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St. Mary's School, Victoria Harbour Students bid farewell to their friend the teacher by Sue Charlebois VICTORIA HARB- OUR-At a special get- together here earlier this month friends, and family gathered at St. Mary's parish hall to bid their farewells to Mrs. Mary Polkinghorne, teacher at St. Mary's who leaves to begin her retirement. Raised in Toronto, Mrs. Polkinghorne came to St. Mary's in 1966 to take the position of teaching grades 1 and 2 Now after 13 years, the second teacher at the school to stay that length, she leaves behind many fond memories of teaching. The special _ get- together included many past' students of St. Mary's, students from the school, many friends, residents of the village, and family. Also present at the occassion was Miss K. Emby, a past teacher at the school, who travelled all the way from Duncan, British Columbia. Students from St. Mary's sang many songs for the leaving teacher who had herself taught music at the school. By the sound's of the lyrics, the students had remembered all she had taught them. Mrs. Polkinghorne was also presented gifts and Mr. Llyod LaPlume, school board representative, prese- nted her a gift from the school board. Training at Toronto Normal School _ to specialize in kin- dergarten and primary WeOrnakie Mon ss Polkinghorne got her first teaching job in Sturgeon Bay where she taught 32 pupils. From there she moved on to Thistletown teaching for two years before she married Mr. Lloyd Taylor. Now as a. wife, and mother of five, she left the teaching field for 16 years until her children were grown. "My husband used to say teaching was an incurable disease," said Mrs. Pokinghorne. With all her children grown up she then took a position teaching at Little-Go-Home where she stayed for two years. In 1966 she came to St. Mary's when shortly afterwards she lost her husband. Mrs. Polkinghorne fondly remembered the support she was given by the teachers at the school who at this time hardly knew her. There are many other fond memories also to remember, too many to count. "JT really always enjoyed the children, the parents and the association I've had with people in general," said Mrs. Polkinghorne. She recalled the many good relationships had with the teachers at the school. One she will always remember, she says, is Sr. Lorretta who was the new principle when she first arrived. Mrs. Polkinghorne who remarried in 1976 to Mr. Rex Polkinghorne, Says teaching small children all the time never really bothered her. "You're dealing with personalities and every child is an individual," she said. "Boring is hardly the word." Looking back at her memories, Mrs. M Powicchome Polka fever coming to Stroud Presentation of the Molson Awards will highlight a _ special weekend of energetic polka dancing at the first-ever Ontario Polka Festival, July 4-6. Ontario Polka Festival, organized by the Innisfil Lions Club, will be held at the Stroud Complex in Stroud, Ontario, just south of Barrie on High- way 11. The festival will run for 27 hours over three days, July 4, (5 p.m. - midnight) July 5 (noon - midnight) and July 6 (noon- 8 p.m.). Con- tinuous music will be provided during those hours by Gaylord Klancnik, Dennis Tatomir, Walter Ostanek, The Joe Musil Evro Combo and Ed Guca's Polish Canadians. Contestants are ex- pected to gather from across the province and neighboring regions of the United States. "Special events play a major role in making Ontario an attractive destination for many visitors," said Larry Grossman, Ontario Minister of Industry and Tourism, "I join the many polka enthusiasts around the province in wishing a successful weekend."' Ed Tomes, co- ordinator of the Ontario Polka Festival, has announced the inclusion of additional activities which will, "add to the festive and multicultural atmos- phere of the contest."' A weekend-long display of arts and crafts will be featured along with selected ethnic foods prepared by Jonas Bingeman. Tickets for the Ontario Polka Festival may be purchased in advance for $3.50, or at the door for $4. Ticket information is available from the Innisfil Lions Club, (705) 436-2110. Page 8, Wednesday, June 25, 1980 Polkinghorne says she knows she will miss it but, "'You like to retire when you still got some time to enjoy it." A resident of Cold- water for the past six years, she said that now she will also have more time to spend with her family and her eight grandchildren as well as Watson's Ladieswear Elmvale doing some travelling. The special farewell to Mrs. Polkinghorne gave her a chance to do much reminiscing and now, "'I'll have time to cry about it at home and miss them." 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