Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout213Duotang bound book, 22.5 x 29 cm., 24 pages, written by Muriel A. Cafik, July 1978. This is a history of Baseline Public School in Pickering Township, S.S. # 2. Muriel A. Cafik, Niagara University July 29, 1978 In Memory of a School A History of Baseline Public School S. S. # 2 Pickering, Ontario by Muriel A. Cafik Niagara University EDU 515C Dr. Robert Dixon Course Director PREFACE The writing of this History has been both nostalgic and interesting; nostalgic because of the searching back in memory, both mine and that of other former students and trustees, back to a less harried era; interesting because it was a school which played a large role in my life, and also because for the first time I was relating events in my life (and the life of the school) to the influences of population, economics and government decisions, so that this research has fostered in me an interest in history as a cause and effect relationship to which I had previously been unaware. In the preparation of this work I owe large debts to many people. Chief among these is Dr. Robert Dixon, lecturer at Niagara University, whose class in the History of Education in Ontario has given me the background for my entire research. In addition to those who spent many hours of research to write the histories listed in the Bibliography, and on whose work I have freely drawn, I wish also to acknowledge the quick response of my former teacher, Miss Kime, and the kind assistance of Mr. Bob Tapscott of the Ontario Archives. To all I give my thanks. Muriel A. Cafik, July 29, 1978 IN MEMORY OF A SCHOOL A History of Baseline Public School, S.S. #2, Pickering by Muriel A. Cafik Niagara University The History of Baseline Public School cannot be told in isolation. Its history stems from the history of early settlers, through gradual growth to the subsequent mushrooming advancements following the Second World War, a history related in every way to events taking place in the area surrounding it. Only two Iroquois Villages are marked on Joliet's map-one of then a village named Ganatschwyagon 1, located near Frenchman's Bay. Here the first school in the Province was established in 1669 by Francois de Salignec de Fenelon and Claude Trouve, Sulpician missionaries who spent a miserable winter there before returning to France. Though this was to be the location of Base Line, S.S. # 2, Pickering, it was almost two centuries before this was to come about... By 1760 when the first white settlers arrived in the area, nothing remained of two hundred years of Huron, Iroquois and French occupation except "the history of government possession of land by subterfuge and tricks." 3 After this acquisition of land on a grand scale, the government then began to prepare the area for settlement. R. Louis Gentilcore, writing in "Lines on the Land", describes the laying out of townships, and the surveying of lots and concessions. 1. Several different spellings of this name were noted. 2. Wm. A. McKay, The Pickering Story, p.7 3. Johnson, Leo A., History of the County of Ontario, l6l5-l875, p.19 The procedure for surveying lands along the shore line was to run a 'base line' sufficiently far inland to miss any bays or coastal indentations, and on this line lay out townships approximately 9 x 12 miles in size. In each Township the concessions were to run parallel to the base line, one and one quarter miles apart. The land between the base line and the lake shore was divided into "broken fronts", and where the broken front was deeper than one and one quarter miles, further concessions (in Pickering Township called "ranges") were laid out. 1 Using this method, in 1791 the first surveyor's line was run from east to west on the front of the first concession, via, the Base Line. 2 The shore of Lake Ontario from Murray Township to York Township, both inclusive, was divided into eleven divisions, afterwards called Townships, to which numbers were given. Pickering was number nine and was named Edinburgh. 3 Intersecting the Base Line were roads running north and south. One of these, the Brock Road, was considered to be based on an Indian trail and was the road used to connect the Quaker settlements which were to form in Pickering, Uxbridge and Whitechurch. It was officially opened in 1808-09 4 when the population of Pickering Township was one hundred and eighty persons-forty men, thirty-five women and one hundred and five children. 5 1. Louis R. Gentilcore, Lines on the Land, Ontario History Vol. LX1, no. 2, pp 57-73 2. Leo A. Johnson, History of the County of Ontario, p.36 1615-1875 3. Ibid 4. Michelle, Greenwald, The Historical Complexities of Pickering, Markham, Scarboro and Uxbridge, p. 40 5. Pickering Village Centennial Committee, The Village of Pickering. 1800-1970, p.8 It was here, therefore, in the area of Frenchman's Bay, on the south-east corner of Base Line and Brock Road, in Pickering Township, that Baseline Public School, S.S. #2 was to be built in 1852. Other factors were to play a part in the eventual necessity to build this school. One of these was a winding river which flowed through the western part of Pickering Township. Although the French had named it Riviere Rouge, (the name it holds today), the Indians had called it Katabokokonk 1 or river of easy entrance. It was through this river of easy entrance that settlers came from across Lake Ontario or around the head of the lake. The first white settler in the area came in 1778 to Whitby, a town eight miles distant. A map of grants in the Township before 1800 shows that it was almost impossible for a settler to obtain a crown grant except at a distance of eight or nine miles from the lake, as most of the area had already been granted to absentee owners. Major John Smith, father of the Surveyor-General and Commandant at Fort Niagara, held 6,400 acres in Pickering Township, 5,000 of them in one block, extending for two and one half miles along the lake. His son held an adjoining 1,200 acres, so that when Major Smith died in 1795, the son held a block extending from the lake to beyond the third concession, and broken only by clergy reserves. 2 1. John E. Chandler, The County of Ontario. p. 11 2. Wm. A. McKay, The Pickering Story, p.22 But eventually, land was sold or leased and Dutch German immigrants from Pennsylvania, and Quakers from Ireland along with other settlers from the British Isles, slowly began to inhabit the land. By 1840, Pickering was a prosperous area with 15,501 acres under cultivation, one thousand, two hundred and thirty-eight milch cows and one hundred and sixty-eight taxable houses 1 out of a total of six hundred and twenty-two houses.2 In 1854, the Reciprocity Treaty introduced free trade in agricultural and forestry products between Canada and the United States. This agreement greatly benefited the Ontario County region which found an increased demand for its locally grown wheat. The expansion of timber exports provided jobs for labourers in both the woods and sawmills of the area. 3 At Frenchman's Bay, shipping became more and more important as the products of the lumber mills, grist mills, and farms became greater... Docks were built at the north end of the bay... (later moved to the east side because of heavy silting in the north side), and in 1843 work was begun in opening the channel into Lake Ontario so that larger ships might use it. A horse drawn elevator and scoop were used for this purpose but by 1845 the channel was opened and the docks built.3 Timber was the big export in 1845. Pickering exported three million feet of lumber. Twenty- six sawmills provided a source of income for many. 1. Note: The pioneer log shanty was not taxed, but houses of better quality were. 2. L.A. Johnson, History of the County of Ontario, p.77 3. Wm. A. McKay, The Pickering Story, p.85 ...Equally important in the creation of increased prosperity for the area was a world scarcity of wheat caused by the Crimean and American Civil Wars; prices doubled and tripled in some years. As a result...Ontario County...suddenly found itself with a surplus of cash...1 In the meantime, events had been taking place in government which would have an ultimate influence on the decision to build Base Line School. On December 30th, 1853, Ontario was proclaimed an independent County-independent of York and Peel with which it had formerly been united. By January, 1854 when this new County was organized, the population had risen to about 30,000, and in Pickering Township alone, lived 7,000 people. 2 Perhaps most important of all were government decisions on education, and the introduction of the Common School Act of l8l6 was a landmark for several reasons. Not only was it the first determined effort to improve the quality of education for those unable to afford the Grammar Schools, but it was also the first measure to grant autonomy to a local government. The Act provided that so soon as a competent number of the inhabitants... of any Town, Township, Village or Place...shall meet together for the purpose of making arrangements ... on or before the first day of June in each and every year...and shall unite and build or provide a School House, engage to furnish twenty scholars or more, and shall provide in part for the payment of a Teacher, it shall be made lawful...to appoint three fit and discreet persons, Trustees to the said Common School, who shall have power and authority to examine into the moral character and capacity of any person willing to become Teacher... 1 1. Johnson, op. cit., p. 199 2. Chandler, op. cit., p.6 Through its appointed Board of Education, the government maintained control of these local boards. It was the duty of these Boards to specify the books which could be used, to rescind or alter local rules and to remove the teacher if he should prove unsatisfactory for any reason. After 1824, the board acquired the power to examine and license teachers as well. Although, by the Common School's Act, the locality was required to pay a part of the Teacher's salary, in addition the Act set aside 6,000 pounds annually for support of the Common School and for payment of a portion of the Teacher's salary. Despite the obvious importance of the Common School Act for the education of the general population, it was not until the Education Acts of l84l and 1843 that the needed impetus was given to create a broader system of education in Ontario County. The growth of urban centres and the appearance of large mercantile manufacturing enterprises brought the problems of the education system to the fore. Not only did the rise of large scale business require employees with a good education, but also the up-serge of lawlessness and public disorder which accompanied the creation of a populous class of poor, landless workers demanded major changes in the school system. 2 1. R.T. Dixon and N.L. Bethune, Right or Privelege? 1800-1867 part 1, Historical Document Two. 2. Johnson, op. cit., p.157 7 This fact had been resolutely stated by Egerton Ryerson, the second Superintendant of Education in 1846. ...A system of general education amongst the people is the most effectual preventative of pauperism and its natural companions, misery and crime. To a young and growing country, and the retreat of so many poor from other countries, this consideration is of the greatest importance...that pauperism and crime prevail in proportion to the absence of education amongst the labouring classes...1 In his report of 1846, Ryerson argued further: ...The result of the investigation (in Massachusetts, in l84l) is most astonishing superiority in productive power on the part of the educated over the uneducated worker...Processes are performed not only more rapidly, but better.2 The focus of the Education Acts of l84l and 1843, therefore, was the fostering of education, especially among the poorer classes who had, prior to The Act of l8l6, been excluded by their poverty. Grants were now raised to 50,000 pounds annually (divided among schools on a per pupil basis) and it was the duty of the District Councils to raise an equivalent amount through local taxation. Local administration of the schools was placed in the hands of Township Co-missioners who were elected at annual Township meetings. It was the duty of the local commissioners to divide the Township into school districts, purchase school sites, make estimates of building costs, appoint and remove teachers, regulate the course of study, establish the school rules and determine what books would be used, in addition to a multitude of other duties pertaining to the local schools. 1. J. George Hodgins, Report of a System of Public Elementary Instruction for Upper Canada, 1846. 111 p. 143 2. Ibid, p.l46 8 In spite of increased provincial and local taxation, parents of children attending the common schools were still expected to pay a significant proportion of the cost of their education via a "rate bill" or special school charge. These special school charges caused such inequities that in many instances parents who could not afford this levy simply kept their children out of school. In Ryerson's Report for 1853, he noted that some 2,184 school age children in Ontario County (26%) were not attending school.1 Ryerson's answer was the even greater centralization of education and the creation of "free" schools supported by property taxation. Ryerson gradually removed local control of curriculum from the hands of trustees, while leaving them the responsibility of paying much of the cost of the system - a system which was to prove effective. The Education Acts of 1846, 1850 and 1871, made significant changes. Terms of Trustees were extended to three years and all books must now be selected from a list provided by the Department of Education. It was Ryerson, therefore who determined what was taught, and by whom. By the system of grants he obtained great power, if the Districts wished a grant they must conform to certain requirements; similarly, each school section desiring a grant had to meet certain requirements regarding text books, qualified teachers, building and equipment. 1. Hodgins. "Papers illustrative of the State of Popular Education" in Upper Canada", 1853, V..p. 164-65. Given the prosperity of the area and the encouragement of the government to promote education, local citizens met to formulate plans. The report of the Local Superintendent in 1850 noted that a frame building 28 x 30 was built in 1849; it was freehold and in good repair. The school consisted of one unventilated room with desks, seats and one blackboard. There was no playground or privy. The amount levied or subscribed for repairs was 6 pounds 1 shilling. The school was kept open twelve months, taught by a male, Protestant teacher not trained in Normal School. Although 94 children between the ages of 5 and 16 were resident within the school section, only 43 attended school (32 boys, 11 girls) with the average attendance of 11 boys and 6 girls in summer and 14 boys, 8 girls in winter. Local finances were indicated as: Amount received from Legislative School Grants 5L l8s 6d Amount levied by Municipal Assessment 8L 15s 0d Amount imposed by Rate Bill 8L 15s 0d Amount received from Rate Bill 19L 4s 2d Total amount received 35L 11s 11d 1 1. Local Superintendent's Report, Ontario Archives, 1850. By 1852, although even more children (107) between the ages of five and sixteen resided in the area, fewer (37) were indicated as being on the role. School was no longer open for twelve months of the year but for only seven months, fifteen days, and was described by the Superintendent as a "Middling, second class School." 1 Eventually, in 1854, when construction began on the Grand Trunk Railway which linked Montreal, Toronto and Sarnia, this first school which had been located near a Highway (Kingston Road) was replaced by a new school Just a few hundred yards south of the railway tracks. The reason for this is not certain but as the Common School Act of 1816 had provided for the division of all land by the Township into school sections usually three miles by two miles, 2 this new location would take into account the necessity to provide for children from Frenchman's Bay, where the majority lived. 3 On the one hundredth anniversary of the building of the school, Mr. Gregory Clark, a noted humorist and newspaper columnist, and a former student of Base Line School, told the story of his great-grandfather, William (sic) Gregg, giving the site for the school, although he believed "there was probably a dollar or two in it for his grandparent." 4 1. A.S. Waddell, Annual Report of the Local Superintendent of Common Schools for the Township of Pickering, 1852. Ontario Archives. 2. The Township could divide them as desired but the divisions were to be within a comfortable walking distance for the child. 3. Pickering Township Centennial Committee, History of Base Line Public School, p. 14 4. Microfilm, Ajax Library, The Pickering News, Friday, June 25, 1954. Indeed, the records in the Registrar's Office indicate that the one quarter acre site on which the school was built was purchased for $80.00 in 1858 from Mr. John Greig. The land was measured in degrees, chains and links and an additional one half acre was purchased in 1873. 1 Base Line, SS # 2, though still indicated as "frame construction" in all of the Superintendent's Reports, 2 was of red brick with Gothic windows. It was situated on the south-east corner of Base Line (now Bayly) and Brock Roads. In 1854, when the school was built, the local Superintendent, R.W. Thorton, reported that the number of children in the school section was eighty-eight, seventy-four of whom were on the register - forty boys and thirty-four girls; the average attendance was forty-two in summer (twenty-three boys, nineteen girls) and thirty-six in winter, (twenty-four boys and twelve girls). On the wall hung a map of the world and its Continents, the blackboard was used but "Holbrook's and other apparatus including object and tablet lessons" was not used. The amount raised in that year for books, maps, etc., was 11 S 3d. The Teacher's salary was 60L. Subjects taught in 1854 included Arithmetic, Grammar, Geography, History, Writing, Bookkeeping, Mesuration and Natural Philosophy (although only two students were taking this). The school was open 258 days each year and opened and closed with prayer as required under the new Regulation. 1. Pickering Township Centennial Committee, op.cit. p.l4 2. A.W. Waddell, op. cit. 1854 The Bible or Testament was used. The Religion of this teacher and most who later taught at this school, was Protestant. 1 In 1857, the Superintendent of Schools gave an indication of education in his district in his annual report: ...I cannot properly state the progress which the cause of Education is, or has been making during the last few years as this is the first time for a long period that I have had the opportunity of visiting and examining the schools. When they were under the management of the Common School Commissioners,...I then made it my business to visit every school in the Township...each year. During these years there were as many as eleven schools all taught at one time...two or three (of the teachers) were good scholars: and about as many schools were kept in good order, and well taught... all the other schools were taught or rather kept by persons of very erratic character, - who made short engagements, and frequently did not fulfil these. ...Our schools may be divided into three classes -The greater number being in the first class: and well taught by that teacher, who to their certified scholarship, and the talent of community knowledge, and governing a school with mildness and firmness... The second class may consist of about five schools; (but of 25 listed, ed) in these, the pupils have a less thorough knowledge of what they have gone over, the definitions, the rules, and tables, are not so perfectly committed to memory, or so carefully kept before the scholars, as in the first class. The Third Class - are fortunately few in number, and consist of those schools where individuals interfere with the teacher, in an irregular manner, -where the teacher is frequently changed - and where he is himself decidedly deficient - in those qualifications -apart from scholarship, which constitute a good teacher. ...The most grevious ground of complaint, however, is the carelessness of Parents: who take no interest in the school, never attend public examinations, or call at the classroom to see how their child is getting on, or speak a word of encouragement to either them or the teacher. 2 1. Ibid 2. Report of the Superintendent, 1857. Ontario Archives. By 1858, Superintendent Birrell noted that the population of SS #2 was 360 of whom 120 were children between the ages of five and sixteen. One hundred of these were at school (on the Register) but: 4 attended less than 20 days 10 " " 20-50 " 30 " " 50-100 " 24 " " 100-150 " 7 " " 200-258 " 20 did not attend. There were no coloured children on the register. By this date BaseLine School had acquired six large maps -one of the world, four of the continents and one of Canada. The teacher, Archibald Thorn, held a first class certificate. In this report of 1858, the Superintendent noted: The schools are well attended with one or two exceptions...in these sections fever has been prevalent and fatal.. It is very difficult to state, what effect the Liberaries (sic) have; few persons in a school section, who are capable of judging, will take the trouble to do so; and of these few, the local Superintendent may have no opportunity of seeing any. In our own section, the books have only been given but since August last: - they have been much taken out but with what good effect, I have no means of judging. 1 In 1859 the Superintendent noted that "the Schools in Pickering are still improving." 2 To one involved in the school system of 1978, the frustration of the supervisory officer is evident in statements such as: Is the new course of study on P. 135 of Trustees Manual Observed?...No. Teacher: Archibald Thorn was Alexander Baird is 3 1. E. Birrell, Superintendent of Education, 1858. Report Ontario Archives. 2. Ibid 1859 3. Ibid 1861 A note in the Daily Register for SS #2 by the Superintendent in 1909 (James McBain) read: I believe that if Miss Reva May receives proper encouragement from the Trustees and parents that she will make a success of the school which is now in a very backward condition. Total experience of the Teacher: 1/2 year 1 The period 1851 - 1871 brought many changes to the way of life for residents of Ontario County. Pioneer methods were replaced by mechanized agriculture and industrialization. The building of railroads created new educational and moral systems. The population of the area declined as did the population of other towns which had not acquired a railway station; small holdings were made non-viable by mechanization. 2 After 1871, (when compulsory attendance began), there is a large gap in the records available, until after World War 1. In a letter from Miss Helena Winona Kime, a teacher in that school for nineteen years, from 1923 - 1942, the following description is given: ...brick building, seating thirty-five or more pupils, heated by a Clare-Recla upright furnace at the back of the room. ...an addition of an extra room serving as a kitchen, used for hot lunches in winter. Outside toilets being replaced by inside ones just off the kitchen...(cloak rooms with hooks formed part of these washrooms -ed.)... a low platform at the front...later, a teacher's room with a couch...curtains at the windows... flowering shrubs planted along the south wall... a plot of ground so each pupil could grow the flower or vegetable of his or her choice...a woodshed converted into a garage for the teacher's car... a neat metal fence surrounding the school yard... a sidewalk from the little gate to the cement steps leading to the only door or entrance. 1. James McBain, Report of the Superintendent, 1909 Ontario Archives 2. Johnson, op. cit..p 196 A well in one corner of the yard, with pails of water being carried in by the children to the cooler in the kitchen at the sind - each child having his own cup hanging on the wall ...a wood burning stove in the kitchen on which food was cooked for hot lunches -sometimes coal was used. 1 By 1926, teachers' salaries had risen to $1,000, from $360. as indicated fifty-five years previously. The assessment for this date was $287,773; Baseline School was valued at $2,000.00, with the equipment valued at $400. Average attendance was only 17. 2 These figures were to remain quite static until after World War 2 when teachers' salaries rose to $1,800.00. (1947) assessment $569,396 (1949) and the value of the school had doubled. Equipment in 1949, although still minimal was valued at $1,250.00, more than three times that indicated in 1926. 3 As a graduate of BaseLine Public School, it was gratifying to note in the Public School Inspector's Report of March 20, 1928, the comment: You have one of the finest schools in the county... I recently had some visitors from the Department of Education out to see your school and they were delighted with everything. I consider Miss Kime to be one of my best rural teachers... Good average attendance is noticeable...This is doubtless due, in part at least, to the pleasant school surroundings... I found the children to be well prepared for their classes, well conducted and making very satisfactory progress. 4 1. Personal letter from Miss Kime 197 in appendix. 2. R.A. Hutchinson, Annual Report of Superintendent, 1926. Ontario Archives. 3. A. Archibald. Abid 1947 - 1949 4. R.A. Hutchinson op,, cit. 1926 and in 1932 the note: Student Proficiency: Excellent Progress : Extra Good Deportment : Excellent 1 As a forerunner to Womens' Liberation, 1927 was an important year at Baseline, for on that year the first woman ever to serve on a Canadian School Board (Mrs. Lorna Squires), was elected and her influence resulted in greatly improved school conditions. 2 In 1928 a kitchen (mentioned in Miss Kime's report) was built on to the original building and supplied with a stove, table and benches for hot lunches. Mrs. Betty Holter (LeGard), a former student at Baseline from 1931 - 1937, described the school as follows: In the kitchen were tables and benches at which the students sat for lunch. Schedules were placed on the wall as each student must take turns preparing the hot lunch (a baked apple or potatoe, soup or hot cocoa) to accompany the packed lunch he would carry. Roads approaching the school at this time were unpaved and rutted. In the winter, heavy snowfalls often blocked the roads so that as automobile could not navigate and even a horse and cutter often found them impassible. In the one-roomed classroom, desks were bolted to the floor in rows. In one corner at the rear stood a tall cupboard which served as a Library. When students had reread the Library books many times over, the unabridged dictionary on a ledge near the front of the room was a favourite place to stand and read. Actually, because they were not allowed to move about, it was often an excuse from the confinement of a single desk to walk to the dictionary. At the front of the room, in front of the raised platform holding the teacher's desk, was a sand table in which students delighted in making maps of the world. 1. Ibid, 1932. 2. Pickering Township Historical Committee. op. cit. p.l4 Note: Records in the Ontario Archives indicate Mrs. Squires was Secretary of the Board, November, 1922. See Appendix. The only other piece of concrete material (besides maps, scissors, plastecine, etc.) that I can remember was a 36" tube of small hardwood blocks. The strap was very much in evidence in those days so that discipline was well established. We didn't whisper, let alone walk; we didn't even dare to pass a note. 1 By 1932 the Library had grown in value to $208.90, with 407 volumes available. No Physical Education equipment was supplied, but hoes and spades had been purchased for the programme in agriculture. School supplies including pencils, notebooks, readers and other texts were still the responsibility of the parent. There was no systematic medical or dental health supervision. 2 Changes were made to the original school again in 1939. The exterior was resurfaced with stucco and the arched Gothic windows were replaced with square topped windows. Two additional rooms, a teacher's room and a library were constructed. Seats, which formerly faced east, now faced west. By 1947, this recently added teachers' room and library had to be used for a second classroom until 1953 when a second classroom, a new heating system, a water system and lighting were added. An additional acre of land was purchased for $500.00 from Dr. Wm. McKay. 3 1. Personal interview with Mrs. C. Holter. July, 1978. 2. Pickering Township Centennial Committee, op. cit., p.l4 3. Ibid. 18 As indicated in the need for more and more classroom space, the population of SS #2.was growing rapidly. The Second World War had brought hundreds of workers to the munitions factories in the near by town of Ajax, and housing developments were soaring up almost overnight. As a result, by the 1950's the push was on for bigger school boards. In a Trustee's meeting of February 6, 1950, the Inspector Mr. Archibald, a former Principal of Whitby High School spoke encouragingly of larger school boards. He cited the increased benefits of manual training, classes in home economics, a movie projector, a better quality of teacher and teaching staff staying for longer periods. He spoke also of an increased grant of $300.00 to aid in equalization. Either the trustees were lured by these promises or were persuaded by Mr. Dixon, the Health Inspector, who complained of the overcrowded school, but it is humorous to note that whether or not they ever acquired any of the promised goodies, at a Trustees' Meeting of December 27, 1950, the formation of a Home and School Association was suggested to raise funds for a projector. 1 Regardless of the reason(s), at a Ratepayers Meeting on June 6, 1950, it was decided to build a new school (SS #2B) at Bay Ridges (Frenchman's Bay). The projected costs were as follows: 2 acres of land $ 2,000.00 Building (Approx.) 22,000.00 Equipment 4, 000.00 Total $28,000.00 1. Minutes of Trustees' Meetings, 1950. Ontario Archives. The Provincial Grant towards this would be $16.00 per pupil plus 40% of capital cost. The grant would be spread over the period of the debentures. Despite this new school, the trustees met on May 28, 1953, to discuss overcrowding at both schools - 86 students at the Bay school and 71 at Baseline. For this reason, it was decided to build the addition to Baseline mentioned previously. In addition, plans began for a school in the north area between Liverpool and Guild Roads while in the meantime, Fairport United Church meeting room was used as a classroom. By the following year, this third school, Glengrove, was in operation but in a somewhat different location. The only property available was described thus: ...property bounded on south by number two Hwy. on west by Glenview Rd. running approx. 300 feet east along Hwy. # 2 and approx.420 feet north from Hwy for the sum of $3,000.00. This land eventually cost $4,000.00 for four acres and the school was built for $36,437.00. A two room addition to Bay Roads School the same year cost $28,000.00. 2 1. Ibid 2. Ibid It seems that Mr. Archibald's arguments must have won. On January 1, 1956, School Section # 2 and School Section # 3 amalgamated to form Pickering Township School Area No. 2. At this time the Area schools were the old schools Baseline, Dunbarton, and West Rouge, whose beginnings had all commenced more than a century before, plus the Rouge Hill School. The more recent schools were Bay Roads (an outgrowth of Base-Line in 1950 and Glengrove, a further expansion in 1955. By 1960, the properties of Don Annan and James Mitchell had been purchased by Consolidated Building Corporation and the Bay Ridges Subdivision which began to grow was to spell doom to BaseLine, SS # 2. Beginning in 1961, it (Baseline), operated as a part of the Bayview Heights School during construction of that building. In 1963 BaseLine School served the Sir John A. MacDonald School staff and was used, at least in part of each succeeding year until 1967, to accomodate pupils who now attend that school. 1 About 1968, the school was sold to the Township of Pickering for $10,000.00, then resold to commercial enterprises for $30,000.00. 2 This valuable historic property has now been sold many times over, the school has been torn down and in its place sits a modern office complex. Its sister school, Bay Roads, has fared a somewhat better fate. Although no longer used as a school, it now houses government offices and a Library. Glendale alone survives and three centuries of history have given way to the questionable progress of twentieth century Ontario. 1. Ibid 2. Telephone conversation with Mr. Alf Tyas, former Secretary-Treasurer of School Board. July 7,1978. Appendix Inspectors in this Area 1 Since 1844 George Barclay - l844 A.W. Waddell - 1850 - 1853 Thorton - 1853 Rev. J. Durant - 1854 Rev. Alex Kennedy - 1855 Ebenezer Birrell - 1856 - 1865 Rev. John Baird - 1866 - 1869 Walter A. Ross - 1869 - 1871 James McBrien - 1871 - appointed for the whole county. County was divided in 1900 when Mr. McBrien was relieved of south part. John Waugh - appointed in 1900 for Ontario, South. Appointed Chief Inspector of Province in 1910. Robert Walks - 1910 - 1913 Robert Hutchinson - 1913 - 1943 Arthur Archibald - 1943 - 1959 T.H. Houghton - 1955 - 1959 - Assistant Inspector J.C. McClelland - 1959 - 1962 1. Inspector's Reports. Ontario Archives. Board Secretaries (Chairmen) 1 1911 – 1949 1911 Arthur Gormley 1912 " 1913 Jos. B. Gormley 1914 1915 " 1916 " 1917 Ernest L. Chapman 1918 " 1920 W.E. Sleep 1922 Mrs. Lorne Squires * First woman (November) 1924 Mrs. James Mitchell 1925 " 1926 Len Birmingham 1927 " 1928 " 1929 " 1930 1931 " 1932 " 1933 " 1934 " 1935 H.J. Le Gard 1936 " 1937 " 1938 " 1939 C.A. Balsdon 1940 " 1941 C.A. Balsdon 1942 " 1943 " 1944 " 1945 " 1946 John C. Stork 1947 " 1948 " 1949 " 1. Schools and Teachers in the Province. Ontario Archives Appendix Baseline School Teachers where indicated since 1846 1 1846 - J.W. Palmer 1849 - Mr. J.D. 0'Sullivan 1850 - Mr. A. Bunting 1857 - Dion C. Sullivan 1858 - Archibald Thom 1859 – “ 1861 - John Black 1862 - Archibald Thom - Alexander Baird 1863 – 1865 - Alexander Baird 1866 - H. Peters 1870 - Jonathan Holmes 1871 - Edward Snyder 1882 - John Smith 1909 - Miss Reva May 1911 - Cora Burley 1912 - 19l4 - Agnes A. Annan 1915 - Elmer T. Sager 1916 - Amy Walter 1917 - Lillian R. Hellier 1918 - Gladys A. Down 1920 - Maude M. Nickle 1921- - Mary V. Standing 1922 1923 - 1941 - Helena E. Kime 1942 - Wilma Thorndyke 1943 - Mrs. Margaret Parry 1944 - Isobel M. Fleming 1945 - 1946 - Mary M. Wilson 1947 - Mrs. Mary Borland - Mrs. Myrtle Squires 1951 - Mrs. Hartford 1952 - Mrs. Graham 1953 - Miss Mortimer 1954 - Mrs. Hartford - Mrs. Squires 1955 - Mrs. Squires - Mr. Hopkins - Miss Graham Schools and Teachers in the Province of Ontario. Ontario Archives. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chandler, John E., County of Ontario. l840 - 1923, Mika Publishing Co., Belleville, Ontario. 1973. Dixon, Dr. Robert and N.L. Bethune, Right or Privilege? 1800-1867. OECTA, 1971. Dixon, Dr. Robert and N.L. Bethune, Survival? 1867 - 1949. OECTA 1974. Greenwald, Michelle. The Historical Complexities of Pickering, Markham, Scarborough and Uxbridge, prepared for the North Pickering Deve; opment Project, September 1973. Johnson, Leo A., History of the County of Ontario. l6l5 - l875. pub. by the Corporation of the County of Ontario, Whitby, Ontario. 1973. McKay, Wm. A., The Pickering Story, pub. by Township of Pickering Historical Society. 1961 Pickering Township Centennial Committee, History of Base Line Public School. 1967. Pickering Village Centennial Committee, The Village of Pickering. 1967.