Going back to your roots

Part of the second annual Public School Education Month activities, Alan Allnutt’s conference at Parkdale was one of the five conferences set up by the English Montreal School Board. Under the theme Following In Their Footsteps, the campaign encouraged prominent graduates to return to visit their neighbourhood schools to talk to students about the role public school education played in leading them to their present-day success.

Mr. Allnutt started off his conference by taking a trip down memory lane and telling the quiet and attentive audience about some of his Parkdale memories. “Already in elementary school I was doing something that resembles what I’m doing today as I was in charge of printing copies of the exams, but in those days we used an old printing machine with a crank,” said the Montreal Gazette publisher. He followed by saying that the teachers at Parkdale thought him some very valuable lessons; “Here I learned that honesty and integrity are very important and also that you can never succeed in life by taking short cuts.”

The students were literally hanging to Mr. Allnutt’s every word and it was noted by the speaker. “In my days, they were using the strap and the ruler to keep us quiet, but your teachers really did a nice job in teaching you how to pay close attention.”

Mr. Allnutt then explained to his young audience what his job as publisher consisted of. “My job is to hire the editors, the man responsible for the advertisement and also the people who are in charge of the marketing. We need all of them for the paper to work.” He also told the students that they should stay in school if they wish one day to work at a newspaper as most people they hire have at bachelor degree.

The questions kept on coming from the students, ranging from “What are you doing in your spare time?” to “What do you like the most about your job?”. Still impressed by the level of interest, Mr. Allnutt gladly answered that spending time on his farm and riding his motorcycle were his favourite hobbies and that he liked his job because it’s challenging and that everyday is different.

The conference ended with Mr. Allnutt telling everyone that even with all the technology we have today, reading was still the fastest way to get information. Before he left, the students gave him a Parkdale pen as a thank you gift. “It was wonderful, he said. Honestly I was surprised by the maturity these kids have, they were terrific.”

(Photo: Martin Alarie)

(Photo: Martin Alarie)

(Photo: Martin Alarie)

(Photo: Martin Alarie)

(Photo: Martin Alarie)

(Photo: Martin Alarie)