Former teacher remembers student who died in bus-train crash

I have just read, two years after the dedication, about a new hiking trail in memory of two Crestwood Secondary School students, Shirley Cunningham and Shelley Riel, who were killed Nov. 21, 1968, when their school bus was hit by a train.

I was in my first year of teaching English, and Crestwood was my first school. I will never ever forget Shirley Cunningham because losing her affected me deeply and terribly. No teacher training I’d had prepared me for this tragedy.

To make my grief worse, the day before, on Nov. 20, Shirley had asked me for extra help in understanding something about grammar, so instead of go

ing home on the school bus immediately after classes ended, she came to my classroom, where I helped her to understand what she wanted to know. She left at about 4:15 p.m., I think, to catch the last school bus home.

For 52 years, I have felt so terrible that I had kept her from a few last precious hours with her family to learn — what? Nothing that would matter any more to her, although I certainly didn’t know that at the time.

I’ve always wanted her family to know what a remarkable young lady Shirley was, and how terrible I felt because I had deprived her of time with her family the night before the tragedy.

The next morning when we all heard of the tragedy, I was numb with despair.

To remember Shirley, the vice-principal read over the PA a short article she had written.

I don’t remember what it was about. I just know I wanted her to be remembered somehow.

In my many subsequent years of teaching, I had many students, but Shirley will always be the first one I remember. I still wonder how her family has coped.

I’m glad Shirley and Shelley, who was not one of my students, are remembered in a plaque for the Andrew Trail.

Mrs. L. Hamilton (formerly Miss L. Pollard at Crestwood), England