Union, Ontario

Features of the Area

Union is a community in the southwestern part of the Canadian Province of Ontario, a few miles south of St. Thomas, Elgin County seat, and a few miles north of Port Stanley, on Lake Erie. The houses were mainly along the old route of the north-south Highway #4 and the east-west county road. A new route cut off the part of the highway that passed through the centre of the community. Behind the school was an east-west creek that passed under the highway and formed a large pond to the west side of it. The creek continued on under the east-west road and through the golf course. The main roads traversing the community were paved.

This was a farming area: dairy, fruit, and tobacco. It was also home to numerous people employed at the Ontario Hospital, on the south side of St. Thomas. Other people worked in various firms in the city. Summers could be hot and humid; and the winters could be mild and open or cold and snowy.

Norm and Lena McCallum operated a hardware store and the post office. There was a small grocery store attached and operated by someone else. There were two places to obtain automotive repairs: Hindleys’ Garage (also a Supertest gasoline outlet) and Schneckenbergers’ Garage. There were a blacksmith shop, operated by Ross Chute, and a Shell station. Less than a mile north of the community was a drive-in movie theatre. The St. Thomas Golf and Country Club, an eighteen-hole course, lay on the west edge of the community on the south side of the road.

The United Church was located at the south end of the community. The Baptist church was located at the first intersection to the east.

New York Central System— This rail connection between Detroit and Chicago (to the west) and Buffalo and New York City (to the east), with a station in St. Thomas, provided good passenger and freight service.

Other railroads – The Chesapeake and Ohio, the Wabash, and the Canadian Pacific, all of which ran through St. Thomas, provided freight service only. The London and Port Stanley electric line, which ran about a mile west of Union, had provided good passenger service at one time, but was now being operated by Canadian National as a freight short line.

Greyhound Bus Lines – There was service from St. Thomas to the east and west.

About a quarter-mile east of the main intersection was the brick three-room school, set at an angle back from the north side of the road. After entering the glassed entrance to the building, there were three classrooms on the left. To the right were the office, teachers’ room, washrooms, and the furnace room. Heat was transferred to the rooms through pipes just below the treated concrete floors. However, the pipes eventually corroded. By the third year that I was there, the heating transferal system was replaced by covered pipes and radiators. Although it did nothing positive toward decor, it did provide consistent heat.

The front wall of my office was mainly windows. The opposite side had a large cupboard with sliding doors. Here is where the textbooks were kept. In Ontario, the school board purchased texts and other supplies on the recommendations of the principal. This office had a telephone, the first school where I taught that had one. The problem was that it was on a party line. Only some of the other rings came in. This setup did not enhance discussions on sensitive matters. Although the school board understood the problem and sympathized with me on it, it was too costly to have a private line run out to the school from St. Thomas.

As one entered my classroom, a wall of windows was faced. The last window at the front of the room opened outward to form a fire escape exit. Blackboards were on the front and left walls. At the back were clothes hooks that could be shut off from view by doors. Next to that were shelves for library books and an encyclopedia. Just inside the room at the door was a large globe that could be raised or lowered by a pulley system.

The rooms were divided into grades one and two; grades three, four, and five; and grades six, seven, and eight. Population was a problem. It became so severe in my third year that the board hired another teacher. The two upper rooms were divided into grades three and four with Betty Fishleigh, grades five and six with Laura Richardson, and grades seven and eight in my group. Verna Selves remained with the grades one and two. Since we had only three classrooms, Betty Fishleigh and her class were moved to the Women’s Institute hall. As a result, the Sports Club gave the Women’s Institute free use of their building. In June 1958, work was started on a new classroom at the back of the building. This cut off our use of the back door. All children walked to school or were driven there by their parents.

In the first year, one of our students, Sylvia Satchell, entered a public speaking contest. She won the first round, but was not as successful in the second round. Two years later, David Zavitz entered a spelling bee. The spell master was Mr. Rawlings, our inspector. Although David did well, he did not win. Also in the first year, we had a Christmas concert in conjunction with the United Church Sunday School. However, I opted out thereafter.

Each year, schools in the county would compete in a music singing festival in St. Thomas. I can remember them from when I was a child in school in my community of Corinth. One of the adjudicators for many years was Dr. Roy Fenwick, from Toronto. He had the reputation of being one of the best in his field. At the end of each competition, whether group or solo, he would describe his evaluation. Only one do I particularly remember. Teun Baak sang the prescribed solo. In a close contest, Dr. Fenwick awarded Teun first place based on whom he felt had the more difficult job, as the two boys were at the age of their voices changing from soprano to a lower pitch.

It was the custom to have one big field trip each year. The children would raise money to pay for the bus (in our case, Elgin Bus Lines). The first year, we held a bake sale. The community responded well. The next two years, the children sold Christmas cards. Again, there was good response. Each trip lasted for one long day. Three mothers accompanied us to help with the children. In 1956, we visited the Chrysler assembly plant in Windsor and the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary, near Kingsville. Both places are in Ontario. A Chrysler photographer took a group picture and an action picture, both of which later appeared in the St. Thomas Times-Journal newspaper. In 1957, we went to Toronto, our provincial capital, and visited Old Fort York (important during the War of 1812), the Royal Ontario Museum (one of the best in Canada), and the Legislative Building (where the provincial government operates). In 1958, we went to Detroit and Dearborn, in the State of Michigan. Here we visited the Detroit News newspaper, radio station WWJ, Greenfield Village (a collection of historical buildings), and the Ford Museum. All were very interesting places to visit.

At intervals, a bookmobile from the public library in St. Thomas would visit the school. Each teacher would be allowed a specific number of books for his/her classroom. When it was my turn to choose, I took two or three students with me to help. When the bookmobile came the next time, there would be an exchange of books, with different students helping me.

One day in the winter of 1957, I developed a pain in my left foot. Dr. Glidden diagnosed it as arthritis in a specific spot on my sole. He started heat treatments. Mr. Black lent me his cane, which was a big help. Later, one of my aunts lent me a set of crutches. When it was found that the heat treatments were not working, my doctor put a walking cast on my leg. Although it was heavy, I managed very well with it. After a few weeks, my foot had healed enough to have the cast removed. In all, the ailment was with me for about nine weeks. There was a report from the students that I was stricter during the time that I used a cane, crutches, and the cast. Coinciding with that time, I was directing a play with the United Church young people. We performed it eight times in various communities.

One day on the playground, a grade three student, Kenny Brown, came up to me and invited me to his home for a meal. Being unsure of the authenticity of his offer, I drove him home after school to meet his parents, Jack and Edith Brown. That was the beginning of a long friendship. I was often at that home for Sunday evening supper. Pamela and I are still in contact with Edith by letter after all of those years. I would like to thank Edith and her son Larry for verifying one of the names in the list below.

Another student, Raff Biezenbos, informed me that his parents were concerned about how his younger brother Frank was being treated by some boys. I went to his home after school to check on the matter. I met the boys’ parents, Bert and Miep Biezenbos. Another long friendship developed. I was often in their home on Saturday evening to watch the hockey game and wrestling from Toronto.

I became involved with the active Home and School Association. The presidents during my three years in Union were Pauline Ingram and Phyllis Shelley. There would be a programme, often with a guest speaker, each month. There was also a competition among the rooms. At the end of each meeting, there was a count of parents representing each room. The room that had the highest count could post the Home and School banner in that room for the following month until the next meeting.

Students

Since I taught grades six, seven, and eight over a period of three years, it is difficult to recall accurately the names of all the students according to grade. Thus, they are arranged in alphabetical order in two groups: boys and girls. Grade three classes that I taught once a day during the first two years are not included. In the third year, I had grade six for September only. Some of the students are included, but there are probably several names missing.

• Boys
  • Robert Anderson
  • Teun Baak
  • Raff Biezenbos
  • Larry Brown
  • Don Burke
  • Marvin Burke
  • Ralph Chute
  • Bill Cummings
  • Dick Cummings
  • Brent Dufty
  • Peter Duin
  • Bob Fishleigh
  • Edwa Fugard
  • Ronald Gordon
  • Grant Heisler
  • John Hoffman
  • Tommy Hunt
  • Bjorn Kristensen
  • Joey Livingstone
  • Larry Powers
  • Philip Shelley
  • Lyle Satchell
  • Roy Schneckenburger
  • ? Stuart
  • David Whitney
  • Don Whitney
  • John Wilson
  • Kenny Wilson
  • David Zavitz
• Girls
  • Nancy Abel
  • Hennie Baak
  • Shirley Branton
  • Janice Brown
  • Roxanne Buck
  • Caroline Burke
  • Marjorie Carter
  • Janet Dufty
  • Mary Ann Dunn
  • Irene Ellacott
  • Diane Gordon
  • Gwen Harvey
  • Hazel Helmer
  • Christine Kosynski
  • Sharon Kosynski
  • Berthe Kristensen
  • Suzanne Laird
  • Marlene McCallum
  • Margaret McDougall
  • Vivian Maertens
  • Joyce Powers
  • Aileen Purcell
  • Margaret Saddler
  • Sylvia Satchell
  • Sheila Schneckenburger
  • Judy Shelley
  • Lenore West
  • Doris Whitney
  • Linda Wilson
  • Nancy Zavitz

Staff and Associates

• Duane Duff (Principal)
• Laura Richardson (Teacher)
• Betty Fishleigh (Teacher)
• Verna Selves (Teacher)
• Aileen Guymer (Music Teacher)
• Helen Orchard (Music Teacher)
• Mr. Rawlings (Department of Education Inspector)
• Jessie O’Neill (Public Health Nurse)
• Charlie Ingram (Caretaker)

Others

This list contains the names of people with whom I had most contact. However, I knew many other persons.

• Lloyd and Elsie Beattie
• Bert and Miep Biezenbos
• Lorne and Helen Black (my landlord and landlady from December 1955 to June 1958)
• Jack and Edith Brown
• Dr. Joe and ? Cawthorpe
• Mrs. Davis (my landlady from September to December 1955)
• Bob and Ruth Davis
• Glen and Jean Dufty
• Roy and Kate Harvey
• Ren and Irene Helmer
• Don and Amy Hindley
• Glen and Pauline Ingram
• Norm and Lena McCallum
• Gord and Echo Satchell
• Lawrence and Mary Saunders
• Ernie and Phyllis Shelley
• Lloyd and ? Teeple
• John and Glenda Toll
• Bud and Marjorie Yeo

(If you were one of my students, I would like to hear from you.)