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Jean recalls the thrill of attending coronation of Queen Elizabeth in England 60 years ago Sometimes dreams do come true and Jean Bailey is living proof that sometimes they even exceed expectations. In 1953, Jean was a 17 year-old farm girl from Scugog Island attending Port < Perry High School, when her life changed forever. She was chosen to be one of The Weston Girls and so began a different life than she would ever have imagined for herself. . anadian businessman and philanthropist, Garfield Weston, offered 50 girls from across Canada the opportunity of a lifetime. These 50 teens, affectionately known as The Weston Girls, were chosen to attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II with the intention that they become ambassadors for Canada. Garfield Weston wanted them to experience and absorb as much culture as pos- ) sible and then return to Canada and share their knowledge of the greater world. The criterion to be a Weston girl was that she must be 16 or 17 years of age, be in good health, be an honour roll 9 student and she must be able to speak in front of the public. Mr. Weston’s aim was to strengthen Canada’s ties to the Commonwealth and the girls were mostly from rural areas, from Victoria in the west to Newfoundland in the far reaches of the east. On the 18th of May, the Victoria Day weekend in 1953, Jean Bailey’s family and friends took her to Myrtle Station to board the train that would take her on a trip of a lifetime. A whirl- wind of first times started for Jean. At Union Station in Toronto she was. met by Weston’s people and took her first taxi ride to the Park Plaza Hotel. She soon met the 13 other girls from Ontario and very quickly was intro- duced to the rest from across Canada. The following morning, they were. all fitted for identical clothing at Eaton’s — blue suits and hats, red leather hand- bags and white gloves. Then they were whisked off on the overnight train to y Montreal. After touring Montreal’s cultural offerings (with of course a tour of the Weston Bakery) the girls boarded the Em- press of France ocean liner on May Please turn to page 6 FOCUS - JUNE 2012 5 12-05-22 10:44 AM 05, JUNE 40 PAGES REVISED.indd 5