Donna (Matthews) Irvine

Mr. Douglas, principal of Lester Pearson, was seen by some students to be a somewhat gruff authoritarian.  I saw another side of him.  I remember one summer, perhaps 1958 or 1959, when I was helping Mr. Douglas clean up around the school.  Underneath the cafeteria, I believe, we found a large box of brand-new records – 78s and a few 45s that had more than likely been stolen from a local record shop.  They were Elvis recordings.  He didn’t know how they got there and to avoid what could have been much trouble and investigating, he asked me if I wanted them and just gave them to me.  I still have quite a few of the RCA recordings of Elvis – Mean Woman Blues/Have I told You Lately That I Love You and Love Me Tender/Anyway You Want Me.

Donna (Matthews) Irvine - grad year 1960