One Room School house

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Kathy , Canada, JACK TAPLEY REMEMBERS THE FROSTY HOLLOW SCHOOL

I remember the day in 1946, early September, when it was time for me to go to school. I knew which school I would be going to – the one room school which was about one mile from where we lived in a rural area. The school was about 30 feet wide and 40 feet long and was of a wood construction. The first day of school was pretty well consumed with getting your seat. All seats were single desks with a drawer under the seat portion. Grad one was seated at the front of the school and as the grades progressed they moved to the rear. The school accommodated Grade 1 to Grade 8. One teacher provided the education for the entire school dividing their time between the various grades.

The school was heated with a medium sized wood burning stove. There was no electricity or plumbing in the school. The wood supply and washroom facilities were located in a shed just to the rear of the school. My first teacher was Mr. Thompson who was a recent graduate of Teachers School or as they called it in that era “Normal School”. The teacher boarded during the week at a nearby residence owned by the Carter family who had taken in teachers for many a year previously.

I recall during the winter months that the school would be very cold in the morning and it was acceptable to wear your coat and boots until the school warmed up. A student was given the job of janitor for the year. It was usually a volunteered position and lasted for the entire school year. The janitor’s duties would be to have the supplied wood piled neatly in the wood shed, have sufficient kindling on hand for the stove, keep the stove burning as necessary to keep the building warm, and sweep the school floor after school every day. The janitor’s job had its perks as he could leave the school building as necessary to get wood from the outside shed for the stove. (Also), the janitor would get several breaks a day and if it was a nice day outdoors it sometimes took a bit longer for the janitor to return. I know as I was the janitor one year. The pay for janitorial work was $30.00 per year and the school board paid at the end of the school year. I went to the one roomed school from grade on to grade seven. When I entered grade seven we were taken by bus to the new high school about three miles away.