Former nursing students reunite in Kitchener, Ont. more than 50 years after graduation

Former nursing students have returned to Kitchener, Ont. for a special reunion. CTV’s Ashley Bacon finds out what’s changed, and what remains untarnished by tim

More than five decades after graduation, former students of St. Mary’s School of Nursing returned to their old stomping ground to retread the paths that led them to who they are today.

“[It’s] bringing back memories that some of us have forgotten,” graduate Fren Faw, who travelled from British Columbia, said Thursday. “We have this common bond. It’s special and we are grateful.”

The 1970 class gathered once more at the Kitchener, Ont. hospital, formerly known as St. Mary’s General Hospital and now called Waterloo Regional Health Network (WRHN) @ Queen’s. A nursing program was only available for a few years, but those who took part in the opportunity forged life-long friendships.

“Sneaking out after curfew, a lot of tears, a lot of celebrations,” Jeanette Bomhof recalled. “A lot of engagements in our third year, a few marriages in our third year, which we really weren’t supposed to do, but we got approval from our director, Sister Virginia. There are a lot of things that will remain as secrets forever.”

Looking around at the building now, Bomhof was taken aback.

“I can’t believe I’m in the same building,” she marvelled. “It’s changed so much from the time that we were here as students.”

“It’s surreal. It’s very different,” Faw said. “It’s not like what we had. We were in little rooms.”

For some, like Billie Hilborn who began her nursing journey at 18-years-old, the choice to enrol shaped their lives.

“We had a two-plus-one program. We did all the bookwork in the first two years and then in our residence, or in our last year, we worked. We were called nurse interns and we were paid $300 a month and lived out of residence.”

Hilborn, now 75, is still working in nursing.

“I graduated in October with my PhD in nursing in the inaugural PhD nursing class at York University in Toronto,” she explained.

Thursday’s meeting was not the first reunion for the group. They try to get together every five years. Their next reunion in 2030 will mark their 60th gathering.