Holyrood students show their thanks to firefighters

By Mark Squibb

The annual Holy Cross Elementary Thanksgiving assembly was especially poignant this year as staff and students expressed their appreciation for local first responders who battled blazes and aided with evacuations this summer.

Firefighters representing Holyrood, Harbour Main, Avondale, Conception Bay South, and the Witless Bay Fire departments, as well as representatives from Central Avalon Search and Rescue and the Canadia Coast Guard, were given a hero’s welcome when they arrived at the gymnasium October 10.

“It’s quite the privilege to be invited to something like this,” said Holyrood Fire Chief Trevor Rideout. “It’s a privilege to do what we do as first responders, and to see the impact of what we do in the community. We love what we do, and I always say it’s hard for us to accept thanks for something that we love to do so much.”
Each group was presented with a number of gifts, including a print of Keli-Ann-Pye-Beshara’s ‘Holyrood’,’ an original painting of Holyrood as seen from the bay, featuring George’s Cove Mountain, the Holyrood sign, and the Marine Institute building.

In a video tribute, students spoke about the evacuation, and the fear and uncertainty they felt when having to pack their bags and leave their home, and in some cases pets, behind. One student worried about her chickens back home. Other students described the awe of watching water bombers fly overhead.

Rideout said that hearing the students tell stories about their evacuation experience brought him back to his own childhood, when he was evacuated from his home during a hurricane while living in Florida.

Members of the Canadian Red Cross and RCMP were also invited but were unable to attend.

At the close of the assembly, students presented a number of food hampers for the local food bank.