Cheryl Win and Sandy Isbister build a literary monument for Collingwood school kids
When Cheryl Win is not at work as a postie or out on the farm, she writes fine accounts of bygone days. Her recent book, Collingwood Kids - 150 Years of Learning, has been produced with Sandy Isbister and the help of many others, she said.
The book allows the reader a fascinating glimpse of the passage of time, the technological evolution and social developments that have taken place in Collingwood education in just 150 years. It tells the tale of a life without computers, telephones or workshop technology, when people travelled by horse instead of by school bus or car, and puts modern life into perspective.
Collating and writing this history took Cheryl 11 months, fulltime, during which “home went by the board.”
“I make time to write and I love doing the research. I find it a challenge. I start locally and then spread out to the Nelson Provincial Museum and the archives at the Turnbull Library. I talk to lots of people and then it snowballs, really. Then this person knows that person who might know something, and I follow all these leads and then I have to confirm all the information because when you write history you’ve got to get it right.”
The idea took shape as the school was nearing its 150th anniversary and Cheryl was on the reunion committee. Cheryl and Sandy, among many others, volunteered their time and skills, and the self-published book is expected to finance itself.
“People were also really willing to help with photos and I guess they get quite a lot of pleasure of seeing photos of grandad and nana in the book.”
Sandy’s production was fundamental in getting the book to the final printing stage. She sorted the material into a cohesive order and did the layout and typesetting.
“[Writer] Carol Dawber volunteered her time too and did a huge amount of work. We worked 12-hour days during the final edit. We did it for the school, and any money from the book goes back to the school. I really enjoyed doing this, although it came on the back of two other books,” said Sandy.
“It is a complicated process to self-publish a book and the more you print the cheaper it gets, but you also have to get the price right so it is still affordable. The book appeals to local people but also to people from outside the Bay and for those who collect history books as it has a lot of social history in it.”
The book is available directly from CAS or Take Note and costs $50.
Ina Holst
