‘I get such a thrill’

Kentville legion member will soon graduate from a nursery school

You’re never too old to graduate… from nursery school?

Donald Job, 89, regularly visits the ABC Nursery School for a special Remembrance Day event as a member of the Royal Canadian Legion in Kentville.

When a hospital stay prevented Job from giving his annual Remembrance Day talk at the school this year, it marked the first time in 29 years that he was unable to attend the yearly event ABC Nursery School started in 1979 as a way of having veterans teach the children about the significance of the poppy.

Because he’d always joke with students that he’d never graduated from nursery school, ABC Nursery director Corinne Langley Mayfield set out to change that this year.

“We will give him the same certificate our four-year-olds get when they graduate, and will surprise him with it when he’s able to come present to the kids,” she says.

Job says he was “very upset” to have missed the talk this year and felt impatient waiting to get permission from his doctor to travel and visit the school.

He says the event is one he “enjoys immensely, and gets better year after year — if you can believe it.”

“The look of the children when you’re talking, they are so attentive. I get such a thrill about just being able to explain what a great country we live in, and what the poppy means to our citizens,” says Job.

Mayfield says Job is instrumental in helping the kids understand that crucial context. Despite their young age, Mayfield says some students in their second year at the school recognize Job — or maybe his uniform or medals — from the year before and remember learning about poppies and the First World War.

“I always talk to them about what an amazing country Canada is, and the role it played in helping others win their freedom back. My biggest thrill is seeing when they absorb some of this. They seem to know what a poppy is, and what it’s for,” says Job.

The school carried out its annual poppy campaign this year and will donate the funds raised to the Kentville legion. And when Job is able to attend and give his talk, Mayfield and the students will present him with his certificate of graduation.

But for now, that remains a surprise for Job, who is set to attend the school Nov. 20.

“As soon as I’m able to get up and around, I’ll be back there,” he says.

CONTRIBUTED Corinne Langley Mayfield, left, stands with students who attend ABC Nursery School in Kentville, which hosts an annual talk led by legion member Donald Job about why poppies are worn around Remembrance Day, and what they symbolize. Job was unable to attend this year on the event’s regular date, and will visit the school Nov. 20.