The Days Of My Youth (page 2)
The next phase in my life began the Easter following my birthday party, just before I was six years old. To be precise, the year was 1915. Yes, I was allowed to go to school. The three of us tow-haired little boys started off hand in hand, I in the middle.
We did not have far to go. The school was located at the corner of our pasture field. We just had to skip through the fields, wade through or jump over a little stream, crawl through an old wire fence, cross the Cutler Sideroad and there we were, at school. Of course, sometimes the stream would be too wide, following a heavy summer shower or Spring freshet. At such times, we were required to find our way around by the road.
Our school was a white wooden frame building, complete with a Belfry and the anteroom. At the front, on the right hand side, stood the proverbial flagpole, flying the Union Jack. Beside the flagpole was a dug well serviced by an old wooden Pump. The playground equipment consisted of a swing and a double teeter, both made by some members of the school section. Placed discreetly behind the building were the two red outhouses, clearly labeled "Boys" and "Girls". The school grounds was enclosed by a board fence and a row of trees.
Starting school this time of year did give me a chance to get acquainted with the other boys and girls and to feel what it is like, going to school. After about a month and a half, Summer vacation would start and we would all be free to enjoy a farm vacation.
During our "farm Vacation", we learned to work as well as to play. There were many things that we could work at and call play. Going to pasture in the early evening to fetch the cattle was one of those play jobs. I would usually be accompanied by our dog, Friskie. Friskie was considered to be a good cattle dog, in as much as he enjoyed chasing both cows and horses. As a matter of fact, he would chase anything that would run. I enjoyed the freedom of my bare feet, and would sometimes find wild strawberries on the way to divert my attention. There was a little creek meandering across our meadow where the cows would stop to grab a drink and I would wade into for fun.
Another fun thing for me, when I felt like it, was when it was announced in a flurry of excitement, "Oh my, the cows are in the corn." This was, as I say, fun for me to run and drive them out. However, this meant that some fence needed fixing. This was another job for someone to do. This was not fun for Mama, or Papa, who had the responsibility of fixing the broken fence. This did happen quite frequently, because none of our fences were very good.
Another fun thing, then, was mowing the lawn grass with a push-type lawnmower. After we had finished mowing, we had to rake the green cuttings into a pile. These green cuttings made an excellent smudge fire to repel the mosquitoes on some summer evening when we sat out of doors. We often sat out of doors in the summer. It was always so hot indoors.
I enjoyed these summer evenings when I could just sit and listen to the evening creatures talking to each other. These were some of the times when I received some of those great ideas about things I would do later on. These were the times when we, as a family, would discuss the events of the day and plan for the morrow -- as much as we could. Then we would go to bed, more or less refreshed.
My vacation also consisted of those many farm chores, like hoeing the corn or the beans; also like cleaning out the ever-dirty stables and putting down new straw. Vacation took in "Haying", "Harvesting", and all those jobs in the hot sun. I will tell about these events in another chapter.
SCHOOL DAYS
Book Bags and Lunch Pails (honey pail with handle)
School Slates trimmed with red yarn; and screechy slate pencils and wetted sponge.
Five Cent Scribblers with the "times tables" conveniently on the back.
School Lunches and initialed potatoes roasting on the hot school stove, on a cold winter day.
Ink-Wells and Brass pens in red holders and Ink blotters.
The smell of Red Cedar Lead Pencils and Art Gum erasers.
The school bell ringing in the belfry.
These are a few of the sights and smells of School Days.
"School Days" recalls several events at school that evoke pleasant memories.
Arbour Day was essentially a tree-planting day. At our school, this day was the first
Monday in May. This was the day when our school received a general cleaning, inside and
outside. This was the day we were asked to bring rakes and/or shovels to school. The
morning was spent raking up and disposing of all those old leaves of last Fall, as well as
digging and planting a garden of some flowers and vegetables. We had plenty of trees. On
the inside of the school, the floor was swept and mopped, the windows and blackboards
cleaned. It was always assumed that we would do a good job. A picnic lunch was planned,
for which we all brought extra sandwiches, etc. The picnic would be a hike to the nearby
bush, where all the wild flowers grew. Us boys played at being monkeys, climbing trees,
and otherwise running wild. I, at least, always enjoyed Arbour Day.