Going to School in the Lumber Woods

James Fanning wrote:

Don,
Many thanks for the "lumber woods" story. Mum used to tell Twila and me a few stories from her days going to school in the lumber woods. You could tell from the narration that it was a timevery dear to her. In 1964 I drove her back of the Kippoch mountain to try to identify landmarks without any success, but the outing wasa good opportunity to hear more of your collective childhood in
the camps.
Thanks again
Slainté

Jim

Good evening to you Jim;
Your letter took me back to the "Ohios"and my own school days at the Cross Roads(Ohio) in 1946/47.Mom and dad took a job with Jack Grant who had a "cut"in south of the Cross Roads, about two km from Hillcrest, which is where they had worked on the Kippoch many years before, where your mom went to school with Elwin Layes' children as well as the MacLeans and Murphy's.
In the camp at the Cross Roads, dad worked in the mill, and Ardie came down from Halifax to cookee with mom. Much smaller gang there than with Logan.

I walked to school most days, and believe me that was a trek in a nor'west gale blowing down the intervale from James River. It was two miles from the camp to the school and about half that was on the"tote road" There lived, where the tote road left the main road, a grand old scots couple named MacInnes, with them lived their widowed son, John Allen, and his son Roddie, who was three years my junior. Another family member was Charlie John, who had never married. I carried their mail and could never get away from the
MacInnes house without partaking of Mrs.Macs tea and scones. would take a huge lunch to the one room school that, like all country schools of that era, housed grades primary to twelve. There was thirty eight pupils in all. A big old Glenwood box stove for heat, and, as the only kids who lived near enough to travel home for lunch were Clemmie and Gussie MacIsaac and Randal MacLean and his sister Katie, the flat top of the Glenwood also served as a cooker for heating up water for whatever beverage; tea, cocoa or hot chocolate.
Occasionally some of the larger families with numerous siblings would bring what you might call in DQ-ese, the full meal deal. A pot of soup or stew.

The school was catholic; the priest visited with astonishing regularity. I never found out just what took place while he was there, because I was always banished to the wood shed. Never could understand that one, because I sat in on the catechism and prayers that were part of the opening in the morning.
It was a great place for a kid who liked to hunt, and I had a snare run that I used to check on the way to school; too dark to check it on the way back to the camp.

There was a guy worked at the camp from Belle Cote who loaned me his Steven’s .410 and I did well with partridge. For a kid with a sweet tooth it was a problem, even though my sister Ardie was a world class fudge maker, I longed for Moirs or Nielsens, and on Saturdays would walk the six miles down John A. MacDonald's store at Ohio to stock up. Or, when Lochaber Lake was frozen, I would go through the woods and cross the lake to Alex. Taylors store. I liked this candy run, because one could hunt both coming and going.

As a closing thought: I still visit one of the many teachers I had in the school term of 46/47.........my good friend, Reta Giffin, as I started and finished that term in DH.

A good night to all,Don