Pictured is the Cork School, aka SS No. 15, in the late 1800s. It is located on Carmel Line near the McCamus Quarter Line and is now a private residence.
By Dan Bourgeois
The last couple of columns have looked at the early days of public education in our area, as well as generally in Ontario.
By the late 1800s the local public school system was well established. One room school-houses were scattered across the township and the multi classroom Millbrook School (S.S.No 11) had been built (more on the Old Millbrook School some other time). Class sizes ranged from the low teens into the high 30s; there were often many family relations among the students, reflecting a close-knit community.
The Three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) dominated the curriculum and memorization of facts, literary or Biblical passages were common assignments. Gradually though, the curriculum moved beyond these basics with new subjects introduced such as geography, history, grammar and composition. In some areas, music was now taught, usually by a teacher who travelled from school to school. Locally, the first music teacher was Mr. Martin Chenhall, who in the 1930s was “a talented young musician who could persuade the most tone deaf monotone to sing”.
These small schools served as a local community hub. Events such as basket socials brought families (and eligible singles) together. Meetings of local organizations were often held at the schoolhouse. Concerts to raise funds for school equipment or trips and during wartime, to raise funds for the Red Cross or British War Victims Fund, involved the whole community. The annual Christmas Pageant was a highlight of the year, with all students involved in preparation, from script writing to decorating the venue, coming up with costumes and of course performing in the grand show to appreciative family and friends.
In the early 1900s the Fall District Agricultural School Fair was another big event. Miss Jean Burnham was bornin Millbrook and her family owned a grocery store (the storefront now occupied by the Millbrook Mercantile). She was a teacher from 1927 to 1970,at the Fallis Line School and then the Millbrook school. In an interview from the Millbrook Highlighter in January, 1986, she recalled “…the Agricultural School Fair in the fall of each year to which all schools in the township and village paraded carrying banners to identify themselves, and gaily dressed in hats and sashes of crepe paper was another highlight. We sang, gave demonstrations of simple First Aid and the children displayed produce and handiwork they had prepared themselves. One year there were so many groundhogs throughout the county a prize was given to the school that could display the most groundhog tails. I don’t remember how many were in our display but I do remember what a nasty smelly job it was mounting them.” Prizes were given to entries in various categories ranging from produce to preserved foods and baking, handicrafts such as sewing and needlepoint, through to basic woodworking such as building a 3-legged milking stool. Contests would include such events as spelling bees, public speaking and penmanship and athletic events. Points were awarded to the winning students and their school; it was a big deal if your school was awarded top points overall.
In the early 20th century, Canadian society was undergoing major changes. The rural population was now in the minority. Service and industrial work were becoming the major employers compared to rural jobs in farming, the fisheries and forestry. Many of these new jobs required skills often beyond what the basic elementary education in a one room school-house could offer. It would be difficult, if not impossible, for a solo teacher in a single room with eight grades of students to teach the expanded curriculum to a level that compared to the city schools with single grade classes and other advantages.
By the 1930s it was becoming clear that the education levels of many rural Ontario students were behind that of their urban counterparts and this gap continued to grow during and after the Second World War. A 1950 national report indicated 80% of rural schools had no artificial lighting (ie- no electricity), 71% had outhouses (no indoor plumbing) and 70% of Ontario farm children left school after Grade 8. It had become obvious that the futures of rural students were greatly disadvantaged compared to their city cousins in the new economy.
For better or worse, the answer for many was consolidation of the many small schools into a larger, central school, which could offer classes composed of one or a few grades, as well as specialist teachers, librarians, etc. Rural roads had improved and the horse and buggy had been replaced by the automobile. This made transportation more convenient out on the “back roads” and meant getting students to and from these central schools was not the problem it would have been in the past. In 1951, school buses had become available to Cavan township high school students.
In June 1963 the north Cavan schools of Cedar Grove, Mount Pleasant, Fairmount, Beechwood, Cavan, Matchett’s and Cairo had closed and the North Cavan Public School opened in September. In 1965 the south Cavan schools Whitfield, Fallis Line, Cedar Valley, Zion, Fairview, Cork, Marsh and Carmel all closed and the South Cavan Public School (now the municipal offices) opened.
Students reacted to the moves in a variety of ways.
Jayne Delorme (Danford) was a student at Whitfield’s school. She remembers most of her class were excited about the move and the chance to meet and make new friends, although some, especially the younger children, were quite apprehensive about the change. John Wood, who attended the Marsh school on the Zion Line near Glamorgan, as did his older sister and father, didn’t get too excited or worried about the move. It helped that his teacher Mrs. Ferguson, whom he liked, was also moving to the new school along with his chums in the class.
As for the old schools themselves, some are still standing. SS. No 8 Whitfield’s is the Lion’s Den on the corner of County Road 10 and the Larmer Line. About half of the other schoolhouses have become private homes. The remainder exist only in the memories and any written records of those who were educated within their walls.
(Thanks to Jayne Delorme and John Wood for their remembrances).