One last look at Arthur Voaden Secondary School ahead of closure

Community members said their final goodbyes to Arthur Voaden Secondary School this weekend. CTV London’s Brent Lale reports.

If the century-old walls could talk, the stories they would tell.

Hundreds of former students and staff were able to walk through Arthur Voaden Secondary School (AVSS) one last time Saturday ahead of its closure.

“A lot of memories and I had a lot of good times here and played some sports,” said former student Rob Wood. “It has been a few years since my kids graduated from here, and it’s just sad to see it close.”

A public open house gave visitors a chance to reminisce after the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) announced in April it would shutter the school.

Opened in 1926 as a vocational school, AVSS has a rich history, but the board cited the need for long-term maintenance and infrastructure repairs that are cost-prohibitive and unsustainable.

“It is not just a building, it’s a family,” said Betty Bekaan, who attended AVSS in the late 1970s. “It’s been very hard for everyone. We just break down in tears when we discuss it because many of the staff and the students, they won’t be together anymore.”

Bekaan is a co-chair of the AVSS centenary committee. She, along with fellow members, were shocked at the announcement the school would close so abruptly.

They managed to negotiate a day with the TVDSB to have the public walkthrough.

“I went to school here in the ‘80s and it was the best time to be here,” said Isabelle Nethercott, Bekaan’s co-chair. “We had the best football team. We had the best band. They went to Europe; they went to Montreal. Everything was fantastic. It was booming. There was like 1,200 students at that time. We wanted to arrange this for the general public to get a look at something which has been part of this city for 100 years.”

Among those taking the tour were Drenise and John Cowlard. The couple, who live in Port Dover, met in the 1960s while students at AVSS.

“It’s sad for me that that is coming down,” said Drenise.

The sports teams now are nicknamed the Vikings, but when John was an athlete, they were the Red Devils.

He wore his varsity jacket with patches from rugby, basketball, football, track and field and badminton.

“It was a lot different then than it is now, “said John. “I liked to play the sports, obviously and so it made it all worthwhile.”

John went on to become a local official, and Drenise says his claim to fame was ejecting local sports legend Tommy White.

“I think he’s the only one that ever tossed Tommy White out of the game in a final game,” said Drenise. “I’ve never heard a gymnasium go silent.”

The nostalgia was palpable for those walking, checking out the plaques and graduating classes, as well as taking dozens of photos.

There were also students who were in the final graduating class last week.

“I loved our trades here,” said Bugg Ball, a graduate who is off to the University of Guelph. “I know that they have money put aside to build another school, but I don’t know if it’s going to be a trade school. I really hope it is because the trades are so important. I graduated with my health care trades, and I believe other students should get that right to do that as well.”

AVSS was a school that offered multiple technology classes and was highly regarded for arts programs.

“This is a unique building,” said Bekaan. “The courses that we have here are the hairstyling, manufacturing, construction, automotive, and the kitchen was top of the line. There’s just so many things that make this building unique.”

The centenary committee still plans to host the 100th anniversary celebration in September. It just won’t be inside AVSS. It’s been relocated to St. Anne’s Centre.

“We were going to have a three-day event here at the school, but instead we’re having a one-day event at St. Anne’s, and then we’re going to have closing ceremonies the next day,” said Nethercott. “It’ll be Saturday, September 26th and during the day, there’s going to be free events for the public and a lot of memorabilia. There will be teachers from many decades there and things for people to look at and people to meet. We’re also setting up time slots for alumni to meet up with the cohort that they went to school with.”