As with most rural schools in the 1940's, there was no pavement surrounding SS#3 North Oxford. The lack of flat, hard surfaces determined the types of games which children played at recess or during the lunch hour. I don't remember, for example, seeing skipping ropes, or any games which involved bouncing balls. I don't remember seeing anyone play hop-scotch. Of course, organized formal team games such as hockey or softball were played in the community, but in this blog I am talking about less formal games which children played at school. Here are four that I remember.
1. Prisoner's Base. This is a running game involving no special equipment. It allows for the participation of a variety of people of different ages and skills. It was, therefore, ideally suited to an 8-grade rural school. "Tagging" is the only physical contact and it can be played on any open area such as that offered by rural school yards. The players are divided into two teams of roughly equal numbers and abilities.
A mid line divides the field into two zones. I have drawn a picture of how I remember the design. Two bases, made from pieces of wood formed the prison of each team. The object of the game is to capture (by tagging) opposing players who have ventured into the enemy zone. A player thus tagged is placed in the prison and has to stand there, foot on the prison stick, and arm outstretched until released by a teammate. The fun of the game is to venture through the enemy zone, to evade capture by an opposing player and to release a teammate from prison (again by tagging them). If there are no prisoners to release and if you successfully cross the enemy territory without being captured then you could get into the enemy prison by touching both prison walls (i.e., the two bases). You then can stand behind the enemy line where you are allowed to capture enemy players in their own territory. For a little kid this represents a wonderful opportunity because it allows you to wait quietly behind the enemy line, to sneak out and to tag triumphantly a lead player on the opposing team who had neglected to cover his or her back. More often, as I remember it, we younger kids were given the less exciting task of guarding the prison or acting as decoys. As I remember the game, it could last easily through through the lunch hour and very seldom was there a clear winner when the school bell rang to signal that we had to return to school.
2. Fox and Geese - This is a winter game, often played after a fresh snowfall. No equipment is needed and if one location is spoiled because it is overtrampled, it is a simple matter to move over 20 yards and to recreate the game on a new spot. First, you stomp out a large circle in the snow and, within the circle, you make several pathways crossing the diameter of the circle. (As I remember, this first step was often the best fun because it required lots of running and kicking of snow.) In the centre of the circle you lay out a circle large enough to hold a couple of people. Then the game begins. One person is chosen as the fox; the rest are geese. The fox who is "it" chases the geese, and when one of the geese is tagged, the players change roles with the tagged goose now becoming the fox, and the game continues. There are two simple rules. First, all the players have to stay on the existing paths, and second, the circle in the centre is a safe spot where the fox can not tag you. However, only one person can occupy the safe spot at a time and someone who is being chased can bump out whoever is already in the safe spot. As I remember it, the game often starts well but quickly deteriorates because players have such difficulty staying on the paths that very soon the pathways are all jumbled up. Furthermore, the game is exciting for the fox but less so, for the geese, especially if the fox prefers to always be the chaser and not to share the role.
3. Ante ante over the shanty. Like prisoner's base, this is one of those classic games played in rural schools all over North America. As can be seen in the picture on the right, the school at SS#3 North Oxford was faced with a wooden vestibule. In the game of ante ante over the shanty the players divide into two groups with one group standing on one side of
the vestibule and the second group standing hidden from view on the other side of the vestibule. The game involves a ball being tossed over the top of the vestibule, being caught by someone on the opposing side and then the groups running and exchanging places. That is how I remember the game. In a variation of the game which I have read about, all the players start on one side of the school, one player throws the ball over the school and whoever finds the ball is the winner has the honour of throwing the ball over the roof to continue the game.
4. Chain links. This is a simple game in which two lines of children all holding hands stand facing each other. One line calls out a chant, the last of which is "we call (name of child on the opposite team) over." The person who is called runs and attempts to break through the opposing line. If the person successfully breaks through the opposing line then he/she can return to his team; however, if the line holds and the person does not break through the line, then he must join the opposing team. Of course, the object of the game is to force all the opposing players to join your team. In my memory no team ever won the game because there was always a weak link in the opposing team that would break easily and so the numbers in each line remained relatively balanced.
