Farm tractors started appearing on farms. These tireless iron workhorses were the initial spark that eventually led to the demise of thousands of small family farms and the rise of huge state-of-the-art farming enterprises so advanced that one or two farmers can now cultivate hundreds of acres, and maintain huge dairy herds. I was certainly around for the introduction of the tractor, the first hay bailers that simplified hay-making, and combines that replaced grain binders and threshing machines. I had left the farm for good long before farming exploded into the ultra-modern big business that is to-day.
School facilities in my farming community, and throughout rural Ontario, were also destined to undergo radical changes. But when I first hit the books, elementary education was provided in a simple, unadorned one-room country school house, about 1.5 miles from our home. Most students walked to and from school. The classroom, housing grades 1-8, under the direction of a lone teacher, offered students the opportunity to advance at their own pace, and gave older students the opportunity to be teacher assistants, helping younger children with their work. The older boys eagerly competed for the task of stoking the wood-burning basement furnace during the winter months. The opportunity to be excused from class to mow the lawn when springtime rolled around was a sought after prize by senior students.
During noon hours girls and boys separated to eat their lunches on the floor of their respective cloak rooms. I recall stubbornly resisting any opportunity to exchange my radish or peanut butter sandwiches for one containing lard or mustard filling. During schoolyard breaks students somehow managed without adult supervision. Our equipment consisted of a ball and bat. Should fights break out, the culprits were ordered to line up inside the classroom before the student body and whacked painfully with the regulation strap. This was swift justice, but it resulted in few playground fights. But like changes taking place all around us, the one-room school days were numbered. Some time after my 1949 graduation our school was closed and became a private residence. Pupils were bussed out of the community to a more modern consolidated school housing many children in single-grade classrooms.
My generation was the first one from my community fortunate enough to be provided with free bussing to a village high school, 15 miles away. Previously students, wishing to continue their education, had to pay room and board in the village, an expense that few farm families could afford at that time. Williamstown High was the only secondary school for miles around. It was known for its strict discipline and high academic standards. The homely two-storey building contained 4 classrooms, a staff room, a science lab, and a partial basement. The attic was used for rifle target practice during the winter months. It had no gym, library, secretary, guidance counselor, or parents’ council. There must have been a board of trustees, but that was never apparent to me.
