Celebration to be hosted for SCS 70th anniversary

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

This fall will mark the 70th anniversary of Samuel Crowther School (SCS) opening in Strathmore, and a committee has been formed to plan a Homecoming to take place on June 10, 2023.

Rhonda Christie, who has taken it upon herself to organize the occasion, said it’s an exciting landmark for the facility to be recognized for. 

“I think it’s a great opportunity. We did we have one in ‘93 and you got to see so many people back in 93, so we decided to go have another one this coming year for 70 years,” said Christie. “We were going to have the celebration this summer, but these things take a year to plan. We didn’t know with the uncertainty of COVID-19 what was going to happen, so we just postponed it.”

The current facility now standing is not the original structure. The school upon first opening, was a one-room building. The new and now current facility was completed in 1952 and students were transferred over. 

At the time of SCS, it was the only school in Strathmore, and it saw students attend throughout the entirety of their public-school careers.

Currently, Holy Cross Collegiate and Sacred Heart Academy stand in the building that was once SCS. While under a different name, much of the original architecture still exists, although it has since been renovated.

A meeting to help plan the celebration was hosted in July at the Strathmore Legion with a core volunteer group in attendance. 

“Because we were going to have it this past summer, a lot of the pre-planning has already been done. The venue is booked and now a lot of the finer details just have to be worked out,” said Christie, who stressed wanting to get the word out about the celebration for folks who are interested about the building to be able to attend.

When the celebration rolls around, the current plan is to host an icebreaker event at the Legion, followed by a pancake breakfast the following morning, among other activities.

“It’s not going to be a long, drawn-out program because people are just going to be coming to visit,” said Christie. 

For those who are interested in volunteering or in attending the celebration, they are able to join the Samuel Crowther School Homecoming Facebook group, or email (scshomecoming2022@gmail.com).