HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026"Poster, 70 x 56 cm., illustrating the history of the Pickering Continuation School, written article
copied from the text of ""The Village of Pickering - 1800 - 1970, pages 56 and 57.
7 Schools
THE PICKERING PUBLIC SCHOOL
Unfortunately the early history of Pickering Village Schools has completely lost. In the section,
Pickering's Churches, it will be that in the early 1820's and 30's services of worship were held in
Ley's School, a little east of the Village. There is also a record [of a] Quaker School just east of
Duffins Creek. There is a story to[ld of a] school somewhere near the corner of the Kingston
Road and Windsor Drive. This possibly could have been the school referred to in the early days
of St. George's Parish in which it says, ""A service was held in the school nearby"".
In November, 1886 the ""Pickering News"" records the death of Mr. John Leys, born in 1834 and
educated in the Pickering Village School. Also in the same year it reports the appointment of
Dr. A. H. Beaton, as resident doctor at the Orillia Asylum and as having taught at Duffins Creek
(Pickering Village) in the 1860's. He was a son of Mr. Hector Beaton of Whitevale, Clerk of
Pickering Township for many years.
The earliest authentic records we have been able to find are from the ""Pickering News"".
At the annual meeting of the school trustees for S.S. No. 4 West (Pickering Village) in 1886,
receipts were $1,475.60 and expenditures $1,439.51. (The school at this time is the brick
build¬ing now occupied by Aasen's Garage). There was no mention made of the necessity for a
new school then, or was there in the following year 1887, but in May, 1888, a public meeting of
ratepayers was called to pass on the architect's plans for a new school. A site had already been
chosen and the only reason for building, that can be ascertained, was that the old school building
had been condemned as the walls were spreading apart, coupled with unsightly and unsanitary
surroundings. A hotel and horse stables were close by. Aside from the fact of a dispute relating to
school boundaries and the refusal at first of the Township Council to issue debentures,
no reference could be found of the progress of the building of the new school until the following
year when at the annual meeting, the boundary dispute still had not been settled.
The following is a brief description of the new school on William Street (Church St. North) in 1894.
""This building (Pickering S.S. No. 4 West) was erected in 1888 at a cost of over $5,000.00
and has accommodation for 200 scholars. It is fitted with the Smead-Dowd system of heating and
ventilation and is in every way very convenient and as a result has a high standing in the list of
Common Schools. .. . The principal is Mr. T. B. Gerrow and Miss Ella Whitney, assistant.""
One of the early principals was Mr. John Murkar, who taught from 1895-1901 when he resigned to
go into business as proprietor of ""The Pickering News"". It is said, that when he applied for the
school there were three applicants for the position of Principal. He was chosen because of his
excellent penmanship.
The following is an abstract from the agreement of Mr. John Murkar and the School Trustees;
courtesy of Mr. W. C. Murkar.
Made this seventeenth day of November, 1894 between the Fublic School Board of the Village
of Pickering and John Murkar of the Town¬ship of Whitby.
""The School Board hereby employs for their said school, such teacher at a salary of Four
Hundred Dollars for the term of one year, beginning the first day of January, one thousand,
eight hundred and ninety-five and ending on the thirty first day of December in the same year.
Isaac Wise, Robert Miller, John Field, Trustees.
Besides his teaching duties, Mr. Murkar was also active in church and community affairs.
For many years, the students of the Pickering Public School, if they wished upon graduating, to
continue their studies had to go either to Malvern Collegiate, East Toronto or to the Whitby High
School. As a consequence, it was only the favoured few who were able to obtain a higher
education. After the Continuation School was built at Claremont, however, there developed an
agitation for such a school in Pickering. In 1923 two rooms were added to the Public School
for Continuation School purposes. As a matter of fact, the whole school was remodelled; a
low-pressure steam heating plant installed, a water and sanitary system provided for the use
of staff and students. The Continuation and remodelled Public School was officially opened on
February 22nd, 1924 by Major Crowles of the Dept. of Education, Toronto and the address
was given by Professor Sandiford of Toronto University.
Students however, still had to go to Scarborough or Whitby to finish their High School work in
order to take their departmental examinations.
"