In the late 1970s and 1980s, Hugh Brittain had his 6th graders at Havelock Elementary School in Saint John, New Brunswick, keep a diary for a week as an exercise in creative writing.
“They were going to seal them up and I gave them carte blanche to write whatever they wanted – what was bothering them or what was important in their lives at the time,” Brittain told CNN.
He never read the diaries, but he held them up so he could return them at graduation and make his students look like they were at the age of 12.
When he retired in 1995, he packed his papers – including dozens of diaries he was unable to deliver – in a box of memorabilia from his 34-year teaching career.
Brittain, 78, managed to return some of the diaries to their authors a few years ago after a school meeting, but he was still 26.
“I kept them all these years and I didn’t know what to do with them, I didn’t like to get rid of them and then I thought about trying again,” he said. “After saving some for 43 years, I thought it was time to make sure they were delivered.”
Last month, he posted a photo of the diaries – still in their original sealed envelopes – to a local Facebook group along with the names of the students he was trying to find in his classes in 1977-78, 1981-82, 1982 -1983 and 1987-88.
“I don’t know why I did it in some years,” said Brittain. “It just worked that way.”
It turns out that he didn’t just save the diaries.
When Maria Yelle commented on her post, Brittain immediately remembered her and posted five pictures of drawings she made for him when she was his student in 1986.
“I was very surprised, but very touched that he really cares and keeps up with this job,” said Yelle. “He’s just one of the good teachers. You really wanted to do your best and I just remember that he just encouraged us and really cared.”
Yelle now lives in Wisconsin and says that her daughter, who is going to sixth grade, is showing similar creativity.
Brittain said it has been interesting to hear the response from alumni who now live across Canada.
Austin Hutton, 45, moved across the country to Fort St. John, British Columbia, but told CNN that his mother told him about the post.
Hutton vaguely remembered keeping the diary in 1988, but he had no idea what was inside the envelope he decorated with baseball designs.
He wrote “MY DIARY TOP Secret Keep Out” in green ink on the cover.
Inside, he talked about mowing the lawn and saving money to buy a new bike, play sports with his friends, drive a tractor, buy sweets and get free bottles of soda. He signed each entry “Love Austin”.
Much of the diary focused on his passion for the “most beautiful girl in the class”. Hutton got her phone number, but said he never asked her out.
He said his four children, aged 12, 13, 19 and 20, enjoyed reading the diary.
“They thought it was hilarious to see their dad, kind of stuttering with the girls, and they were impressed with how perfect my handwriting was, my impression,” he said.
Hutton said his youngest son, AJ, is the same age as he was when he wrote the diary and it reminded them of how growing up is different for kids today.
“We didn’t have all video games and electronics, everything was books and external things,” he said.
Hutton described Brittain as a phenomenal teacher and said he was one of the few he remembered throughout his life.
He said he had “emotional chills” when he received the diary, not only because it was a time capsule of his life, but because his teacher cared enough to save it for 33 years.
“For someone to have the kindness, or the heart, to want to hold on to it, to eventually share it, or find a way to share it, no matter what happens, it says a lot,” said Hutton.
Brittain told CNN that she is still trying to return seven diaries.