School Trustee Minutes Book S.S.#3 North Oxford

In a previous blog I recounted the story of how Gordon and Lois came to move to Oxford County. They and their two girls were living in three rooms at the back of Houck's store in St. Pauls. In the spring of 1942 Gordon read that the trustees of SS#3 North Oxford were looking for a new teacher for their one room country school. In the previous blog, I told of how Gordon and Lois drove from Woodstock to Ingersoll searching for the school, how Gordon had to rouse Erwood Kerr from his lunch time sleep in the barn, how Bernice Hutchison, still with her hair in curlers, went out to meet the prospective new teacher's wife, and how Erwood Kerr, Walter Hutchison and Jack Butterworth, the three school trustees, met at the school house and decided to hire Gordon as the new teacher. Unfortunately, the Trustee Minutes book upon which this blog is based, does not record the events of that day. Possibly, the trustee responsible for the Minutes Book forgot to take it with him when they met at the school house and hired the new teacher. The Minutes Book which records the annual trustee meetings, reflects an era in which local farmers, in an informal and "hands off" way acted as overseers of the local school. The School Trustee Minutes Book for SS#3 North Oxford spans a 13 year period running from 1938 until 1951. Traditionally, the annual meetings of the school trustees were held in the school house between Christmas and New Years. While the meeting was open to all rate payers, typically only the three trustees would be present. Meetings all followed a similar pattern. A chairman and a secretary were appointed. The minutes from the last meeting were read. Two auditors, one for the ratepayers and the second for the trustees were appointed. One of the trustees would move that the teacher purchase books for the library. Aside from that, the trustees did not become involved in pedagogical issues. In some years a second meeting might be needed. In March 1943, for example, the furnace quit and the trustees met to purchase a new one "at a cost of $220 less $2 for the old furnace." The trustees met twice in April 1947 to consider a proposal to buy the field to the west of the school. The owner of the land, Bruce Dickson asked for $350. The trustees countered with an offer of $250. In the meeting of April 28th 1947 a compromise of $300 was agreed upon. The trustees did not make decisions quickly, and they were cautious with the taxpayers' money. The question of whether a music teacher should be hired is an example of this conservative caution. At the school trustee meeting in 1943 the 'need of a music teacher was brought up but no action taken". Again, in 1944 the issue was raised but "no action was taken concerning a music teacher." It wasn't until 1947 that Mrs. Ralph Folden was hired to provide one lesson per week at the salary of $ 9.00 per month. While the recorded minutes of the Trustee meetings suggest that they were low key affairs with little disagreement or heated discussion, there was one hint of controversy in the June 1950 meeting. The secretary notes that the teacher asked for a $250 raise and that the raise was granted but only "after much discussion." The year 1950 also appears to be the last year in which the school trustees at SS#3 acted as an independent group. While the minutes of the December 27th 1950 meeting begin as usual with the statement: "The annual meeting of the rate payers of Dickson's corner school SS No. 3 was held in the school house at 8 p. m.", the situation changes in the following year. In 1951 the annual meeting is recorded as being a meeting of the trustees from the "North Oxford School Area". The meeting is held in the Council Chambers, and for the first time, many of the participants in the meeting are individuals who do not farm within five miles of SS# 3, and who do not have a direct connection to the school. The entry of January 17 1951 is the last in the book. Quite possibly, with the establishment of a larger school district, a new Minutes Book was purchased and the old one was put in storage.

The 27th December 1937 .. cont'd

Well, the car didn't disappear into Black Creek, but when Gordon and Lois did emerge from the manse, they found their car at the bottom of the hill securely wired to a second car parked in front of the community hall. (On the right is Avonton Presbyterian church as it looks today with the manse next door. The front window of the manse that can be seen to the left of the porch in this picture is the one through which Lois watched the car roll down the hill toward Black Creek.) Once Gordon as a newly married man, managed to extricate his car, he and Lois drove the 2 1/2 miles up to the 1st and 2nd concession and turned left to go to the McEwan homestead where Gordon's mother and father had lunch waiting. Lois' father Bob, and Laura Turner, in the meantime, returned home. Lunch consisted of salmon sandwiches and a sweet. Then, Gordon and Lois drove into Stratford where they were scheduled to catch the bus to London for the honeymoon. Since the car was needed at home Jack, Gordon's father rode into Stratford with them. As they drove down the Centre Gravel on their way to Stratford they met Earl Boyes, a neighbouring farmer who had previously dated Lois. (Earl had been married the year before to one of Gordon's many relatives in the area: Marie Ballantyne.) When he saw Earl's vehicle approaching, Jack ducked down in the back seat. "Good Lord, I don't want Boyes thinking I'm going on the honeymoon with you!" Gordon and Lois rode the bus to London and walked the three or four blocks to the Iroquois Hotel, then a prominent establishment on the north-west corner of Clarence and King Streets. During their two-day stay, Gordon spent considerable time on the phone to the various arenas asking for information on what sporting events were going on in the city. What he didn't realize was that every time he picked up the phone, he was adding to his hotel bill. For a guy who had a total of $100 for his entire honeymoon trip, and a wife who had absolutely no money, the bill which was presented at the end of their stay was a shocker. Somehow the bill got paid, but I would imagine that it was at this point that Gordon realized that he was a long way from Downie Township.