HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorth Huron Visitors' Guide, 1988-06-15, Page 8PAGE 8. NORTH HURON VISITORS' GUIDE
Visitors ’ Guide
Students from school have made their marks
Continued from page 5
correspondence courses on their
own. New technology on the
railways and a new social order had
made the north’s children less
isolated, the work of the system’s
dedicated pioneers less vital, and
the Sloman School Car was retired
as well, one of the last to be in
service.
In all, Fred Sloman taught close
to 1,000 children, most of whom
would have received little, if any,
education but for the men - and one
woman - who followed as teachers
in his footsteps. Under the system
each child could only have about six
weeks of actual schooling out of any
school year, but the dedication and
inventiveness of this very special
breed of counsellor installed in
their pupils such devotion, such an
eagerness to learn,that the lack of
formal classroom work seldom
held them back.
Eli Martel, the stormy New
Democrat from Sudbury East
whose daughter, Shelley, is now
making political waves at Queen’s
Park, was an early student; as was
Glen DuVuono, now president of
the Chamber of Commerce in
North Bay; while one of the
Sloman’s own daughters, ‘Lis
beth, is a well-known medical
doctor in the teaching hospitals of
both West Africa and China, as
well as a former head of the
Canadian Medical Association.
When the Slomans retired to the
family home in Clinton, Ontario,
they were asked to leave the School
Car intact, as if they had just
stepped out ofit for a few moments,
for exhibition at Canada’s world’s
fair, Expo ‘67, in Montreal. It
would have been a fitting end for
the venerable travelling school
house which had begun its long
voyage after being on display at the
Canadian National Exhibition in
Toronto in 1926.
But Mr. Sloman suffered a
crippling stroke the same year, and
was confined to hospital until his
death six years later. It was a
traumatic period for his far-flung
family, and one of them gave much
thought to what had become of the
School Car - except that they knew
it was never taken to Expo.
It wasn’t until 1982 that the
family found out what had happen
ed. In the spring of th at year Bill
destroyed, save for the old bath
tub, which probably wouldn’t fit
through the door.
Stunned but not willing to
abandon their beloved home
again, the messengers returned to
Clinton where they were able to
convince the visionary Town Coun
cil of the day to purchase the
battered bulk, and bring it home.
A volunteer committee was
formed to help the family bring
back the School Car, and on
October 22, 1982, with the gener
ous help of the Canadian National
Continued on page 11
Wawanosh Valley offers
4 seasons of beauty
The School-on-Wheels, now an Ontario Historic Site and public museum, is located at Sloman Memorial
Park in Clinton. Now restored to much of its former functional beauty, it is open to visitors 1-5 p.m. on
weekdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
Stephenson, another former stu
dent who was by then a high-rank
ing official with Canadian National
Railways in Edmonton, phoned
Mrs. Sloman and her daughter,
Margaret, to tell them some
astounding news: he had just seen
a notice that Car #15089, the
Sloman School Car, was up for
sale!
The Slomans couldn’t believe it -
they had expected that the Car had
long since been consigned to the
scrapyard. But, along with a family
friend, railway historian and writer
Elizabeth Kettlewell, Cela and
Margaret Sloman drove to a
private railroad salvage yard at
Mississauga, just west of Toronto,
where a shocking sight met their
eyes.
#15089 was still recognizable,
but just barely: sometime over the
18 years it had been missing it had
been terribly vandalized, almost
totally destroyedby afire which
had been set in its interior, and
with every single artifact and
personal possessions stolen or
excellent selection
Limited Edition
Collector Plates,
Dolls, etc.
WOODEN
PLATE FRAMES s14.95
As a Member of the
Bradford Exchange,
we have hundreds of plates
from which to choose
Five miles northwest of Blyth is a hidden treasure
known to thousands of Huron county school children but
few of their parents.
Wawanosh Valley Conservation Area is home to the
Outdoor Education Centre operated by the Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority that sees school children
and Cubs and Brownies and other groups learn more
about the trees, birds and animals that live in the Huron
County countryside.
But the Conservation area offers year-round recreation
for people of all ages. Trails wind through open fields,
through boardwalks in bushland and along the side of the
Maitland River. Each fall the MVCA has a colour tour
where people can ride horse-drawn wagons through the
area to see the wide variety of trees in full fall colours. In
winter there’s a special Sunday when snowshoe and
cross-country ski tours are organized.
But most of the year the Conservation Area is a quiet
place where families can wander the trails and not see
another soul, where the only sound is the wind in the trees
or the trickling of the Belgrave Creek where it winds its
way over the rocks to join the Maitland.
To get to Wawanosh Valley Conservation area take
East Wawanosh Concession 6-7 west off highway 4 (about
1.5 miles south of Belgrave or 4.5 miles north of Blyth) and
continue until you see the Conservation Area parking lot
on your right.
Mail Orders are our Specialty
HOURS: Mon., Sat. 10-5:30 p.m.
45 Albert St., Clinton 482-5211
See “Fires in the Night” by David S. Craig
at the Blyth Festival July 27-August 27
...then VISIT the historic
CNR School-on-Wheels 15089
GROUP TOURS
BY APPOINTMENT
[519]482-9583
6. THE CORPORATION OF
7 THE TOWN OF CLINTON
Open Monday to Friday
l-5p.m.
Weekends and Holidays
11 a.m.-7 p.m.
at SLOMAN PARK
CLINTON, ONT.
10 miles south of Blyth
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