Lambton College Hits the Big Five-O.

Photo by Zach Neal.

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer.




Lambton College, a school set to launch a $42-million expansion, had a humble start 50 years ago.

In the mid-1960s, Ontario decided to create a new system of community colleges, and Lambton was the second to set up shop.

Ron Lawrence, 93, was among its 10-member faculty when the college first opened its doors in November 1966 in an old building in Sarnia's Chemical Valley.

“It was a derelict schoolhouse,” he said.

Zach Neal.

“When I say derelict, I really mean it. The heating didn't work, the air conditioning didn't work, the toilets overflowed. The whole place was a real mess.”

Lawrence said he remembers selling students their textbooks on the first day, although just getting the books had been a challenge.

“We had to order a large number of textbooks for a college that nobody had ever heard of, and they didn't believe me,” he said.

But Lawrence convinced publishers that a college really was starting up in Sarnia, and the books arrived in time.

Zach Neal.

Link to the rest here.