From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:
In 1967, Sault Star staff writer Suzanne Pihlaja sat down with some ‘old timers’ to talk about the earliest schools of Tarentorus.
One of the first schools in the township, aptly named ‘No.1,’ was a simple log cabin. The school was built in 1878 at the foot of Landslide. G. M. Johnson, whose father built the school, was one of the ‘old timers’ Pihlaja spoke with. At the impressive age of 94, he recalled attending school in the log cabin a year after it was built. Charles Greanery, who was his instructor, was the school’s very first teacher. Mr. Johnson would grow from a pupil of No. 1 to Secretary Treasurer of the Tarentorus School Board. This first school was built for $300 and initially attended by just five students.
By 1890, the growing population of Tarentorus required the creation of a new school near Northern Avenue. There was a rapid influx of families moving into the area, making the need for more schooling paramount. “Old timers in Tarentorus recall a gathering under an oak tree to plan the site.” This meeting initiated the planning of a new school, Old ‘No. 2.’ “The oak tree meeting decided to put it on a piece of land between the Dillo home and Tarentorus United Church.”
This second school boasted plaster walls and a fine red frame. Senior pupils sat on stools at double desks while the younger students sat along the walls on benches. No. 2 school opened with twenty students. Miss Margaret McAlpine was the teacher, though she later left teaching to become a doctor.
The school also boasted its own well, but according to the ‘old timers,’ the water suffered from the unfortunate affliction of tasting like sulphur. Because of this, Pihlaja was told, the children would carry water in pails from ‘Stepney’s farm.’ One eventful morning, however, “wigglers and a dead cat…found in (a) pail forced the board to sink another well for better water.”
No. 2 only had a single stove to heat the building; thus, “children next to the stove roasted and the ones further away froze.” Eventually, the walls and ceiling were plastered, hardwood flooring was installed, and a tin jacket was placed around the stove to help with the heating.
However, hardships for the pupils of No. 2 weren’t limited to unfortunate cats and poor heating. In the winter months, the children would get to school by dog sled. “The dogs were tied in the ante-room in cold weather and periodically they got into scraps.” Frequently, lessons would have to be put on hold so the fighting could be stopped.
And the doggie misdemeanors didn’t stop there: there was also thievery afoot.
“Often the dogs raided lunch boxes and pupils went hungry or borrowed food from friends.” From famished to freezing, the students of Tarentorus certainly had their work cut out for them! Whether it was hunger, the cold, or the poor example of the dogs, it came to pass that the students of old No. 2 were not behaving their best. Thus, teacher Robert Watson had to be brought in from Mull, Essex County to replace the existing teacher who was having difficulty keeping the class under control.
By 1920, the student enrollment became so large that the school board rented the kitchen of the United Church, which was next door to the school, to use as a classroom. As the student population continued to grow, the Council Chambers eventually had to be used as an annex room for the pupils as well. Miss Mary McQuillin and Miss Hilda Biggins were the teachers at this time.
In 1913, board members purchased a lot at the corner of Great Northern Road and Fourth Line. Construction of a much-needed third school, Tarentorus SS No.3, began in 1925. Unfortunately, in 1950, No. 3 was struck by catastrophe when a fire destroyed the school. Another more modern school was built on the same site and would eventually be named D. T. Walkom Public School.
In approximately the late 1950s, the Tarentorus WI (Women’s Institute) compiled a history of the schools. Suzanne Pihlaja, in her 1967 article, reported that at that time, the booklet resided with Mrs. Alice McPherson of Old Garden River Road.
The children of early Tarentorus Township may not have had to walk ten miles both ways uphill to get to school, but they did have their own unique challenges to deal with!
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