Weyburn bids farewell this weekend to Bob and Brenda King, two long-time teachers at Weyburn Comprehensive School.

While Brenda became a teacher at WCS in 1978, Bob has been here since 1967, when it was still called Weyburn Collegiate Institute. Aside from one year spent elsewhere, their whole careers have been at 'the Comp'.

"When [Bob] retired, he became Activities Director, and when that ended, he subbed, and I've subbed, so our connection to the Comp has just been forever," shared Brenda.

She noted Bob's tenure lent to some advantages for the entire community as the renovation and expansion project to the original WCS began around 10 years ago.

"That was a great place to work," she commented. "All the schools our kids went to, APES, the [Weyburn] Junior High, the Comp. They couldn't have had a better education anywhere and they couldn't have more opportunities for extra curricular, because Liz is the arts, and Rob is the sports, and there was so much for both of them. In a bigger school like that, well, and in the Junior High, too, they never forgot that sports isn't everything. Right?"

However, especially if you played sports at the Comp, you probably knew Mr. King simply as, "Kinger". 

For years, many hundreds, if not thousands, of students, and not just athletes, would utter the moniker, causing Bob to hear about it from his colleagues who thought the students should be calling him Mr. King.

"My life with 'Mr. King' is, always I go, 'oh, my dad's not here is he?"

Bob said it was part of the typical relational persona of a Coach, and it simply spilled over into the hallway, and into other parts of his life, including lending the nickname to his files. 

"It didn't bother me," he shared. "Like, even now, sometimes I go in there, they started calling me Bob. You know, especially the younger kids."

Brenda said how students refer to their teachers is a peculiar, and individual, thing. While her own kids' friends often didn't call them anything, some refuse to change.

"I'm saying, 'Well, you know, you're almost 50. You can call me Brenda', 'No, I couldn't ever do that'," she chuckled. "And then there were others that, the night of graduation, they'd saunter up at the dance and go, 'Hi there, Brenda', because it was their right of passage."

She said moving to Saskatoon, officially Monday, will be wonderful for their being able to take in more shows and see their grandchildren more often, but there is something special about Weyburn she may not find elsewhere. 

"Here, I taught our car dealer, I taught our investment guy. I taught our lawyer. I taught the doctor I had, the dentist I have," she shared. "My physiotherapist when I had physio, I had taught my pharmacist you know it just goes on and on. We could be buried by somebody we taught." 

Brenda noted it says something about the community that so many went away to train for their professions, and then ended up back here in Weyburn. 

As many would attest, part of why this community is so great, is not only for the teachers we have had here at all our schools, but also thanks to their service to the community as well. The Kings, in fact, were involved in numerous interest-based groups and boards, and service groups such as the Rotary Club of Weyburn, for decades, all to the benefit of the community.

"I don't think we could even list all the groups and organizations that we've been in the boards we've been on, and every time you joined a new board or new organization, there were a whole bunch of people have the same interests as you, whether it was the United Way, Tourism, sports, arts, and recreation. I was on [Soo Line Historical] Museum board many years."

"The Spark Centre, I mean we started that back in the '90s, trying to get that going, and I probably thought to myself many times isn't going anywhere," shared Brenda.

But things always got done, agreed Bob and Brenda. And they credit the spirit of community involvement, as well as the City's administration. 

"I mean, when Mathew [Warren] came to the City, he said, "I'm going to build a field house', and I thought, 'you're testing your head. You'll never get that'." (We did).

Saying goodbye to their home will also be a rite of passage. The Kings spent 35 years on Staveley Crescent.

"This is the only house we've ever owned. It's such a great place. Rob was one [year old] when we moved here, and as the kids grew up I think one time we counted and there were 72 kids on the Crescent." 

"The front deck was the best thing Bob ever built, because you sit out there, and people are walking their dogs and they come up to the steps and visit, and so not only has Weyburn been a great community, but Staveley has been a great neighborhood," Brenda expressed.

While the next chapter of life will likely be as active for Bob and Brenda as the last, they said they'll be following Discover Weyburn to keep up with all of the news from around here.

Chances are still good, though, once they're settled, they'll find a professional they need, who they taught, who will ensure 'Kinger' also catches on in Saskatoon.