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.