HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-09-09, Page 13Wednesday, September 9, 2015 • News Record 13
The Slomans embark on grand experiment
Part two of Gord Sly's column on the school on wheels:
Gord Sly
Special to News Record
Fred Sloman, accompa-
nied by his wife Cela was one
of the two original teachers
to embark upon this grand
experiment that lasted 39
years for them. The original
Sloman School Car, a con-
verted "coach" car CN
School #15071 was 52 feet
(15.85 metres) x 9 feet (2.74
metres). The classroom was
26 feet (7.92 metres) x 9 feet
(2.74 metres.) while the liv-
ing quarters in the back cov-
ered approximately the same
size. Later, as the Sloman
family got larger, the original
car was upgraded to a 72 feet
(21.94 metres) converted
"colonial" coach #15089
allowing about 60 per cent
for living space and 40 per
cent for the classroom. This
car later became the present
day museum in Clinton.
Eventually there would be
school cars for seven routes
in total. Fred and Cela Slo-
man began their monthly
route from Capreol, north of
Sudbury to Foleyet just west
of Timmins a distance of 149
miles. They would make
stops at selected communi-
ties along this route and then
start all over again at Capreol
the next month. They
arranged a schedule to have
a CNR mixed train (passen-
ger and freight) move them
between communities.
The classroom consisted
of about 15 desks in two
rows, a teacher's desk, black-
boards, roll up maps, globes,
and other amenities com-
monly found in other one
room schoolhouses in the
province at the time. The
school was supplied with
textbooks, writing materials
and a library of selected
books and magazines.
The living quarters
boasted of a combination
living room/bedroom,
kitchen, bathroom, and a
counter with a sink with run-
ning water from tanks fas-
tened to the ceiling. There
was a fold down table
attached to a wall. Gasoline
and coal oil lamps were used
for lighting, as there was no
electricity provided over the
40 years that these schools
were in operation. Yet, Fred
was able to show movies by
hooking up a projector to a
car battery. There were bunk
beds at each end of the living
Fred and Cela Sloman, along with their children lived in the school
car during the school year. The living quarters were equipped with
everything the family needed to live a comfortable life.
room and a trundle bed for
the youngest child. Fred and
Cela slept on the fold out
couch. Over their long,
thirty-nine year tenure on
the railway school, the Slo-
mans, had five of their own
children, two dogs, a cat and
sometimes an injured wild
animal such as 'Petunia' the
skunk and a fox - a bit
cramped I would think!
A sealed water heating sys-
tem consisted of water mov-
ing from the tank on the ceil-
ing in the kitchen somehow
coiling through the briquette
or coal fired Baker's stove
where it was heated and then
flowed through the classroom
in lattice covered pipes along
the baseboards and back to
the tank. In the cold winter
months the Baker's stove had
to be kept burning 24 hours a
day to prevent the pipes from
freezing. A second coal or bri-
quette stove was located at the
back of the classroom. Coal
was available near each sta-
tion along the routes and had
to be carried by scuttle to the
school, usually by Fred
himself.
In 1986, CBC produced a
fictionalized TV movie enti-
tled And Miles to Go...
loosely based the Slomans
and their school adventures.
Gordon Pinsent played the
leading role of the Fred Slo-
man character. Several arti-
cles about the unique school
were published in The New
York Times, the London
Times, Life Magazine, Read-
ers' Digest and in numerous
Canadian newspapers and
publications. Fred himself
wrote many articles that
were published widely in
Canada. In 1988 David Craig
produced a play called Fires
in the Night, again based of
the Slomans which was per-
formed at the Blyth Festival
in 1988. (The London Free
Press, July 23rd, 1988)
Many special guests visited
the school over the years.
Their guestbook includes the
names of King George VI and
Queen (Mother) Elizabeth
during their 1939 royal visit to
Canada, Lady Baden Powell
(wife of the founder of the
Boys Scouts movement, Gor-
don Sinclair (of early CBC
fame), Agnes MacPhail (the
first woman elected to the
House of Commons), Donald
Gordon (former president of
the CNR), and Dr. Frederick
Banting (discoverer of insulin
for treating diabetes). A not so
welcome visitor came during
World War 11 when the RCMP
Contributed photo
Fred Sloman taught on the school car for 39 years. The monthly route took the Sloman family from
Capreol to Foleyet.
kept a check on Canadian
immigrant families from
'enemy' countries such as
Germany and Italy.
According to professor
Christou, the three elements
to 'progressive' education
were: focusing on the indi-
vidual, promoting active
learning and relating school
to society. Over the forty
years, Fred Sloman certainly
exemplified these elements
and more. There is so much
more to this fascinating story
if readers want to pursue it
further.
I've always been inspired
•
Clinton Skating
Club
2015-2016 Season
Registration
Saturday, September 12th
9:00 am to 11:00 am
and
Wednesday, September 30th
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
We offer the following programs:
Learn to Skate, CanSkate, Pre -Power,
StarSkate & Power Skating
Central Huron Community Complex
239 Bill Fleming Drive, Clinton
Forms, fees and ice times available at:
www.clintonskatingclub.com
volunteer and fundraising cheques required at time of registration
by iconic books such as
Goodbye Mr. Chips by James
Hilton and To Serve Them All
My Days by R.F. Delderfield,
two classic accounts of dedi-
cated teachers' lives and
adventures of other times. To
me the adventures and
dramas of the Sloman family
fall into this category.
Gord Sly is a retired history
teacher and volunteer at the
Frontenac County Schools
Museum (Barriefield). He
can be reached at: gord_sly@
hotmail.com
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GODERIfH
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETINGS
FOR PROPOSED RECYCLNG AND RESDUAL WASTE CENTRE
The Project
landfill is expected to close in
Goderich and Municipality of Huron
and Residual Waste Centre that would
alternative sites for the Centre;
Volvo test track in the Goderich Industrial
mid -2017. The Municipality of Central
East are investigating the construction
take the place of the landfill. There
the Mid -Huron landfill (see Figure 1);
Park (see Figure 2).
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to provide an opportunity for public
Waste Centre. The dates, times and
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Time: Open House 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM,
Presentation 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Place: Holmesville Community Centre
190 Community Centre Rd,
Holmesville
contact the consulting engineers:
Ontario, N7A 2T4. Telephone:
Steve Burns, Senior Engineer.
Notice Issued: September 2, 2015
The Mid -Huron
Huron, Town of
of a Recycling
are two proposed
and the former
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MOIL I
Public Involvement
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Two Public Information Meetings are being hosted
comment on the proposed Recycling and Residual
locations of the meetings are as follows:
Date: Monday, September 14, 2015
Time: Open House 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM,
Presentation 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Place: Council Chambers,
Goderich Town Hall
57 West Street, Goderich
For further information on this project, please
B.M. Ross and Associates, 62 North Street, Goderich
(519) 524-2641. Fax (519) 524-4403. Attention:
Email: sburnsabmross.net