Torch - Fall/Winter 2019-20

“Those early friends, there’s just something special that’s intangible. You can’t really pinpoint it, but it’s just we’re always there for each other.”

—Jill Trennum, Class of 1961 Rep

Members of the Class of 1961 at Havergal's Reunion Cocktail Party in 2016.

The Tight-Knit Class of 1961

off-site celebration and they’re hoping for the same for their 60th reunion. Trennum says that reunions see even better turnout now than they did after graduation because lives are calmer after the whirlwind of university, career building, marriage and children has passed. When you look up from a busy life, you realize you miss your friends. “You didn’t appreciate the value of your friendships as the years passed. And then you realize how lucky we are,” she says. Until five years ago, she would even hold reunions at her cottage, hosting 25 or more women. Activities included homemade chicken pot pie dinners, canoe and boat rides and late-night swims in the lake. Trennum, who had attended Havergal since she was a Junior School student in Grade 1 and became a teacher after graduation, says she loved English and biology, and was active in field hockey, volleyball and tennis. She also credits activities outside of school, like going on ski weekends and volunteering together at summer camps for underprivileged children, as bonding experiences. More low-key activities also stand out for helping to solidify friendships, like movies on the weekend or skating at the big oval rinks in Eglinton Park.

Armitage, who attended from Grade 8 to 13 and was into sports like track & field, field hockey and basketball, was voted Class Rep and has always helped to organize reunions for her class. She later came back to work in the Old Girls Office and continued to organize reunions in Canada and England. She says regular connections through the five-year reunions have been valuable. “I like renewing the friendships, seeing people you haven’t seen for five years and catching up,” says Armitage, noting that regular contact helps. “Because we’ve nurtured our friendships all along, we feel we know these people pretty well.” While the class is at the age where they are starting to lose a few classmates, Armitage says the reunions provide a nice “grounding” in shared experiences. “It makes you feel like you’re still young again,” she says. “You may only see some of them every five years, but you can seem to pick up with them right away again.” Trennum agrees. “We shed our tears, we shared our laughter (mostly it’s laughter), but it’s a valuable thing. Those early friends, there’s just something special that’s intangible. You can’t really pinpoint it, but it’s just we’re always there for each other.”

Jill Trennum is reminded of Carole King’s song “You’ve Got a Friend” when she thinks of her Havergal network of friendship. As a graduate of the Class of 1961, Trennum says it’s wonderful to have kept such close connections with so many. “There are 14 or 15 of us from Grade 1, plus 30 or so more from our class who still talk all the time. That’s, like, 71 years of friendship.” Susan Armitage, another Grad from the class of ’61, points to a central factor in the close bond that the class shares—Jill Trennum. “Jill is the reason we’ve got such a good turnout and we’re so close. She’s the glue that keeps us together and continues to personally phone every classmate at least once a year,” says Armitage. Their recent 55th reunion saw more than 40 Old Girls turn out to their

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