Back to the schools of early Timmins is where we’re headed for this week’s examination of local history.
The original school built in South Porcupine in 1911 is still standing as part of the Scout Hall on Legion Drive.
And museum director-curator Karen Bachmann says all the schools in the first decade of the mining camp were one- or two-room.
“Everybody was assigned a chore as well when you went to school,” she instructs us. “You helped with the firewood because you heated with a little woodstove, so the boys would help keep the firewood together. The girls would sweep the classroom out. The blackboards were kept clean by rotation.”
“And when you went to school, there was no jiggling around and no doing this or running around or everything,” Bachmann continues. “When you went you sat, you listened and your only spoke when you were spoken to.”
When we peek at local history next week, we’ll talk about a teacher whose legacy lives on.