Memories of Broadview School
1934 – 1943
by Irene Treichel
(nee Irvine)
Memories of Broadview School #957
Broadview School is where my schooling began. Margaret Irvine, my cousin, was my first teacher. As I remember penmanship was an important subject and we had frequent drills, but I will have to thank my teacher for my having mostly legible writing today. Margaret also introduced me to the “Sweet Pea” reader. I loved this colorful book with its pretty pictures, in spite of the fact this reader was badly tattered and torn. Cover half gone. It was the “dirty thirties” so old books were not readily replaced – in fact the school library was near non-existent. Texts were mostly hand-me-downs from previous students.
I attended Broadview School through grades one to nine, taking grade nine by correspondence. Teachers came and went, usually not staying more than a year or two. Fond memories were of one who taught us older girls to tap dance, and another who made arrangements for us to play ball against the neighboring Dewet School near Sewell. Nothing was done, however, to instill a love of history. All I can remember is having to memorize a list of dates and events.
Transportation
In the thirties children who lived near the school usually walked. Those with a greater distance were driven in a wagon or buggy in the summer, and by horse-drawn sleigh in the winter. There was a barn on the school grounds so older children could ride horseback or drive themselves, and have a stall for their horse throughout the school day.
In winter my Dad drove us to school in a horse-drawn covered sleigh which he had built himself. This “covered rig”, as he fondly called it, had a rear door. The interior had plank seats. In the front were sliding windows below which were two small openings for the horses’ reins. We kept warm bundled in buffalo robes. On extremely cold days Mom heated flat irons and wrapped them in towels. There were used as foot warmers.
In summer I rode my pony and brother Bob rode his bike. When sister Marguerite started school Dad had a cart built so the pony could haul us both, even brother Bob on muddy days. We lived one and a half miles from school. I shared my Dad’s love of horses so transportation to and from school was almost the highlight of the day for me.
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Summer Games
Organized sports as we know them today were non-existent in the thirties. We always had lots of play activities, however. Younger students learned games from their older classmates.
We had swings and what we called a “whirly-gig”. Used car tires were suspended by ropes from the outer spokes of an overhead wheel. This wheel rotated on a central pole. We took turns sitting in the tires and revolving in a circular motion around and around, often at quite a height as we gained momentum.
The most common sport was a ball game called “Work Your Way In”. First child bursting out of the door at recess got the choice position – usually pitcher or back catcher. When I first started playing my position was usually fielder. By the time recess was over I had seldom “worked my way in” to more than a base position – never pitcher. As years progressed younger students than me got the field positions.
Another game we played was “Anti-i-over”. The school barn was a good size and height for this game. Other games we played were “Hide and Go Seek”, “Pom Pom Pull Away”, “Red Rover”, and “Run Rabbit Run”. I can’t remember ever finding playtime “boring”.
Winter Games
After the first snowfall we liked to play “Fox and Geese”. It was easy to form the circular path on the new fallen snow.
When the snow got deeper we were able to build forts. One winter we had an extreme amount of snow. Strong winds formed huge drifts around the school. Some drifts were as high as the two outdoor toilets.
These snow banks formed good conditions for tunneling in the snow. The older boys dug huge gopher-like tunnels and rooms extending deep into the snowdrifts. Hours were spent tunneling further and further – possibly not taking the time to go indoors to relieve themselves. My sister, in grade one at the time, was curious about the yellow holes pierced in the snow at her eye level. Hard to explain to a six year old.
On blustery days we sometimes went into the barn to play “Fruit Basket Upset”. This was a game of elimination similar to “Musical Chairs”. We each wanted to be first to get to one of the corners. Tripping over a frozen horse turd sometimes fouled this attempt.
Towards spring the snow melted, then froze and formed ice on a creek near the school. We brought our skates from home and the teacher was kind enough to give us an extra long noon hour during that season.
Indoor Games
During rainy, cold or nasty weather we played indoor games. I especially remember “Hang-a-man”, “Pick-up Sticks” and “X’s and O’s”.
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Classroom Duties
Keeping the classroom clean and tidy was a joint effort and a daily ritual.
The blackboards had to be brushed, then wiped free of chalk dust. The brushes had to be taken outdoors and beaten together for cleaning. This was a relatively easy task so it was primarily delegated to the younger students.
The classroom had to be swept. To keep down the dust a product called “Dust Bane” was scattered on the floor prior to sweeping. As desks had to be moved this chore was done by the older students. We were assigned turns for these various chores.
Cloakrooms had to be tidied, cupboards straightened up, pencil sharpeners emptied, etc. I don’t remember complaints about having to do any of these chores. It was just all a part of school life. Besides, our parents at home worked extremely hard to give us the opportunity of an education.
Arbor Day
Each spring after the snow was gone, a day was set aside to clean up the schoolyard of dead grass, twigs and an assortment of winter debris. On Arbor Day we students came to school bringing rakes and various other cleaning equipment. Getting out of the classroom for a whole day was something we all looked forward to.
Plotting the line of attack was never a problem. We had experienced older students to assign us to our duties. The school grounds were divided into sections and somehow the work got done. Horse-drawn mowers and rakes had been used the previous summer so at least we didn’t have long grass to deal with.
On Arbor Day we usually had a special outdoor noon lunch. Lemonade (with real lemons) was a great treat. In the afternoon when the work was complete we were allowed to play games for the remainder of the school day. Another bonus!
None of us considered our work as child labor. We were taught at a young age how to be good citizens. It was just the thing to do.
Spring Cleaning
On a Saturday shortly after Arbor Day our parents formed a cleaning bee. The men took down the storm windows and the women armed with buckets of water and cleaning supplies soon had all the windows inside and out sparkling clean. Then it was on to cleaning the interior of the school. There were no janitors in those days so this was a major undertaking. Walls were washed, cloakrooms, halls and washrooms scrubbed. Even our tin cups which hung from hooks beneath the water cooler got their semi-annual scouring. Men did whatever repairs had to be done. Windows often needed new putty, then storm windows had to be stacked away in a shed for the summer.
I must not forget the annual visit by the piano tuner. Who could forget the sight of a nest of hairless baby mice being pulled from out of the interior of the piano! Mice were a problem as they chewed up books and scribblers, not to mention holes dug in the walls.
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Heating the Classroom
Broadview School was heated by a large coal and wood furnace which was located in the basement. Heating pipes above the furnace led up to a register at the rear of the classroom. This location was the only source of heat and we frequently huddled near this register – especially on cold winter days.
As there was no janitor an older male student was given a small remuneration for coming to school early to light the furnace. If he didn’t get there early enough, or in severely cold weather, it often took half a day to get the classroom warm enough so we could remove our outerwear.
In those days we had a school inspector drop in maybe once or twice a year. On one occasion the inspector arrived to find the classroom less than warm. Upon reading the thermometer he immediately stomped out of the school in a fury to put in a full-blown complaint to the local chairman of the school board. Not wanting to get our fellow classmate firelighter in trouble, we had to devise a plan. Even out teacher was in on this. We took the bulb of the thermometer and adjusted it in such a way that it gave us a higher temperature reading. When our inspector returned and took the new reading he proceeded to remove his coat and sit down. There were many quiet snickers behind the textbooks we held up to hide our faces!
The Christmas Concert
The Christmas concert was perhaps the highlight of the school year for both students and parents. Much preparation went into this event. Planks were brought in from the town lumberyard. These planks were assembled by our fathers to form a stage at the front of the school. Mothers sewed sheeting to form curtains for the front of the stage. More curtains were required for the dressing rooms which were located on either side of the stage. Then wires were strung to hold all these in place.
Then the practices began. Our programs included recitations, solos, duets, choruses and of course drills, dances and plays. The Christmas story had to be told. Hours of classroom time were spent on rehearsals. We wanted everything just perfect and of course a teacher’s reputation often hinged on her Christmas production.
Our efforts were always well rewarded when we saw the proud beaming faces of our parents in the audience. Another exciting reward at the end of the program was the visit from Santa. Cheers arose as we heard him enter the room with his big “Ho Ho Ho!”
His big red sack contained candy and oranges as well as gifts from felloe classmates and the teacher. Lunch was served by our mothers to round out the evening.
We were a tired but happy lot as we bundled up in warm blankets for our sleigh ride home.
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The War Years
When war broke out in 1939 life at school took on a more somber tone. Our flag – at that time a Union Jack – became much revered. Raising the flag at nine o’clock and lowering it at four was done with dignity. Older students did this in turn.
In summer, after each recess and noon hour, the school bell called us to line up in front of the school – boys in one row and girls in another. The teacher gave us commands in the military style of the day: “Ready! March! Left, right….”. Then, “Forward march! Left, right….”. We marched up the stairs into the classroom until each came to his/hers own desk. Still marching on the spot, the next commands, “Halt! One, two! Be seated.”
In inclement weather and during recesses and noon hours we learned to knit. Our mothers supplied us with left over odds and ends of wool with which we made multi-colored squares. These squares were assembled into afghans. As our mothers at home were knitting khaki and air force blue colored military garments, we also wanted to do our bit for our service men.
Another part of our war effort was bringing pennies and other assorted change to school to buy war savings certificates. This project was sponsored, I believe, by the federal government. A chart was put up at the front of the classroom with a graph line provided for each student. As money was accumulated the graph lines were colored in. A great way to promote competition and to further the monetary funds! My parents, although far from wealthy, got behind this project as a patriotic duty. I felt sorry for students whose parents were less motivated or were of lesser means.
During the war allied countries sent men to Canada for pilot training. In Manitoba training bases were set up at Rivers and Portage, for example. During the early years of their training some of the young renegade pilots took a few liberties when they flew far enough away from their military home base. Such was the case when a couple of the young pilots flew their Tiger Moth training planes over the Broadview School. It was impossible for the teacher to hold our attention in class so naturally school was briefly dismissed. We had to get out to wave and cheer them on. These pilots “dive-bombed” and came so low we could see them wave back from the cockpits. It was an exciting time for us.
Reports of these and similar antics by the pilot trainees must have got back to their base commanders. Soon regulations were in place re: low altitude flying over towns, schools, etc. Sadly, no more unscheduled school dismissals for us!
During the war many Japanese-Canadian citizens from the West Coast were uprooted from their homes. The government of the day felt they might be a security risk – possibly pose a risk for invasion by Japan. Many coastal families were forcibly moved inland. Such was the case of the Suzuki family who were brought into the Broadview district to work in the sugar beets. During the summer they lived in a granary in the middle of a beet field. The children attended our school and I became good friends with a girl my age named Hideko. As a memento of our friendship she gave me a Birthday Album on her departure from the community. I treasure the gift to this day. Reminds me that even under very trying conditions some people are still able to show thanks and appreciation for the little things we do.
As the war continued, boys who were former students of Broadview School, began to enlist. Sir Winston Churchill’s “V for Victory” slogan gave impetus to see Hitler’s army defeated.
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As more and more young men were joining up there became an acute shortage of farm help. At a young age my brother Bob and I had to help with many of the chores on the farm. We were also concerned about our brother Jim joining the Air Force. Tragedy struck when cousin Les Irvine was taken prisoner-of-war at Dieppe, then taken on to a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany.
As you can see, my latter years at Broadview School were tense and worrisome.
Conclusion
Leaving Broadview was wrought with a mix on sentimentality and anxiety. A leap from the known to the unknown. The known being the cozy comfort of school, classmates and community. The unknown being the war situation with family and neighbors serving overseas, as well as my own personal insecurities. I was leaving to further my education – one year in St Jean, then on to Emerson High School. A sea of uncertainty was before me. How good Broadview looked at that problematic period of my life! Even at that age I seemed to realize that Broadview would always hold a special place in my heart.
Irene Treichel
July 11, 2008
Broadview