Lakefield Herald Special Report

Living History project matches seniors with LCS students

by Anita Locke

The “Living History” of 20 senior citizens from Lakefield and area is now in written biographical format, thanks to a partnership between Community Care Lakefield, Lakefield College School and journalist Judy Steed.

The Grade 12 students, under the tutelage of Paul Mason, their teacher, undertook the project as part of the curriculum requirements of their Writers Craft class.

On November 6, 2009, the seniors shared their Living History with the students. Students had earlier learned interview techniques from Judy Steed, an award winning journalist who has written extensively for such publications as the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.

The finished histories were presented to the seniors at a special event on Tuesday, February 2 at Lakefield College School.

This unique partnership, with its intergenerational focus, provided a wonderful opportunity for students to learn, and seniors to share and receive their legacy. It is the first of its kind, with hopes to expand it across Canada.

Tom Milburn, Dean of Humanities, and Department Head for English, Languages and Art at Lakefield College School said, “It was inspiring to see the strong connections that were established between the students and seniors. The students were very interested to hear the details of the lives of these seniors.”

Writing the biographies, Tom said, is very much part of the curriculum, and gave the students an amazingly authentic experience.

Lakefield College School was approached last year to partner with Community Care and Judy Steed.

Community Care’s Community Development Coordinator Lorri Rork liaised with the local seniors and coordinated that aspect of the project.

Judy Steed, who has a year round cottage in the area, is an award winning journalist and author.

A feature writer at the Globe and Mail from 1981-89, and at the Toronto Star from 1989 to 2008, Judy is the recipient of four National Newspaper Award citations for feature writing.

She was awarded the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy, which enabled her to study Aging for one year.

She asked questions such as, Where are the best places in the world to grow old, and why?

She travelled to Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm and London. Her series, titled Boomer Tsunami, generated the biggest response of any Atkinson series in the history of the fellowship.

Seniors for the Living History project at Lakefield College School ranged in age from 65 to over 80.

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