BONNYVILLE – It was a class reunion that was 70 years in the making.
On Aug. 20, seven Fort Kent students that studied at the local high school between 1953-56 gathered at Moose Lake with their former teacher Jeanine Bourgeois Tenove.
While the reunion celebration wasn’t the first of its kind for this group of students, it was significant, said Tenove.
“If my students are getting old, I guess that means I am getting older too,” she laughed. Tenove was only 19 years old when she started teaching high school classes in Fort Kent.
“It was such a pleasure to have students of my classes of 1953-56 at the Fort Kent School come for an afternoon of visiting and reminiscing,” Tenove shared.
Those who attended came with their spouses or children who accompanied them in their collective trip down memory lane.
“Sad to say, many have passed away, many have health issues, and others have moved away.”
But after hearing about the 70th anniversary get together, a number of former students who were unable to attend the event did contact Tenove and shared in their own telephone visits.
Tenove reignited memories by playing “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!” which was the soundtrack of many square-dancing lessons held in her classroom. She also played the Lone Ranger theme song, the Overture to the opera “William Tell,” which Tenove used as an introduction to the course Music Appreciation 10.
“I taught them once more about the internal combustion engine and told them I still did not know it any better than I did 70 years ago,” she recounted, with a sense of humour.
“I have to say there is no longer any difference between teacher and student. I consider them as wonderful friends.”
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