The Huron Expositor, 1968-10-31, Page 4•
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11410:94 EXPOVTOR, SEAFORTH, ONT, OCT. 31, 1942
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Seaforthis. First Citizens EmphazisedEducation.
BY lee Isabelle Campbell
Public Sehools''
In the early 1840's, children
in the vicinity of what is now
Seaforth had to foot it through
the woods to a log Union
School, near Irishtown, and a
little later to another in
McKillop, where Maitlandbank
Cemetery is now.
As the Seaforth population
increased, mare school
accommodation was needed
than a one -teacher school could
proyide. In Confederation Year,
1867, 'land was procured on
James Street and on it wrs built
a substantial brick two-storey
structure, containing two rooms,
. facing on Church St. Archibald
Dewar was the firse principal,
and Miss Jennie Guekie was his
assistant. There were over two
hundred pupils in attendance..
When opened, the school har
a lopsided appearance, but the
ratepayers had an eye to iteture
additions, and by 1872 the need
arose and a wing was added. to
the south, which balanced the
outside appearance. Five
teachers were then on the staff.
In 1874, Seaforth had 592
children, between five and 16
years, making it necessary to add
a north wing, and ,to hire two
more teachers, making the total
seven. Later, a rear addition was
made, completing the
eight -room school. In all, the
price, including the • wings,
amounted to around $10,000.
Originally, the building was
white brick. Later it was painted
barn red, but in k few years the
elements and green ivy toned
down the haleh red, and gave the
front ,ene'iniposipg appearance.
The back was different. Here, no
paint had been wasted, no ivy
planted, and, only a cinder
play groun d surrounded the
building. It was here that all the
town children; both Protestant
and Catholic, were taught the
three R's, till St. James' Separate
School opened in 1902.
'A kindergarten was opened
on June 1, 1910, with hriss'
Suable McLean as teacher. She
faitheellyand lovingly carried on
her task for 41 years, till she
retired on June 30, 1951. No
one can estinate' the influence
for good she had upon .the lives
of the thouszoid or more
children • she introduced to
school life.
In 1878. the last' year before a
secondary school opened, the
school expenses were $4,846.30;
of this amount, $2,658.30 went
to pay the salary of the seven;
teachers. The attendante at this
time reached almost five
hurrdred.
Leonard "McFaul, the
principal, with the shining boots,
alid a solid foundation and gave
unstintingly of his time for 26
years. For many years he walked
in daily two and a half •miles
through the winter - Storms and
summer rains from his home in
McKillop. Despite this long
walk, no pupil ever saw his
principal with dusty boots. Just
as his boots showed something
of his nature and his
thoroughness, so did these
qualities extend into his school
work.
Principals who taught till the
new shcool opened in 1953
were: Archiblad Dewar
1868-1671; William O'Connor,
1 87 1- 1 873; L 'J. Birchard,
1873-1874; Leonard McFaul,
1875-1901; William J. Moffat,
1902-1910; J. T. Curtis,
1 91 0-1 9 1 2; Alfred Naylor,
1912-1919; Forster T. Fowler,
1919-1924;. E. IL Crawford,
..1924-1931; Peter B. Moffat,
1931-1949; Donald N. Eastman,
1949-1953; J. W. Talbot, 1953.
The old school was takee
over in 1953 by Seaforth Shoes
Ltd., and has been used ever
since as a warehouse.
On September 8, 1953, the
new 'modern red brick school
was opened. It was built, on
seven acres of land at the west
end of the town — land which
ahd been formerly the old fair
ground. The cost was over
$275,000 — twenty-seven times
as much as the old one. The
general, contractor was Pounder
Bros., of Stratford, and , the
architect was the firm of Shore
& Moffat, Toronto. The
principal at the time of the
opening was John W. Talbot,
and he is still head of the
teaching staff,
SeparateSchOol
• The Separate Sehnert Board
was organized on October 31,
1901, and the first business of•
the Board was to arrange for the
building of a school. Rev. P.
Corcoran was the parish priest at
this time. Within a few weeks a,
two-storey white bieek was
erected on land owneae>by the
parish on the corner of Goderich
and Chalk St.,_and was_ready for
occupancy by the beginning of
the New Year. However, the
dedication by Rt. Rev. Bishop F.
P., McEvay, of' London, assisted
by Rev. P. Corcoran and Rev. G.
R. Northgraves, Seaforth; did
not take place till May 4, 1902.
The name chosen was St. James'
Separate School. It was opened
be January with two teachers
, and 82 pupils. The principal was
Miss La Chance.
After Father Corcoran
bought Duncan McMillan's home
in 1912 to be used as a Convent,
he broug1 the Sisters of $t.
Joseph to 'teach in the school
and also to teach music in the
Convent. In 1956 the home of
Mrs. J. M. McMillan, adjoing the
Convent; was also bought by the
Diocese for future use of the
parish.
By 1959 the old school
uildingwas taxed to capacitY,
and in the summer of 1960 a
new modern red brick
one -storey was built, just sought
of the old one, facing on chalk
St. 'The contractor was Frank
Kling, and the total cost was
$124,266.89. Moving day from
the old to the new was Friday,
December 16, 1960, so as to be
ready for lessoes on Monday,
December 19. Bishop John C.
Cody, of London, officiated at
the dedication on April 16,
'1961. The Contractor wrecked
the old school in January, 1961.
Increasing attendance
resulted in the school hoard
purchasing the former
Egmondville school in 1967
which provides needed
additional claesroom
accommodation.
High School
During the latter part of the
1870's, the need of a secondary
school was felt to be a, necessity.
Some of the•oVercrowding in the
public school was due to lack of
such a school, as the principal,
Leonard McFaul, did all in his
power to asst anyone desirous
of obtaining a higher education.
The original High School,
built in 1878, was white brick
with red brick trim, and was
considered a very fine specimen
of architecture. The site was the
same as the present District High
School. The building and
grounds cost $6,000. The school
was opened January 7, 1879,
with Charles Clarkson, B.A., as
principal, and with him were,
two other teachers — Joseph '
Morgan and Fred T. Congdon.
Because of lack of space,
examinations were held in the
old Town Hall on the Market
Square '
• By 1887, needs for other
SchOol facilities arose, such as
central heating, gymnasium and
laboratoriee. The contract for
the new tivo-room addition was
granted to Messrs. John Lyon
and Frank Gutteridge, at a cost
of approximately 55,000. This
provided for the laboratories.
The gymnasium, erected in the
spring of 1888, was a large frarne
barn -like structure, heated by a
stove h one corner. In winter
the temperature was frigid
enought to make even
non-sportminded students
willing to participate actively in
all phases of the physical
training proograrn. The school,
in 1888, was raised to the status
of •Collegiate Institute, a
standing which it retained for
many years.
In 1939; Harry Edge had the
Contract to erect a two-storey
addition to include a new
gainmasiurn, a workshop and a
home econetnics room. Fifty
thousand dollars was spent on
this project. Other additions
were made in 1954 ancl again in
1960, botli of which cost much
over the 5100,000 mark. The
original building torn down and
a new addition erected in 1966.
... The lust headneaster, Charles
Clarkson, remained till 1882. J.
C. Harstone followed till
Clarkson . returned in 1686.
Harstone maintained the high
standard laid by Clarkson and
also laid the foundation for the
school's athletics, which
developed many successful
teazles, especially in football.
.Antherprincipal of a high
calibre was Go,,ILJLogers, who
served from 1900 to 1913. Two
of the earlies lady teachers, Mrs.
Barbara Kirkman and Miss Ethel
Kirkwood, merit special
mention.
Following Charles Clarkson in
1899, other principaLs have been
Alexander Mowat, 1899-1900;
G. F. Rogers, 1900-1913; G. A.
Miller, .1913-1914; D. A.
MacKay, 1914-1915; J. F. Ross,
1 91 5-1 9 2 2; M. J. O'Neil,
1922-1923; G. W. Spencer,
19 23-1 929; A. B. Farmer,
1929-1930; George A.
Ballantyne, 1930-1944; Lorne
Fox, 1944-1948; Laurence P.
Plunasteel, 1948 till the present
time.
When the Secondary School
District was created in 1947,
school buses came into use to
transport the pupils , from
Tuckersmith, McKillop,IBbbert,
Hullett, Grey and. Morris
Townships td the • Seaforth
District High School, with Scott
Habkirk, bus contractor, at a
cost of $10,000. The three buses
used have increased now to
eight. Leslie Habkirk, since
1963, has been in charge of this
fleet of buses, which‘since 1964
also transports pupils from the
Seaforth School to the Central
Huron Secondary School in
Clinton. The distance travelled
in one year is now well over
100,000 miles.
• Scholarships
Carter and Scott
Scholarships, which are available
each year to students of,
Seaforth High School, have'
created a challenge to
outstanding students, and quite
a number frorn the school have
won this honor.
The Carter Scholarships,;.
which are given now to qualifiel
students throughout twenty-fiw
counties ear _ Ontario, were
originated by Jaines
Carter, a native of the village o ;
Ethel, Ont. James might bet,
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vq,1'
STYLES MAY CHANGE
BUT OUR DEDICATION
TO YOUTH REMAINS
Since that day in 1876 when a group of Sea -
forth citizens decided there must be facilities
in 'Seaforth for, higher education, there has
been a continuing insistence on the part of
successive boards that students here must
have available to thezn the best and Jaitest in
facilities and aecommddation.
It is this insistence that through the years
has resulted in the scholastic achievements of
such a great, number of graduates.
This same attitude has resulted in a recent
, construction program that has resulted in a
new aelthol plant, modern and coplete in
every resPect.
As Seaforth marks its 100th birthday it is
good to recall t at there has always been an
•-Attftual-e-of- #u.respect -and-responsibility-
between the sch nd the community jt serv-
ves with each recognizing the contribution of
the other.
An historical brochure published on the lr
opening of an addition November 16, 1954,
put it this way:
"The final test—the one fOr which no diplo-
ma is granted --is in the kind of men and wo-
men which the school has produced. Over the
years, the record is astonishingly good. There
is not a profession in Canada which cannot
• number among its leaders a graduate of the
• Senforth School. There is not a section. of the
country to which graduates of Seaforth have
not gone and taken their share in the pioneer
wwork of building a greater Canada. Wherever
they have gone they have brought honor to
their old school.
'Perhaps even more important has been the
role of those who stayed at home. In .a very
real sense, this district has been made by the
men and women who got their education up at
the High School. On the farms, in the offices
and the sto-res and in the' kitchens, the majority
_oLthe_men and women of this district are al-
umni of the school:They are by far the higgeit
single group in the district's life. TheTrs is the
task of really proving what the High School,
has meant to Seaforth. The fact that they still
support the school and look forward to its de-
velopment and expansion would seem to indi-
cate that they have no doubts as to its worth
in the community!'
•SEAFORD,' DISTRICT HIGH SCI1001. BOARD, 1968
IlikrAELANE, chairman
• Oliver Anderson, Clarence Martin, P. C. J. gills, Russell Bolton, John Broadfoot, D. C. Cornish
ItarVO:v Craig, C. t. botiring, Walter Stiertreed, Th'. J. 0. Turnbull, Don IttInder, georetary
termed a sell -made man, as his
schooling ended with the third
reader. When quite young he
came to Seaforth and rust
clerked in a store, then became a
grain buyer; had a stave factory,
formed a company which
manufactured and sold the "Rod
Ream Plow", and also opened' a
salt block. He endured many
hard knocks in the salt industry
in various places after he left
Seaforth, but eventually he
struck the "gold pot." During
his retirement he heard of two
or three Students in Sarnia
Col le gaite who had gained
Honor Matriculation who would
be unable to go to college for
want of money. This led to the.
scholarship offer. TIT first year,
only students in Lambton
County benefited to the amount
of 5200. The next year the
Counties of Huron, Middlesex,
Perth and Wellington were
added. This continued during his
lifetime; then under the terms of
his will the scheme was extended
to 25 counties. The Ontario
Government distributes yearly
$5,000.00, which is the interest
on a capital sum of $100,000
bequeathed by Mr. Carter for
this purpose. james Irving -Carter
was born in 1850 and died in
191 3. He is buried in
Maitlandbank Cemetery,
Seaforth.
When the Seaford] School
Alumni • Association was
reorganized in 1931, steps were
taken to establish a scholarship
fund, to be awarded each year to
a senior student. This Alumni
Memorial Scholarship was first
awarded in 1934.
Bruce Scott, the founder of
the Scott Scholarship, was a
tnative of the community and an
alumnus of the school.' These
scholarships are given annually -
to worthy students graduating
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*,,„„••• os,
• • ••^1,,prINIEl•
.4111012 tbe DALY'S,
Seaforth Collegiate Institute 1933
from Seaforth School. Bruce
Scott was born in 1894 and died
in 1951. He is also buried in
Maitlandbank Cemetery.
Bruce Scott's scholarships
were given because he realized
from expsrience the value of
good education, and James I.
Carter's because he also knew
-from experience waht a hardship
lack of advanced education
could be to one throughout his
lifetime.
Private Schools
Before there was a secondary
school in Seaforth, private
schools were advertised from the
late 60's to the 80's
In 1869 Mrs. G. T. jarvis,
Railway. _ St., • had in her
residence a select boarding and
day school for young ladies. Her
rates were as follows: English
and Fancy Work, $4.00; French,
$4.00; Drawing, $4.00; Music,
$6.00; or all the branches,
$14.00 per quarter. At the same
time, Miss Watkinson had a
young ladies' private school in
her home on Jarvis St., next
door to the Presbyterian Church.
By the early 1870's both Miss
Robinson and Miss Ryan
advertised select schools. From
1881 till 1886, "The Poplars"
Ladies' School was carried on by
Miss Robertson and Miss Booth
in the "Green" house on John •
SL, and Mies Sarah Dorrance had
another private school on Side
St.
Seaforth District High
School Recall recent years
4."
By 1.. P.. Plumsteel
Pr inc ipa 1
Seaforth District High,School
When 1 w.a• asked to recall
some of the events, of the past
twenty years at Seaforth District
n't have, e:loser inspection re-
vealed that poultry of -some kind
had spent at least part of the
night on that seat. After I had
changed my trousers and wiped -
off the seat, I drove the truck to
school. There I discovered that
High School, it w as pointed out I -was not the only one honoured
that this period coveredclos 1..)y..44„1:,,ormorn a hen. Mr. Morr -
one qu_pter,of the life of fii e isoliihetived in what is often
schadr. This makes it sound referred to as the old hospital,
.like a very long rime but i t behind the Commercial Hotel '
doesn't seem long to me. I hada hen in his hall when he.
remember so well my interview awoke that same morning. An -
with the Board in the spring of other one was discovered in the
1948, an interview preceded by apartment near the Clinic, where
a tour of the school. The base- Miss Fennell and the Slatterys
ment of the old school fascinat- had apartments. A long time
ed me, with its many dingy later, when it was perfectly safe,
rooms, dark corners and rem- . a couple of fellows by the names
nants of a previous heating sys- of Jim Flannigan and Buc Zieg-
tem. That old basement will ler admitted to raiding M r.
always remain one of my most Morrison's poultry pen.
vivid memories of the old schcol I'm sure many of our graduat-
I remember one night after a es who were at school when this
Board Meeting, i3411 Duncan, event took place, • often remem-
Charlie Barber and I went down her it as I do. Miss Elford, our
into that same basement to in- Home Economics teacher at the
spect the boiler. It was•fired by tithe, Went out at noon to g
a stoker set down in a concrete home for lunch in her Model A
rectangular hole in the floor, We ‘,.Ford. Miss Mary Murphy a
came into die basement from the
side which the electrician must
have felt was the wrong sicre, be-
cause he put the light switch on
the other side. Before I could
et across the basement and turn
on the lights, Mr. Barber fell in-
to the hole and cracked a half
dozen ribs against the edge of
the stoker.
That particular beating sys-
tem had to he seen. to be believ-
ed. , The boiler was in the mid-
dle of the room and the chimney
was on the Outside wall. A large
round smoke stack went horn the
boiler to the chimney through
the coal bid. One day after a
car -load of coal had been put in
the basement, it was discovered
that the coal in proximity to,,the
smoke stack`was starting to smo-
ke. The janitor .Mr. •Van Mil
had to move several tons of coal
in a hurry or there would have
been no school. After that the •
young beginning teacher asked
her for a ride home and climbed
into the back-seat. Miss Elford
turned on the key and stepped on
the starter._ Immediately there
was a loud bang followed b y
great clouds. of smoke from un-
der the hood, Miss Elford g o t
out quickly, Miss Murphy tried
to get out quickly but it wasn't
so easy from the back sea.nd
she ended up lying ,on the
ground, minus one shoe .a n d
most of her dignity. And all the
students who ate lunch at school
and who obviously knew what
was going to happen were lined
up at the front windows watch-
ing. Eventually, of cburie, we
learned the identity of t h e
"bomb" planter. Since both of
the "victims" are still very
much alive, it is perhaps best
that Ws name he not divulged.
Miss Elford and/or Miss Murphy
might decide to "bomb" him.
Board -built a -wall to- keep -Litz_ When think back on some of
coal away from the smoke stack. the things that happened a t
Many of you will remember good old Seaforth District High
Mt. Lloyd Morrison. • During my 'School, some of them seem so
third year here Mr. Morrison had impossible, that I am almost^. -
a fine flock of hens in the pouP• convinced I dreamed them. We
try house behind the school. That had a young beginning teacher
year I Moved to the house across whose name was Mr. Greensides.
from the United Church on Oct- He was having some problems
ober 31st. I had borrowed Gord- with discipline, particularly
on McGavin's truck to move my with some of the boys in t h e
belongings. Some time in the schooh 1. had told him that he
evening I finished moving and would have to make it clear to
left the truok backed up to t h e these boys that he Was boss in
front verandah. 1 planned t o his class -room. So the nex t
thke it to shhool, in the merning day, when a boy started heck -
and John McGavin was going to ling hint, he walked dowt1 the
drive it home after four instead aisle and took a good Wipe. at
of going on the bus. in the the boys head. T1e boy ducked
Morning I bre.ezed out the front in his seat -- And Mr. Greensides
door of My new home, opened threw his arm out of joint at the
th0 Ant of The truck and jumped shoulder. The boys htouOt,iiirn
in. NO stiorfer had I sat down en to tire_r2ffice with his atm out at
the seat than 1 t4a1ited I should- „i -nizyNanoe,, wt. wok hini to
•
L. P. Plurnsteel
the hospital, and a doctor put
his arm back in its socket. That
lcind of scene is supposed to hap-
pen only in fiction or in h e
movies.
Another incident just as un-
believable happened more rec-
ently and will be remembered
by most of our present students'.
Last year, while work was still
in progress on our new school, a
painter was on his way up the
stairs to the second floor in the
north wing„ He had just stirred
two gallons of white paint, had
set the lids back on., and was �n
his way to begin painting. Just
at the top of the stairs he was in
collision with one of our lady
teachers who was making a hur-
ried trip to the office before
classes started. The collision
must have been a good one, be-
cause the lid flew off one gallon
of paint anti a considerable port-
ion of the contents slopped' out
and all over the ladies shoes and
anklei. What does a principal
say—or do-- When an irate lady
suddenly appears in his office --
and stands dripping white paint
on his floor. The painter fin-
ally removed most of the paint
from the shoes but I'm afraid the
nylons Tore-rE a WM.! Riss. -
During the past twenty years
we have won quite a number of
W. 0. S. S. A. Championships but
the one which always stands out
in my memory 'is our first- - W.
0. S. S. A. Championship in Foot-
ball which we won in 1951. That
year we won our Group and won
the right to play in the final at
Western University in London
against Sarnia St, Patricia scirol,
who had been playing football
many years longer than we had
and who were eoritidered heavy
favourites to win. We spored a
touchdown, worth five points at
that time and convertecrit for
another point. Sarnia soared a
touchdown but missed the con-
vert, So going into the last
feW Minutes Of the game, the
ScOte was S itt faVdtir of
Seaforth. With' abo ut 2 min-
utes left to play, Sarnia had a
first down on our one -yard line
and it seemed as though nothing
could save us from defeat. Twice
Sarnia tried a plunge through
our line for that yard and twice
they failed to gain an inch. On 0
third down, they could have kn.ck-
'errfOra'aigie point to tie tale
game. But they were sure our
team couldn't hold them three
times in a row so they tried an-
other plunge for a touchdown.
And our line didn't give them
an inch. We took over on our
one -yard line.and ran out the
clock to win the championship
6 - 5 over a team against which
we were given no chance at all
by the experts.
During the past few years our •
girls have been the'ones winning
W. 0. S. S. A. Championships. We
have several pennants for volley-
ball and basketball champion-
ships and have been -very proud
of the athletic prowess of o u r
girlS.
Without doubt, one of the
greatest rewards for those of us •
engaged in the teaching p r o-
fession is to follow the progress
of our graduates and to see them
achieve happiness and success as
adults and to feel that we bad
some part, however small, in
this success. Considering t h e
relatively small size of Seaforth
District High School the number
of graduates who have done ex-
tremely well is surprisingly large
The pervntage of our student
body going •on to Grade 13 has
• been consistently above the pro- -
vincial average for thel4entY
years I have been here. And it
goes without saying that I am
tremendously proud of all the
fine yOung men and women from
this echool, now scattered,pretty
well all over the world.
It would be inexcusable of me,
If, in the course of my reminis-
cences, I neglected to pay trib-
ute to the many fine hard -work- ,
ing, conscientious teachers who
have been Oil -this staff over the
past twenty years. 1 consider my-
self to have'been particularly for-
htuanvaeteh a dinytheaer cafalteihrryeeof
ar.stafi
raf s
Must have been a happy school,
even though old and musty, be-
cause over the years, we had one
rates
the inthe
f elawespttroevainchc. Nowthat
ereturn
at
we have a beautiful new school,
second to.none in the province. I
am sure we will be able to con-
tinue to have a staff of which the
whole poMmunity can be proud.
One fibal word'. Much has
been said and written during the
past few months which ' is
anything but flattering to pres-
ent-day teenagers (although
can swpeoradk obnlybo
°u:ofut
date,,)outown1
young people in this chtnYttunity (Oarithitied ori page 6)
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