Press Alt + R to read the document text or Alt + P to download or print.
This document contains no pages.
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1968-03-14, Page 13•
1
1
ALL TES
INSURANCE
Donald G. Eaton
Office In Ma'sonlc Block
Main Street
Phone 527-1610 : *Seaforth
An Expositor Classified will
pay YQU dividends. Have you
tried one? Dial 527-0240.
20% OFF
RINGS
MEN'S AND LADIES'
Birthstone
Onyx
Hemetite
Signet
Ansttt Jewellers Ltd.
NOTICE
Seaforth
Upholstery
will be closed for the
Months of
JUNE and JULY
For Holidays
For Complete
INSURANCE
on your
HOME, BUSINESS, FARM,
CAR, ACCIDENT, .LIABILITY
OR LIFE
SFE
JOHN A. CARDNO
Insurance Agency
Phone 527-0490 : Seaforth
Office Directly Opposite
Seaforth Motors
(On the occasion of the open,
ing of the new auditorium ad,
dition, of the SDHS on Novem-
ber 16, 1954, an historical re-
view of the school was prepar-
ed by James R. Scott. Excerpts
from the review, in Which the
early days of the school are re-
lated, are here reproduced.)
By James R. Scott
_The Seaforth High School• was
organized January 7, 1879,
twelve years after Confedera-
tion, four years after Seaforth's
incorporation as a town, and
twelve years after the Public
School was jiuilt.
The Public- School is impor-
tant in the High School's his-
tory, not just because it is the
source of a goad number of its
students,but because, particul-
arly during the tenure of Ed-
ward McFaul, it provided ad-
vanced instruction to those
students who needed it long be-
fore there was a separate High
School building and staff. It
can properly be said that the
Seafortla High School had its
real beginning in. the old, Pub-
lic School.
Boom Days in Seaforth
But Seaforth and the sur-
rounding district were exper-
iencing a boom in the '70's.
When times are good, classes
are crowded and new schools
get built, and in those years
prosperity had come to Sea -
forth.
The growth of the town had
been phenomenal. When the
Huron Road was put through in
1828 the site of Seaforth. was
regarded as undesirable swamp,
worth nothing to the land -hun-
gry influx of settlers which the
new road would bring. Ten
years later, when Harpurhey
and Egmondrville were already
started as settlement, all you
could find in present-day Sea-'
forth was a signpost, pointing
to other places, and the corner
was commonly known as "Guide
• Post Swamp." When the rail-
way went through in the
1850's, there were still only
For
Every
Occasion
4. FLORIST
482-7012
• 61 Orange St. — Clinton
iIIIIIiiIIMIIII111111111111111111.111111111
THE NEWEST "HUGGER" Customized
CAMARO
a
• 1967 CHEV. SEDAN (new) A.T.
Must clear, no reasonable offer refused.
1967 CHEV. IMPALA, H.T., SS,
"8", A.T., P.S., P.B, Radio — Uc. H58929
1906 CHEV. BELAIRE '8' SEDAN
A.T., Radio — Lic. E91652
1966 OLDSMOBILE SEDAN
A.T., P.B., P.S., Radio — Lic. H58933
1966 CHEV COACH —1159429
1965 OLDSMOBILE
A.T., P.B., P.S. and Radio — H58-314
1964 RAMBLER "8" 1159758
1963 CHEV. COACH
A.T. — Lic. E92-690
1961 CHEV.. SEDAN — E98041
1962 FORD GALAXIE SEDAN
A.T. Lic. E90-734
0 0
MARCH is Demonstrator Month, come
in and test drive one of the Demo's at no
obligation
SEAFORTH
MOTORS
Phone 527-1750 Senforth
Lot Open Evenings to 9:000.m.
two buildings In Seaforth --
Andrew McKearnan's log tav-
ern and a clearing of ten acres
with a log cabin belonging to
Christopher Sparling.
Yet exactly twenty years af-
ter that time, the settlement
was incorporated, as a town,
, and the Main Street looked
very much the same as It does
.today, except' for the Town
Hall, the Commercial Hotel and
a few business blocks erected
later.
In the twenty years after the
coming, of the railway, Seaforth
acquired three extensive salt
manufacturing plants, three
large flour mills, two foundries,
two cabinet factories, two stave
,factories, two steam sawmills,
six carriage factories, three
pork packing establishments,
and a flax mill.
Besides this, the surrounding
countryside had been cleared,
log cabins had been replaced by
substantial frame or brick
houses, and, agriculture had be-
come established as the domin-
ant factor in the Huron County
economy.
Undoubtedly, Seaforth was
ready for a High School.
The First Buildings
Just the same, they started
cautiously. This was and is a
canny community and it had
already established, its pattern
for building schools more than
a decade before when they
built the first section of the
Public School. (Incidentally, that
same pattern is still being fol-
lowed in the present expansion
program of the Seaforth and
District High School).
Like its predecessor, the Pub-
lic School, the original High.
School was simply an over-
grown, lopsided four -room
schoolhouse. It was built in
1878 and was ready for occu-
pancy in the first week of Jan-
uary, '79, when the school start-
ed operations under the princi-
palship of Charles Clarkson,
B.A. Two other teachers, Jos -
Oh Morgan and Fred T. Cong-
don, made up the staff. Right
from the first, education at the
•secondary school level took hold
in the district. Those Who
Legion,
Corner
by Jack Holland
H. W. Moyer Service Bur-
eau Officer from London, will
be at Seaforth Legion Branch
156 on March 18th, 1968 at
1:30 p.m. to give gkilled ad-
vice on veterans' benefits to
all ex servicespersonnel and
dependants, Anyone with
questions on War Disability
Pension. War Veterans' Al-
lowance (Burnt-out Pension),
Treatment, or hospital care,
L s urged to call OT write J. C.
Cornish, Seaforth Legion Wel-
fare Officer, vvho will arrange
an appointment.
USBORNE & .
HIB -
BERT MUTUAL FIRE
INSURANCE
• COMPANY
HEAD OFFICE - EXETER, Ont,
Directors:
Martin Feeney - R.R. 2, Dublin
President
Clayton Calquhoun R.R. 1,
Vice -President Science Hill
Wm. H. Chaffe - R.R. 4, Mitchell
Tim Toohey RR. 3, Lucan
Raymond McCurdy R.R. 1,
Kirkton
Robert Gardiner R.R. 1,
Cromarty
Agents:
Hugh Benninger - • Dublin
Harry Coates - - Exeter
Clayton Harris - Mitchell
Secretary -Treasurer:
Hugh Patterson - - Exeter
l'Olt
ofeveitea
INVITATIONS
0 ANNOUNCEMENTS
40 ACCESSORIES
COME IN AND
ASK FOR YOUR
FREE BRIDAL GIFT
REGISTER
The Huron
Expositor
Phone 527-0240 Seaforth
sought the Normal Scheel PI -
'trance, for eXample, averaged
around thirty at that thne,
with a eorreSPOnding docrease
in numbers in the Upper same'
echelon. gxaminations were not
held in the school building,
which was not large enough to
accommodate them easily, but
in the Town Hall — that is in
the old Town Hall which stood
in the square off Market Street,
a block west of the present
structure.
, It was soon obvious that lar-
ger accommodation would be
required to meet the needs of
the edueation-conscieus com-
munity and one of the first les-
sons which the board of those
years learned was that the
physical plant necessary for
modern education is not ,mere-
ly a niatter of classroom space.
The original school building had
no central heating, no gymnas-
ium and no laboratory facilities.
All these, it was realized, had
to be incorporated into the new
plans. The central heating was
easy enough.and the gymnasitun
was attended to by building a
large, barn -like frame struc-
ture 'behind the school. The lab-
oratories were another matter.
It was just about this time that
the natural scipnces were recog-
nized as a proper ingredient of
higher education. No longer was
it believed that a solid ground-
ing in Greek and Latin roots
was enough to make an all-
around scholar. In this technol-
ogical age it is hard to realize
that less than a century ago
the idea of a laboratory in the
school waS a new and some-
what revolutionary idea. The
citizens of Seaforth did not
y balk at it, but moved along
with the newest views of edu-
cation and decided to include .
two science rooms in the plans
for the school addition. One was
the physical laboratory which
was equipped with "a large as-
sortment of instruments from
the best makers in Canada, the
United States and Austria" and
the other was the Chemistry
lab which included 23 tables
and which served the students
of Seaforth (with only minor
repairs to the plumbing) for
the next 50 years.
Altogether the new school
was a large, up-to-date struc-
ture which was designed not
only • to meet the immediate
needs of the community but
those of the future. At that
time there were more class-
rooms available than could be
used and one of them was turn-
ed over to the students for use
as an assembly hall. This prac-
tice continued — a classroom
doubling as an assembly —
right up until 1938 when yet
another addition was put on
the old school.
Collegiate Status
Even before the addition of
1887 was built and the school
settled in to a half century of
uninterrupted service to the
conimunity, the character of
secondary schooling in Seaforth
had become apparent. The first
headmaster, Charles Clarkson,
was an unobtrusive but effec-
tive teacher. One of nis early
students,, who later became a
distinguished Canadian Jurist,
has written of the first princi-
pal, "his easy manner of im-
parting information was not
fully appreciated by some of
us while we were pupils., but I
have realized since that he had
the ability to teach without
seeming to do so." He also had
the capacity to • gather good
teachers around him and dur-
ing both the periods when, he
was principal the staff of the
school was 'composed of unus-
ually sound men and women. J.
C. Harstone, who was principal
between Clarleson's two terms,
was 'an active aggressive man
who not only maintained and
encouragedthe school's stan-
dards of scholarship, but who
was largely responsible for get-
ting the school's athletids on
an organized basis, thus laying
the foundations for a long ser-
ies of successful teams, especial-
ly football.
Between them., these two
men confirmedthe pattern
which was to be maintained
without interruptio.n until the
cataclysm Of the First' World
War. Alter its expansion the
school quickly became recog-
nized throughout the province
as one whose students were
better grounded than average
in the subjects on the curricu-
lum and whose athletes could
take their place in any com-
pany.
Naturally the status of the
school was raised and it became
a Collegiate Institute. In main-
taining its fame, a large mea-
sure of its success was due to
the calibre of the principals
who guided it — especially G.
F. Rogers, who served from
1900'„until 1914 — and to the
- teachers who staffed the var-
ious departments. Among the
early' teachers were many Who
moved on to larger and More
resporaible posts Or to the fac-
ulties of normal schools or uni-
versities. Among these were
Messrs. Carruthers, Crawford,
Anderson, Prendergast, Brown
and Miller, and on the distaff
side Migs Hilton — the first
lady member to be appointed,
In 1882 — Mrs. Kirkman and
Miss Kirkwood.
Once it was underway the
school was in an eviable posi-
Hon. It had fine faeilities, prin-
cipals and Staff of outstanding
qualifications and personality,
and it served a community
which believed in and supported
the ideals of higher education.
The personnel of the school
$0ardao these years alwaY1
IluaUlnilyb"aellictiaymeonagntild enlagagrneusliStire
nUngler, o xnen WIM ieek Pride
and personal interest in the
we/fare of the school. Indeed,
it was by no means unusual in
the early days of the school
for a board member to visit a
class and put the students
through their paces. Among
those who did this regularly
was Dr. Coleman, who often
dropped around to give the
students an oral quizz in geome-.
try. In addition, the board mem-
bers made it a point to attend
meetings of various school or-
ganizations and to be on hand
to support its athletic teams.
At least two former principals
are on record in acknowledging
the tremendous help and en-
couragement they received
from the members of Seaforth's
active school boards.
An Era of Achievement
With all the major factors of
school life operating in its fav-
or, it was inevitable that in
-these years the Seaforth Col-
legiate Institute would produce
some remarkable results, and
it did.
• Once it was properly under-
way, its record for winning
scholarships in open competi-
tion throughout the province
was the envy of Western On-
tario. One of the first of a long
line of illustrious scholars of
the school was the late, Dr.
Charles MacKay, who consis-
tently led his classes as a stu-
dent and who later returned to
serve on the staff as a teacher.
After his teaching years he at-
tended Trinity Medical School,
Toronto, and became the first
Seaforth alumnus to win top
honors, and the Gold Medal in
Medicine. This feat has been
twice repeated by Seaforth
scholars — Dr. Fred Clarkson
and, Dr. Carl Aberhart, both
gold medallists in medicine at
the University of Toronto.
It was during the first decade
of the century, however, that
the school experienced its aca-
demic heyday. At this time the
principal was G. F. Rogers, who
later became Director of Edu-
cation for the province. , Be-
1111111iEla
6veen, 1000 and 1914 there Wia
practically, never a year when
at least one of the major schol-
arships offered in Ontario waa
not captured by a Seaforth stu-
dent. Twice in that period Sea -
forth scholars placed first in
the Upper School results for
the entire province — Carrie
M. Knight in 1904 and Brenton
Kerr in 1913 -r– and twice Sea -
forth men plaCed second in the
province — Freeborn Johnston
in 1906 and E. D. Whittaker in
1908. And these are only the
most outstanding of a great
number of students who brought
honor to their alma mater in
those years.
.11111 HUR,01410TOSITOiL IIINFORT4
MAR0 1 100.43
Income Tax. Return% i'rep re
Reasoole,Batof
Ronnenburg insata40 :Agency .
Phone 347-220
, 511010004
Anytime for AppOintment
Brussels Office open Tuesday ;and,Fridey* phone 6$, Brussisfs
WANT ADS BRING QUICK RESULTS: Dial 627-0240
Read the Advertisements — It's a Profitable Pastime 1
INDUSTRIAL * COMMERCIAL * SITE REPORTS * INSTITUTIONAL
Kyles, Kyles & Garratt
ARCHITECTS
247 John. Street South
HAMILTON
527-1661
15 Downie Street
STRATFORD
271-9230
6
Seaforth District
High School
We are pleased to have been selected for the
Electrical Installations at the New Reconstructed
School.
We congratulate the Citizens of Seaforth and Area
on the completion of the modern facilities they have
made possible for the youth of the area.
W. MacDonald Electric
Co. Limited
MARINE ELECTRICAL SERVICE
Off.
1
AUTOMATIC HEATING EQUIPMENT
POWER and'LIGHTING INSTALLATIONS
Telephone 52A-7861
133 Britannia Road ;
Goderiell, Ontario