College in conjunction
with Kingsway’s Alumni Weekend.
Since it was the 50th year after the
graduation of the first class from
Branson the event was to include
everyone connected with the school
for the entire time it operated. After
2 years of promoting the Branson
portion of the occasion, mainly by
Marilyn Jerome and her assistants,
expectations were far exceeded!
Branson produced 269 graduate
nurses in 14 classes during the years
’63-’74. Over 120 graduates attended
the weekend, with representation from
each of the classes. This was the very
first reunion for the 2 year class of
‘74, and 10 of their class were present.
Three faculty members also attended.
The ceremonies began Friday with
a concert by Kings’ Heralds which
brought back many memories of their
music over the years.
Branson students had the privilege
of presenting Sabbath School where
several graduates paid tribute to the
School of Nursing and Kingsway for the
top quality education they received.
The life skills they obtained at these two
schools of distinction enabled them to
obtain high achievements in their careers of service. A chorus of grads sang
“Let There Be Peace on Earth”.
During the church service, Twyla
Reimche Gimbel held roll call for
Branson graduates. Each class was
given recognition.
After a delicious general potluck
in the old gym, Branson Graduates
met on the site of the old Administration Building beside the gazebo for a
presentation of a lamp stand, a plaque
reading “To Those Who Have Gone
Before”, and a composite photograph
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KC Contact I Winter 2013
of the 16 graduates that have already
passed to their rest. The lamp signified the Florence Nightingale light that
each grad had carried on the day they
were capped and gave their pledge
for service to others. Marilyn Pearse
Jerome presided over the presentation
and Scott Bowes, on behalf of Kingsway College, received it. Mr. Bowes
thanked the graduates for this thoughtful gesture and shared his appreciation.
The group sang “Shall We Gather At
The River” at the request of one of the
graduates who was unable to attend.
The afternoon was spent reminiscing about old times and meeting not
only classmates but grads from other
classes that we had not seen for years.
Sabbath evening brought a very
pleasant surprise, three long beautifully decorated tables set specifically
for Branson Alumni and their families.
There were photos, not only of our
individual classes, but also incidental
pictures from bygone days. We were
presented with pens in the shape of
hypodermic needles with red fluid in
the barrels to resemble blood – what a
novel idea! Along the back wall were
our original composite photos of each
graduation class as well as samples
of student and graduating uniforms,
blazers, capes and caps. Another exciting event in the program occurred
when two Branson Alumni - Marilyn
Pearse Jerome ‘72 and Eleanor Von
Gunten ‘72 - were honoured as Alumni of the Year. Heartfelt appreciation
was expressed for the many, many
hours they each put in to make this
such a memorable event. A spontaneous standing ovation revealed everyone’s feelings. Thanks again!
On Sunday 250 people met for
brunch. There was time to get further
reacquainted, take class pictures and
catch up on the last 50 years. Several other people joined us that were
friends of Branson personnel during
the “operating” years. Earla Woods
Sanz and the Crawford sisters, Roberta and Rae, took us back to how
Branson Hospital was born and Brian
Fenton gave us a peek into the future
regarding the long term plans for the
property.
Everyone had a fantastic weekend
and felt the trip to Kingsway College
and down memory lane was so worth
the trip! n