My name was Margaret Hayes.  My grade one teacher was Miss Smart a lovely kind, soft spoken lady whom I will never forget.  Funny how times change... as she used to read us Bible stories. She would hold up a book with wonderful pictures in it and she would read it aloud from the side view that she had.  I also had Miss Smart for grade 3.. having had Miss McBeth for grade 2.

     There was a teacher named Mr Kihlo (not sure of the spelling) whom I had for grade 4.  I'll never forget the first day of school when he paced the floor all serious giving us a First day talk, telling us that the "party was over" and that grade four was serious business and "no more mamby pamby".  I think we were all a little wide eyed and saying "Holee COW!" to each other on our way home.   He always wore tweed suits and smelled like after shave.

     I had Miss Fraser for grade 5.. a no nonsense lady who was very much into her music classes.

     The Principal was Mr Shoemaker.  He was still allowed to give the Dreaded *Strap* and when the "strapee" got home from school, he more than likely got another wooping from his parents.  We knew not to step out of line as there would be consequences.

     Sometimes, teachers threw chalk or banged a ruler on a desk very loudly if they were pushed over the limit. 

     We used to play jacks on some large slabs of cement that were on each side of the main entrance to the school.  On days when the weather was bad, we would play on the cement floor of the basement  in the school.  We also played Chinese skip  (elastic bands), Simon Says and, of course, regular skip with the plastic rope.  Funny how the old verses stay in your head and I can still recite a lot of them years later.  Another favourite game at lunch and recess was using a lacrosse ball.. We would all line up and the person in front would toss the ball at the side of the building up quite high and when it came down and bounced, the first girl jumped over it and the second girl was to jump it on its second bounce and so on down the line.

     My family did not have much money and I remember saving forever to get my own lacrosse ball and some kid named Gilbert stole it from me one day when I was bouncing it as I walked along.  I cried myself to sleep that night over it.

     I had the privilege of being a lunch monitor when I was in grade six.  This meant that on my lunch hour, I went to a grade one classroom and babysat so to speak.  I was so honoured to be chosen to do that job.

         Maggie Sutherland  (Nee Margaret Hayes)

           P.S. In the picture below, I am in the second row from the front and the second one in from the right.