Let me respond to the number of requests I have had to return for the reunion this summer with the use of an acrostic. The number of requests will be explained later. When I first received the announcement for the reunion, I thought how much I wanted to go, while at the same time I could not, for our family vacation was already planned.

W - Not only stands for the fact we are about as far west as you can be in Saskatchewan and still find a high school, but also for the welcome we all received in coming to Marengo for our school. Most of us were the products of one and/or two room schools, and our first experience of the 'central school' were those wonderful one roomers up on the hill, with the washrooms over in the main school. Certainly an incentive to complete your grade seven and we part of the larger building. I always say I went to four schools in my life, starting at Dewar Lake, then Hoosier, then back to the 'one roomer' at Westcliffe and finally in grade eight the central school. When we arrived from Hoosier, grades k-6 were still over in the old brick school at Marengo.

E - Not only stands for the excellence of achievement we received under the overall guidance of Mr. Allin. I fully believe I am a better person today because of some words of guidance he shared with me between my two grade XI years - thank you Mr. Allin. E also stands for all the enjoyable times we had at Westcliffe. When I think now about all the activities we were involved in, I know how fortunate we were. So much of it was geared to community, an education which has stood us all in good standing were ever our path has taken us.

S - Is for what I believe were the high standards set by our teachers and all who had influence on our lives in those great years of being a high school student. I am not sure at the time I appreciated all that happened, but now I certainly do. One regret is that I did not appreciate Mr. Ball's love for history at the time. Now I can only say, I know it was because of his patience with myself, today I enjoy history to its fullest. I think of the one day he came into class through down our essays with the comment to express his disappointment, " These are no more than a bunch of mixed up salads!"

T - The time we spent together, be it in class, sitting on the fence (not to the joy of Mr. Kovitch who had the work of repairing the sagging boards), on the ball diamonds, at the school dances, curling, badminton and in the classroom. T also stands for the time between Westcliffe and now. My first time period was for 16 years in municipal administration, this was followed by three years of time at seminary in Saskatoon (College of Emmanuel & St. Chad) graduating with a Bachelor of Theology followed by ordination in the Anglican Church (you may now know what all the requests were for my return on the Sunday). This was then followed by marriage and one daughter. Flo, Katherine and myself have lived in Prince Albert, Tidal, York ton and now back to Saskatoon. At present I am the development office for the seminary and just in case you are interested, accept all donations with great letters of appreciation!!!

C - is for the confidence a good education can give you. Not only did we leave Westcliffe filled with confidence, yet at the same time we went out into a world at a time when the world was filled with confidence. I am not certain this is true of the world today, at the same time though we give the world confidence because of what we have learned in those formative years of grade school. Now C could also remind us of the constant dealing with the Marengo sand! When you came home at night one always carried home a bit of Marengo with them. And then there was Mr. Allin's constant desire to have trees growing around the school yard. I am not share how many thousands of trees have been planted around the school yard over the years.

L - if for love, living, leaving, and longing to return. I believe we all at one time or another in our life, long to return to our roots. Recently I shared the journey of a family returning to their family roots. As they toured their childhood surroundings, I could sense the presence of their being, their spirit in that place. As we return to Westcliffe we to will have the sense of rediscovering the sense of the spirit of what we knew as a much younger people. We will sense love, living, leaving and undoubtedly longing. On a personal note I long to see some of my old pals from school. Although I return from time to time to visit the farm or pass by Marengo on the highway, not often enough do I stop to check out the place which gave me so much. I wish I could be there on the 20th and 21st.

I - is for the many interests our teachers encouraged us to explore and the incentive of our parents to live out our dreams. I think of all those hours spent attempting to get the joint to fit on a woodworking project only to give up in the end fill it with some filler. I still have the lamp turned on the lathe after laminating a number of woods together and the foot stool complete with our own upholstery. I am sure I will never forget those galvanized buckets with the slimy wet and dry sandpaper stored in them to get that final smooth finish to our projects. I am convinced to this day it was the combination of the oil, water and fine sandpaper which made the difference.

F - There are two F's in Westcliffe, and of course we all know were the Cliffe comes from. I think back to all the fine people we met at school and the number of fine careers generated from our numbers. I am sure we are all over the world by now. Of course as already refereed to F could also stand for the fine sand we enjoyed in our school yard. The advantage was you could make a landing pit for track and field on a moments notice.

F - This second F comes to us in the sense of something finished. Although we finished our high school in Marengo, we never finish learning and for this we give thanks. For it was in all the firsts we learned and were introduced to at Westcliffe that has inspired us to know as we finish one day a new day is only to begin and we will find new learning and discover new beginnings.

E - is for everyone who will be returning to Marengo this July and the excitement of seeing so many and sharing in all the many activities. I only wish I could be there with you. A few years ago we returned for a Hoosier reunion and the joy of rediscovering my formative years through the eyes of our then 6 year old was so inspirational. The school was not near as large as I once knew it, sort of like the first Wescliffe and the assembly area. When you were in grade seven you had to be in the first row, how we waited to be in the back row and be in grade twelve. When we return in 2002, we all be in the same row.

I cannot leave this time without thinking of those who will not be there except in spirit. I think of all those who were a part of our lives who now live our spirits. They contributed greatly while with us and now may we all know we are stronger because of their commitment to life.

Brian Evans.

For hard-to-find products and services look in www.finderschoice.com