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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-12-17, Page 1314 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, December 17, 2014 Once Upon a Time Bruce County Memories Submitted by the Bruce County Historical Society A primary purpose of the Society is to research and preserve the history of Bruce County and then share that information with anyone interested in learning about our County and its past. As some of us may recall from school, history can be "dry:' We learned important dates, lists of kings and queens and key events in the development of democracy. But--- if we move beyond those "facts and figures" we will find that history becomes alive with discoveries of inter- esting people and their life journeys, informative stories of a bygone era and a con- nection with our past. When we explore the life and times of those who came before us in Bruce County, we learn about the little towns and villages which still dot our landscape. We learn about earlier life on those family farms which we drive past on concession roads. We become better acquainted with the local history of our First Nations. We follow the exciting stories of pioneers who settled the land, often arriving by barge down the Saugeen River. We learn about one- room school houses, colorful local politicians and enterprising men and women who started businesses. Each month the Bruce County Historical Society will share one of these local stories, based on research previously done by its PARK THEATRE nykr:Inc, 5.19 524 7611 FOR MOVIE INFORMATION.. Ghee e LavEjiCur ENciteniunt.. Thrilis_Rama ace o•rotekte tha Thaw" er MLT'ThqIFiuII •Ne www.mavielinksza rwadmistel-81013.2155.343E1 members over the years. It is with pleasure that we now present them to the wider public. We hope you will find them both informative and entertaining as, together, we look backward to "Once Upon A Time---." THE RURAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT With harness bells merrily a -jingle, a heavy team pulled the sleigh -load of neigh- bours across a snowbound sideroad toward the little old school -house. A great air of expectation enveloped the group, for tonight was the big event of the year ---the annual school section Christmas Concert. For several weeks now, teacher and pupils had been arduously working toward this end. To the children, it was one of the few times to exhibit their capabilities and talents to the little world around them. To the teacher, it was a challenge to present her prodigies to the parents. As the time grew near, many hours were spent in making decorations- --strings of popcorn, pictures cut from catalogues, white paper snowflakes. Mrs. Mary MacKay tells of her Senior boys bringing in a tall balsam and setting it up. The local trustees came in to put up a stage of timber and planks. Extra planks, egg cases and round blocks of wood (later to become Janu- ary fuel) were set aside for parents' benches. Bed sheets became wired cur- tains. Those students good in art put colourful chalk paint- ings on the blackboards. Finally, the big day arrived. Concerts were sometimes held in the after- noon due to lack of light or threatening bad weather. Evening performances were lit by gas lanterns supplied by the parents. As the women and children filed into the school, the men found housing for their horses in the neighbouring stables. At last, the chairman of the school board intro- duced the opening num- ber—usually a recital of wel- come by the Primaries followed by the school cho- rus in a few songs. Municipality of Huron-Kinloos Waste & Blue Box Collection Schedule December 2014 & January 2015 Schools in the early days lacked musical instruments and so songs were done a cappella. In some cases a violinist or someone with an auto harp from the section would accompany the chil- dren. Monologues, skits and plays were usually humor- ous, with names of local resi- dents sometimes worked into the script. During war- time, patriotic marching drills were executed to music played on the old, hand - wound Victrola phonograph. Costumes were homemade and sometimes altered to size by some ingenious teacher such as Miss Katie Urqhuart. The programme usually concluded with the Christmas story. Even with their meagre salaries of yesteryear, each teacher still presented gifts to their pupils. The Board provided an orange and a small bag of nuts and candy. Mrs. Marjorie Brown remembers in her early teaching career, making brown sugar candy and creams for her children after lessons had been prepared SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 21 22 I ) Section 1 23 1 Section ) • -•, 2&5 24 14ia. kil . Section 3,4 &6 25 Christmas Day 26 .44.:7". 4., Section 3 & 5 27 41531' 1111 -, Section 7 4f4T-7 --....,_ 6 Section 2 SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY 28 29 Section 1 3031 4ub) ill -,' Section 2&5 i> Section 5,4 8,6) 6 Section 1,4,6 & 7 1 New Year's Day 2 3 Section 1 7 = Waste Collection & Section = Blue Box Collection & Section . .111 '1 1' 111 for the next day. Of course, Santa made his annual appearance. With Santa's departure the men went to harness their horses, the women bundled up the children against the night cold and all were soon homeward bound, tired but happy. In the sixties, rural schools closed and pupils and teach- ers moved into centralized schools. But to those who participated in the rural Christmas Concert, there will always be fond recollec- tions of hard work, discipline and fun together. The con- certs were a unifying force in Bruce County's rural com- munities of yesterday. Those memories travel now down the deepening road of nostalgia. Adapted from a 1989 arti- cle by Doug Wrightson, a former pupil of SS #9 Bruce Township and first principal of Bruce Central PS. Written for the Bruce County Historical Society, brucecountyhistory.on.ca CORRECTION NOTICE: Ontario Ford Dealers We regret to inform our Ontario customers that this newspaper ran the incorrect Ontario Ford Dealers "Year End Pricing" ad in their previous issue. The ad which should have run is the "Year End Pricing" F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCrew Lease Offer featuring: $299 @ 0%APR with $2,575 Down and not $299 @ 0%APR with $0 Down. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.