# 3 April Reunion Update

We sent you a schedule of events in a special email on April 12^th and, with our reunion fast approaching, here are important dates and specifics to remember.

• April 30, 2022 is the deadline to notify storr@unb.ca whether you will attend Coffee, Conversation and Cookies and also the deadline to notify jsimps0901@aol.com whether you will participate in Wine Tasting
• To help you determine your dining plans before coming to the reception on Saturday June 11^th we thought it might be useful for you to know the appetizers planned: Aioli Chicken Canapes; Roasted Vegetable Canapes; Assorted Cheeses, BBQ Meatballs and Mini Quiches. We’ve ordered sufficient quantities for 30 people.
• On Sunday June 12^th lunch is on your own (12:00-2:00) between the Coffee, Conversation & Cookies at 11:00 and the Wine Tasting at 2:00-4:00
• Given that our deadline for Registration has passed, we now have told the Rodd to release the rooms being held at our special rate

We will be sending one more class email in May. In the meantime have fun reviewing the responses to our query about what profession people would choose if they hadn’t been a nurse. We challenged the class to send more than 10 and you’ll see we achieved that!

1. Linda Doyle Spinney I’ve dabbled in so many things over the many years, some related to healthcare, others very different. Some out of interest, some for enjoyment, some for personal development, and yet others for entertainment, but I ‘d have to choose architecture as an alternative career, because it provide all four and even more! Saint John is a great city for architecture, and to my delight, my oldest granddaughter is interested in it as well, so we have some great discussions and city tours!
2. Donna Fraser Lerette  My career would have been the same as Joanne Albert Belliveau, I would have loved being an Airline Stewardess, of course with a step stool as well. There were height restrictions back then.
   1. (SENT LATER) Guess I should finish my reason for going into nursing. I had always wanted to be a nurse from age 5 or 6, when  my sister and I played with our dolls, she was always the teacher and I was always the school nurse. My fathers sister was a nurse who moved to USA . I thought an airline stewardess would be exciting ,but when I learned I was also vertically challenged and couldn’t apply, I figured it was a sign that I was meant to be a nurse, When I started training ,my Aunt Lela, the nurse sent me a pair of bandage cutting scissors, so figured I could not disappoint her, so had to make good use of them. Still have those scissors!
3. Joann Barry Gallagher I would have liked to be a librarian if not a nurse. I really had to search to come up with this.
4. Mary Lou St. Pierre Audet Math teacher for sure !!
5. Andrea D’Amour Ryerson I wanted to be an airline hostess as well from junior high to even while we were in training. I had the height but you had to be a certain weight – I guess 98 – 100 lbs didn’t meet the requirements.
6. Helen McGrath Brown I always wanted to be a hair dresser…I liked doing hair..😂💕
7. Brenda Farrar Malone I always wanted to be a nurse but may have enjoyed being a pharmacist.  As I continued in nursing, I would have liked to open a “walk in clinic” for seniors. I worked in gerontology and realized that most people needed someone to talk with rather than so many medications.
8. Linda Wheaton Leclerc I had always wanted to be a nurse but my sister, who is seven years older than me and is a nurse who graduated from TMHSN, tried  to convince me why I shouldn’t go in to nursing in a long letter. I wish I had kept that letter . Then I considered being a teacher or a social worker. At the last  minute , I said to heck with it, I still want to be a nurse and applied only to TMHSN.  The rest is history,🥴
9. Brenda Tingley Had I not been a nurse/doctor… I would have been either a marine biologist or a geneticist (grandiose ideas for a kid from Point de Bute).
10. Wilma Dustin Harding I wanted to be a veterinarian for horses, but of course, that avenue was closed to girls in the 60s as girls weren’t “strong enough”. I don’t know many men who can outmuscle half a ton of animal! Anyway, I didn’t want to do many of the careers open to girls. I worked clerical for 3 years prior to entering nursing school. I am so glad that I defaulted to nursing, specifically paeds. I have had a very satisfying career, with bedside nursing, teaching, mentoring and I continue to learn even after 10 years of retirement. Difficult as it sometimes was, I wouldn’t change a thing.
11. Nancy Hamilton Trites – I always wanted to be a nurse but hair dresser was second choice.
12. Judy Horsman Coates – I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was in grade 7. Of course my father especially was happy about that as I think he always had nurses on a pedestal. His oldest sister worked for the Red Cross during the war & his oldest niece ( Glennie Kelly Webster) graduated from TMHSN. I applied, however my Dr  didn’t send in the required test results, so when I went for the interview with Mrs. Wright she said I wasn’t accepted. Of course I was very upset, but immediately thought I would become a hairdresser. Somehow I got the required documents in time and I was accepted.( My daughter became a hairdresser).
    1. Helen McGrath Brown’s response to Judy That’s funny Judy. I had a similar experience. I had to go to summer school the summer before going into nursing school. I got my history credit by the skin of my teeth…hated history & couldn’t grasp it.. anyway sent my marks & my history mark (after summer school) was printed incorrectly & I didn’t notice. So I got a letter that I was not accepted…I jumped on that & corrected the mistake & got in…Then, my mom who wasn’t one to show emotion. Started sobbing one day & didn’t want me to go all the way to Moncton…I decided I wouldn’t go…then with some afterthought & talking to my siblings. I decided to go….so glad I did. Nursing school gave me a lot of confidence & life skills…nice to hear people’s stories 💕💕💕💕
13. Linda Tower Price Great stories! Mine is not much different. Initially I thought I wanted to go into teaching – History, English and Economics were my best subjects. However I was the eldest of 7 children and could not really afford university ( or so I thought.) So I applied to nursing in Moncton and Saint John and was accepted both places. My interview with Mrs. Wright was interesting as her and my Dad had gone to school together. She was older than he but remembered him. My mother and grandmother were over the moon thinking I would become a nurse. I chose Moncton as I had visited a number of times and stayed with my Aunt and loved the city.  It was a great choice and those 3 years led to many great times with classmates and others. I met my husband and we married during that time and as they say the rest is history….
14. Joanne Albert Belliveau I love hearing all these stories as to how we got into nursing. I will elaborate on mine. You already know I couldn’t be an airline stewardess because ” I am vertically challenged”. I decided on nursing because it was the cheapest to enroll! I remember my parents driving me from Jemseg to Moncton for the interview. We were driving along what is now Morton/ Connaught Ave., and I remember thinking” why would they build a hospital in the woods”? It was all trees then, no buildings. When I was 9 or 10yrs old, I recall telling my first Foster Mother, that when I grew up, I would be a nurse and look after her when she got old. Well, I sort of did, I visited her often when she was in the hospital. I have used my nursing skills more with my “now” family. Actually, Judy Coates was the Extramural nurse for my grandmother when she died at home. I am so thankful that I have the nursing experience to help my aging family and friends. Gee, I just thought of something, who is going to look after me? Yikes, no medical people in my family! Oh well, they must have picked up enough from me. As long as they know when to change my diaper.
15. Pat Flannagan Doyle I wanted to be a nurse since I was six. My father did his best to talk me into being a teacher but to no avail. I had no back up plan so I was lucky I was accepted.
16. Joanne Logan Simpson These stories are so much fun to read. Really takes you back! I too wanted Nursing from a young age. It was a profession with travel options, steady employment, decent pay, opportunity, no student loans and one that cared for people. It was all this and more. Although Mrs. wright knew my mother (a wonderful nurses aid so a good thing). she and Miss Hayes also knew my aunt (An MHSN grad, military nurse and another story). Yes, I watched my “p’s & q’s”.