HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorth Huron Visitors' Guide, 1988-06-15, Page 5NORTH HURON VISITORS' GUIDE PAGE 5.
Visitor s’ Guide
Play’s history lives on in School on Wheels
The subject of the Blyth Festi-
val’sfourthplayoftheseason is
alive and well and living in Clinton.
“Fires in the Night (The story of
the School on Wheels)’’, which
opens at the Festival July 27, is
playwright David S. Craig's dra
matic adaption of the true life story
ofFredandCelaSloman of Clinton,
who actually lived the dream
depicted on the stage - the dream of
bringing light into the lives of the
children and adults forgotten by
mostandisolatedby distance in
Ontario’s vast and lonely north-
land.
It was a dream first born in the
mind of Mr. Sloman in 1915 on the
bloody fields of France, where he
saw youths dying for a country that
had not cared enough about them
in life to teach them to read and
write; and it was a dream that
en du red th rough his return as a
wounded veteran tothe gentle land
ofhisown youth. It was a dream
that blossomed into action as he
spent his first few restless years
back in Ontario, teaching at his
first post at the old Blyth Continu
ation School.
“Asa returned soldier I got a
nice job in a good school,’’ Mr.
Sloman once explained. “But
teaching Latin to one of the
brightest classes I had ever seen, it
seemed to me that these children
would become lawyers, politicians
and tycoons with or without me to
teach them. So I threw up my job
and came to the bush.’’
The only applicant for the job,
Mr. Sloman and his young bride
won a posting to the one-room
History with a view
Fred and Cela Sloman and baby daughter, Joan, pose with their first class at the Schooi-on-Wheels in
1926. Their lives, during this unique period of education history, are the theme of David S. Craig ’ s “ Fire in
the Night”, playing at the Blyth Festival July 27-August 27.
Those who thought history was hard work in school will
have their memories confirmed if they visit the historic
Tiger Dunlop’s Tomb at Saltford, just north of Goderich
but the effort will be worth it.
The tomb of William “Tiger” Dunlop, the
legendary pioneer of the Huron Tract who laid out the
famous square in Goderich, is reached by a long path that
criss-crosses along the edge of the high hill above
Saltford. For the assistance of those who find the trip a bit
stressful, there are a number of benches to provide
resting places on the trail.
Those who persist and make it to the top however are in
for a treat even if they have no interest whatsoever in
history. The small park around the tomb provides one of
the most breathtaking views in Huron County. The
Maitland River lies below from when it comes into sight
above Goderich to where it winds under the Highway 21
bridge and the CP Rail bridge and joins Lake Huron. The
harbour can be seen to the west and on the opposite
heights, the spires of Goderich churches poke up out of
the green treetops.
The tomb itself tells the story of Dr. Dunlop who came to
Canada in the war of 1812 then returned to be Warden of
the Forests for the Canada Company, the company given
the huge tract of land that makes up most of Huron and
Perth counties.
The tomb and park were in such disrepair last year that
many complaints were made. This year, however, a good
deal of cleaning up has been done and now even
handsome flower planters have been added to brighten
the journey.
Togettothe tomb, enter Goderich on Highway 21 from
the north. After you’ve passed under the railway bridge
and before the long curving bridge over the Maitland a
small road leads off to the west. A hundred yards or so in
there’s a quiet parking lot and steps that lead upward to
the tomb.
school at Krugerdorf, a small
community on the Temiskaming
and Northern Ontario Railway
(now the Ontario Northland), near
New Liskeard. In 1920 it was a
hostile land, and the Slomans
spent two bitterly cold winters
there, teaching the few local
children and cutting their own
firewood for both the schoolhouse
and their own meagre home.
But Mr. Sloman knewtherewere
many more children out in the
bush, far beyond his reach in the
trackless land. He wrote of his
concerns to J.B. MacDougall, the
school inspector at North Bay and
principal of the Normal School
there, offering to put a pack on his
back and travel through the bush
on foot and on snowshoes, reach
ing the children wherever he could
find them.
Mr. MacDougall (later to earn
his doctorate) was equally troubled
by the lack of education in the
north, and had as early as 1922
pleaded with the Ontario Depart
ment of Education for improved
services; he suggested the possi
bility of a travelling school of some
sort, or at least of intinerant
teachers for the region.
To many, the plan sounded too
bold and extravagant, but Mr.
MacDougall eventually managed
to win the support of G. Howard
Ferguson, the premier of Ontario,
who also served as the Minister of
Education; he also gained the
support ofboth the country’s major
railways for his scheme.
So a deal was struck: the
Department of Education agreed
to supply the teachers, teaching
materials and fixtures and would
work out an itinerary, while the
railways would supply and convert
the cars, maintain and service
them, and move them to railway
sidings as needed. It was to be a
six-month experiment.
Fred Sloman was one of the first
two teachers hand-picked for this
bold venture, while Walter Mc
Nally, another visionary with
backwoods teaching experience,
was the other. Both knew the
experiment may be short-lived,
but both were more than willing to
stake their careers on its success.
And it was successful, far
beyond even the wildest dreams of
all those involved: 39 years later
Mr. and Mrs. Sloman retired. By
then Mr. Sloman was 67 years old,
having stayed on the extra two
years to make sure all his students
reached Grade 6, the level at which
he felt they could handle the
Department of Education’s new
Continued on page 8
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