CHSS holds co-op breakfast, bids farewell to beloved cook after 50 years

BY SCOTT STEPHENSON

The value of Central Huron Secondary School’s (CHSS) co-op program is undeniable - the results speak for themselves. It offers students the opportunity to explore potential career paths while simultaneously developing specialized skill sets and building confidence.

 

Gaining valuable work experience certainly gives young people a meaningful head start in their chosen fields. And, of course, building community connections while supporting local employers is a sure-fire way to create a stronger, more resilient Huron County. 

 

But, while the success of the co-op program is surely worth celebrating, the unsung hero of CHSS’ biannual co-op breakfast is not the students, or the teachers, or even the community members who take the time and make the effort to train the next generation of workers. It’s the actual breakfast itself.

 

Without the steady stream of expertly-prepared breakfasts that has flowed from the CHSS kitchen for decades, the co-op breakfast would be nothing more than an early morning meeting, held each semester to thank students, employers and community partners for their participation in the program.

 

Just as the CHSS co-op program itself is often credited for helping students explore postsecondary and career pathways with greater confidence, the CHSS co-op breakfast is often credited as reliably delicious, with generous portions served with a side sense of continuity spanning generations.

 

For 50 years, the comforting consistency of a CHSS meal has been anchored by nutrition specialist Heather Hart, who has stewarded the biannual breakfast through decades of change. But that chain is about to be broken - Hart is finally planning to retire, which means last week’s co-op breakfast will be her last. 

 

Shane Taylor, the Department Head of Co-op, Connections and Business at CHSS, agrees that Hart’s presence has been a defining part of the co-op program’s success. Hart’s retirement marks the end of an era. “We’re not sure what we’re going to do next year without her for breakfast,” Taylor confessed. “Unless we can convince her to come back,” he added wistfully.

 

He pointed out that Hart’s role has extended far beyond food service. “Heather is in a neat situation where she gets to know multiple generations,” Taylor explained. “She knows grandparents, the parents and their kids who came through here.”
Taylor also emphasized Hart’s remarkable consistency and reliability over the years. “You can always count on her,” he said. “She’s here every morning. She does all the special food days, she’s here so early, and even when we’ve had to reschedule our breakfast days because of snow, she always rolls with it.”

 

He feels that Hart’s stalwart reliability has helped make the breakfast a familiar experience for former students returning as adults. “A lot of people here today are our CHSS alumni,” he explained. “They used to be my co-op students, and now they’re the supervisors, and everybody that comes back here is like - ‘yep, this is what I remember eating when I was here!’”

 

He also pointed to Hart’s broader presence in the community, noting that she is known through multiple workplaces and roles. “That consistency is huge,” Taylor said. “In a school where absenteeism can be a problem, students need adults in their lives who show up every day.”

 

CHSS teacher Cody Bromley asserts that both the breakfast and the overall co-op program have been inspiring other schools. “To be able to run the co-op breakfast here every year, twice a year, has been outstanding,” Bromley said. “It’s a model that I know other co-op programs are trying to replicate. But it’d be tough to do without Heather. She almost knows every student by name as they come through the cafeteria. The smiles she puts on their faces shows how much she truly cares about this school, and the community.”

 

Looking back on her decades at the school, Hart recalled how different things once were. “When I started here in ’76, it was busy,” she said. “We had three lunches - we used to do 40 bags of fries a day.”

 

Her decision to retire is a bittersweet one. “I love working with the kids. Love it,” she declared. “It’s a little scary - I’m not sure whether I’m ready to retire.., but it’s time.”

 

Avery and Craig Skinner were among the many program participants enjoying Hart’s last breakfast. Avery did his co-op at New United Goderich, where he learned the art of airplane maintenance.

 

Avery has found that the hands-on nature of the work agrees with him. “When you’re in school, you’re learning about how to do stuff, not what to do,” he explained. “It’s different. I’ve been taking panels off planes, putting cotter pins in, lock wire - really anything small,” he explained. Once his co-op is complete, Avery plans to pursue Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and carry on in that field for the rest of his life. 

 

Craig Skinner, the Safety Management Co-ordinator at New United Goderich, enjoys the way that co-op placements can show young people the paths towards lesser-known careers. “We like to bring the students in and open them up to new opportunities,” he pointed out. “This is a career that not a lot of people know about - it’s a very small niche market. For example, I grew up on a farm about five kilometres from the airport where I’m working now, and I had no idea they did anything like that back there.”

 

For Taylor, building those sorts of local bridges is exactly what makes the CHSS co-op program work. “When you take a student from CHSS, you’re not just getting someone to fill a chair,” he mused. “You’re helping nurture the next generation that will help Huron County thrive. They don’t have to leave home to find world-class opportunities. Sometimes the best soil to plant your roots is right in your own backyard.”