The Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-12-06, Page 36.4
PAGE 8B---GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1973
Inspector Tom
(Continued from Page 68)
"We ,were in Perth," recalls
.former inspector J. H. Kinkead,
Goderich. -Our inspecotr would
come by train from Stratford to
Milverton or Newton, then get
a horse and cutter and tour the
schools- at Petters, Gadshill or
whatever. At our school, a boy
would take the inspector's
horse to our stable, and at noon
the inspector and the teacher la
man) would come for dinner."
On a visit by Inspector Tom
to a Feagan home near S.S.8,
Colborne, the hostess received
a rooster, so the inspector
perhaps kept poultry on his
Goderich property,
INSPECTOR GOT $941
County council minutes in
January, 1886, record no
discussion of the_ new inspec-
tor's Salary.' Payments 'shown
to Mr. Miller appear incom-
plete, but another Huron in-
spector, D. MacG. Malloch,
received quarterly' payments
totalling $94.1.90. Average
salaries of teachers in 1885
were $453, for males, $400 for
females.
In 1927, his last full year as
inspector, Mr. Tom reported
rural schools in West H'Crron.
Salaries of four urban prin-
cipals averaged $1,440; those of
rural principals, $946.
WELL INTO THE MOTOR AGE
Council minutes of the same
year show that the inspector,
were allowed $525 for expen-
ses, ,but salaries are not listed.
The Ferguson government was
about to establish' township
school boards, and Inspector
Tom summarized the
legislation for county council.
Inspector Field, South Huron,
in his report approved the
move.
County councils continued to
appoint public, school inspec-
tors until 1936.
Miss Gertrude Sturdy,
"Goderich, remembers Inspector
Tom coming to "Master
Baird's" school in Stanley
when she was the teacher there
and warning the trustees to
"raise Miss Sturdy's .salary or
she will be leaving;" She
counts him "a great inspector."
Mr. Tom, she recalls, favored
large printed cards for primary
instruction. In this connection,
Miss Jean Tom writes: "He
believed in phonetics for
Goderich
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teaching children to read; he
had these big cards printed
with the various vowel and
consonant combinations to help
them to read. I know reading
was taught later by the look-see
method, but I believe that
reading is again taught by the
phonetic rnethod."
INSPECTOR "SEVERE"
Miss Elizabeth Ferguson,
Torontp, sister of the late Mr
Justice' Ferguson, was teacher
at 5.5.5, East Wawanosh, when
Mr. Tom was inspector. She
thought him somewhat severe,
and as a "green" teacher she
seemed to come short of his ex-
pectations in a matter of
history.
Inspector Tom made his first
report to Goderich public
school board on Jule 5, 1887
"1 _visited all divisions,'' he
stated, "and gave an oral or
written' examination in reading,
spelling, writing, drawing and
geography to those pupils ex-
pecting promotion. In some
classrooms the work was far
from satisfactOry, due in some
cases to lack of experience and
partly to the very large atten-
dance." He proposed certain
changes in the organization of
ward and central schools. •
John Elgin Tom was born at
Darlington, ,Durham. county,
Oct. 19, 1852, of English
parents, who in 1853 removed,
according to a sketch in MEN
OF CANADA"t'o S.S. No. 5?
Usborne," where John E. Tom
received his primary education.'
This,schoolhouse still stands in
Concession 3, east of Highway
4 and close to Exeter 'There is
reason to belkeve that J E
Toni's parents lied in Exeter,
but none of the obituary ar-
ticles perused gives the father's
first name A Registry Office
entry showy a John Toni in
Exeter in I885
The fu t u re inspector
obtained a second-class cer-
tificate at Toronto Normal
School to 1571. and four .Nears
later his first -claw He taught
in the public school of
Georgetown, and also at Can-
field, where he married Mary
L Haynes In 0477 he became
science piaster at St Marys
Collegiate- Institute, remaining
for eight years until accepting a
sintiltir post at StrathroN. In
,lanuary, I'+86, he was appoin-
ted to the \\ inspec-
torate. as county council's
choice of five applicants
His wife died in June of the
same .ear. and in 'March, 1888,
ht' married Margaret t'ar-
noc hard Dickson, daughter of
Huron Registrar Jaynes
Dickson
BUILT ON WELLESLEY
Mr. Tont at.t uired two lots
on Wellesley Street, the first in
1888 and the other in 1897 As
'he had come to Goderich early
in 1886. the family must have
resided elsewhere for ti couple
of years before erection of the
big house still standing on the
property. Both lots were sold by
Mrs. Tom in 1943.
Children of the first marriage
were Percy and Mabel. Percy
received his Doctor of Medicine
from the University of
degree
Western Ontario. He married
Margaret Smith Gunn, and
they had one daughter, Agnes.
Parents and daughter are gone'
now.•
Mabel took Registered Nurse
training at the New York
Hospital in New York, and in
World War I went to France
with U.S. Base Hospital No. -9.
Soon after her return to New
York she went to the Peking
l'nii'in Medical College in
Peking and lived there until
World War II. She lives now in
Pomona, Californias
There were three- children of
J. E. and Margaret Tom: Jean,
Arch and Mary. Jean lives in
St.- Petersburg, Florida. Arch
graduated in civil engineering
from the University of Toronto
School, of Engineering, and ser-
ved in the artillery in War I.
He 'lives in Willowdale. He
married Alice Isabel Stanley,
and they have one son, Stanley.
married Marion
Davies, they have a
Sandra, and a son
Stanley
Elizabeth
daughter,
Gary.
Mary Tom attended Trinity
College and the School of
Medicine of the University of
Toronto; after graduation she
was in the Department of
Biology and later was a
professor, in the Department of
N rop&thologv. She died in
1971.
On Inspector Tom's
retirement in 1928, the -Signal
recorded, "recognition was
given to his great influence and
untiring exertion in the advan-
cement of education. He was an
elder in and treasurer of Knox
Presbyterian Church and
superintendent of its Sabbath
School. He was sometimes
"spelled off' in the latter duty
by Alex. Saunders or Reuben
S'Jlows, it is recalled by Miss
Isabel 'Matheson,, but "I think
he enjoyed it," .she said.
FOR CHURCH UNION
Mr. Tom was a man of very
high principles, and always
stood up for and worked hard
for whatever he thought was
right; there was never any com-
promise for him. The church
union movement of 192,5 found
him in 'favor of union, and he
and his wife transferred to
North Street United. His
funeral service, on Sunday, Oct.
5, 1930, was conducted by Rev.
C. F. Clarke, of North Street,
and Rev. J. E. Ford. Bearers
were Principal Hume, Dr. J. M.
Field, J. W. Taylor, B.C. Mun-
nings," William Baillie „ and
County Clerk. Holman. A solo,
There Is No Night in Heaven,
was 'sung by Miss Esther
Hume. Members of the public
school board and Huron Lodge
1.0.O.F. attended in a body.
Mr. Tom had been a member of
the library board and the board
of trustees of McKay Hall.
Members of the family
present on the occasion in-
cluded Senator Frank W. E.
Tom and wife, Toledo, and two
sisters of Mr. Tom: Miss Mary
A. Tom and Mrs. William
Sweet, Exeter.
"Father's avocation was gar-
dening," writes Miss Mabel
Tom, "and of it he made an
Art. Due to vision and hard
work he made that acre of rich
black loam a source of nourish-
ment and pleasure for all the
family, and frequently nearby
relatives. Every variety of ap-
ples, pears and plums, also
cherries, but of the latter the
birds profited more than the
family.
"The flower gardens were not
neglected, and I still can pic-
ture a bed of tuberous begonias
that could compete with the
hothouse variety I see here in
California. All this done ,on
weekends after long days in-
specting the public schools of
West Huron."
A fragrant memory of J.
Elgin Tom.
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Inspector J. Elgin Tom lived in this house, 82 Wellesley street, from May, 1888, two years af-
ter.his arrival in Goderich, until his death in 1930. It is now the residence of R.B. Heath,
- local director of the Children's Aid Society. (photo by W.E. Elliott)
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