I was a member of the first class to graduate from the newly built Estevan Collegiate. It was 1917, and because of the war, there was a shortage of teachers. Permits to teach for four months were being issued to students with Grade 12 standing. I applied for a permit, and was then accepted to teach at Shand School. After four months of teaching I attended Normal School in Regina and received my teaching certificate at the end of six months.

A former classmate, Louis Schere, taught at Shand while I was at Normal School. He was very intelligent and went on to the University of Winnipeg. When he graduated, he accepted an offer to work in the United States, eventually becoming a member of the advisory committee to President Franklin Roosevelt.

I taught at Shand for five years and enjoyed the children and the community. Classes were large, usually with 55 to 57 pupils. In my first full year of teaching I had one student in Grade 8 - Margaret Bennett. She passed the departmental exams in June. Most of the children left school at age 14, the boys usually getting jobs in the coal mines.

Having so many pupils made it difficult to spend much time with any one class. My day was divided into 27 time periods of 5 to 10 minutes each. Most of the time was spent teaching the basic subjects. We had music lessons, though there was no organ or other instrument to accompany our singing.

I'm afraid teaching art was minimal, as I felt inadequate in that subject and there were no art supplies.

In warm weather we had our physical education drills on the playground. In winter the children did the exercises beside their desks. I always went out with my pupils at recess, and we played ball, soccer, and other games such as prisoners' base, hide-and-go seek, and crack the whip. The Department of Education supplied the readers, spellers and some arithmetic texts. The children bought their own scribblers and pencils. Some of the younger ones used slates.

The school was the usual oone-roomed building with an entry room attached. The coal for the pot- bellied stove was stored in the basement, which was under the entry room. The children carried the drinking water in a bucket from a well at the edge of town. We had a water cooler and the children supplied their own cups. There was a $50.00 per year allowance to the teacher for doing the janitorial work. However, I turned this money over to another person who performed the cleaning and lit the fire. My first janitor was Mike Mazure.

The highlight of the school year was the Christmas concert. Practice for this event took place after school. Early in November we had a fund raiser, which was a basket social and dance. John Wingert supplied the music with his accordian. Some of the baskets at the social were auctioned for as much as $4 or $5 and we would raise almost $100. I delegated a committee of ladies to buy a gift for each child. The remainder of the money was used to buy oranges, nuts, and candy. Santa would distribute these to all who attended the concert.

I always had a very good Santa Claus. He was Joe Wrigley, an Irishman who could really entertain the crowd. The program lasted up to two hours. The the desks, which were attached to wooden runners, were moved to the entry hall and the dancing would begin.

The children also looked forward to april Fool's day and tried hard to trick the teacher. One year one of them, probably Tommy Mazure, wrapped the clapper of the handbell with paper. As soon as I picked up the bell I realized what had happened but pretended not to notice. All the children were waiting for me outside the door and had a good laugh when no sound came from the bell. The next April the tables were turned on Tommy. When I called the roll, Tommy Mazure didn't answer and no one volunteered information as to where he might be. However, I had felt something with my foot and knew Tommy was hiding under my desk. So that morning I sat at my desk until recess, while Tommy crouched at my feet knowing that this time he was the April fool.

We ended the school year with a picnic held at the John Wingert farm, which was south of Shand across the bridge over the Souris. There were ball games and prizes for races and contests. The picnic was attended by the whole community and was an enjoyable way to finish the year.

When I first came to Shand I boarded with my sister and brother-in-law, John and Anna Wingert. After they left the district, Arthur Phillips, the storekeeper, and I rented a small house and did our own cooking. When I tired of bachelor fare I would go to the Ashenhurst boarding hosue for a good meal. Often I would go to Estevan to visit my parents. The next morning I would walk the seven miles along the railroad tracks to the school. Later I stayed with my parents in Estevan and got a ride to Shand each day with Mr. Peterson.

I remember a blizzard in the early winter when I was still living at the Wingert farm. There had been very little snow so the children and I were still using the buggy to get to school. One morning it was snowing hard so we decided the girls would stay at home. I decided I would need a bigger horse than the pony we usually drove.

I hitched 'Bill' to the buggy and started off, having decided to go over a hill rather than take the long way around it. By the time I got to the top of the hill a real blizzard had set in and I could no longer see the way. After about fifteen minutes I realized I had been going in circles. Fortunately, I recognized some bushes and was able to make my way back to the regular route.

I crossed the bridge but when I started uphill again Bill could no longer make his way through the snow. I had to get out and break trail for him, and we managed to get to the school. There were only two or three children present so I sent them home and the school remained closed until the blizzard was over.

Some of the pupils whose names I can recall are, Mike, Tom and Ladyk Mazure; Andrew Cummings; the Dukart family; Harry Hesketh; Alice Ward; Dylis, Gwyneth, Ethel, Gwillym, and Ebenezer Morgan; Mary, Betty, and Grace Wingert; Margaret and Alex Bennett; and Dora and Martha Larsen. There were many others whose names I can no longer remember.

Trustees on my first school board were Mr. Larsen, John Wingert, and Harry Hesketh. Mr. Peterson was the secretary-treasurer. The Inspector of Schools was Mr. Archibald McLeod. He visited the school at least once a year and was admired and respected by his teachers.

When I left Shand I entered the School of Pharmacy at the University of Saskatoon. After I graduated I married Elizabeth Steele of Estevan. We had two children, Don and Betty. For a short time I managed the pharmacy at Colgate, and later at Pangman. I then bought the pharmacy at Ogema and we lived there until our retirement. We moved to Kelowna, B.C. in 1975. Elizabeth passed away in 1984. At present I am living in a rest home in Kelowna.

In 1965 my wife and I had the pleasure of attending the reunion celebrating the fiftieth year of opening of the Estevan Collegiate. It was a good feeling to be recognized by some of my former pupils and to share memories with them.