Entrance Exams

Jimmy Noxan taught school at SS#9 for several years in the 1920's. Lois remembers him as an ineffectual teacher. Not much learning went on when he was the teacher. Then, when Lois was in the senior third, Mr. Noxan was replaced by Miss Hazel Crago, a native of Blanshard Township. Immediately Miss Crago recognized that the students in the senior third were unprepared for the entrance exam. This provincially set examination was held each spring and was used to determine whether students would be allowed to proceed into high school. It was an important hurdle for students, and doubtless, it was also a measure of the quality of the teacher's work. Miss Crago instituted before school classes for the seven students in the Senior Third. The group consisted of Lois Hearn, Mary Riley, Frank Riley, Crawford Tyler, Helen Teahen, Oliver
Bell, and Jennie Dunsmore. To try the entrance examination all students in the township had to travel to Stratford where the examination was held in the County Court House. The distance between her home and Stratford is likely less than 8 miles but Lois remembers that she had never been to Stratford before, and she suspects that with the possible exception of Jennie Dunsmore, none of the others in the class had ever been in Stratford. At the lunch hour break between exams the group went for a walk but were careful to always keep the court house tower in view. Otherwise, they might be unable to find their way back.  Here is the Stratford Court House with the tower that the group of country kids had to keep in view during their lunch hour walk. Later, when the exam results were announced the group took pride in the fact that they all passed their entrance exam, five with honours.