Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

HIGH SCHOOL YEARS

Mother and father wanted all of us to get at least a high school education. Father wanted all three of his boys to grow up to be farmers, and in our early days to be helping him on the farm. I don't remember our mother discouraging him in that prospect, but she definitely expected us to be something better than our contemporary children who lived around us. Since Clifford had done so well in high school, I know mother was harboring great expectations for him.

In June 1915 Clifford had finished his three years of high school and I, at the age of 14, had just graduated from elementary school. So I was destined to start attending the High School at Vienna in the fall of 1915 where Clifford had attended. So father had only one of us in high school at the same time, and had Clifford to help him on the farm while I was at school.

There was no way I could get to and from Vienna, which was 7 miles from Fair Ground, except to walk. So that is the way I got to and from Vienna. It meant that I had to get up in the morning every Monday at 5 o'clock and walk to school, and then walk home every Friday after school. From Monday through Friday I lived and boarded at the home of the Pratt's, not far from the school. The family consisted of an elderly gentleman and his unmarried middle-aged daughter and son. My board and room for these short weeks was $3.00 per week.

My high school days were relatively uneventful. In my first year I managed as well as my fellow students in most subjects. In French I seemed to catch on fairly rapidly, so that it wasn't long before I was taking French reading along with the second year class in French.

Vienna High School was two rooms on the second floor of the same building where elementary students were taught, on the ground floor. There were only two teachers and they both taught several subjects. Miss Foster, a woman of about 50 years of age, was the High School Principal. She boarded at the same Pratt's home where I did. Both teachers were well qualified and capable.

I did play a little baseball at school but I didn't have much time to play because I had so much homework to do and so little time to do it. In reality the only times I had to study were Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, because it was out of the question to carry books the 7 miles to Fair Ground and back, which I had to walk. Furthermore my father kept me so busy weekends on the farm that there was never any time for study at home.

My Grandma Park died in 1915 while I was at school. She left me a few personal things of hers. One item was a small glass mirror which would stand up on my dresser. I still had that mirror when Clifford and I roomed together in Toronto during my second year at University. Sometime during that year Clifford dropped my mirror on the floor and broke it.

Another thing which Grandma Park left me was a set of 3 toilet boxes, one

of which I still have. They were fragile things with Chinese pictures painted on them. The only survivor is a round box about 5 inches high which has a lid on it. The box is for men's collars, which in those days were white celluloid. They were stiff but had a hole for a back collar button behind, and holes in front where they were held on by one front collar button. In the center of the box, on a fixed pedestal, is a little circular box with its own lid, which has its own central knob to lift it up. This little receptacle is for the collar buttons, both of which, front and back, were detachable. For many years I wore this type of collar because celluloid is washable and non-absorbent. All I had to do to get a clean collar was to wash it in soap and water.

One place in Vienna which I enjoyed visiting, when I was out for a walk, was the dam over the Otter River, which ran through Vienna on its way to Lake Erie at Pt. Burwell. The dam was there to provide waterpower for the grist mill. The water at one side of the dam was channeled through a millrace, where it flowed downgrade rapidly to a huge water-wheel which drove the mill machinery.

The water below the dam was deep. In the spring it was interesting to watch the fishermen hauling in huge catches of suckers, a kind of fish with a small mouth which looks as if it is built for suction. The fish in the spring come up the Otter River from Lake Erie in large numbers. Since they could not get past the dam they were found in large numbers below it. The nets were about 10 or 12 feet square and at their corners attached to four small limbs which hung down from the end of a larger limb about 30 ft. long. This constituted something of a catch basket. The long pole was suspended on an upright post on the shore close to the water so that when it was swung out over the water the weighted net dropped to the bottom of the water. The shorter heavier end of the long pole had a rope tied to the end of it. The rope was used to manipulate the long pole which swivelled on the upright post. The net was left lying on the bottom of the deep water for a few minutes to allow the unsuspecting fish to swim over it. Then a stout pull down on the rope lifted the net with its haul of fish out of the water. Then the net was swivelled around and the entrapped fish transferred to a box on the shore.

One day at school we were informed that a battalion of foot soldiers were marching into town and would bivouac for the night in a field behind the high school. School was dismissed for the afternoon so that we might go down town to watch the army arrive. When I got outside into the school yard, the senior girls were already in an excited giggling group, whispering among themselves. We soon joined the crowd of spectators on main street. It wasn't long before the company of Canadian soldiers came swinging along in uniform and precise marching order. They were cheered by the crowd, but it was sad to see so many fine young men on their way to war.

One spring when I was in Vienna, the ice which had been covering the millpond above the dam broke up into huge sections which came tumbling over the dam and on down the Otter River, as it flowed through the town of Vienna. A little below the main part of the town, the ice caught on the abutments of the lower bridge and built up an ice jam about 8 ft. high. This obstruction interfered with the flow of water, so that the whole downtown area was flooded. The water became about 2-1/2 feet deep on Vienna's main business street. Some of the buildings were just above this mark on concrete basements, such as George Williams' Grocery and General Store on one corner and the Post Office on the opposite corner of Main Street. However, many small buildings and homes on the flats were flooded by water two or three feet deep. It left quite a mess, but after a few hours the ice jam broke away, and the flood subsided.

One shop on Main Street which I enjoyed visiting was the Blacksmith's Shop. Here a coke or coal fire was always burning in its open hearth with a good fireproof bunker around it and a huge brick chimney to carry off the smoke and fumes. There was also a huge compressible leather air bag which the blacksmith could operate manually, to blow air into the coal fire from below. A few blasts of air would bring the idling red fire up to a glowing white heat which brought horseshoes of iron stuck into it up to a malleable temperature so that the blacksmith, on his anvil, with hammer and tongs, could mold the hot metal into any shape or thickness that he wanted. It was an exhibition of knowledge, skill and human brawn which was a delight to watch.

It was during my first year at high school that I came to grips with religion in a personal way. I did a lot of soul-searching of myself and my own selfishness. I attended some group discussions along with other students who met with a Mr. Lane, who cared about the commitments of young people to good and bad influences. I can't say that these times were crucial, but they had some influence, as did the lives and faithfulness of a multitude of other people. Among other people who had an effect on my thinking were, of course, both of my parents, my grandmother and grandfather Park, my grandfather Cutler and many other ordinary people who fought for what was right and upright. Also, no doubt, even the evil and underhandedness of people, who showed me the results of sin and corruption, turned me away from drifting in that direction.

However, I think the most potent influences which helped to guide me in the right direction were the study of the Holy Scriptures, which I did daily and privately, and the reading of good books by dedicated authors. I enjoyed reading, particularly about the personal experiences of people who came to grips with temptation and won. Among the good books I read at home are the following titles: For the Temple, Sam's Chance, Struggling Upward, Try and Trust, Pilgrim's Progress. At home I did a good deal of reading and thinking during the summer vacation between my first and second years at high school.

Much of the work I did on the farm in the summer of 1916 was solitary work with horses and machinery. It was during these working hours that I began to feel communion with God, and made my commitment to Jesus Christ, and experienced the cleansing effect of accepted forgiveness. On November 3, 1916, at a revival meeting in Cultus, I went forward with others to make public my decision, but that was not the actual time nor point of the decision. Ever since those days my life has been committed to and directed by the principles of Christianity.

One time, when I was walking from home on the way to school on a street in Vienna, I was carrying a beautiful apple which I very much wanted for myself. Just then I encountered a bedraggled looking child and I gave her the apple, the only one I had. She accepted it gratefully, and as I walked on I experienced a joy of unselfish giving which I will never forget.

At home for weekends, and all during vacations from school, I attended church and Sunday School regularly during my high school days.

During the winter months of January and February 1917, I was sick with colds and sore throats frequently but continued to attend school, walking the seven miles going and coming twice a week, with occasional rides part way when people stopped to pick me up. In the spring it often meant walking through mud and rain but I

lived through it. In spite of the winter cold, I slept nights in Vienna with my window open. One night after sleeping this way, in the middle of February 1917, I awoke in the morning with some snow drifted in, and the end of my nose covered by a greyish yellow substance, where my nose was frozen. This outer layer of skin peeled off and for several days thereafter my nose was red and sore.

Grandpa Park, as I remember him, always wore a short beard. I don't think he was ever bald-headed. He was considerably older than his wife, but she died first. I remember that Grandpa Park was very much round-shouldered, which seemed to make him smaller than he was when younger. For a few months after grandma died he continued to live alone, in his usual home. During that time we boys took turns sleeping in his house, so that he would never be alone at night. Then he went to Delhi, where he spent the rest of his days with his son William.

On February 19, 1917 Grandpa Park died in Delhi. He died quickly of a stroke. He was brought back to Fair Ground for burial in his family plot in Cultus. I heard about the death and funeral plans while at school, so I walked home after school on February 20th, to be at the funeral the next day. On that walk home, the ground was covered with fresh sleet. Grandpa was 87 years old when he died.

After the funeral Uncle Will read Grandpa's will to the whole family. In it grandpa left to Clifford his gold pocket-watch, which he received, and to Clifford and me $50.00 each. The $50.00 each was given to our father to transfer to us later. However, neither one of us specifically received that money, unless it was counted among the money expended on our education.

At home, when our chores were all done, we often played checkers, which I was quite good at. Very often we enjoyed a pail full of freshly-popped corn together.

Sometimes on weekends I helped Mother with the washing of clothes, but most of the time my duties took me out of doors, even in the winter time. There was always need to cut and haul wood for the several wood stoves, and this kind of work had to be done in the winter cold, while the soil was frozen. Other winter work was hauling out manure, and spreading it on the frozen fields. Frequently in the winter, we brought loads of corn stalks from the shocks in the frozen fields to feed the cattle in the barn. Also we often had to bring a load of hay, from a barn where it was stored, to the barn where we had the horses and cattle for the winter.

Meanwhile World War I was dragging on. Ernie Smith and his brother John had been drafted into the army. The four boys from the West family, living about three miles from us, who had enlisted early, had already been killed in France. Many other farmer boys, who were less well known to us, had been reported killed or missing, and still no end to the war was in sight.

On Friday, March 16th, I walked to Aunt Edith McDonald's house for the weekend instead of going home because I had been informed that someone had the mumps at home, and it was hoped that I would not be exposed to it. But on Sunday morning, when I woke up I too was developing the mumps. That afternoon my brother Montie drove over in the buggy and took me home to be sick there. At home Clifford was in bed with the mumps, so I joined him in bed, where we both stayed until we recovered. We both developed the complication of orchitis, which is quite common with mumps. Since the quarantine period for mumps is quite long, I was away from school at that time for about a month.

That spring I had a cocoon just outside my bedroom window at the Pratts. I was watching it every day to see if a butterfly would come out of it. One day when I was home it was obvious that something was happening. The cocoon split open and slowly something began to emerge. It had a black head and began to free itself from the cocoon. After a while it seemed to extend in length, and extend it legs. Then the crumpled wings began slowly to unfold. It wasn't long before the two beautiful yellow and black-spotted wings were fully opened and a living butterfly was born before my eyes. I left it there untouched as darkness fell. In the morning it was gone.

One day at the high school I was standing near the boys entrance on the west side of the school idly listening to some senior class boys, who were just talking and not paying any attention to me. They were boasting of how brave they were, and were proposing to climb out of the upper story window in front of the school and slide down the flag pole which stood about 3 or 4 ft. away from the window. I did not join in the conversation nor comment. Then I noticed that the decoration pattern of the brick building, at the corner, consisted of groups of bricks, which were set about 1-1/2 inches out from the wall on each side of the corner. These projections were about 16 inches high, and 16 inches wide. They were also separated from each other vertically, by about 16 inches of blank brick wall. These looked to me like an ideal arrangement for a person to climb, because there was a foothold, and a handhold about 32 inches above it, on each side of the corner. Furthermore these were not on the same level on each side of the corner, but conveniently alternating about every 16 inches. So by moving the right hand and the right foot up at the same time, and placing them on the appropriate projections, and then moving the left hand and the left foot to the higher steps on the other side of the corner, one could climb quite easily. Without saying a word, I stepped up to the corner and proceeded to climb all the way up the two-story building, and then I came down the same way, by reversing the process. Climbing up was easier than coming down, because in coming down I had to find the supporting projections by feeling and not by seeing. When I arrived down safely, I walked away without saying a word, and the boys who saw me walked off in the opposite direction without saying a word either. I am sure they never mentioned it to anybody, and I never spoke of it either. I don't know what possessed me to do it. I know it was a preposterous thing for me to do. I might well have fallen and killed myself. Even now, whenever I think about it, it still scares me.

In 1917, I was given a metal pin identifying me as a member of the Farm Service Corp. I was busy with all kinds of farm work during the summer of 1917. Much of it was hoeing potatoes because father always grew many acres of potatoes. Haying and harvesting the grain seemed to follow each other closely.

One diversion during the summer was fighting a brush and grass fire on the Fulton farm which we had rented. We didn't know how it got started.

In those days automobiles were extremely rare and the horses were all afraid of them. One time I was driving in a buggy alone and saw a car coming. I got out and took the horse well off the road and hung onto her bridle tightly. When the car went noisily by I could hardly hold the horse. Repeatedly she lifted me off my feet in her effort to get away and run.

In our flock of hens that summer I noticed one that was so weak she could

scarcely stand. When I caught her and picked her up she was extremely light in weight and only skin and bones and feathers. When I looked at her I saw what the trouble was. Her upper bill had grown very long and hooked down outside of the lower bill. This made it impossible for her to grasp anything in her mouth and she was obviously starving to death.

That fall, just before school opened, father bought me a used bicycle to ride to school. It didn't matter that it was a lady's bicycle so long as it worked. For the first time I had some means of transportation other than my own sturdy legs.

On Sept. 16th, 1917, I received my first suit of clothes with long pants. Previously I had always worn knickers.

On Nov. 1, 1917, Joe King, a nearby farmer, married his 4th wife, 3 months after his 3rd wife died. We boys were home and joined in the shivaree a few nights later. It was an assemblage of quite a number of young people with all kinds of noise makers such as horns, drums, kazoos and fire crackers. One of the most effective noise makers was an old large steel buzz saw, carried on an iron rod through the hole in its center by two boys, with the third man pounding the saw with a hammer. Joe and his wife took the serenade amiably and supplied some treats for the group.

In November that year our whole family was out one night when the northern lights were putting on a most spectacular display. It was a marvelous sight with the flashes of light shifting about in the sky.

One evening in Fair Ground there was a big oyster supper held in the town hall. Everybody for miles around attended. It was an informal affair and we young people had a good time making our own fun. Oysters were new to me, and even though I didn't like them very much I managed to eat some.

I was quite skillful in using my bicycle, but in the winter time I couldn't use it in the snow and slush. One time when the weather was good, I was riding it on the sidewalk in Vienna on the way down to the post office. I had a large parcel on the handle bars with me, and as I usually did when going down an easy grade, I was riding along without having hold of the handles. I soon found that I was going too fast, and wanted to apply my brakes, but I found that when I put pressure on the pedal to slow up it threw the bicycle off balance. I couldn't keep the bicycle steady with the brake on. My problem was that the big box was so in my way, and directly under my chin, that I couldn't reach the handle bars. Therefore I could only apply the brake gently and intermittently without running off the sidewalk, with the result that I couldn't stop at the corner where I wanted to, but continued on past the end of the sidewalk over a drop-off into the road. Of course I was thrown off, but with no damage to myself nor the bicycle nor my package.

On Dec. 1, 1917, I cut my father's hair for the first time. It was satisfactory because I had already had some experience cutting other people's hair under his supervision and instruction.

Sometime during the winter of 1917-18 I began teaching a Sunday School class in Fair Ground.

Grandpa Cutler, as long as I can remember, wore a medium length beard. I never remember having seen him when his beard wasn't grey. He was a mild mannered man who stood by his Christian principles and beliefs. He was troubled because he was born out of wedlock. His mother was a school teacher so must have had some education, probably more than was common at that time. His father, he was told, was a traveling salesman with ancestry going back to the Pennsylvania Dutch. Grandpa's mother later married into the Downs family which lived for years west of Fair Ground. Grandpa had a half brother whose last name was Downs. I remember that this half brother, in his later years, was not well and Grandpa Cutler took care of him in his home until he died. There was a member of a younger generation by the name of Clarence Downs who obtained some advanced education, and worked at the University of Toronto as a chemist. I used to see him occasionally while I was attending the University later. He called my grandfather Uncle Edgar.

In the fall of 1917 Grandpa Cutler had married again and lived with his new wife on her farm, somewhat south and east of Pt. Burwell. One time I walked from Vienna to that farm to visit him and his new wife. She was a big woman and to me not very attractive, but she was kind and good to me. I presume they were happy together but it didn't last very long because she died and Grandpa returned to spend the rest of his days in the home of his daughter, my Aunt Edith McDonald. When my grandfather died he was buried in his cemetery plot in the churchyard at Kinglake, Ontario.

When I awoke on the morning of Monday, Dec. 10th, 1917, and prepared to be on my way to school in Vienna, I found we had had a severe snow storm during the night, and the roads were impassable to any kind of traffic. So I didn't start out until the afternoon. In the afternoon I walked all the way to Vienna through snow drifts without encountering any animal traffic. The walk took me 3-1/2 hours but I made it safely, and was at school the next morning.

In the latter part of the year 1917 I was already in my last year of high school studies. I know I studied hard, usually about 6 hours every night while in Vienna, and I never got to bed until midnight. However, I never missed my reading of a chapter in the bible before I went to sleep.

My persistent pursuit of learning was apparently beginning to pay off because at Christmas examinations in 1917 my score of marks was as follows - Ancient History, 61%; British History, 83%; Literature, 76%; Geometry, 81%; Algebra, 91%; Chemistry,78%; Physics, 92%.

During the year 1917, 1 kept a detailed account of my expenditures. Included in this total was every cent I handled during the year, which paid for my school expenses, my room and board, my personal expenditures, cost of repair of my bicycle, etc. The total for the whole year was $136.00.

During my years at High School in Vienna, Ontario, there was no inside plumbing in the school house nor at the Pratt home where I was a roomer and boarder. There was a custodian who took care of the school, the lawn and out-buildings and they were always in a decent condition. The out-building for the girls was widely separated from the boys' facility, at the opposite corner of the school lot. There was also a high board fence which separated the boy's space behind the school house from the girls portion of the school yard.

I did not have many close friends at the High School. There was one classmate, however, that I was with a good deal. He was Everett McCurdy. He had difficulty walking because of an attack of poliomyelitis.

In my day, no one at high school had a car and very few had bicycles.

I continued to study hard during the spring term at school, sometimes not going home for the weekend at all. Anyway, I finished my three years at high school by passing successfully, in June, 1918, the Normal Entrance Examination which qualified me to enter Normal School, if I wanted to become a school teacher. I also passed my Junior Matriculation Examination, which at that time was all that was required to register at any Canadian University for more advanced education. However, at that time, I had no idea of what sort of career I wanted in life, so it was natural that I should fall in line with the wishes of my father to make a farmer of me.