A couple of weeks ago I was at work, busily plugging away toward an impending deadline, when the phone rang. Having received the call on an  office phone, I was totally unprepared for the conversation that followed. The caller  was Bob Vallieres, talking in his best ex-principal’s voice, and one thing became immediately clear. You can graduate from high school, but you can never leave. To further dispel any doubt of this, Bob proceeded, after the appropriate niceties, to assign me homework...with a deadline! The particular assignment was one which I had been terribly bad at in school, and had successfully avoided for the last thirty-five years. He was giving me a public speaking assignment. I remember only too well the gut wrenching exercises in the small auditorium off the girl’s playroom on the first floor of SHS....”Ladies of the IODE, teachers, fellow classmates...”

   I immediately began humming and hawing, desperately trying to think of a way out when Bob, the wise ex-principal, threw me the carrot. He asked me if I would be kind enough to share my thoughts with you regarding  Mrs. Lang. Well....he had me. Mrs. Lang, I hope I can do you justice with my speech.
   First, a bit of history.  Mrs. Lang was born in Montreal on Nov., 15, 1914 to Scottish parents.  She attended Elementary school on Hemlock Avenue, then went on to attend Shawinigan High School, graduating in 1931.  She studied at MacDonald College, obtaining a Bachelors degree in Education.  Her first teaching post was in  Beauharnois, followed by another position in Brownsburg. She returned to Shawinigan, where she married, and with her husband Bill, moved to Rapides Blancs. The call of Shawinigan was too strong though, and they  returned for good. It was here that Mrs. Lang had a son, Mel. She returned to summer school, an important event for us all, and took her French Accreditation at MacDonald College. She taught at Shawinigan High School full time until 1979. She stayed on for several years part time as the school’s Guidance Counselor.

   I would like to try to explain why she is so special to me, and to so many students who have passed through her classrooms. When the SHS phenomenon started on the internet several months ago, I put up a web site, and I dedicated my pages to Mrs. Lang. I decided to get in touch with her, and found to my delight, that I lived only ten minute drive from her residence. After a few phone calls my wife and I spent a wonderful afternoon visiting with her. I had sent out an e-mail letting people know I would soon be visiting with her, and would be happy to deliver any messages anyone would like to send to her. The response was incredible. Mrs. Lang received us in her room, immaculately dressed, ready with cake, shortbread and tea...as always, a gracious hostess. We talked of her years as a teacher and of the many students who passed through her classroom. She has a much better memory than I, and recalls an amazing amount of information on the doings of many of her ex-students. Her information is updated yearly, by the many Christmas cards she receives from all over the world,  ex-students telling her about their lives. This year I believe she received about eighty cards.  She was very happy to receive the letters from so many 
of you. Many of the letters contained similar thoughts, and it is from them that I will try to draw a picture of how many of us see her. I will read for you some of the quotations from these letters, leaving out the names of the writers, and the similarities will be apparent. These five passages are representative of the respect and fondnessfor Mrs. Lang evident in all those letters.

 This student writes:
“ I remember at Christmas when I was in Grade 11 that you had the girls in the class over for a Christmas tea.  You served a lovely variety of ladies sandwiches and many home baked goodies which pleased us to no end.  When one is young it is always nice to be treated as an adult and you did make us feel special. “

Another wrote:
“Other  fond memories include school dances that you chaperoned with your whistle to rein in those raging teenage hormones and the encouraging smile of faith that we could do whatever tasks were before us despite our own reservations." 

A third person shared this:
“Here it is, 37 years since I graduated from SHS and I have been teaching for the last 30 years! It is to you that I owe this gift. You encouraged me to think of becoming a teacher - you arranged for me to be a "helper" in the Grade 2 classroom; you arranged an excursion to MacDonald College for potential teachers - and "Le voila !" It was a privilege to be one of your students. I still tell friends today how lucky I was.’ 

Another:
“You saw something special in everyone and did your best to nurture that person and get the best from that student.  It is because of you, that I became the successful person that I am today.  Words cannot adequately express how I feel.  I am so grateful that you were a part of my life. “

The fifth and last excerpt:
“Your name is Legend among the English speaking community of Shawinigan, and the SHS family.  As things stand today, that means you've had an influence on people from one coast of Canada to the other, the United States, and throughout the world.  My recollections of you are in that vein- that you were one of the "great ones."  People always spoke of you with respect, admiration, and love. Your contributions to so many students over the years is obvious. It is as a result of that community that so many from Shawinigan have gone on, throughout the country and world to make contributions in so many ways. You were one of the builders and sustainers, and for that, we all owe you a debt of gratitude.”

   What makes Mrs. Lang so special? The lines of definition blur when you try to describe her as a teacher, because she was so much more. When she left home in the morning, she entered the school as a teacher, but she didn’t leave the Mother in her behind. She was always concerned for the well being of her students, and could always be counted on for advice or direction. As a teacher she expected only the best from her students, and we tried our best to live up to her standards. She always made you feel like you were perfectly capable of accomplishing anything  you wanted, then, or in the future. She believed in us so strongly, that we believed too. Many of her students went forth to accomplish remarkable dreams. 

   We were her children in other ways too. For many of us the only really genuine childhood taste we had of cottage life was through her. She opened her cottage at Lac Des Piles every year to her students, the best class picnics you could ask for. Many of us still have vivid memories of her famous diving board. Some remember playing records in 
her living room, and one of you sent her a picture of her old record player, asking if she remembered it. Of course, she remembered. Not being female, I never made it to a Christmas Tea, but I’m sure they were wonderful.

   Completing the circle, Mrs. Lang didn’t stop teaching when she left the school. Her day to day living and her interactions with everyone she met  were an excellent example to all of how to go through life with the right blend of dignity, compassion and integrity. In short Mrs. Lang didn’t just teach us French. She taught us how to be good citizens, a subject that should be included in every school curriculum.

   Time has passed, and many of us are now middle aged. I do think we’ve aged remarkably well!  Many of us now think of her as Marge Lang, regarding her not only as a former teacher, but as a friend. Still, we will always address her as Mrs. Lang. My wife and I were sitting in Mrs. Lang’s room drinking our tea. Mrs. Lang has just finished telling us how many of the staff like to congregate in her room to chat and have coffee. This is not surprising. She has filled us in on her daily activities. She likes to keep busy. No surprises there either. Mrs. Lang turns to me with a smile and says, “Life is wonderful! There is always something to do.” I agree with her, Mrs. Lang, eighty-eight years young...still teaching, and I fifty-one, still her student.

   Mrs. Lang, on behalf of all of your students and friends, thank you so much, not just for the teaching, but for the preparation to take on our own lives with the right blend of  dignity, compassion and integrity.
   Madame Lang, au nom de toutes vos anciens éleves et amis, merci infiniment, ne pas seulement pour l’instruction , mais pour nous avoir preparé pour suivre notre chemin dans la vie avec la propre melange de dignité, compassion et  intégrité.

- Merci