School

SCHOOL

The Dell school-house was located as close to the center of the populated part of Dell as possible, about midway between Little Kennie’s brook and Big Dan's brook on the right hand side of the road from the direction of Scotstown. (This was the second schoolhouse to be built, the first was "a little red school-house" and was located in a wrong location, close to Domhuill Beau-chaill's house. Brother Donald's first year in school was spent in this red structure; he used a slate). This school-house we painted pure white, a one room construction with the entrance end similar in style to the main building. My brother, Rody quite often took a contract of being Janitor for the term which gave him the sum total of ten dollars for his labours for the entire year. The job included opening, and locking up, making the fire, sweeping, and supplying the drinking water each day from Little Kennie's brook. The room would accommodate about twenty-five kids. It was heated with a wood-burning box stove. The floors were soft wood, painted. It had two blackboards up front, one was not too bad, the other was three wide boards painted black, each time that it was used the chalk was constantly broken in the wide cracks between the boards.

School in Dell was held in the summer months, from May first to the middle of December, instead of in winter like any other school. The reason for this being the long hard and cold winters, the amount of snow and the long distance that some of the kids had to walk. On looking back it is hard to imagine going to school all through the hot summer. It was an academy of higher learning. Indeed it was the highest learning that many of its pupils ever did get (it went to grade seven the remaining education had to be gotten by experience.

Dell school was ruled by teachers by the names of Miss Williams, Katie MacLeod (Rea-voch), Laura Quint, Bella Morrison (Solid), later

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Eleanor Doak, Helen McLean and others, although not all to the tune of the thick stick, but still, some were like cross-eyed people, they couldn't control their pupils. One time a punishment had been handed out to me personally, by teacher Katie MacLeod for some mischief that I had performed. The punishment was to stay in after school and to memorize the Books of the Old Testament. This was done with such gusto that they became forever imprinted on the victim's memory and to this day, fifty years later, they can still be recited in the right order. Want to hear them, anyone?

The pupils weren't all models any more than some of the teachers. The kids sometimes were welted across the head with a ruler, also across their backs with half inch saplings that the teacher had sent the delinquent across the road to the woods to get for her, which left red raised blisters. Sometimes the kids were even lifted out of their seat by their ear. Poor Bella Solid was the possessor of this infamous practice. Most of the teachers were gentle and kind though.

The kids were sort of fed up with Bella Solid's constant belligerency. To retaliate, to behave in the same vain, or, for sheer spite, they took every inkwell (cast iron), case and all out of each desk, leaving a gaping hole, and had a real marksmanship contest with them, smashing them against rocks down in Domhuill Allister's cow pasture behind the school-house during one noon-hour.

In due course each kid was questioned individually at great length by both the teacher and the school commissioner, Dannie Malavy, as to whatever happened to those inkwells. Naturally, we all pleaded innocent and pretended that we could never imagine whatever had happened to them.
I personally, feel that this is the first time that this rather distasteful secret has ever been revealed, some fifty years later. No doubt

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but this was the first and only case of vandalism that ever took place in the history of Dell.

Some kids delighted in the teasing of other kids and in horsing around. There was a variety of individuals whose mood of defence and by retaliation were different and whose support by a parent, psychologically, was necessary. That supposedly is the reason that each of three particular sisters used the same defence when they would in any way be bothered. "I'll tell my father on you", was their constant threat, with the result that one was expected to run away and leave them alone.

The school inspector, a Mr. McCutcheon, was: a bachelor who hailed from around Brookbury somewhere. He was a rural inspector and came around only once during the entire school term. He was tall, fiftyish, poker faced, wore a moustache and a gold watch chain across his vest, looked like an aristocrat. He travelled by horse and buggy, arriving from the direction of Scotstown at about nine thirty in the morning and drove right into the school-yard. The teacher, pale and weak from fear and embarrassment, would meet him outside of the school room entrance, partially closing the door behind her. All the while the kids, filled with mischief, carried on, everything was in a general state of disorder, when the teacher, red-faced, would open the door and enter with McCutcheon. The teacher would dispatch one of the older boys to take his horse and buggy to the boarding house of the teacher, which was usually at Allen Unish's place, where it was taken care of until the inspector would depart the following day. His destination who cared?

The noon-hour was usually spent in mischief of some kind. The kids would go and collect hazel nuts or steal hard green apples from Mrs. Allister Beau-chaill's orchard (after which the green apple two-step usually developed), or, they would go out on a raft in a pond located

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several acres away from the school from which the kids would return soaked up to their chins from having fallen in, or, go to a hill beside this pond and pretend that they were hunting bears, where brother Rody and his friend, Murdo MacDonald, reported to have seen one. Sometimes we would go looking for spruce-gum or else go to Big Den's place to steal some of his MacDonald Brier pipe tobacco.

Each kid carried to scool his lunch, which was simplicity itself, the humblest of the humble. At times our lunch would consist only of barley scones and molasses sandwiches, wrapped in a piece of the Sherbrooke Daily Record. We each carried a medicine bottle full of fresh milk to go with our lunch. On the way past Big Dan's brook we would put the bottle in, under a certain stone in the culvert amongst the trout, to keep it cool until noontime. For a change of pace sometimes we put it in Little Kennie's brook which was just beyond the schoolhouse from our side.

The kids were not over sport-minded, neither were their parents for that matter. In the first place there was no time for sport for there was always work to be done. However, the school board figured that we should learn how to play baseball. I suppose the idea behind their scheme was to keep us occupied and out of devilment. A ball, bat and three cloves were purchased. The catchers mitt turned out to be for the right hand. No doubt but the one responsible for the purchase of this equipment thought that the glove was necessary to pitch the ball with, for we had no south paws. The only left-handed kid that ever went to Dell school was a girl whose name was Helen Halliday.

The only contests among the school activities that I can remember, were tug-of-war, spelling bees and

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learning passages out of the Bible by heart. The latter was an effort that had been prompted by Rev. Allister Murray. This form of excitement, anyone will agree, was not too competitive. The prizes for this endeavour were usually won by Allen Unish's girls, which consisted of certificates that had been signed by the minister.

My brother, Rody, was a lively aggressive type, always eager to help. On going to school one particular day along with the rest of us kids, we were passing D.A's. place Rody was hailed by his friend, Johnnie Cota, who was working for a spell there. Johnnie told Rody that he had caught a skunk in a trap and wondered if Rody would assist him to kill it so that he could take it out of the trap. Rody was over-pleased at the opportunity of becoming a hero and did not have to be coaxed, he heard alright the first time that he had been asked. The rest of the kids proceeded on to school. Shortly after the recess period was over and back in school, Rody sauntered along carrying his paper wrapped lunch which by this time was in no fit condition to even carry, let alone eat. The teacher, having already been made aware of Rody's superiority and in his gusto of bravodo, met him outside the door of the school. Her eyes immediately watered, not brought on by sorrow but by a combination of temper and the pungent odor of her charge, the room instantly became filled with the reeking odor of freshly made essence of skunk. Rody was grinning from ear to ear, proud as all get out, the teacher was crimson with rage and forthwith ordered Rody out, out, out and home. Rody, completely deflated, lost his smirk and obeyed. Upon arriving home Mamma ordered him to bury his entire clothing in the ground. This treatment was to take the skunk odor out of his clothing.

Whatever became of his lunch shall always remain a mystery, no doubt it was used to seduce other skunks with its "Come Hither", perfume.

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In school one time Alex Malavy was mad at the teacher and during a history class she asked him, "When did General Wolfe die", Alex, his ire showing, replied sarcastically, "When his heart stopped beating".

A boy pupil (name omitted) had been suffering from eating too many green apples before school, in school he really "had to go". He raised his hand to ask permission to leave the room in order to attend to his personal comforts. By virtue of the nature of his ailment he was suddenly overcome with stomach cramps. To his sorrow and dismay he immediately became aware that time was no respecter of person, whereupon he lowered his arm. His thoughts wandered back to similar situations which had occurred at his home to the pet cats of the household. His sister sat across the aisle from him and in a loud whisper he said to her, "It's too late, get some ashes" shes"!

CHRISTMAS CONCERT: The tree was trimmed with paper chains, peppermint flavoured ribbon candy, candy canes, tinsel and it was a-light with real live candles, blues, whites and greens which were clipped to the branches by means of genuine tin candle-holders, purchased from Eaton's catalogue. The choosing and cutting of the tree was done by the older boys who got it from Domhuill Allister's pasture.

In my own personal view the most superb performance of the evening were the recitations, which were amongst the most inspiring of all time! The delivery, the enunciation and the warmth that filled the house following one particular one was nothing short of pure ecstasy!! The pupil that delivered the above was, one, Dennie Cracky whose full face was of the same countenance as that of his uncle, "The Joker".

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The poem referred to was written by the immortal poet, I. M. Spokeshave.Dannie took his stance, proud and confidant, made his bow and recited the following lines - 

"Behold, a spider on the wall!
He spun his web, that was all".

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