Tears ran down Mary Rose Allen’s face as she stood looking at her Berkeley Institute students lined up shoulder to shoulder.

The year was 1946, and future historian Ruth Thomas was one of the students in the line.

“We didn’t dare say anything but we were wondering what was going on,” Miss Thomas said. “Then Mrs Allen said: ‘I have never seen such beauty. No two of you are exactly the same height, and no two of you are the same shade. There are a whole range of shades, just beautiful shades’.”

It was the first time Miss Thomas had heard any teacher say students were beautiful or worthwhile. Most Berkeley Institute teachers took a no-nonsense approach to prepare students for a racially segregated world.

Today, at age 82, she is a retired teacher, an authority on Bermuda’s culture and history and an avid stage performer. She has received many accolades for her work, but she says she wouldn’t be the person she is today if she hadn’t attended the Berkeley Institute.

“I was profoundly shaped by my time at the school,” she said.

That was one of the reasons she was thrilled to be giving her 80th Mosaic performance, a compilation of historical stories, in honour of the Berkeley Educational Society’s 135th anniversary. The society formed in 1879, and opened the Berkeley Institute on Court Street in 1897. Through Mosaic, Miss Thomas will tell funny stories about the school.

Miss Thomas said Berkeley’s greatest influence on her was probably in music.

She grew up in Prospect, Devonshire in a musical household. She could often hear military bands practising outdoors, and her grandmother loved music. However, there was one catch. They attended the Brethren church. They were only allowed to sing hymns in their church or in their home. “I was often asked to sing at other churches,” said Miss Thomas. “This was forbidden, but sometimes I would sneak out and sing anyway. I particularly loved classical music. We would hear opera on the radio, but it was considered a no-no.”

Joseph Richards, the music teacher at Berkeley, was passionate about classical music.

“Bermuda’s senior schools today have music studios,” she said. “We didn’t have any of that. We had to go to the assembly hall for singing. Mr Richards had studied music abroad and had professional qualifications. Although music only involved singing, we were taught how to sing well and taught wonderful things from classical music.”

After graduating high school, Miss Thomas used her Berkeley Institute musical training to sing as a mezzo soprano in just about every church in Bermuda. She also performed in many plays. She was Julius Caesar in a recent production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.

She created Mosaic productions in 1984, and started out with seven performers. Today, most performances feature Miss Thomas, Gary Phillips, Grace Rawlins and Leo Mills.

“The focus has always remained the same, to educate people about Bermuda’s culture and history,” she said. “But I think they are a lot better written now, compared to when I started writing them. I also think it works better with just the four of us, because I can more easily tailor the material to each performer.”

She studied teaching at Ottawa Teachers’ Training College and returned home in 1957 to teach primary school. She worked her way up the ladder, obtaining additional qualifications along the way including a Bachelor’s degree in English and drama and a Master’s degree in Educational Counselling.

In London, she studied educational broadcasting at Goldsmiths College and the BBC and qualified as an early childhood specialist. Between 1967 and 1968, she helped to set up Government’s first preschools.

She was appointed the first education officer for preschools in 1972 and was serving in that post in 1984 when she was asked to fill in for someone in the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs. When that person returned, she stayed on and eventually became Bermuda’s first cultural affairs officer.

In this position, Miss Thomas helped to implement television programmes such as The Learnalots and Treasures, about Bermuda senior citizens. She also edited a book Bermuda Recollections, a compilation of oral stories from Bermuda senior citizens.

She was a member of the Bermuda Arts Council for many years and helped to start the Lifetime Achievement Awards scheme recognising Bermudians in the arts.

She herself has received both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Founder’s Award.

Her Mosaic production for the Berkeley Educational Society takes place Sunday, weather permitting, in the Berkeley Institute Cafetorium. There will be a reception at 4pm and a performance at 4.30pm. The event is free of charge but donations will be put towards the society’s two scholarships — the David Austin Wilson Memorial Award and the Austin R Thomas Scholarship.

For more information on Berkeley see www.berkeleybda.com/student_life.cfm?subpage=1318425.