I’m pleased to report my book “Perseverance Pranks & Pride – Tales of the One-Room Schoolhouse” is now available for sale at the Nepean Museum www.nepeanmuseum.ca . I’m one of two authors featured at the museum. I met the other author last week. Ewart “Gus” Wersch (former Nepean Police Chief) is the author of “Behind the Badge: A History of Policing in Carleton County from 1909 to 1988”. On April 3, 2011 from 1-4pm, I will become a school mistress at the Nepean Museum and lead children and adults in various activities that occurred in one-room schoolhouses in Carleton County.
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I received an email today from Connie Gethings. She and her husband purchased a house that was built around the Wilson Schoolhouse on the corner of Old Almonte Road and Corkery Road. It was built around 1900. If you know of anyone who has any further information about this schoolhouse, please have them contact me.
Today Helen (Ireton) White emailed me stating one-room schoolhouses were the best places to be educated and be taught reading, writing and arithmetic. She and her three brothers and three sisters: Allan, Bobby, Barbara, Beverly, Dianne and John all attended S.S. No. 13 Drummond in Drummond Centre. Her cousins Glenn, Willie, Helene, Evelyn and Susan Ireton all went there as well. The school still exists and is now a private residence just off Highway 7. Helen is the girl seated second in the middle row with a white blouse on page 57. Please note the corrections: This picture is of S.S. No. 13 Drummond and not No. 19 and the names are as follows:
Left: Glenn Ireton, David Onion, Unknown, Gerry Kehoe Middle: Allan Ireton, Helen Ireton, Ryta Onion Right: John Tucker, Grant Timmins, Ivan Malloch, Freddy White What a pleasure it was to speak to ladies and gentlemen at the Probus Club of Ottawa Alta Vista! This is a group of retired professionals who enjoy listening to guest speakers. In the audience of about 70 people, many had attended one-room schoolhouses across Canada. One lady mentioned her son had had six weeks training at a Saskatchewan Normal School before teaching 63 students in 11 grades in northern Saskatchewan for six years. Some of his students were older than he was. That sure was perseverance! Sales of my book were brisk and many people made a point of telling me their stories and said how my presentation brought back many memories of their schooldays. After my talk, I was surprised and delighted to have been presented with a made an honorary member of the Probus Club of Ottawa Alta Vista for one year.
I received a lovely "Thanks" card in the mail today. It was from Vivian (Moore, McCurdy) Young saying how much she enjoyed reading "Tales of the One-Room Schoolhouse". She had attended S.S. No. 5 Goulbourn in Munster, and taught at the Goodstown School until it cloased in 1965. Then she came to Lanark County and taught in two one-room schools there. She enjoyed the many pictures of students and teachers in so many schools which she was familiar. Nice memories!
What a pleasant surprise it was, after teaching all day and conducting parent-teacher interviews until 8:30pm, to open up the Kanata Kourier Standard newspaper and discover a lengthly article by Daniel Nugent-Bowman. He had interviewed me a couple of weeks ago for the Barrhaven Weekly newspaper so it was wonderful that another Metroland newspaper has printed our interview and review of my book. You can write to them about your thoughts on the article at [email protected] .
Today I received more information about S.S. No. 2 Huntley, 3010 Carp Road. Eileen Brown told me that her mother, Madeleine Cowan, taught in that school and the previous one prior to marrying her dad, Horace Armstrong , in Oct. 1941. When the previous school burned she set up class in the summer kitchen of her parent's home until the new one was built . Their home was the grey stone house set back in the field from the road on the same side of the road as the school and a short distance from the school. Her parents were William and Helena Cowan.
I just learned that S.S. No. 4 Huntley, 1492 Donald B. Munro, burned down last week! Evelyn Reid had agreed to have her school house on the CFUW/Kanata one-room schoohouse tour in May. Poor Evelyn is fine, but only the walls are standing. I am so sorry that she has had this terrible loss. Log building was in existence on this site by 1870. The brick building was erected in 1901.
Last night, I ended up spending four hours in the emergency of the Queensway Carleton Hospital. (Don’t worry. I’m fine.) My ears perked up when I heard the woman next to me in the waiting room say she had to get some papers to the printer. I asked her if she was a writer. She was not, but only had to go to the printer for her job. Needless to say, I informed her I was an author and pulled a book out of my bag to show her. (Note to authors – Don’t leave home without your book!) Imagine our surprise when she said she knew Linda Preston (p. 7) and recognized a number of the schoolhouses in Goulbourn Township. Of course, she had to buy my book!
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AuthorJoy Forbes - Author of Perseverance, Pranks and Pride - Tales of the One-Room Schoolhouse. Archives
April 2017
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