The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-05-22, Page 13Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, May 22, 1985—Page 13 -. -
r
Cedar Valley School reunion renews old acquaintances
More than 200 former teachers, stud-
ents, trustees and parents once associated
with Cedar Valley School, S. S. No. 17,
Ashfield Township, gathered at the Dun-
gannon Agricultural Hall on the weekend
for a school reunion, to renew old
acquaintances and to reminisce.
Organized by . Shirley Andrews off
Auburn and Jack Pentland of Dungannon,
the reunion took the form" of a dance on
Saturday evening with a social time and
entertainment Sunday .afternoon followed
by a dinner Sunday evening.
Master of ceremonies Lawrence Black of
Exeter, a .former student, introduced the
teachers who were in attendanceand some
of their former students: Grace (Plunkett)
Campbell of Lucknow, 90, the oldest
,. teacher and Balfour Simpson of R 6,
Goderich, 88, the oldest pupil cut a cake
featuring an old school house complete
. with bell and teacher.
bbrmer teachers in attendance included
Grace Plunkett Campbell, Lucknow; Ina
Campbell Harlton, St. Marys; Stella John-
ston Crawford, Goderieb; Evelyn Plaetzer,
Merrill, Clinton; Dorothy Wilson Bennett,
R. 6, Goderich; Madeline Bogie Ritchie,
Lucknow; Olive Payne Chisholm, Dungan-
non; Lois Webb Grewar, Mississauga;
Sheila Feagan McAllister, Sudbury and
Maryanne West Smeltzer, Ripley.
S. S. No. 17
Cedar Valley is situated at the intersec-
Grace Plunkett Campbell of Luclmow, 90, the oldest teacher and Balfour Simpson of R.. 6,
Goderich, 88, the oldest pupil, cut a cake featuring an old school house complete with bell
and teacher. (Photo by Sharon Dietz)
tion of the road between concession 2 and
3, E.D. Ashfield Township, called the
`second' and the mad between lots 6 and 7
' sometimes called the Cransford sideroad.
Many acres of cedar trees covered this
area, especially the valley of the boundary
creek that flows east to west through
neighbouring farms.
Prior to 1890, pupils east of this comer
attended the Girvin School by the Creek in
West Wawanosh, while those to the south
walked about four miles to Sheppardton
school, often stranded by sudden thaws or
heavy rains swelling .the boundary creek.
In the late 1880s, the school age
population of Cedar Valley had grown so,
that a,meeting of rate payers was called on
December 1889 and the Last school section
of that era was formed to be known as No.
17, Ashfield Township. This meeting was
held at the home of Samuel Lewis.
Trustees elected were David Johnston,
Samuel Lewis and James Robinson.
On January 1890 an agreement was
drawn between a contractor, "John H. Gay •
and the trustees of No. 17 to have frame
school room 24' x 30', anteroom 10' x 14'.
This was to be built on the north . west
corner of lot 7, 'consisting of one half acre of.
land purchased from Samuel Pentland for
the 'sum of $1.00. 1
The specifications attached to the
contract copy comprised of six and one half
foolscap pages closely written on each line.
The total cost of the school building was
$460; the cost being kept at a minimum, no
doubt, by several donations from people in
the section, eg. 20 cedar pots, 20 holes dug
and fence posts set in., . etc.
The school opened in May 1890 with
Charles E. Caesar as teacher and 27 .pupils
attending. By the end of December 1890,
4
4 pupils„were.,registered..ranging...in.. age,
from five years to 14 years. The school year
began on, January 1. Mr. J. ,C. Miller was
public school inspector at that time,, , In
1892, the register" was signed by Insped or
John Elgin 'Thorn,,.e
In 1891, school trustees granted permis-
sion to have Sunday School classes in the
school at '11 a.m. Sunday. The teahcers
were David Johnston and Mrs. James
Johnston. This was an interdenominational
group of around forty children,' some
walking quite .a distance to attend.
In 1896, John H. Gay was to supply
material, paint and build . a wood' shed at
the south end of the school for the sum of
$39; also Mr. Hackett was to dig anew well
with 6' curb and platform of 2 inch'.plank.
The old well was .to 'be filled in. William'
Brown put 'a cement foundation under the
school building in 1909. Coal was used to
heat the school in 1904, with a coal' bin ,
situated in a shed attached to the main
building. In 1917, stove coal was bought at
$9 a ton.
The apportioned sum for this school
section from the Legislative and Muncipal
grants was $2,075. In January and
February 1919, there was no teacher;
therefore no grant was received.' In the
same year, the number of children iii this
section between five years and 16 years
was 28. In 1935 Davidson's of Wingham
drilled a well. During one school term, in
the 1930s there were only five pupils
attending this school. During the period
Miss Tella Johnston taught, the pupils
came from Port Albert school as well as
Cedar Valley and grade 9 and 10 were
taught.
Vacation was only for the month of July
and Stormy weather in ' winter time until
1911, when July and August were taken as
summer holidays. In 1921, the first
recorded visit of Provincial School Medical
Officer., . Dr: MacKenzie Smith, . and a
nurse, Ethel B. Campbell, was made.
Music classes were introduced in , the
school by 1937 with Miss Marion MacDon-
ald (Alvin Mundell) L:ucknow as instructor
at a'salary of $60 per year for a'40 minutes
weekly period.
In 1940 the windows were changed in the
school building and the outside walls
,covered with chrystalite "'(stucco): "" ""
.' .,
There were always the Christmas'
concerts put on by the teacher and:'students ' `
and sometimes a play by some adults of the
section., ,Quite often a dance followed the
concert"'with local musicians supplying the •
music and the ladies of the community .
serving lunch.
Arbor. Day on the first 'Friday in May,
weather permitting, was observed by
Tran to page 20
i
Mgr
Alliiir � 1 __ II NM AV MI r" `err O ' � / / /
-'/ am /�'/ / // ®sr Mir O '®
AIIIIIIIIIIIIII MAWAvAINSMNIMIIr
_ MI INV MINI r Air AI AI AW III ar i a wo' AIIII 411111/ 41111111111111
Olir IF r -
Or
lir
NEW ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL DEADLJ1ES
Due to production schedules changes at Signal Star Publishing, The Lucknow Sentinel advertising ,and editorial
deadlines have been changed.
Effective hnrnediatley deadlines will be as follows �...,
CLASSIFIED DISPLAY orWORD ADS MONDAY, 12:00 NOON
DISPLAY ADVERTISING and EDITORIAL MONDAY, 3:00 P.M.
THANK. YOU
LUCK1NOW SENTINEL
LUCIA\ O`oV 528-2822 or 528-2823