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Stories about Fricky
Sydney Academy
Frank taught me chemistry in 1963 and 1964 at the Academy in grades 10 and 11. I had difficulty with some of the concepts and he spent extra time after school helping me. WE got to know one another well and a mutual respect developed. I left the Academy in 1965 but Frank and I always remained in touch and we saw one another several times when I visited Sydney. In the last decade, I listened to his complaints about not always seeing the ball on the golf course and having trouble driving it`. I would sent Frank colored golf balls and I got him a new driver with a large head. He talked about that all the time . He did so much to help others in need. Not sure how many know but he and Roy Woodill( I believe he was a Mr. Universe) were very close friends. Roy taught at the Academy and when he retired Frank would visit him in Florida and play golf. Dean and the rest of the family who Frank loved and spoke about let me say I am sorry.
Sydney Academy
Fricky taught me Chemistry in high school and I was very fortunate to work with Fricky in my first years at Sydney Academy. I am now teaching Chemistry and the Department Head of Science at Sydney Academy. He obviously was a very positive role model. He would probably say "good show" if he were to read this. A gentleman always. Rest in peace Mr. Mac Donald after a life well lived.
From:
Cyril McDonald
valkyrie@ns.sympatico.ca
Fricky was a dear friend and repository of memories
Fricky was a dear friend of my father and was a constant companion as they grew up together in the Sterling. He was a frequent visitor to our home throughout the years and always an entertaining gent with his wide smile and great conversation. As an historian and folklorist I decided, two years ago, to interview him in his home and record some of his tales and memories of his youth and how it differed from the way children grow up today. The tales of the play habits of boys in the '20s and '30s were great for him to relive and for me to record and garner some insight into the times and ways of life as it was. Fricky was very generous with his time and was always available to visit and respect the final times of everyone from the Sterling. A life-long resident of the Sterling, he often said "I could build any house I might want and live wherever I desire but I love it here, I love the Sterling". Farewell Fricky, you will always be lovingly remembered.
From:
Kirk D. MacNeil
celticentertainer@gmail.com
Former student remembers Fricky
I had Fricky as a Chemistry Teacher back in 1981-82 at Sydney Academy. He was a good golfing buddy of my Mother and Father (Neil Vincent MacNeil and Frances MacNeil). Fricky would often tell me about golf games with Mom and Dad with good comedy in his stories. Without a doubt, Fricky stood out as a teacher who loved his work and helping youngsters learn this important study. It was my privilege to have had him as a teacher and I always enjoyed bumping into him at the Mayflower Mall and appreciating his warm personality. Hats off to you Fricky, finest teacher I've ever had! May you forever be in the company of the Lord!
I feel compelled to add a line or two on Frank “Frickie” MacDonald who passed away recently. He was my Grade XI teacher in Morien in 1949. He was also principal of our school, Gowrie, a Grade 1 to Grade 11 school. I can still picture him on the school steps on that first day in September with the school bell in hand and all the students lined up. His smile was wide. His demeanour upbeat. I said to myself, “Boy, we’re going to have some fun here.” That was not necessarily the case, but our double-graded Grade 10/11 class had our moments with him. I remember two: Once we barricaded the door to the classroom with his desk and we took the gong out of the bell so that when he went to ring it at recess, there was no sound. On another occasion, the boys in my class went down at noon to a local rink and played hockey until about 2 o’clock and came back to school just before the end of the day. Frank said, “Your position is precarious.” That was his favourite expression for a multitude of sins. Although he had the daunting task of teaching all subjects in two grades and administering the school, he acquitted himself extremely well because he had the absolutely essential ingredient of a teacher, “authenticity.” He was real. I never saw him again until 1980 when I came to Cape Breton from Toronto. One morning I rose early, just as the sun was coming up out of the mightly Atlantic and I drove to Lingan to play golf. Frank was about to tee-off. He remembered me. He bought my round. He took me in his group. At Lingan, in those days, if you didn’t see Frank on the links, you heard him in the fairways. He had a loud voice. He was a verbalizer. Golf, for him, was a social outing. Over the years I saw him often. He had a very sharp mind, with a good grasp of current affairs. He was also a great wit. No-one could touch his retorts. At the hockey games that he attended religiously over the years and at the Mayflower Mall that he frequented, he would say something along this line: “Nice to see you, but I’m glad you’re leaving.” I saw him often at various dinners in the area. He had a great grasp of local history and a great memory for former students. He remembered most of his students in Port Morien. Frank MacDonald had a long life. Longevity was in his family. He was a modest person but he touched many. He was very generous in his friendships and generous to his extended family. I knew he was failing. He could no longer attend the hockey games. He was getting tired. When I heard that he had passed on, I was not surprised. But he shall be missed by all the students that sat before him and the legion of friends who had the privilege of knowing him. I count myself as one of them. Rest eternal grant him, O Lord, and may light perpetual fall upon him. LeRoy
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