The Rural Voice, 2003-03, Page 39perhaps 20 — some older than she
was! On a salary of $150 per month
in 1950, it would be no easy task
preparing lessons each day for each
of the eight grades and then busily
getting one grade working on their
lesson as you delivered the next. But
my mother's Daily Register, which
she had to meticulously maintain,
also records many other realities of
these rural communities. Certainly,
there were absences recorded for
students such as: "required to work at
home" or "picking tomatoes". These
included, too, the children of farm
labourers — many recent arrivals
from Eastern and Western Europe
rand elsewhere, who, like prior waves
of migration to this country, often
had to work diligently as a family
unit to save and who eventually
established their own roots on
Ontario's farms.
But perhaps the most telling
story is that of the threat of
disease — children
quarantined under the Public Health
Act. On one page of my mother's
Daily Register from the 1940s, you
can find some 17 out of the 40
students recorded as absent with the
For old-time
teachers
rules were
rules
t you think school was strict for
students in the 1800s, here are
some rules for the teachers. Not
only would their honesty and
intentions be suspect if they
smoked, drank or visited public
halls, the teacher was also:
• Responsible for filling lamps,
providing the bucket of water, and
providing the wood or coal for the
day's session — in addition to
cleaning the chimney!
• After 10 hours in school,
expected to spend the rest of their
day reading the Bible or other
"good books".
• However, male teachers have
one evening off each week for
"courting purposes". Women
teachers, on the other hand, will be
dismissed if they "marry or engage
in improper conduct".0
entry: "QUAR. — Mumps". On
another page, almost half the class
was recorded as: "QUAR. –
Chickenpox". Measles and whooping
cough were also common threats.
And to recall just how close-knit
these communities were, attendance
also plummeted in half on the days
Disease quarantines
often reduced
school attendance
that a member of the community was
buried. Wouldn't you think that a
teacher today would look twice if a
quarter of the classroom showed up
on the same day, each toting a nota
explaining that their grandmother had
passed away?
Undoubtedly, the teachers broke
into these close-knit communities
with flying colours. Certainly in our
neck of the woods anyway, the role
that these teachers played literally
infiltrated the communities they
served. For example, my mother
arrived as Miss Higgins from
Toronto to teach at St. Patrick's in
the 1940s and boarded at the Finlin
homestead. There, she was
introduced to my father through a
prearranged evening of euchre. When
she became Mrs. Drew, the rules and
social norms of the time meant that
she would have to give up her
teaching career to raise her family.
Heck, a similar fate awaited two
other girls who came to St. Patrick's
to teach, each ending up marrying
one of Dad's brothers.
But the lucky -in -love didn't stop
there. When I was a child many of
my neighbours were also being raised
by former teachers at St. Patrick's
who had married local farmers. I
guess most of us were related in more
ways than one! And just in case you
are wondering what kept the balance:
it must be in the fact that many
young girls, including some of my
Dad's sisters, left Saint Patrick's and
became teachers, eventually
marrying and settling elsewhere.
All this leaves me picturing the
eager anticipation that must have
been in the eyes of the single men of
these communities each time a new
teacher would step off the train.°
Somerville
v- Seedlings
Your Ontario Source
for quality
Seedlings anaTraosplants
Conifer, Deciduous, and Wildlife Species
Grown from local seed sources
Member Forest Gene Conservation Association
A division of
Somerville Nurseries Inc.
5884 County Road 13
R.R. #1, Everett, ON LOM 1J0
Tel: 705-435-6258
Fax: 705-435-6259
Email: infoOtreeseedlings.com
Website: www.treeseedlings.com
MARCH 2003 35