Clinton News-Record, 1980-07-31, Page 32Page 12
•*111
u.hom page 9
Finally, the s'nowlbegan
• to/go and it was, maple
syrup time but we did not
make syrup until later
years. One of my
brothers still loves to get
out in the bush in
springtime. Several
.schools from nearby
townships and towns
bring the children to see
syrup being made. They
are almost rnire in-
terested in watching the
wood fire under the
evaporating pan than in
the syrup itself. Some
Modern children have
never seen a wood fire. In
ourday,man
saw anything else.
Then there was our
pond behind the barn. We
• spent hours building rafts
• and poling them around
the pond. Wet to the skin,
I am sure, but again it
was fun. There would be
frogs and frogs and frogs
and we would try to catch
them from the rafts. My
Grandfather considered
frogs legs a delicacy and
one day we had a won-
derful catch which my
cousin took to him in the
village.
One of the first spring
crops was that lowly bush
plant - the leek. There
was 'a bush behind the
school and some of the
boys would go at noon and
have 'a feed'. Life was
almost unbearable in the
room for the rest of the
afternoon, but I expect
the' boys We•re -getting the.
vitamins their systems
craved after our winter
diet. Next, the floor of the
bush would be carpeted
with wild flowers. We did
not know the names of
many of the wild flowers
but we loved their lovely
subtle colours.
One special day at
school was Arbour Day, a
Friday early in May. The
girls came to school with
pails, soap, scrub brushes
• and cloths and the boys
brought rakes and forks.
It was clean-up day for
everyone. And when the
day was over the school
property had a New Look.
Often we would go to the
bush in the afternoon and
sometimes brought back
little Maple trees which
were planted along the
school fence. That may
be the reasonso many of
t902 OLDSMOBILE
(2/ -
The Oldsmobile -
Runabout was
a favorite car
fin 1902.
the 'little, old, red
schoolhouses' have
maples around them now
- now that they have
become country homes
for city people or garages
for township road
machinery or a storage
place for superannuated
farm machinery. My
former schools have
become.all of these.
• At home, " the 'little
garden' near the house
, was ploughed and the
earlier,bardy vegetables
planted. We had our own
hot bed or cold frame
where we started our own
tomatoes, cabbage, etc. A
'back garden' was
ploughed and the corn,
pumpkins, squash and
other tender things were
planted there. So the
cycle of the year began
all over again. .We
children were a year
older and able to do a bit
more of the work of the
farm.
I have mentioned our
school several times.We
ood on the f
felt rather superior about the corner! We had slates
it. It was not just a 'little and scribblers and
red schoolhouse'. It was a -simple, plain text books.
two -room brick school .They were functional but
built about 1870 of brick not entertaining. There
from a brickyard in was no radio, movies or
Dungannon, • TV to supplement the
One hot day this week, 1 lessons, There was no
heard a youngster gym, assembly •hap, or
complain that "There schoolyard with won -
isn't a FAN in our room," • derful equipment. There
What a calamity! There were no expensive Math,
were no mod cons of any Science, History,
kind at our school. ThereGeography or English
were two box stoves for books • supplied by a
heating and a pail• of • benevolent school board.
water in each roorn for We bought our own
drinking - if someone had supplies - books, slates,'
gone to the well or spring scribblers, pencils, pens,
in the morning. There ink, etc.
literally just that - and
desks screwed to the
floor. The windows were
high and 'frosted' and
there were- no artificial
lights. But we struggled
along.
Some of the children
walked two or three miles
to get there in the mor-
ning and again, to get
home. No cars to take
them a few rods around -
In the winter the boys
played dibs (marbles) on
the 'floor at recesses and
noon; but that was not a
game for girls. Often the
boys would have snowball
fights outside. In fine
weather there was a
• game known as Fox - not
Fox and Goose - which
was played outside, and
there were often three
-hall-games going on in
Dungannon Fall Fair
Best
Wishes
DUNGANNON
gni YOUR
"125th
Birthday"
from the management and.staff of
MANNING'S
BUILDING SUPPLIES
HAMILTON ST.
BLYTH
523-9305
various parts of the
schoolyard. ' They were
not supervised by a
teacher so there were
Plenty of fights,, And of
course, there was always
a bully to make life
miser able for the
younger children.
The Junior Room
teacher was always a
lady teacher and the
Principal who taught the
Senior Room was man.
He was sometimes called
in to administer justice to
some of the slow learners
who just 'sat' in the
Junior Room and often
disturbed the peace until
they -found -some -work -or
just stopped school,
I was terrified when the
Principal came in with
his -strap and always
asked to leave the room.
That meant going out to
the small building in the
back north-west corner of
the schoolyard. (There
was' a similar one in the
south-west corner for the
boys.) One time -
probably Hallowe'en -
one building fell over and
the lady who was the
village correspondent for
the local weeklies.
referred to it delicately
as. 'the small building at
the school' and it has
been that to me ever
shice. Those Ulailangs
were very necessary and
useful, but neither
beautiful nor sanitary.
• IVios t of these memories
have been dredged up of
the years before and
during the 1914-1918 War.
Like all rural com-
munities, ours produced
many good citizens -
----seme—eutstanding -and-1W—
some just ordinary like
most of us. Some might
have become outstanding
if they had had a better
chance. There are always
some who deserve better
opportunities, - Ahd so
often some who are given
these opportunities do not:
take advantage of them.
Sincerely,
The Country Mouse.
•
• Congratulations
Dungannon
• From
Anderson Flax
Products Ltd.
DIVISION OF SNOBELEN FARMS LTD.
DEALERS IN ALL TYPES OF GRAIN
LUCKNOW
528-3203
•
Happy
• 125th Birthday
• Dungannon
And
Best Wishes
For The Future
From
toree's
Ladies Wear
Lucknow Phone 528-3533