COLUMN: The Carillon Flashback May 27, 1986 Reimer says education gave him a fuller life

Students today don’t appreciate the opportunity to go to school because they don’t have to make any sacrifices to get an education, according to P.J.B. Reimer of Rosenort.

Reimer, 83, who taught in the Hanover and Morris Macdonald School Divisions for 43 years, recalls how difficult it was for him to get an education and how it had been impossible for his grandfather to go to college.

Reimer was expected to follow the family tradition of farming, but his father asked the church bishop to give his youngest son permission to attend school past the age of 14. The Mennonite church the family belonged to frowned on higher education at that time, because they thought it was dangerous.

The bishop granted permission with the condition that Reimer would teach in Mennonite communities. Throughout his teaching career, Reimer adhered to that condition.

“It was very important for me to teach our Mennonite young people to believe in education.”

Reimer began teaching at the age of 19, after he had completed his grade 11. He attended summer schools for 13 years to earn his Bachelor of Arts degree and first class principal certificate.

He taught in Randolph, Mitchell, Linden, Steinbach Junior High School, Greenbank and Grunthal Collegiate.

His first year he taught 29 students in Grades 1 to 6 at Randolph. Reimer’s oldest student, Ben P. Rempel, was 13 years old. Reimer was only 19.

The following year, 1924-25, he taught 10 students in Mitchell, where he met Elizabeth Kehler. They were married two years later.

At Linden, he taught school in the building used for church services on Sunday and as a school during the week. He lived in the teacher’s living quarters, located in the same building.

He taught at the Steinbach Junior High from 1935 to 1948. Reimer recalls the year he taught 58 Grade 7 students.

“Can you imagine a classroom with 35 boys and 23 girls? Even if they are in one grade, it is hard to keep that many young people working and to keep their attention. That was a task, but I never needed the principal to help me.”

He describes the years at Greenbank (1949-1952) as the most difficult time of his life. In addition to teaching up to 48 students in Grades 1 to 8, he supervised students enrolled in Grade 9 and 10 correspondence courses. At the same time he worked as an assistant minister in the church.

Nettie Cornelson, one of the girls taking correspondence, was such a good student, she could look after the school when Reimer had to go to church meetings during the day.

“After three years of that, I was dead beat,”

Throughout his career, Reimer said his main goal had been to teach students how to think.

“You have to learn how to think in order to be able to make good decisions.”

With a chuckle, he notes many of his former students are now 60 or 70 years old. He finds it amusing when these older students relate childhood memories which seemed so insignificant at the time.

One woman recently related she had fond memories of listening to his instruction while Reimer was standing by the window teaching the older students.

Former students have become businessmen, teachers, doctors, ministers, scientists, nurses and entered many other professions, Reimer said.

During his 43-year career, Reimer taught 1,500 students. He may not recognize some of his former students when he meets them now, but if they tell him their names, he says he remembers them.

– with files from Gladys Terichow