SUMMERSIDE - When Blair Strongman went to a Lions Club meeting back in 1977, he probably didn't expect it would lead to nearly 40 years of involvement in P.E.I. community schools.
That was the year St. Eleanors decided to start its own school, with Strongman and his wife elected as its first co-chairs.
"When we got home, we were kind of surprised that we were chair and co-chair, but we didn't really know of what," Strongman recalls.
"That was my first introduction to the community school, and I've been involved every year since."
For 10 evenings each year, Greenfield Elementary transforms into the St. Eleanors community school, offering around 20 courses on everything from music and knitting to crafts and organic gardening.
Classes will start again in the new year, beginning Jan. 4 and running until Feb. 29.
Strongman said the community school is still popular as ever, drawing an average of 150 students a year.
"We've never had many lows in attendance there - probably 100 would be the minimum and we've had them as high as 325," he said.
The P.E.I. Community Schools Association formed in 1965 with the central goal of holding communities together through education.
With 2015 approaching, the association is compiling a book chronicling the 50-year history of the schools across the Island.
Strongman is the chair of the association's history committee, and is searching for people involved with community schools in the past to tell their stories for the book.
"We've contacted quite a few people already for stories and photos. Some of the schools that are no longer going that were going 20 years ago, we didn't have a lot of information on them," he said. "There's a lot of people that were involved in community schools 20 to 25 years ago that aren't now, and I'm sure they'd have a lot to contribute to this."
According to Strongman, P.E.I. is now the only province in which community schools operate on a volunteer basis.
But that hasn't kept instructors and students from flocking to classes across the Island.
Strongman said students in St. Eleanors range in age from 16 to 90, and the school is always looking for new courses to draw people in.
"We've been getting involved in some environmental things, and organic gardening is another...that was really big. If we drop it for three or four years and then bring it back, there seems to be quite a lot of interest again," he said. "They offer babysitting courses, CPR - it depends what suits your area. Music, in every school, always seems to be a big, big thing."
Those wishing to contribute to the 50th anniversary book can contact the P.E.I. Community Schools Association at 892-3445, or Strongman via 436-0880.
