George Evans on 'Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic' as schools established in Chapleau's early years

From the moment Chapleau was established in 1885, and families started to arrive, there were children about in  the "cluster of homes", and parents  wanted a school, according to an article by George Evans.

George, the long time teacher and assistant principal at Chapleau High School, who died in a car accident on March 18, 2012, wrote a series of articles about Chapleau called 'Snapshots of Chapleau Past'.

In one called 'Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic', George wrote that the first school was in a tent in 1886, but was moved to a "sturdier structure" in the vestry of the first Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church.  Monthly fee was $1.00 per child.

This school was not too successful so by 1889 it was back to a tent over a low frame wall and floor located about where Trinity United Church is today.

Here is George's glimpse into the "pioneer students under canvas".

"They sat on home-made wooden benches and used home-made wooden desks arranged around a box stove. The teacher was responsible for cleaning and heating the school".

By 1890, it was realized that this school was not satisfactory so a public meeting was called in February 1891 and Robert Holding was named chair of a school board.

A school was established on Pine Street in a wooden building beside St. John's rectory. School street was established.

George noted that by 1893 a second room was added for students "lusting after knowledge and wisdom". The annual budget was $1100

According to Vincent Crichton’s account,which George included in his article, this was Chapleau’s version of the legendary pioneer school house.  "At the front of the class, the teacher presided behind a big wooden desk that had a large hand-bell on it. The students sat at new double-desks. A water pail with a tin cup sat on a chair near the woodstove. The girls were responsible for sweeping and cleaning the premises; the boys filled the woodbox, stoked the stove, and carried out the ashes. The teacher was stuck with getting to work early enough to get the fire in the stove going and thaw out the ink bottles. One delicate matter is not mentioned in Vince’s book and so we must assume that an outhouse or two were somewhere on the property. George wrote that in  1901, "the same year that the municipality came into being, the school board built a new public school on the lot beside St. John’s Anglican Church, just across the street from the first public school.  A fine, two-story, 4-room building with central heating, the new building brought Chapleau’s public school into the 20th century, leaving behind the crude but romantic make-do arrangements of the 19th century.'  This building was to play a long and distinguished career in Chapleau’s educational history becoming Chapleau High School after it was established in 1922. George wrote that in the mid-20s, a major transformation took place when two regular classrooms, two labs, and a low-ceilinged basement gym were added and the whole structure was given a brick exterior. This renovated building was the red-brick Chapleau High School that many people still fondly remember." Chapleau Public School was built along Pine Street beside the old Town Hall. Chapleau High School, in its turn, left the old building in 1966 to migrate to its new home atop the hill on the western edge of town  But the old building had still not finished its educational mission. It soon became the Senior Public School, housing the overflow from the Public School as the last of the baby-boomers began flowing through the system. It was demolished in 1976 and the Chapleau Civic Centre is now on the site. George noted that his article was based in part on information contained in Vince Crichton's book 'Pioneering in Northern Ontario.' Just a note: Over the years there have been several accounts written about education in Chapleau including a detailed one by J.M. Shoup long time teacher and principal of Chapleau Public School. I am spending some time on the history of education. Please feel free to email me at mj.morris@live.ca if you can contribute. APOLOGY  I apologize for the layout!! Gremlin attack!!