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10 Friday, July 16, 2021 brooklintowncrier.com Ontario Secondary School Diploma Recipients Continued from page 9 Stanat, Jocelyn Ste Marie, Carter Stefanovic, Philip Stibbe, Carson Sturgis, Leah Tahami, Parsa Talukder, Ariyaan Taube, Aidan Taylor, Justin Teka, Monica Tilley, Jessica Train, Christian Tullock, Mason Turner, Lauren Tustian, Connor Urbaniak, Dennon Vale, Zack Visser, Christopher Wagg, Melissa Walcer, Logan Walker, Olivia Walton, Zachary Warwick, Kaileigh Watson, William Weaver, Jenna Wentges, Tate White, Andrew White, Brayde Willcocks, Amy Williams, Anthony Williamson, Alyssa Williamson, Reegan Willison, Ben Wilson, Tyler Winchuk, Logan Winkler, Jake Winters, Laura Wright, Mykhal Wry, Ethan Yazdani, Parsa Yoshida, Abigail Yu, Jonathan Zolis, Matt Ontario Secondary School Certificate Recipients Goulden, Jacob Kanji, Zafeer Certificate of Accomplishment Recipients Gad-Elsaied, Sherief Mitwely Saleem, Wasif Scullion, Nathan A High School Student's Viewpoint: The Butchered School Year By Aramis Lerma-Garabedian This past school year was a mess, from the ineffective education system implemented in our online curriculum to the many rules that blocked social interaction. Here are my thoughts on the butchered year. The biggest and most important issue revolving around the year was the lack of education. Online learning has been deemed to be the most challenging and ineffective way of learning. It is safe to say that school boards and students alike were not fully prepared for the online experience, resulting in a lack of interaction, responsibility, and education. From teachers not being ready for lessons and cancelling classes at the last minute to their own little kids climbing on the teacher's shoulder during a class, this school year has been a big circus. As a result of all this, my mind wandered away to doing anything but school, resulting in a lack of self control and the ability to focus. On top of the large learning curve, the inability to socialize outside of a phone or computer made my social skills regress. I missed my friends; I missed having the human emotion that comes from physical interaction; I missed being happy to see them first thing in the morning at school; I missed getting frustrated with the daily dramas; I missed the after-school activities. As a competitive swimmer, we used to wake up daily at 4 a.m. and hit the pool's cold water at 5. That was my third family. And I lost that, too. No matter how hard the coach worked to train us on land or over the internet, nothing could replace the lack of real live interaction. Talking to friends, relatives and strangers outside is crucial to one's ability to learn and progress through life and seeing those skills regress was incredibly underwhelming. Students and teachers should acknowledge this past year as a lesson for the coming semester. We now know what to expect should another lockdown occur. Personally, if online learning continues, I will try to better separate my personal time from school time. This will allow me to focus on the online curriculum and improve my social life. Our Dairy Creme By Jennifer Hudgins Marjie Adams brought her entrepreneurial skills to Brooklin in 1958 when she bought the Dairy Creme at 6825 Baldwin St.,N. For three years, the business had been under the management of an owner who sold soft serve ice cream products during the summer. But Marjie had expansion on her mind. She enlarged the building, set up a dining area inside and kept it open all year round. After hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza were added to the menu, the business gained a reputation among locals and cottagers as a great place to eat. Her taste for soft serve ice cream began a year earlier at a Dairy Queen on Lakeshore Blvd. in Toronto. She was impressed with the concept and when the Brooklin Dairy Creme came on the market, she, along with her brother-in-law, saw an opportunity to bring something innovative to the community. This business was not part of the Dairy Queen chain, but the ice cream machine she used gave the same results. Long commute On weekends, Marjie and her young son John commuted from Thornhill to Brooklin while her mom, Nina Doyle, who lived next door to the Dairy Creme with the Andrews family, managed the business during the week. After a while it became evident that Marjie's full-time attention was needed, so in 1961 she moved with her family to Mitchell Avenue. To attract new customers, John would dress up as a bunny at Easter and wave to oncoming traffic. On summer days two girls offered pony rides for kids. They set up picnic tables around the perimeter for customers to sit and enjoy their treats. In fact, it wasn't uncommon to see motorcycle gangs hang out in the parking lot. One of her special memories was the time she decided to give Colonel Sanders a run for his money by adding chicken with fries to the menu. On the first day, she offered a two- for-one chicken dinner. Families flocked to take advantage of the special and the crowd grew so large that her work crew was overwhelmed with orders. They ran out of chicken halfway through the day. Hands-on boss By all accounts, the Dairy Creme was a great place to work. Marjie was a hands-on kind of boss who took a personal interest in her employees and treated them well. Brooklin resident Connie Heron, once a Dairy Creme employee, to this day credits the mentorship provided by Marjie to the 40-year success she had as the owner of Connie's boutique in downtown. She sold the business in 1974, making a career change to be secretary to the President of Dominion Dairies in Toronto. Since then, the building has changed hands a few times and is now the home of Whis- key Johns. Meanwhile Marjie and her husband Ted, who once stocked and sold RV campers off the lot beside the Dairy Creme, have settled in Stouffville to be close to their family.