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Comox school honours 'really cool lady'

Highland Secondary School students made an elderly woman cry on Valentine's Day.
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Using the chair she sits in every school day to greet students as they walk to and from school

Highland Secondary School students made an elderly woman cry on Valentine's Day.

Tinney Davidson arrived Friday to a packed gym with hundreds of Highland Secondary School students standing and waving.

Davidson was invited to the assembly to thank her for creating a positive impact on students as they walked to and from school every day.

Art and math teacher Charlotte Hood-Carter arranged for the monthly assembly to include Davidson, although she said she can’t take the credit for the idea.

“It all started with one kid in my math class who said, 'Ms. Tanner, there is a really cool lady who lives down the street who sells hats for cancer. What should we do?' ”

Over the past seven years Davidson has turned her chair around to face the window in her home on Guthrie Street and greet students as they walk to and from school.

While most students just wave back, some students like Ginger Long go the extra mile and introduce themselves to Davidson.

“One day I made cupcakes for my science class and I thought to take one to her. We gave her one and we just kept visiting.”

Davidson has been knitting hats for the past few years, selling them to people who pass by. The money she makes off every hat is donated to the hospital.

“I have a granddaughter who had a very severe form of cancer and she had to go through chemo and radiation," Davidson said Friday. "She has long brunette hair and I though she would lose it. So I knitted some hats that she could change as her mood changed.”

Davidson's granddaughter lived, and so did the donations to the hospital. Davidson has brought over $600 to St. Joseph's General Hospital.

Students made Valentine's Day cards, painted a banner in her honour and made a short video to share their appreciation for her.

Among the tears of joy, Davidson said she is extremely happy with what the students created.

“I’m overwhelmed, happy and grateful. My happiness is having children wave at me.”