CONTINUING LEGACY
Cornerstone from former school given to historical society.
Chuck Thompson has fond memories of his life in North Sydney, but one thing he will never forget is his grandfather’s dedication to the town.
A. Charles Thompson served as mayor of the Town of North Sydney from 1944-54.
During his time as the community’s top politician, Thompson was successful in accomplishing two major projects — the construction of the then Thompson High School and St. Elizabeth Hospital, now known as the Northside General.
The high school was built in 1949 at a cost of $518,758 and on July 20 of that year, a cornerstone was incorporated into the building in recognition of the mayor.
“When they (built) post offices, they usually put a stone with the name of a member of Parliament or a member of the legislature or somebody of significance and that was common,” said Chuck Thompson, now a resident of Middle River.
“I don’t know who made the decision to put my grandfather’s name on the stone — it may have been him or it may have been council’s decision — but he was a driving force behind the school.”
The stone was recently removed from the former Thompson school, prior to the demolition of the Regent Street structure earlier this month.
The Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre of Education had planned to return the stone to the Thompson family, however the family decided to give the concrete stone to the North Sydney Historical Society.
“We explained to (the Thompson family) what the historical society would like to see happen with it and that was for the stone to remain in the town and at the North Sydney Historical Museum,” said Robert Hillman, building manager of the facility and member of the historical society.
Several houses on the Regent Street property were moved to new locations to make way for the building of the school almost 70 years ago.
An addition to the school was built in 1964 and to house the growing number of students, 17 portable classrooms were added in 1972, six of which were placed down the street from the school.
When Memorial High School in Sydney Mines opened in 1976, Thompson became a junior high school and later a middle school.
“I’m proud of my grandfather, he was a bit of a character — there’s stories about him,” said Thompson.
“I have to say that I’m really pleased that the North Sydney Historical Society has taken it upon themselves to take the stone instead of it ending up in a pile of rubble with the rest of the bricks.”
With declining numbers and escalating costs, the former Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board decided in 2016 to close Thompson, giving the formal closure notice that April.
The final classes at the school, which had 138 students, were held in June 2016,
with the building officially closing on Sept. 1 of that year. The students were moved to Sydney Mines Middle School.
Thompson doesn’t have any hard feelings towards the former school board for making the decision to demolish the building.
“It’s just a reality for the former school board, they can’t make money, they have to do something with what they have, and they determined that the school was coming down,” said Thompson.
“If the Cape Breton economy was better — we all know that story — somebody might have bought (the school) and turned it into an office building ... but when they say it’s too far gone then it comes down and life goes on.”
Hillman believes Northside residents will be pleased to know the stone hasn’t been damaged.
“Through social media over the last little while, it’s really showed the importance of the school, people were saddened to see it go and I think they’re going to be happy to see that at least the stone will still be in town,” said Hillman.
The stone is currently being refurbished by John D. Steele’s Sons Monuments Ltd. of North Sydney. It will be placed in front of the North Sydney museum on Commercial Street for public viewing.
“The museum is a wonderful new facility and it’s a great spot for people walking around,” said Thompson. “Museums are a living tribute to the past and the present, so it’s really nice that the stone is going to be on the main street.”
Hillman confirmed the historical society is planning a special ceremony to unveil the monument at the museum next month. A date was not confirmed at press time.
According to former teachers and staff members at the school, a time capsule was also placed behind the cornerstone, however Hillman said no capsule was found at the time of the stone’s removal.
“The back of the cornerstone is quite large, so it’s possible that it may be encapsulated in the concrete,” said Hillman. “It will be determined if it’s there when refurbishing work takes place, so we will know soon.”
“I’m proud of my grandfather, he was a bit of a character — there’s stories about him.’’
Chuck Thompson