Each fall, thousands of alumni make the annual migration to campus for Homecoming. The trip can be long and arduous for those furthest away 鈥 14 to 16 hours by plane and another two-and-a-half by train. That, you might think, is the ultimate expression of Queen鈥檚 dedication.
That is, until you hear the story of Allan Charles 鈥淒ibb鈥 Dibblee鈥檚 first trek 鈥 or should we say odyssey? 鈥 to campus in June of 1947, a trip that changed his life. Mr. Dibblee, Arts鈥53, IR鈥54, wasn鈥檛 coming from another country, or even another province. But in 1947, a trip from the backwoods of northern Ontario wasn鈥檛 an excursion; it was a commitment.
Mr. Dibblee, then a forestry worker with aspirations of higher education, recalls it was a fine day when he set out, having enrolled in a summer semester at Queen鈥檚.
鈥淭he journey began 40 miles upriver from civilization by boat, down to the dock at the depot camp, and then 15 miles by miniature railroad to avoid the rapids 鈥 to the northern dock for the final boat trip to the town dock,鈥 he remembers.
From there he caught a Canadian National Railway train to the railway hub of Cochrane 鈥 but still some 730 kilometres north of Toronto.
So, he switched to Ontario Northland Railway heading south from Moosonee. The train took him overnight to Toronto, arriving 鈥渆xactly 24 hours after the start of (my) journey.鈥
And still hours away from Kingston.
-
Allan Dibblee celebrating with friends at the British American Hotel, in Kingston.
On a late afternoon train ride to Kingston, Mr. Dibblee met 30 teachers headed to summer school at Queen鈥檚.
鈥淚 was an object of curiosity when I told them I was a forestry worker seeking an education,鈥 he says.
Once in Kingston, he found a room at Berry House, one of the co-ops founded by engineering students just a few years before, and began a summer of learning and socializing, including 鈥渄ances at Ban Righ 鈥 trips to Wolfe Island and Gananoque, and off-campus summer theatre at The Princess Hotel.鈥
It was a time he says he will always remember 鈥 and a story familiar to his family members who also became alumni: son Tom Dibblee, Ed鈥87; daughter-in-law Sharon (Kehoe) Dibblee, Artsci/PHE鈥83, Ed鈥84; and four grandchildren as well.
It鈥檚 a connection that all goes back to a sunny Saturday in 1947, when Allan Dibblee set foot on the boat that put him on course to Kingston, and a tricolour destiny that鈥檚 a source of pride for his entire family.
鈥淭he campus was busy all summer and with exams in August, it was all over,鈥 Mr. Dibblee says. 鈥淏ut the Queen鈥檚 bug had bitten, and I became a true Queen鈥檚 man and as a result of the summer school experience, those days are forever in my memory.
鈥淭hat trip 鈥 was one to remember.鈥
