by Charles Phelps
(1980) From the 1870s the Blackwell Sideroad was the dividing line between School Section Three (Bright’s Grove School) and School Section Six (Clark’s School at Murphy Road). The children from Blackwell Sideroad east went to S.S. No. 3 and the children from Blackwell Sideroad west attended S.S. No 6which was a long distance to walk, especially on a freezing winter’s day.
In 1910 a special ratepayers meeting discussed dividing the section or building a larger school. The majority favoured a division and a petition to this effect was circulated. By an act of the Township Council, School Section Number Seven was formed out of parts of Sections 3, 5, 6 and 11. The new section was called Blackwell S.S. No. 7.
The first meeting of ratepayers was held June 12, 1911 in the Blackwell Methodist Church which was built in 1880. Darius James, George Thurston and Richard Hardick were elected trustees and T.C. Wheatley was appointed Secretary-Treasurer. There are relatives and descendants of these men living in this area at the present time. At the close of the meeting the trustees met and accepted the offer of Joseph Smith of 1-1/2 acres adjoining the church grounds for $150.00. A motion to have the school on the south side of Blackwell Road was voted down. Two thousand dollars was borrowed and construction of a school proceeded. It was made of cement blocks. The one-room school was opened on Friday, January 5, 1912. A year later debentures to the value of $1,890 were issued by the Township Clerk for the school and were purchased within the community.
Blackwell Road was built in 1874 and Lake Shore Road was in use in 1918. There were 14 houses on Blackwell Road in 1912.
The following account is contributed by Mrs. Lillian Francis, a native of Blackwell and a former teacher of Blackwell School:
“Charles Wheatley, son of T.C. Wheatley, was the first janitor at $40.00 a year. His duties were sweeping and dusting daily, attending the furnace, keeping temperature comfortable, the floor to be scrubbed twice and the entire woodwork once yearly and the outdoor closets to be emptied monthly.
Mr. T.C. Wheatley, being a flower lover and having a show place at his home, planted a shrub bed in the front of the school and a row of cedar trees between the school and the church grounds.
The first teacher of the new school was Miss Theresa Pegler who taught from January 1912 to June of 1913. She and her mother lived in a log house, which adjoined the Abbie Wheatley home, on the D.W. James farm. Eventually it burned down. Theresa Pegler’s daughter (Clarice) is the wife Wm. Cole and lives in Sarnia. Wm. Cole is the brother of Charles Cole who is the treasurer of Blackwell Church. Miss Pegler’s salary was to be $550 yearly if the average attendance was under 30and $600 if over 30. Miss Dustin was the next teacher but taught only one year as she decided to become a stenographer. Her sister, Louise, died in the Noronic fire at the Toronto Port. The teachers following were F.M. (Wellington) Carr, Ada Baker, Hazel and Elizabeth Crone who all taught in the one year; Hazel Lennan, Hazel Smale, Lillian Wheatley. Mabel McDonald began teaching in 1934 assisted by Jewel Porter. Because of the increased enrolment, a second room was added in 1937.”
The school board bought a house adjoining the school property for a teacher’s residence in 1944. In 1956 this house wasn’t needed any more and was sold and moved about half a mile east on Blackwell Road. This was done to enlarge the school playground. Another piece of land was acquired in 1954 giving frontage on Blackwell Sideroad. A third room was added on the west side in 1949, two more to the north in 1953and an additional two farther to the north in 1957. Also in 1957 a kindergarten class was started for the first time. During that fall while the school addition was being completed, the kindergarten class was held in the basement of the new Blackwell United Church which had been erected in 1955.
A history of a school would not be complete without including the many interesting happenings in the school and about its pupils.
School Fairs
In 1912 there were school fairs for Sarnia Township at which the pupils showed vegetables, fruit, baking, writing, drawing and drills. Irene (Hardick) Garrison and Abbie Wheatley each entered a loaf of bread winning first and second prizes respectively. The second prize was a “Book of Famous People.” Irene was the first graduate of Blackwell School in 1912 when she was twelve years of age.
A Risky Incident
There was no Lake Shore Road in 1912 and no houses. The John Wheatley family lived in the house where John was born. There were four children; thirteen, eleven, nine and seven years old. As the lake was near, they spent much time playing on the beach. Alfred liked making things so decided to build a raft although his father forbade him to do it. When he finished the raft they carried it to the lake and with long sticks pushed it around in the water. Then everyone jumped off but Lillian and the raft was forced out. Lillian tried to push the raft with her stick but it wouldn’t reach the bottom. An off-shore wind came up and blew the raft out quickly. In the meantime, Tom, who was seven, ran for help and, meeting his mother, told her what had happened. She in turn ran to get her husband who went to his father’s phone and called John Telfer who had a rowboat in the Cull Drain. Abbie, who was thirteen, kept calling to Lillian to stay on the raft and that someone would get her. Afterwards Lillian said that she thought if she walked until her head stuck out she could walk to the shore. Then she saw a boat way out in the lake, so stood up and waved and yelled. Finally the boat came close and a looped rope was lowered and she put it around her waist, and was pulled up into the boat which went toward the shore where her father waded out and carried her to the shore. Alfred got a whipping for making the raft against his father’s orders.
Difficulty in getting a High School education
The following will tell you how some Blackwell pupils acquired a High School education over fifty-five [Editor’s Note: written in 1980] years ago.
Anyone who wanted to go to high school had to find his own way. Cars were owned by very few. Abbie, Alfred and Lillian Wheatley were ready to go to high school at the same time, but each had to take his turn. Abbie, being the oldest, was the first to go, getting a ride with the mailman (Mr. Pullen) when he went to the post office; sometimes she stayed with a great-aunt in Sarnia. The high school was situated where the new public school stands on the London Road. Alfred’s turn was next. He had been out of school for two years and was sixteen. He rode a bicycle and when the weather was bad drove the horse and cutter, stabling the horse in Purdy’s barn in the north end of town. Many times he went to the field at six in the morning and left for school at eight o’clock. Roy Hardick, who went through Blackwell Public School in a short time skipping grades, started to high school riding the pony that his brother Earl had won at the Forest Fair. Lillian Wheatley started the next year after being out of school for two years. That year John Wheatley bought a Model T touring car so Alfred and Lillian Wheatley, and Roy Hardick were able to have a ride to high school for the first time. Abbie graduated from London Normal School in 1923.
For people who drive a car today they should know something about the difficulties of driving a car back sixty years ago.
The radiator was filled with water and when the temperature was low, very often the water would freeze and the rad was covered. Then sometimes the rad would boil and off the covering came. On getting to school the rad was emptied and at four o’clock the same procedure was followed.
Lillian had a very uncomfortable first year. She went to school until October when her mother became sick at which time she was needed at home. When February came, Abbie and Lillian took turns going every other week to school. Lillian attended four and a half months in her first year but got her year as the teachers, knowing the home situation, cooperated to the fullest.
The roads in those days were never clear of snow and sometimes they got stuck in the drifts and would go to the nearest house until the car was free.
They always had a car full of pupils, including Roy Hardick and Orpha (Bresette) Sitter who lives on Blackwell Road, and is a member of Blackwell Church as well as the U.C.W.
As Tom Wheatley was sick for four years, he started to high school at seventeen years and graduated with top honours from Grade XIII.
Lillian graduated from London Normal School in 1925, taught school at Blackwell for nine years. She loaned Alfred money to assist him in graduating with a forestry degree from Toronto University. He, in turn, helped Tom in obtaining a degree in Metallurgy Engineering. They were the first graduates of university from Blackwell School. Abbie and Lillian Wheatley and Roy Hardick were the first teachers from Blackwell School; Roy later with courses and attending university received his M.A. and became a high school principal.
How fortunate the young people are to have such easy access to a higher education today.
The next family who wanted an education were the Harvey Smith’s. He was the station operator at Blackwell. They first lived in the house where Coretta Blake lives, then moved into their home which now belongs to Birdie Hext. They bought a car and Dorothy and Fred were able to get to Sarnia High School. Fred was the first Blackwell graduate who became a doctor. He practised in Wisconsin and still lives there. Dorothy (Smith) Shipley and Esther (James) VanHorne were the first graduates who became nurses.
To get his education, Russell Hardick rode horseback, went with Carl Smith when he went to work, and hitch-hiked. He graduated from Grade XIII, then got his degree in nursing from Whitby and Toronto hospitals. He joined the services in the Medical Corps.