Tutoring French in London, Ontario, 1967 I was good in French; in fact, I was good at school, the academic part anyway. In phys ed or manual training, I was what my father kindly referred to as a dead loss. Back in the day, being an honours student was a catastrophic blow to any..
First job and first paycheque: Kmart next to McDonald’s, London Ontario, Spring 1969 In April 1969, the brand-new McDonald’s on Oxford Street, in my hometown of London, Ontario, went on a hiring spree. This august establishment, a source of civic pride for many Londoners since it was the first of its kind in the entire..
How London Little Theatre Changed My Life: 1967-1969 In the fall of 1967, I found myself in a grade 11 class called “Enriched English,” a designation reminiscent of chemically-enhanced bread. The principal of Oakridge Secondary School in London, Ontario had shunted me into the course out of desperation mixed with pity: I had been so..
Spring 1969: Pierre Berton visits London, Ontario, and high school authorities go ballistic For Maria Van der Velden By 1969, even in conservative, homogenous London, Ontario, seismic changes were rumbling through the corridors of power. In those halcyon days, I attended Oakridge High School where the 1960s zeitgeist had begun infiltrating, albeit on little cat..