Aurora School District #1050
During the period 1932 and 1940 I attended a small country school, "Aurora, S.D 1050, some six miles east of Regina and just north of the C.P main line.
I recently reflected on the living standards imposed on the teachers of my school.
The "Teacherage", was a four room shack situated 75" feet North of the school
It had no running water and was heated by a small coal heater in the living room. The toilet was a pit toilet close by, which, during a minus 40 F night must have been a harrowing experience. I imagine the teacher used the facilities in the school during the cold days as the school had a large coal fired furnace and the pit toilets were in a small room off the Boy's and the girls cloakrooms.
My teachers were a Mr. Anderson an excellent teacher with inovative ideas.
Later a Mrs Green taught school and enlisted the boy's in chores in and about the teacherage. My last teacher was a Mrs. Paintin a dedicated lady whith great teaching skills. Each of them imprinted a way of life on my young mind and I am better for it.
There are many memories I could share about that school. The annual Christmas concerts when the single school room was decorated,by the children, with red and green streamers. On the night of the concert it was was illuminated by gas lamps, with the desks pushed to one side allowing the parents to view the skits, songs and dances.
Trips to nearby schools by our ballteam with seven or eight of us crammed into mr. Anderson's 1926 Durant coupe. A trip to Regina to a fire Station that still used horses to pull it's fire wagon. The grasshopper plagues, in 1936
that contaminated the schools only source of drinking water. Our teacher moving all her students to the school basement during the summer heat waves.
And from my understanding of those difficult times, during the dust storms and droughts of the 1930's, the desperate circumstances of many of the farmers who sent their children to school with peanut butter sandwiches and clothing that consisted of more patches than original material. Of course we took it all for granted, everyone was in the same boat.
Perhaps the most traumatic experience was moving from the country school of one teacher and 12-15 students to Regina's Scott Collegiate with 300 plus students and a teacher for each subject.
As you may know the school was pulled down in the late 50's and there is only the bare field remaining.
However, I drove past the site several years after it was pulled down, and stopped in the yard and was lucky to find a 12" piece of a storm window molding into which our teacher, Mr. Anderson, had cut, in Roman numerals, the window number, (VII) I can only assume that each storm window fit a specific frame, which necessitated the numbering.
I have kept this memento of my early school years. And speaking of mementos I have a 1934-35 photograph of the entire student body, about 12 of us, standing outside the school, posed for a Halloween day "Celebration photo.
Ray Spokes
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