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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1957-05-08, Page 7NBAKER FINDS ENTHUSIASM' 11•1-;TORQNTO ONTARIO, WERNESDAY, ,MAY V merely a. low.shacks, Mada of round logs with small windows and bank- ed high with earth to•kecii out the Cold, The first teacher was Miss Bell, who was a rather harsh per- son, usinga large flat ruler to keep order, The seats were bcnehes, nar- 'row ones without a hack. Few scholars attended as attendance was not compulsory.. This, School was just used w*pouple of 'years. E,,P09411 and Alex Corrigan, secretary; treasurer, The names 'of the (present teach - OS are; BloeVale, Miss Berva Taber';' Kirton's, Mrs,, Dorothy Thernton; Glenannan, MiSs Donna' Cotipland; Gilmour's; Mrs, Janisa Coultes; Holmes', Mrs, Anna John- ston; Powell's, Mrs. Margaret,,flas- ‘tings; Lower Wingham, 2 rooms, Mr. W. G, Dickinson and Mrs. 41fary McKinney, 0 - 0 - 0 ZEMAN!) SCHOOL, By Mrs. N. R. Currie Zetland was a village in Tarn- berry Township, ' situated on the Maitland River, Here the earliest settlers found a home; Our first post office was foond in Zetland. This village was formed around 1860, The first school hpuse was built on a hack' street in Zetland, It was The acliocils in Tarilberry Township' nurnbereri 10, ThoSO In use at the present limp are: No, 2, 'Orton's Scheid, situated on Con- ceSidort 4, Lot .5; NO. 3, Glenannen Solleol, situated on Concession 11, Let 10; No, 5, Gilrornie's School, situated on Coneesaion 9, Lot iq; No, 6, Holmes' School, situated' on concession 11, Lot 25; No. 9,'PoW- ell's School, situated on ConceSsion 6, Lot 11; No. 1,1, Lower Wingham; No, 4, Bluevale. Three schools were clOsed in' the past few years, Junction' School, Zetland, and Douglas, School, In; 1945, sinstead of school see- Li" t! with three trustees and a etary-treasurer for each sec- an area school board was: .set up for the whole township and this hoard is responsible for all the schools in the area, , Members of the board: at the present time are: Bert, HolmeS, Xeneth Zinn, Eldon Kirton, James ham, In later life, these 'Yotnig people Who attended this Suoday Scheel, remembered Mr, Kennedy's influence for good whie,h, nelperi them throughout lite, NaMe$ of TOootterii' Many teacbarg taught at U,S,4. 7, Turnberry„ Miss Bell Oaa the first teacher; in•1802; succeeded by James' Young, who hold the position for sixteen years, 'Those who followed were Fred fryers,: Wm, MacKay; Misp Eadle„ Miss Weir, Sam %J. S, Inglis, Dun- can Clarh, j. S, Wilson, Alex MC4 Dougai, Walker, E,'Coultes, MiSs B, Taylor, Miss Cooper, Miss Johnston 1896, Miss M, Wilsog 097, Miss M. McCallum 1897, MISS Higgins 1899, Miss E, Scott 1901, Miss L. Vanstone1,902;'Miss P. Wyn, 1905, Miss P. Toll 1907; Miss. S. Nethery 1909,,Miss E, Peddlel1911, Miss M. McDonald 1911, Miss B? Potter 1914, Miss E. Tipling 7,914,4 Miss N. E, Smith 1915, MIsS Pearl Webster 1917, Miss Oneida Irwin 1918, Miss Maude Tisdale 1919, IVItss Mildred Green 1920, Miss Refieqa Armstrong 1921, Miss Nellie' 11:: Crozier 1922, Miss Marie ston 1926, Miss Elsie Stewart 1929, Miss Hazel Nelson 1933, Miss Myrtle Myrtle Yuill 1937. 0 - 0 - 0 Mrs: ,Currie, author of the ,h1S• - tory of Zetland School was the former Nellie It. Crozier, teacher from 1922 to 1926. • • ' The -exact date the above 'picture was taken is not known, but it was during the time 'Miss Pearl Toll taught at Zetland School. Stand-. ing, left to right are, Miss Pearl Toil, Wilfred jaeque;, Mary Currie, Fern 'Thorns, Jessie • Currie, Tom Currie, aneRnby Grain, a former Pupil. • Seated ' left to right arc Elsie Stewart, Eliza Norman, Lcah Currie, Jim Currie, ;Alice Godkin and Carl Lott, Pupils at S,S. No. 7, Turnberry, 'Zet- land School in 1913 are front row; left to right, Russel Tervit, Eliza Norman, Minnie McCreight, Max Stewart. Centre row, Leah Currie, Jim Currie; Mabel MacDonald, teacher, Alice Godkin and Earl McCreight, Back row: Gordon Godkin, Lila McDonald, Wilfred Jacques and Elsie Stewart. 9 Hospital Auxiliary Conipletes flans -for Rummage Sale The Ladies' Auxiliary to Wing- ham General Hospital ,held their May meeting in the council charg, ber with the \president, Mrs: W. A: Crawford, presiding: Plans ,were completed for the rummage -sale which will be held in. the Armour- ies on Saturday, May. 11 at. 2.00 o'clock. • The sewing groups completed 183 articles which included sheets,, pillow' covers; adult' gowns, as Well as 10 pairs of drapes •and all mend- ing. This month found heavy pur- chases• of sheets, towels .and •bla-n- '•kets for the hospital and drapery which will be made up for 'the nurses' residence. The marathon 'bridge 'parties Cloied a successful season, This project ..litts'added•.;,more'-thair...pq9 to the ,funds. It was reported that the fame. of the rummage sale heti gone abroad, A. lady in Saskatchewan;, whO sub- scribes to The Wingham Advance- Times, has been following ,the suc- cess of the rummage dales and wrote asking for infOrmation with a view to having'one in her town. This data, was sent forward, to- gether with many 'facts .and fig- ures. AfterVvarcis, a larger school was built farther west, The new school was built of hewn hemlock logs, large logs and as a result, few cracks 'to plaster, The large trees, found in 'the bush around Zetland, were hewn to make wide flat logs, sometimes two feet wide, Mostly benches 'were found in this school, However, some stationary desks were built along the walls, •except where there was a .window. When writing, benches, were drawn up to these desks; so desks were used by turn. Sixty scholars were en- rolled in this,school: There was no school in Wingham at this time, About a dozen Wing- harnites at .one time attended, Zet- land school and did so for a couple of yeard,, The teacher in this school was Mr. Young who taught fer teen years. He had heen a Presby- terian minister in Sbotlarid an Vecame. so overweight he Was • ad- vised to come to Canada and take up land. This he- did at- the east side of Zetland. He was verysensi- tive about his size" and' Weight. A scheme was put into motion to get his weight, In the gridt. mill at Lower Wingham, where Mr. Young went occasionally to buy flour, was a large scale embedded in the 'floor of the mill, The' miller planned to have Mr: Young walk over this scale and to have his attention diverted, The weight whispered around the section, was 360 pounds, some 'teacher to get' at the stout end of a bltie beech. However, due to this training a wonderful settle- ment of honest, ',hard-working and hitelligent men 'and , wornen were trained.' Years later around 1879, a stone school -was , ereet.ed. Labour 'was less, costly than •at present.,,ancl the ratepayers gave generously- of their time in, these-days. This.school was used. Many years, and was. closed 'areline193etiigieVifiiiVri-driffief lent number of pupils to attend. The DePartment of Highways pur- chased the school and grounds when the Highwayd between. Wing- ,ham and Lueknow Was being built. The school •had been, built too near the highvhiy. The-sOhool was dyn- "amited and burnt in,•.kebruary 1955 and the stone was used to build up the sides of the HighWay. A 'farmer, named' Robert Ken- nedy, asked perrnissibri to• organize a Sunday. School in-Zetland school. This was granted, acid . the first Sunday School of the' district was formed, Mr. Keonedy- paid for the papers at first, Later, the scholars helped pay part of the eXpense. No collections were talsgri up at Sun- day Sch661. This Sunday ' School was undenominatienal and' every class of people benbfited ' by it. After a few years this Sunday School was closed as churches were built in Whiteehureh and. Wing- bridge he mopped' his face and head with ,a red bandana; adjusted his cap and walked on into` the village. Later in the clay he' re- turned, crossed the bridge, remov- ed his cap which I presume he carried the rest of the way home. In the' winter it was the same save `that he wore a short military cape, bat 1 if the day were mild he carried both cap and cape:" 'According to Mrs. Plaxton it was, hot too difficult to get a teacher's certificate in the early days:, She (lees not , Imply that all ,teachers used 114 same methods but re- lates .s follows, - "To show how teachers some- times obtained certificates in the eighteen sixties, I Offer, the fol- lowing authentic story, Over' 45 years, ago 'I met an' old Oritarki teacher who had received his First Class Certificate yeats befOre from the, registrak, of Huron- -;County. There were no Written .exanaina-, tiens then and this is, the Mariner in which he• obtained it, Haying Studied the subjects he considered necessary Ift.' X cltpv , to Goderich, Fincling'the registrar's offiCe was in one of the hotels, he interviewed the 'hotel clerk, telling him to °send liquor and glasses up' to the registrar's office. Mr. X preceded him to the rooms, made himself known to the regis- trar, the Iiquor arrived, they drank together. The registrar asked 'him one or two questions in geography, one hr two in histoty and said: "Really Mr, X, this is merely a Matter of form, 'I know that you have the 'necessary, knowledgb." He then wrote out the certificate. Whey drank thee, remaining liquor and Mr. X drove away, a teacher, of the highest, standing. I wonder what the procedure was ' with lady teachers. Perhaps they did not aspire „so high as a first class certificate." , Mrs, Plaxtort, 'a daughter of T. G; Jackson, one o,f the dory early Merchants of Lower, Wingham was blessed with a keen memory, sup- plemehted' by a sheaf of letters that had been written by her par- ents to relatives in England. Well over fifty years after her departure from Wingham to Prince Albert, Sask., she wrote a series of articles which were pub; _fished in The Advance7 Times, en early dayS in this area. At the time Of. Winghare's 75th Anni'Versary • we gleaned from these articles a host of information about Wing- ham peop,le, industries and loca- tions of residences and business places in the .days of the pioneers. Since we are publishing the his- tory of 'the Zetland-' School this week, it •is interesting, to note that Mrs, Plaxton also reineronered Mr. Young, the second teacher at Zetland school and her deseription reads al fellows:, • 'AnOther teacher 'th6er remem- ber well," though not nolongidg ,to Wingham" was jr, ,Young, WM) taught at Zetland, a hamlet tvyo miles from Lower Wingham. "He was a gentleman of breeding and -education, a graduate of a Scottish University, a Greek and Latin' scholar; teaehiag the three Vs' in' a ' little, distritt school! What a tragedy! •'A man who through some , misehartae. had missed his prepe; niche, in life. My brethers took le'ssonSf•:iri Latin 'from him at one time, "He was a tall, fine looking man. very stout but active, with a-ilorid faee .and white 'curling hair. He wde or 'carried in his hand a peaked cap • such 'as • conductors wear, Every Saturday we used to See him coming over Fisher's hill ,and across the bridge, can in hand, waistcoat open and alpaca coat over his arm, At our end of the BLDEVALE-The W.M,S, met in the United Church on, May 2nd, the president, Mrs. Alex McCracken, in charge. The chief feature of the meeting was the giving of reports. by delegates to conferences, • Mrs. Milton Fraser and Mrs. John_ Wickstead reported on' the Presbyterial recently held at Clin- ton° i'They.mentioned the well pre- pared reports of the various aux- iliaries and the increasing interest in' mission's, In every instance the auxiliaries, mission bands, etc., went over the top. Resolutions' condemning certain types of TV programs 'and against selling li- quor in grocery stores were pasSed. Mrs, SParling -Johnston described the branch conference at' Wood- stock, where Summaries of the work of a large district were given. With special speakers rind detailed reports this conference proved to be, 'both interesting and enjoyable. Givings to missionary projects have been doubled In a few yeari. Y.P.U. Meeting BLUEVALE---The Y.P.U. met in the 'United Church with the presi- dent, Miss Joyce Hoffman, elm- ducting the devotions. Bob Fraser had 'charge of the study program and Harold Johnston gave the to- pic, "The priinary motive for the' mission of they Church in the world ,is its faith in God and Je- stis Christ," - Early 1871 the Woollen and, flour 'mills were destroyed by fire. A youth sweeping the .lower floOr tria:''WOolterr'.'n-rill"•' SlioVed sweepings into the' box stoup "with 'the brciohi: It caught fire' .and to put it out he very foolishly thrust - it into a pile of greasy wool, In a moment the .pile was 'ablaze, It was near the ,stair leading to the long room above where some men and thrice. women'were operating • looms. The youth, ran to the stair and yelled "Fire! Fire!" 'The men ran down at once hitt the women, Mrs. Bruce, Janet Anderson 'and Lizzie 'Taylor`' he was try- ing to scare them as he had been in the habit of doing, so they paid in no la fatmteenstion until the stairs were Their only way of escape washy the Windows. They climbed through and for some time clung to the window sills., A ladder was brought but was too short to reach. them. Finally they dropped, 'to the ground, Strange to say, though they were more or less injured and Scorched none of them were killed. In 1875• the flour mill Was".re.- . built and a. small earding mill erected on the mill race between it and the sawmill. A :Highland Scot boy by the name of 'McLeod used to watch the , machinery by the hour, One day he went 'there at noon when 'the workmen Were at their dinner, What happened was never known but suddenly the machinery started and his mangled body was found whirling around the shaft, NINE MORE SEATS' ON HURON COUNCIL United .Church Met on.Thursday i3LTIEVALE-The Woman's ,As- sociation met in the United Church on, ThurStla/ with the president, Mrs„ Elmer Sellers, presiding, It was decided not to send a delegate to the 'Weinan's :Association' con- vention to be held In Lowlesboro on May 8th'. There will not be *a garden Party in June this year, taut something of a Similar 'nature will be held Arrangernents were made for • supplying flowers in the church for Sabbath Services, Brussels Miss M A Sho munity In th morning St, Cla Toronto sUpport Eedertit accomp `-her refl, of .Toronto; ate visiting 'With her perelits, Mr. and Mrs, Bey. Mond. .Elliott: Dee to a, change in the Ontario Municipal Act, Whicht includeS women Voters the •count Mr deputy, reeves, it is expected that nine Members will be added to the Huron County Council, = to ,bring • the total to 40. In addition tile reeves of some municipalities will be entitled to two votes. The change ill the act was Made' after a sharp dispute in the County of Grey Mere than a Year ago', when The Durham. Chrbnicie SOrted that if an accurate omit of the eligible voters were: taken many of the •deputy reeves then seated on omit'' would find that they were occupying their peal- tlons illegally, To clarify tho, status of the deputy ,reeves the Munici.Pal, Act was amended With a resulting increase in county council reeinber, Ship, when the plates, that is, 'the tim- bers upon which the low end 'of the rafters. rest,-- have been lifted 28 feet high. without the aid of ma- chinery and being as ours were about a foot square and 54 feet long." Early Industry In most villages in my youth there 'mingled with, the clang of the blacksmith's anvil -the cheer- ful hollow whang from the cooper shop as the cooper drove and tightened the hobps on barrels and butter tubs. 'We hailed with setts- factieo the inauguration of factor- ieS that turned out so many hundred pails, barrels or, tubs a week. • But can the factory Worker turn- ing a machine, over feel the :mine pleasure that the honest cooper felt as he drove the last hoop on a well made keg of ash. or buttertint wood? With' the pessimism of "ago. I look back and vvonder.whether if the old Cooper shops and others of their ilk lad remained, would we today have the wandering unem- ployment - or the bread line? Industrial Tragedies There were several tragedies in connection with the mills 'in Lower Wingham, The first was the drowning of Widow Simie's 12- year-old son, Fishing one day from the top of. the sluice where the water passed through the mill, he fell .into the Mill race, His head caught between the upright bars and kept him from rising to the surface, 'Georgie Hutton, the miller's' 0- year-old son, while showing an- other boy 'how the belts connected the machinery tried,lo but a belt in place and Started the whole Works. He Wag caught lathe belts and his leg se badly smashed that It had to be amputated', For days• his life • was dispaired of but he finally recovered. A curious thing. aboat the amputation was that he cried fist two .days with cramps in his tops', The leg had 'been burled' but they took it up and the (Meter' straightened the toeS the cramps. ceased at 'once, The tircula.r saW in the tiff/ Met Mill had a great ta,seination for EddieHamilton. 'He Was warned to keep away until 'Ono day it took off his OM, David. 'Campbell also lost an atilt iii the Saw' the° cost of a pedestrian claim- ing the tight of WAY lit 'traffic can be high-,--Serious Injury, or death. By. Mrs. Plaxton,.1e33, Taverns were built along all the government roads, probably for thc \ benefit of those who labored on them, and their ruins and the ruins -of old_ toll gates were to he found on all the principal high- ways in my childhood, I remem- ber such an old ruin on the road to Lucknow, It had been a flour- ishing ih'n in its day, but a travel- ler disappearing there, foul-play was suspected, The place was avoided and finally' abandoned to decay, ' The last 'toll gate in the neigh- borhood was near Belgrave kept by a tollman named Knox, ' I can remember my father paying toll there when we' drove to Clinton or Goderich when, I was very, young, in the sixties, To giva ;.an idea of hoW the pioneers built their homes T will quote from a letter of my father to, his sister: "We have keen very busy having the-frame of the house put together, It IS forty feet wide by sixty-four feet ,long, having. a stone cellar the size of the whole building, divided in the centre by a stone wall about two feet thick. (This building was a store and a dwelling). "It is a ..two-storey building, from the' grothid to the eaves be- ing twenty-eight feet and to the peak forty feet: The cellar walls are of ,stone, two feet thick arid three feet -above the ground. Above that it will be of wood and stucco, There. are ,1125 pieces of Umbel, jn the frame. , r "It IS quite exciting to witness housc-raising in this country, As no -machinery is • available the whole is put together by hand, The timbers all having been framed toady to put .together, one goes around and invites one's neighbors to Wine and help, 'They ,are always very willing to do so and indeed, feel hurt if one 'passes them by. "The day or one raising we had over sixty men so you may im- agine the women folk were 'busy providing meals-for them all. As gook as' the ,frame Is put together sides are chosen and the mot being equally 'divided, each side tinder eomii`itted 'Of a captain, there is a' rate to see' which' aide cart put up their rafters first, You may be sure there is some heavy lifting At the' morning service in Knox Presbyterian Church on Sunday Rev. Maurice-McNabb baptized Jo- anne Verla, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs, Wm. A. Hastings.:. The I3luevale Women's Institute will meet in the community hall on Wednesday, May 15, not the regu- lar date. Mrs. Carl Johnston will speak on "Vegetables to. Serve with Different Meats". Members of the VVingham Women's Institute will present a skit. Mrs. Alex Corri- gan will have charge of -the music, Mrs. Jos. Horton is the convener. Mrs. R. F. Garniss and Mrs. Geo. Thornton are patients in. Wingham General Hospital. Mrs. Colin Cainpbell and daugh- ter, of Vancouver, are visitors with Mr, and Mrs. Oliver Campbell: Mrs. Elsie Eyelid of Brussels, visited recently ,with Mrs. ,Andrew Lamont. Clare Hoffman, of Eketer,. is spending a holiday .With Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Hoffman, Mr, a of Win chap an nd Mrs. N. 5, McLaughlin, gham, visited Dtigald Stra- d Mrs, lenient, • , Mrs. toy Gadke, of Fordwich, and daughter, Mrs: Ireland, of , visited 'at 'the. horde of arY puff on. Saturday. wer was held hi t corn- hall he co- hall last Week .-to honor Mr, and Mtg. Peter Critnpbell, re7 cently married, when a, purse of rrioneY was presented. eUnited Chitral_ on Sunday , Thomas Knott, layman of lit' Avenue' United Church, gave 'a tine address in of the Ontario 'Temperance and ion, He outlined the Work th lished by the federation e great. need for` it, Mrs Wirri: Bladkrnete and child- PregressiVe COnServatiVe candidate John greeted by George ••HeeS, hod party Dleferibaker will 'crese Crinkle tVvied ih 'Vs Standard, wavers, Who prepared what they de- campaign for.the prime InielAtrY the kille scribed as "the greatest night ht PrOgiressiva federal elodiens: ikete, in :formate, •he is CoriservatiVe party itiaLbryt",,,