Versions One and Two of Janet’s great post at our portal to the history of Cartierville School
At a previous post, we’ve shared some posts from Janet regarding Cartierville School. In order to bring attention to the post, and to have both versions of her post in one place, I’ve written the post that you are now reading. After Janet had sent her first post, she sent a second one because it appeared the first post had not arrived at its destination. Things worked our beautifully – we have two versions, and each paints such a great picture of a time and place that many of us fondly remember.
By way of an update related to MCHS 2015, I’m currently working on a report on the April 1, 2015 meeting, in Kitchener, of the organizing committee and am adding content to the new MCHS 2015 website prior to its official launch. We’ve developed the new website in response to comments, from potential attendees, that it will be useful to have all of the pertinent details about the reunion readily accessible at one convenient location.
Version One of Janet’s great post:
Comment: My first elementary school was Morison we moved from Toupin to Somerset in 1966 I was in grade 4. I struggled with the transition and the curriculum change and had to repeat grade 4 in Cartierville’s centennial year, 1967 was a fabulous year I’m sure we all remember it well !
I am so surprised that there is such a little evidence of the schools existence on the World Wide Web. The only other reference is a Montreal school board site it says Carterville school was opened in 1922. My grade 6 class was the final year of Cartierville being opened as a regular elementary school closing in June 1969. It reopened and served as the very first test school for French immersion in the province. We were devastated and relocated as Victor said to Parkdale elementary. What used to be the most pleasant and eventful walk to school had now become a bus ride.
I lived on Somerset during the years of transition for the old Marlborough golf course. The grand old Clubhouse had been closed down and the course a vacant paradise for kids in the area.
A kind of a nature park before nature parks had been dreamed of.
A beautiful green space with many species of trees, some huge in ancient all welcoming and accommodating for climbing, hiding in and foundation for many a fort. In summer and sang with frogs and crickets especially the magnificent water feature that was at its center plenty of pond life and swimming for those who dared.
Version 2 of Janet’s great post:
Comment: My first elementary school had been Morison until we moved from Toupin to Somerset in 1966. The catchment for Morrison extended from Bois Franc Road to the CN tracks, everything north of the tracks would be bussed to Cartierville.
Toupin and Somerset were the boundary roads for the old Marlborough Golf course.
The only adjoining throughway was either Gouin Boulevard or a dirt path that ran along with the CNR tracks which later became Keller.
The years that I lived on Somerset the Marlborough golf course had been closed down and was a virtual paradise for all the kids in the bordering territory. We ran freely in this green space, a kids natural cornucopia of sorts, with trees to climb, meadows to romp in and even ponds to wade in. For time the stately old clubhouse even stood there abandoned bidding entry to those who dared.
By the time I entered Cartierville the school population was so small that we had combined classrooms and we probably knew every kid in the school. The baby boom era was coming to a close. Cartierville was a magical place with the interior and floors is being built of wood there were even creaking sounds as you walked the corridors. There was a smell to it, the rich kind of a homey feeling. We didn’t even mind that our gymnasium was in the basement had only a 10 foot ceiling.the gym teacher Mr Brown used to take us horseback riding on Bois Franc Rd. Mrs. Boothroyd was principal when I was there. Teachers I remember Mrs. Mitchell Miss McBain became Mrs. Wood , Mrs. Talbot and Mrs. Hoar.
In 1969 the school board transferred the last regular classes out of Cartierville to Parkdale elementary, very different from our old Cartierville! Carterville was to become the first experimental grade 7 French immersion school.
So much of living in this area was magical. Things have changed dramatically since then. Children don’t roam freely the way we did, and don’t encounter nature on a face-to-face basis daily anymore. Thinking then again, I guess they don’t encounter the dangers that inherently went with those discovery behaviours we had . We played under the Hydro lines that run parallel to the CN tracks and in the lumberyard just beyond where no one ever chased us away ! We rode our bicycles through virtually deserted territory from Somerset to Noel park to swim on those dog days of summer for $.10 cents a day and we even had a locker included. We went to church across the street from school …. The Church of the Good Shepherd still stands but belongs to some other community organization now. We bought penny candy at the depaneur on Cousineau or the one across Gouin Boulevard.
It would be glorious to get inside that building once again !
[End of text from Janet]
Additional recent posts about Marlborough Golf Club and related topics
I’ve also recently posted another item related to Cartierville School and the Marlborough Golf club:
Some other recent posts, which I’ve picked at random, related to Cartierville School include:
Bob Carswell shares a back story regarding Saraguay, Quebec as a Nature Park
Ulrich Laska has added a comment to our forum about Cartierville School
Thank you!
We owe thanks to each person who has added to comments at the history portal/forum that we have worked together to create, with regard to the history of Cartierville School and the history of the surrounding communities.
1960s documentaries
By way of an additional update, I’ve posted a recent item about two evocative and memorable documentaries about the 1960s:
1960s-era documentary films by the Maysles brothers and The Meaning of Human Existence (2014)
Janet’s post is the first mention of Cartierville being the test French Immersion School.I was in that 1st test year and am desperately trying to find information about it during this time, to try and reconnect with my class mates. Itwas the best year of my life. The following year was the worst of my life as my parents moved us to England, from where they had emigrated to Canada in 1956 (I’ve left a post on another page here and think I said 1953, not that it matters 🙂 )