MOVING TO GERMAIN STREET
May 17th, 2010Way back when in the year 1950, my family moved from Waterloo St to Germain St. So we left Waterloo St Baptist and started here at Germain St…. likely because it was closer and maybe because Harry (my older brother), was friends with Stu Crossman whose father was Minister at Germain St Baptist at that time.
It was exciting…so much larger then Waterloo St Baptist…so many rooms to get to search…. especially the little rooms at the back of the Chapel (Hughes Hall) with the dividers that went up and down.
The Sunday School had many, many kids and we met in the Chapel. Since I was in Gr 5, my teacher was Mrs. Irma Cliff and we sat in the row before the last in the middle section of the room. I was really taken with Mrs. Cliff ………..I thought she had to be really, really rich because she had a little clutch purse that was covered in pearls and I had only seen the likes of that in the movies. Mrs. Wiley was my Gr 6 teacher… she would have us over for tea in her house on Clarendon St…at “graduating” time…..WOW. We had to do Supplementary Lessons along with our Sunday School lesson…they were hard ..all that memorizing.. but it still comes in handy. I did have a problem with The Apostles Creed… I could not understand why I had to say “the holy Catholic Church” when I was Baptist.
There was also a huge Junior Choir. I joined with all my friends and enjoyed every minute of it, even the day we were competing in the Music Festival ( we sang The 23rd Psalm”) and, just before we went on stage, the director at that time asked me if I would mind “just mouthing the words”…..and do you know what….it didn’t bother me that day ‘cause I was so proud to be there with all my friends it just didn’t matter. ( We did get a high mark).
I also attended Explorers and CGIT… then like other teenagers, I guess I sort of drifted away from the Youth Groups at the church and started groups at the “Y”…then there were those few years of just attending church every Sunday until I was asked to be the Youth Advisor, and to take a Sunday School Class, and then to be a Deacon and then to help in the kitchen and then to Co-Chair the Social Committee and then to be Treasurer…and, of course there were all the other committees and the meetings…it seemed to be a hassle at the time but wasn’t it all just a learning experience bringing me to today.
I have had a tremendous time here at Germain…and so thankful for the friends, families and special people I have met. The heartbreaking move from Waterloo St at the age of 10 (leaving all my friends behind) sure proved to be a good move.
~Carolyn Danells