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4- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 10, 1998 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" The history of Peter Talbot... Part Il Course in locksmithing may be next pursuit for retiring PPHS teacher By Chris Hall Port Perry Star After more than 30 years at the front of a classroom, Peter Talbot may soon find himself sitting at a desk and behind a text book. The 59-year-old Port Perry resident retired last summer and is looking for- ward to pursuing a dream which began after he read a book at the age of 14. "I want to take a locksmith's course. It's something I've always wanted to do and now is the time," said Mr. Talbot. "I'don't want to do it through corre- spondence so maybe I'll go to the Academy of Locksmithing in Scarborough. Maybe in a year or two, if I get good at it, I'll take it on as a job but right now I'm looking at something to keep me occupied... something besides cleaning the basement." A less-than stellar student while attending school in the United Kingdom, Mr. Talbot admits that teaching was not his first career choice. Expelled from public schools in Great Britain at an early age because he had difficulty with reading, Mr. Talbot turned to a private school. He barely graduated, then moved on to New Zealand where he raised sheep for five years. In December 1961 he came to Canada for a holiday, but never caught his return flight. Here he joined the mili- tary's Officer Candidate Program, but quit just before graduation. Mr. Talbot was urged by friends to further his education, and wrote a letter to Bishop's University. He was accepted as a mature student. Originally he signed on as a economics student, but quickly changed his mind. "I somehow got into a history class and thought it would be boring and dull... but I sat in for one class and just the way the professor taught, I switched to the history program and it was the best decision I ever made." TIME TO MOVE ON: Peter Talbot, former head of the history department #9 at Port Perry High School, Ly retired this summer after a teaching career that. Spanned 31 years : Four years later he graduated with honours and was preparing to re-enter school for a law degree when an offer to teach history and geography at O'Neill Collegiate in Oshawa came up in 1967. "I had just gotten married and I knew : 5 % I had to work, so I took the job," he said. "There, I realized I liked teaching so much; I thought I had the best job." A few years later he found himself taking over as head of the history department at Port Perry High School. And, since 1975, Mr. Talbot has been making sure the department runs smoothly. "They teach 26 to 30 history classes a year there, so I had to make sure the staff had all the stuff they wanted to teach as well as they could," he said. "They needed resource material, moral support and encouragement to do the best job as they possibly can." Over time, a bond developed with the students. "I really love history and I really liked the kids so everything sort of fell into place," said Mr. Talbot, adding that he never really had any problems with the teenagers. "I had no disci- plinary problems, I don't know why. I Just gave them the respect they needed, and they returned it. The school and the kids were very good to me." The decision to leave the classroom was not an easy one, he says. "I had no intention to leave; I wanted to stay another three or four years but this mess came up," he said, referring to the ongoing battle between the province and its secondary school teach- ers. "I called them up at the end of July and let them know I wanted to retire; I didn't want to be involved in the strike." While pleased with his decision to explore other career opportunities and just relax, Mr. Talbot says he does have one regret about leaving behind the history department at PPHS. "I left too early and I never got to send anyone to the office. In my 14 years there I never did that. "I'm not even sure if I'd know how to do it, to tell the truth." A new loo A Visit From St Nicholas is illustrated by Port Perry artist Kim Fernandes By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Santa Claus has a whole new look this year, thanks to a Port Perry artist. Kim Fernandes is thrilled with "I just thought 3-D (art) would lend itself to the story, and maybe pull in a younger audience," she said. "And of course, everybody wants to E% do a classic." After doing the initial line draw- hristmas classic the release this month of her treat- ment of the classic A Visit From St. Nicholas. Published by Doubleday, the book features the well-known - poem and Ms Fernandes' distinctive, three-dimensional clay illustrations. The bright photographs breathe new life into the old chestnut of a poem, penned in the 1800's by Clement C. Moore. It's been published more than 200 times since first appearing in a newspaper, most often under the title The Night Before Christmas. The project was part of a two-book deal with Doubleday, said Ms Fernandes, whose work Little Toby and the Big Hair -- written by her 'by the company. y he be; 2 work on A Visit F mother, Eugenie -- was also published ; Phe sn ifs St. Nicholas in August of 1997. element of it using Fimo, a mod clay. They're laid out on a co rom bi ings Ms Fernandes crafts her illus- trations literally in layers carefully planning each scene fash: ach eling e sheet. = eral "When it looks exactly how I like it, I bake it in the oven," she said. ~ The painstaking process took five _ "I put my best into this one," Ms Fernandes said of the book. "I did the best I could, and I e pected the same of everybody else. I was very demanding. | oe Locally, it's avail and More