Julie Lawson, VHS 1965  Teacher, Author, 

and Leaving A Legacy

By Mona Lee, VHS 1992

As a James Bay resident, Julie (Goodwin) Lawson walks by The Blue Room & Gallery Salon every day. She had read in the Vic High Alumni Newsletter that David (Mourant) Blue (VHS 1976) is the owner of the establishment and works with Vic High students who want hairdressing work experience. She decided to drop in to say hello and ended up becoming a customer.

Born and raised in Victoria, B.C., Julie wrote stories as a child and took part in plays in elementary school. At Vic High, she participated in plays, the symphony orchestra, and choirs, chiefly as the accompanist.

She is an award-winning author of more than 30 books. They are set in historical periods and inspired by actual events, such as the 1910 avalanche at Rogers Pass that killed 58 men clearing snow from the CPR tracks, the 1912 sinking of the Titanic, and the 1917 Halifax explosion caused by the collision of a French cargo ship and Norwegian vessel. Her writing has garnered awards, nominations and critical acclaim. She recalls the encouraging words of two Vic High English teachers with respect to her talent.

“You show the beginnings of style!” said Mr. Fell.  “You’ll be a writer one day,” said Gordon Hartley.

At the time, she had tucked away these compliments because she wanted to be a teacher. She graduated from the University of Victoria with a teaching certificate and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and French. Julie taught elementary school for nearly two decades in Saanich and Sooke and spent one year teaching in France. She became a full-time author in 1991.

In 1989, she took half a year off to write and travel to China. While there, Julie was fascinated by the prevalence of dragon imagery as a symbol of power, prosperity and good luck. Upon her return home, she assigned her students at John Muir Elementary School in Sooke some homework delving into the mythology of dragons, which included a field trip to Chinatown. A scavenger hunt on this trip led to an epiphany, planting the seed of an idea that would bloom into one of her best-selling books, White Jade Tiger. Published in 1993, the book won the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize in 1994.

On her writing process, she said, “I thought that one day, I’d get inspiration and write the beginning, middle and ending of a story. That never happens! The stories develop gradually. I usually get an idea of the character. Oftentimes, it is a situation or event that triggers things off. My books are mostly historical fiction. I like taking time periods and disasters and examining how people deal with their trauma.”

Julie plans to donate a collection of her belongings to the VHS Alumni Archives. They include her school essays, compositions, newspaper clippings, dance cards, and programs she saved from various choir and theatre productions where she performed. She is also donating her late mother’s 1939 VHS pin as well as her own Honour Roll pin. Julie was Vic High’s top academic student for 1965,  earning her spot on the school’s legendary academic boards that hang in the 2nd floor Heritage Hallway entry way.

 

 

Julie will soon be part of a collaborative heritage initiative between students, staff and the Alumni, that will see 2’ x 2’ heritage panels installed around Vic High, each one celebrating a past student who embodies Vic High values.

Check out Julie Lawson’s website. The VHS Alumni Library carries many of her books. To sign out a book, visit https://vichighlibrary.sd61.bc.ca/our-library/vic-high-authors-library/.