Judith Colbert Releases WHEN SCHOOL CAME TO THE VILLAGE

We all have memories of our long-ago school days. Maybe it was the teacher who meant so much to you - and pushed you relentlessly to help you reach your potential and develop your love of learning. Maybe it was recess - when the playground was full of youngsters just like you, running and jumping, laughing and playing. Maybe it was that cute girl - or boy - who caught your eye and invited you to share in a class science project. No matter who we are, no matter how old we get, our schoolday memories are forever etched in our hearts and our minds.

Judy Colbert remembers. She grew up in a small village called Hyde Park, just outside London, Ontario, and it was her great joy to be part of a new elementary school in the village, one that replaced the old, one-room, brick schoolhouse that her own father attended. It was in the 1950s that Judy and her sister Nancy spent their childhood and got their early education - and those of us of a certain age will remember the remarkable growth, spirit and optimistic outlook that were so much a part of those post-war times.

The village of Hyde Park is no longer a tiny, rural community; it is now very much a part of the bustling City of London, having been annexed two decades ago. But even so, there does remain a form of "village spirit" in Hyde Park - and it is this spirit that author Colbert taps into in her newly released book entitled When School Came to the Village.

While the book shows that the school played an important role in the building of this spirit from the very beginning of the village in the early nineteenth century, its focus is the 1950s, in particular the years from 1951 to 1958 when Judy graduated from her Hyde Park elementary school to attend Medway High School in the nearby community of Arva. Her recollections are amazing: the inkwells on the classroom desks; the use of the "strap" on misbehaving students; the singing of the anthems; the school-trip outings; and not the least, her own public speaking award for her impromptu rendition of Elvis Presley's Hound Dog! Not to mention the world maps that adorned every classroom, all supplied by the Neilson chocolate company!

When School Came to the Village is, unquestionably, a book for readers "of a certain age." It is for those of us who treasure and want to share our memories of a 1950s childhood, of growing up in the booming post-war era, and of forming childhood friendships and relationships that may still exist to this day. This book, loving written and presented, is a nostalgic walk down memory lane, a journey back to a time when life seemed somehow simpler - and very much sweeter!

When School Came to the Village
by Judith A. Colbert

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