Irene Burge 56 Doncaster Ave.

Charlottetown, PE CIA 8H8

Irene was born on March 10, 1931, the third child of Lou Burge and Teresa Whitty. After completing nine grades in Fortune Road school she went to Souris Convent for grade 10. In 1945 while boarding at Notre Dame Academy she went to Prince of Wales College for grades 11 and 12. Following graduation from grade 12, she went to St. Dunstan’s University, where she received a B, Comm Degree (cum laude) in 1951. Her most valuable experiences at SDU were friendships formed, especially with the other coeds in residence.

Irene remembers that the upper class women in residence were very helpful to, and protective of, the new coeds. “We boarded at Marion Hall, a converted farm house of the St. Vincent’s Orphanage. We had our meals in a special dining room at the Orphanage. We were expected to attend daily mass in the Orphanage Chapel. Belonging to the coeds chonis was an enjoyable experience. Sister Mary Winnifred trained us. We even entered the Music Festival and came second of two entries.

Sister Mary Henry had a room on the first floor of Marion Hall, and ‘supervised’ our night coming and goings. As with the men on campus, we had a curfew. When we returned from an evening in town, she would meet us at the door. Ofien we were a few minutes late. If there was a discrepancy in our time pieces, Sister Mary Henry always claimed that only her time piece was accurate, because she called the Canadian National Telegraph Office to get the correct time. Her pronouncement of ‘this is Canadian National Telegraph time’ became a much used expression for the coeds.”