SPECIAL MEMORIES / SPECIAL PEOPLE
by Patricia Ennis-Burke

School always held a fascination for me. I recall Theresa Pomeroy and I marching off to school in September of 1953 with a note from our moms requesting admission although we would not reach our sixth year until January and March. How disappointed we were when we were told we could not be admitted! I had heard from my cousin Freddy of that sand table Miss Counsel had in her classroom and I wanted to get in on the action.

Perhaps our educational programs would be considered lacking by today's standard. There certainly weren't any computers, -calculators, and other audio-visual aids schools have today. Indeed, our homemade school bags held most of the educational tools available at the time, but, in my opinion, our teachers, even though they might not have held a masters degree in administration, curriculum or child psychology, had that innate ability to teach. With their God-given gifts, they helped mold and fashion us into the individuals we are today.

May was a very special month in all our classrooms. Altars dedicated to Mary were erected in front of the class. I recall one day in May, while I was in the primary grades, witnessing a May altar accident. Georgie Hepditch had completed his printing exercise and whispered to us at his table, ‘Just watch me bring my work up to Miss with my eyes closed." He didn't turn at the right angle and bumped into the May altar sending pictures, candles and the beautiful statue of Mary toppling. Miss Wilson, our teacher, ran to rescue her statue but alas the hands were broken! I don't recall Georgie getting punished but I do remember seeing Miss Wilson cry. That statue must have been very special to her.

May also meant Mother's Day. Several weeks prior to this special day, our teachers would encourage us to prepare a spiritual bouquet for our mothers by going to Mass and Holy Communion, praying the rosary with our family at home, and reciting little one sentence prayers called ejaculations for our mother's intentions. In school we would make a little card and decorate it with flowers, medals, ribbon and a picture of Mary. Inside we would write the number of Masses, rosaries, etc. we had prayed. On Mother's Day this spiritual bouquet would be presented to our mother.

I know Mom cherished those we gave her because as each of her daughters celebrated her first Mother's Day, Mom presented her with a spiritual bouquet she had once received. When I celebrated my first Mother's Day, Mom presented me with the one I had made for her when I was in Grade 4.

Valentine's Day was another special day in the life of a school child in Merasheen. We would make sure that we had drawn and colored a valentine for our classmates and friends so that we could ‘run’ them on that particular day. Some creative individuals composed verses and printed them on their valentines. One stands out in my memory. It happened on this particular Valentine's Day Mary Agnes Pearson had the whooping cough. Laura Hennessey made her a valentine with a picture of a hen drawn on it. The verse read:
‘Over the hills and a far off
The hen s- - t off the whooping cough!
Be my Valentine!"
To Mary Agnes
From Guess who?

We could always count on Laura for a bit of fun. She dared fate a little more than some others. I'm looking forward to seeing that devilish glint in her eyes when hopefully we meet at the reunion.

I had great respect and admiration for Mrs. Margaret Leonard as a woman, a mother and a teacher. Mr. Aloysius was ill with tuberculosis and she did a fine job of raising Tony, Ellen, Aloysius Jr. and Pad who were our friends. As an elementary school child, I can remember sitting in her kitchen watching her process her exams. She would boil a purple jelly-like substance in a can, pour it out in a container like a paint pan and let it cool. Then she would press a sheet with her test material written on it into the cooled jelly and duplicate ten or twelve copies of the test. I was fascinated with the process.

I also recall the older boys and girls writing the CHE exams in June. When they had finished particular ones, they would come to her house and she would discuss with them the answers. To me, Mrs. Leonard was an example of dedication to the teaching profession. To this day I feel sorry that she had to retire early from her teaching position on Bell Island because of Alzheimers. I am certain that she has an honored position in a class of angels.

What was it that made us stand in awe of Uncle Cleve? It was not his size because he probably was about as big as Uncle Fred who was our friendly giant. It was not his thunderous voice: Uncle Fred could laugh or roar just as loudly. Maybe it was the fact that, unlike most couples in Merasheen, he and Aunt Dora had no children. She always referred to him as ‘Skipper’. Whatever the reason, Uncle Cleve held the power to make us do what needed to be done.

Most evenings Doreen would come from Uncle Fred's and I from Aunt Lill's to Uncle Mac's house after playing all day with our friends in Little_Merasheen. We were always reluctant to leave because Aunt Mary was so kind and generous giving us lots of bread and apricot jam, slices of bang belly and other delicacies she had baked. Freddy's comics fascinated us and we never wanted to give them up. There was one sure way of getting us off for home and that was Aunt Mary saying, ‘Well my glory, I expect I'll have to send for your Uncle Cleve.’

Brendan and Freddy played a trick on Uncle Cleve one day. They painted the seat of his out-house with tar. Before the tar had dried, Uncle Cleve had an urgency to use the toilet. The boys were nowhere to found until after dark that evening.

Matilda and I were playing dollhouse one day on the rock between Uncle Mac's and Uncle Cleve's. Uncle Cleve came from his shop with both his hands laden with grapes. Both of us ran and he placed the grapes on the rock for us. What a treat!

I have often thought about and regretted our misplaced fear of Uncle Cleve. I'm sure he was a gentle giant at heart.

I really liked all of my teachers but I loved Leonard Cochrane even long before he became my Grade 4 teacher. I can remember clinging to the strap of his schoolbag as he made his way to high school and I to primary since Grades 1-11 were all in the same school. Leonard dated my cousin Pearl for a while and I envied her. No one could be happier when he became my teacher. I worked so hard to win his praise and he was not one to withhold it. That Christmas I came first in my class and he presented me with a pink handkerchief and scarf.

It must have been in February or March that Mr. Cochrane got ill. He did not return to school. Day after day I inquired of his mother, Mrs. Kitty, ‘When is Sir coming back to us?’ I recall her telling me, ‘Child, he's still seasick from when he was out turring with Paddy Jim". He never did come back to class. He died with cancer. I can remember standing at his graveside and watching his former teacher, and principal Mrs. Margaret Leonard cry. I thought, ‘Everyone must have loved him as much as I.“