Village Squire, 1975-02, Page 10Community • action brought schools like this to the pioneers. .
The Pioneers
They did it together
This is the last in a series of six articles on
pioneer life by Glenn Scott.
BY GLEN SCOTT
Our pioneer forefathers and mothers very
soon learned that if people worked together
there was very little they couldn't do. Indeed
they found that some things could be done
only by community effort.
Perhaps the first thing they worked
together on as community was the building of
churches with schools a close second. A short
article such as this can only take note of the
fact that the people who came to settle in
Ontario were on the whole people who
believed in organized religion of some sort.
They were divided basically into Roman
Catholics and Protestants. The Protestants
were further divided into various sects.
Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists,
Lutherans, Baptists and Mennonites were the
main ones but in many cases these too were
subdivided.
Some of these divisions were along racial
lines as well as religious ones but in Canada
all were free to build churches and worship as
they pleased. We must also note the fact that
in the very early years of settlement a strong
play was made by the British governing class
to have the Anglican Church made "an
Established Church" with the same rights
and privileges it had in Britain at the time.
But it didn't work. Our forefathers came over
here to escape from such things and they
weren t Tong deciding they would do their
own thinking in the new land.
History tells us there was very little trouble
between the religions in Canada. An Irish
Catholic could and would enjoy a "Donny -
8, VILLAGE SQUIRE/FEBRUARY 1975
brook" with an Orangeman on occasion. But
the next day they were neighbours again, Life
in the bush demanded neighbours who were
also friends.
So at a very early stage of settlement we
find churches being built. Very few of them
had resident ministers or priests but they
were served by travelling preachers of the
missionary type. On the Sundays when there
was no minister elders of the congregation
would conduct a service and see that the
Sunday School functioned as usual.
These small rural churches became centers
of community life. Not only did they teach a
Christian Ethic and have their ministers
licensed to perform marriages, their choirs
trained singers and the business of the church
trained community leaders. The children got
to know each other and in due course many of
them married in their church community. The
records the churches kept of births,
marriages and deaths are among our more
useful sources of information on family
history. The churches provided an opportun-
ity for the exchange of news in times when
there was little other opportunity to learn
what was happening. People from one or two
concessions would go to a bee. People from
half a township would go to a church.
Often the first church buildings served as
schools during the week. From 1816 on a bit
of government money was available to help
with the expense of local schools if the people
in a school section would appoint three
trustees to run the school, provide a suitable
building and hire a teacher. Teachers at first
were hard to find and those they did find had
few qualifications. From the very first days of
settlement schools under local control were a
feature of our school system in Ontario. Our
school system got off to a shaky start with
poor buildings, poor teachers and pupils
who attended school when there was nothing
more important to do at home. But from the
beginning the Ontario school system was free
to all regardless of race, colour, creed or sex.
Neither did it matter if the parents had money
or social standing. All pupils could attend and
get what they could out of it.
As time passed better buildings were
erected for both churches and schools. The
quality and quantity of both ministers and
teachers improved as better higher education
facilities were opened in our growing cities.
Until 20 years ago the school system our first
forefathers organized educated the boys and
girls of Ontario. A school building run by
three trustees elected from the taxpayers in
the school section was within walking
distance of every boy and girl. Everyone who
owned the land in the school section
contributed to the support of the school
whether or not he had children attending. The
trustees ran the school and hired and fired
the teachers. The Ontario government gave a
grant of money to help with expenses and
provided inspectors to see that results were
fairly consistent. The province also provided
schools to train teachers. In time school
attendance became compulsory until the age