The Rural Voice, 1986-09, Page 19school had two inspections a year
and the school inspector of those
days travelled by train to the
nearest hotel centres and then
rented a livery horse which he
drove to the school. He spent the
day there and then drove back to
his hotel. On this fateful day in
February, school had started
disastrously. It was a bright day
but bitterly cold. All the ink bottles
and water bottles (for washing
slates) were frozen. Wilton Parker,
who was our fireman, had been
late and the fire had just been lit
when school was called. It was too
cold to sit anywhere but close to
the stove so Miss Bloomfield had
assembled us around the heat and I
suppose was instructing or enter-
taining us. At any rate it was on
Craig that morning, a distance of
eight miles and facing into the icy
breeze. He had put his horse into
Sholdices' stable and was walking
over to the school looking forward
to shelter and warmth. There were
"1 had the usual equipment of the school beginner: a slate, a
washrag, four slate pencils, and a primer book, — a total in-
vestment of 15 cents."
this scene that the door opened to
admit our inspector, P. J. Thomp-
son. He had driven from Ailsa
./
no little girls to warn him that the
trap was there, still unsprung.
There were no onlookers, but
when we inspected it at noon the
collapsed snow bridge bore mute
witness to what must have been a
shocking experience for a fat man
past middle age wearing a long
coat. (Try it sometime.) Picture
him with snow up to his chin and
painfully getting into an erect posi-
tion, and then coming into a total-
ly disorganized classroom with a
temperature of about 40 degrees.
Ah well, the best laid plans...
My mother was obsessed with
the value of education and wanted
us all to go to school and be men of
learning. Dad thought that educa-
tion was all right but he also
thought you could live a full and
useful life without a lot of formal
training. So while he went along
with mother's idea he was not a
driving force.
For the last two years of my
public schooling I was the only one
of the brothers still attending. I
walked alone on the sideroads and
while I would joyfully have ac-
cepted a ride I now realize that
much of my knowledge of things
natural was picked up on these
solitary walks. The change of the
seasons, the sense of the weather,
the birds and animals encountered,
all became a part of me and I am
inclined to think that the school
bus has deprived many of our
privileged children of some of the
privileges that were mine.
I had four teachers during my
public school career. With one ex-
ception they were all beginners,
young and inexperienced but pro-
bably full of enthusiasm. It would
be nice if I could point out how
these teachers guided my feet into
the paths of fulfillment and im-
bued my whole life with en-
thusiasm and high ideals. But I
must admit that as far as I was
concerned they were teachers and
therefore meant to be disliked.
They left indistinct impressions,
SEPTEMBER 1986 19