Beautiful memories of old Pleiku

The yearbook “Pleiku Source” is divided into 3 parts: A brief history of high schools in Pleiku before 1975; Pleiku high school alumni association through the ages; memories and compositions of teachers and former students.

In particular, the brief history of high schools in Pleiku before 1975 provides readers with useful information about 7 schools including: Pleiku High School, Bo De Pleiku Private Primary and Secondary School, Minh Duc Private High School, Saint Phao Lo Private Primary and Secondary School, Plei Me High School, Pleiku Agriculture and Forestry High School, Pham Hong Thai High School.

Cover of Pleiku Stream yearbook. **Photo: Thai Binh**

Through the process of formation and development, by March 1975, the schools temporarily stopped operating. After a while, many schools were renamed, becoming the predecessors of schools with a long history and achievements in Pleiku. For example: Pleiku High School was established in 1958, initially with only 2 classrooms for 2 seventh grade classes (grade 6). The school was located on Le Loi Street, on the same campus as the Veterinary Department. In 1963, the school built a new facility on Hoang Dieu Street (today's Hung Vuong Street) and temporarily stopped operating around mid-March 1975. After the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country, after many changes and mergers, the school was officially named Nguyen Du Secondary School after being built in 2005.

Occupying a large space in the book are the memoirs and compositions of teachers and former students. Through each page, countless memories of old school friends are recalled, countless memories of the land and people of Pleiku are recounted, with deep emotions. Each time an old place is mentioned, the nostalgia is engraved once more.

In the article “Remembering the first days of my career of “cultivating people”, Mr. Nguyen Van Hao (former teacher of Pham Hong Thai High School) said: “In early 1974, I set off to take up my first assignment. From Cu Hanh airport (now Pleiku Airport) by taxi, I was directed to Ga Co grocery store on Hoang Dieu street to ask for a place to stay. The friendly saleswoman happily showed me a temporary place to stay. During the first half month, every time I needed to buy small items, I went to the store and had a few more conversations with her. And unexpectedly, a year later, the lovely saleswoman - who had become a primary school teacher at Thanh Tam School - became my good wife”.

Mr. Le Huu Hue (former teacher of Plei Me High School) expressed his feelings through the emotional poem "Dear Pleiku": "Dear Pleiku/Where I lived for ten years with the dew falling from morning to evening/With the heavy rain of nostalgia/Each bud of golden sunlight pouring honey every flower season/The road you passed/Like a longing green rainbow/Like a love letter that has not arrived/The tall pine trees fluttered, whispering/The small town seemed to be your lingering hand/Each step on the rough stone steps/The dry season wind swirled the red dust/Luckily I recognized you".

The former professor of Plei Me High School was the poet Le Nhuoc Thuy - the owner of many good poems about Pleiku in particular and the Central Highlands in general. Deep in his heart, Pleiku is still intact, still the source of emotions and poetry: "Pleiku is wonderful in the lullaby of leaves/Where I live passionately under the school roof/Your eyes were filled with tears of love that day/I thought I was standing in the school yard filled with morning sunlight" (Beloved Pleiku) or like: "I am wandering in the mist/With the same heroic spirit of the giang ho, but why am I absent-mindedly dropping my wine gourd/Looking up to the sky, calling out to the mountain eyes" (Mountain Eyes).

And here are the memories of old Pleiku of Mrs. Tran Thi Ngoc (former student of Plei Me High School): “Back then, my house was on Hoang Dieu Street (now Hung Vuong Street), past the intersection with Trinh Minh The Street (current Tran Hung Dao Street). In front of my house was a cotton tree, every afternoon my mother sent me out there to wait for her younger sister to cross the street after school. The cotton tree was slender and not tall, and did not produce many flowers, but I really liked it. I remember every time the wind blew, the cotton fibers would spread out white, spinning and flying high in the wind... I remember Trinh Minh The Street every day with my friends going to school. The road was long, with the yellow flowers on both sides of the road giving off beautiful yellow flowers. In the middle of the flower season was butterfly season. Plei Me female students wore white ao dai to school. The road after school was filled with beautiful white ao dai that made my heart flutter.”

It can be said that more than 60 articles (including prose, poetry, music) are emotional slices of teachers and former students who studied at schools in Pleiku before 1975 about the school, the mountain town and many unforgettable memories. For Ms. Tran Thi Hoa (former teacher of Plei Me High School and Bo De Pleiku School), those feelings and memories will last forever and be built up over the years, through meetings and reunions later. She shared: "We used to row the boat to bring the youth of the mountain town to the other side, providing the young generation at that time with the will to overcome many difficulties and achieve many good results in life. What is most precious is that the students still "respect their teachers", still cherish their childhood friendships to organize reunions of teachers and students - friends full of affection".

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/ky-uc-tuoi-dep-ve-pleiku-xua-post574348.html