Ever wonder what your elementary school teacher is up to these days? Barry and Karen Wimmer found the answer to that question when they visited their grade six teacher in Moose Jaw last week.
Brock Crysler taught school in Castor, Alta., for 20 years from 1968 to 1988. Among his pupils were Barry and Karen, who both currently live in Red Deer, Alta. When asked, they both agreed that Crysler was their favourite teacher growing up.
“Not your best teacher, but your favourite teacher, as we had a lot of fun!” Crysler interjected in good spirit.
Crysler was originally from Saskatoon but accepted a job opening to teach in the town of Castor.
“I went up there to teach school because they were looking for teachers. I think when I first went, there were 1,200 people. Now it’s down to around maybe 900. If you ever drive Highway 12 from Red Deer up to Consort, it’s the prettiest little town on that highway,” Crysler said.
“I was a Saskatoon boy going to a small town and I thought, ‘My God, what are you doing in a little town like this?’ Well, you can do a lot more than the big city, because you can afford to.”
He was introduced to several activities he otherwise wouldn’t have tried, such as curling.
“Well, I threw a couple rocks in my life during high school, and they (curlers in the town of Castor) said, ‘Oh well, come on out’.”
For those in the town, it was more about meeting new people than about competition.
The school in Castor was an old country school. “This was back around 1971, and you sort of taught everything,” Crysler explained.
He is retired now, after teaching in Castor exclusively. Brock and his wife Elaine have lived in Moose Jaw since settling down here around 2002.
“Elaine and I bounced around the country and somehow landed in Moose Jaw, because she was with the Bank of Montreal and got a job here.”
Crysler and his wife showed the Wimmers around town during their visit to Moose Jaw. The Wimmers said they loved the Tunnels of Little Chicago and took the time to tour all three. At the end of the day, they stayed with their former teacher to catch up and share some old photos.
“You don’t know how many times we said, ‘Do you remember so and so?’” Crysler recalled. “Oh right, I remember him, he was the crazy guy in town!”
It has been a while since the group met last. “Well, I talked to Barry 50 years ago, but I saw him very briefly maybe 15 years ago,” said Crysler. Aside from that, Crysler said they would swap pictures on Facebook out of the blue but that’s about it.
Crysler was very satisfied to hear that both of his pupils, Barry and Karen, had done well with their lives since graduation. “It had nothing to do with my teaching, but they had both done very well with their lives,” Crysler insisted.
“Who goes to visit their grade six teacher after 50 years?” Crysler asked with a smile. Clearly, he had a bigger impact on his students than he previously thought.
The Wimmers said they were humbled by their visit to Moose Jaw, and between the chance to visit and tour the city, the eight-hour drive from Red Deer was worth it.
Crysler said he used to deliver papers in Moose Jaw back when the Times Herald newspaper was still in print. This made him an ideal tour guide and gave the opportunity to teach his former students one more lesson.
“I used to go down there and do open routes, if kids were away or on holiday or if this guy didn’t show up. It was from South Hill to the east and west end of town, so I got to know the city better than most people who had lived here for a long time,” he said. “I don’t know how many strangers would stop me on the street and say, ‘do you know where Prince Arthur School is?’”
I said, ‘Oh yeah, go up there, hang a right, go around the crescent until you hit a stop sign, and cross the street.’” He said the newspaper delivery job was a great opportunity to get some exercise in while meeting new people.
His wife Elaine chipped in, “And it would get him out of my hair!”
Today, Castor is more of a retirement village than a small town bustling with activity as it once was.
“I have more friends there than I do in any one place in the world,” he said. Despite spending a lot of time in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, Crysler says, “Some of our closest friends are back in Castor.”
“It was a wonderful visit!”
Crysler concluded with a reminder that it never hurts to reach out to your former teachers who left an impact on your life and reminisce about the good old days.
