everyone had to swallow those awful-tasting green cod liver oil pills ! While my sisters and I enjoyed Mom ’ s wonderful homemade bread sandwiches for lunch , we secretly coveted the fancy sandwiches made from ‘ real ’ store-bought sliced bread our two neighbour boys ate . During the lunch hour , we played outside : Run , Sheep , Run ; Rover , Red Rover ; Hide-and-Seek ; and Mother , May I ? The girls enjoyed the huge swings behind the school , and the boys played baseball . After lunch hour , back in the classroom we sat quietly as the teacher read a chapter from an ongoing novel .
We loved the day that the large green box arrived at school . The town library sent it out , once a month , filled with new books to read . We couldn ’ t wait to see what wonderful new stories and adventures were in that box !
At Christmastime , setting up the stage for the Christmas concert was the promise of a lot of fun to come ! At least two weeks were spent practising our pieces : poems , recitations , songs , group choirs , but the highlight was the three-act play . Everyone did something , even if it was the all-important job of opening and closing the curtains with exact timing ! But , anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus following the last curtain call was the most exciting ! We never knew who he was — with long-flowing white beard , a red well-stuffed Santa suit and loud Ho-Ho-Ho ’ s , it was always a mystery ! He brought each of us small bags of Christmas candy and nuts , with a Christmas ( mandarin ) orange . It was a rare , heavenly treat !
Then we delighted in the experience of driving back home late at night by horse and sleigh — our tired family all bundled together in warm blankets , the bells on the horse harness jingling merrily as Mary eagerly trotted home in the dark . No need to guide her ; she knew the road very well . We sang a few Christmas carols while the
Miss Malcolm , our lovely teacher , with all students from Longridge School , Grades 1 to 8 , on the school steps . ( I ’ m right smack in the middle !)
dark , quiet night watched over us with so many bright sparkling stars … it was magical !
The end-of-year school picnic on the last day of school with parents and students was the most fun of all ! Gathering in the shade of the school , while different groups played ball , we competed in three-legged races , gunny-sack races , or just straight racing ! Then we all enjoyed hot dogs , potato salad , cakes and cookies , real lemonade , but the greatest favourite of all was the homemade ice cream . Everyone wanted to help turn the crank , trying to hurry up the long-awaited treat !
I left the one-room school after Grade 8 to take high school in the nearest town . University was another world away . Now , at eighty-one years of age , I have just registered for this spring ’ s ELLA courses at the University of Alberta . I began this story as a student … and I am still a student . �
Gladys Teske taught elementary school — first in the rural area close to home and later in urban classrooms — before moving on to adult education . news & views WINTER 2017 | 41