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January 1994 WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICALSOCIETY Page 5 COMING EVENTS THURSDAY, JANUARY 27 at 7:00 pm WEST VANCOUVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY -GENERAL MEETING - In the Auditoriiun of the Cedardale Centre, 595 Burley Drive, Off Taylor Way DATE OF FOLLOWING MEETING: Our Annual General Meeting Thursday, March 24,1994 FEBRUARY 7, 9, 14 & 16, 1994 - 1-4 pm NORTH SHORE CONTINUING EDUCATION LUCAS CENTRE - 2132 HamiUon Ave., N. Van. "Exploring Museums - Our Past, Your Future” - For volunteers interested in working with the North & West Vancouver Museums. __________For Details See Item on Page 3________^ Memories of Hollyburn School By: Barbara Johnson, (Hadwin) Today, on the 24th of November, 1993,1 am walking in the door of my school, “HoUybum” which is celebrating its 80th birthday. I feel a very different person from the shy little girl, 6 years old, who entered the school seventy three years ago, clinging to my mother’s hand, terrified of this new life I was entering. Only a few hours previously I had been forced into my black skirt and red sweater, after Mum had made sure my long black stockings were pulled up snugly and fastened to my garter belt My button boots brought me to tears. How could I learn to use that button hook? My long curls had been carefully rolled around my mother’s fingers and my face checked for breakfast milk and crumbs. Then we started out to walk to school. We lived at 11th and Inglewood at that time, the only house in the area. A very few others, shacks mostly, were hidden among the trees in the surrounding blocks. I said a prolonged farewell to our goat Minnie; I wondered if I would ever see her again and seized Mum’s hand. She pushed my baby sister in her buggy as we walked along Inglewood, difficult pushing because the planks laid crosswise on the road were rotting badly after their long usage connecting the mills at 17th and Inglewood with the mills at 9th and 3rd on Mathers. Only recently I had tripped over a protruding piece of lumber as I ran to meet my Dad returning home from work and got a huge slash on my shin. “You’ll make lots of new friends,” my Mum assured me as we struggled along. It was true that there were no children to play with near us. My brother, being six years older, ignored me. I was alone in my new venture. At 13th and Inglewood we stopped and talked to a woman Mum had met on her hike up from Marine Drive with groceries. We did have milk delivery in those days. We had to buy milk because my brother Tom and I absolutely refused to drink goat’s milk. Our bread was delivered in a wheeled cart pulled by a gentle old horse. The rest of the groceries were carried home in Mum or Dad’s arms. Dad bought all the specials at Woodwards on 950 day, brought them over on the “Doncella” and up the hill. On this day in 1920 we turned down 13th Street which was lined on both sides with houses all the way down to Esquimalt Avenue, my feet dragging with dread in every step. I didn’t realize that West Vancouver had only been incorporated in 1912 and my school of two rooms, the first school in West Vancouver, only built the year after. Since then the population had increased and an annex had been added to the north east side. Mother pulled toward the annex. I was left alone with my teacher Miss Moore and aU those noisy children, some crying. I was taken to my Little desk which had a strange hole in it. Later I was to discover that an inkwell would fit in the hole. I was too nervous to take in the old “air tight” heater in the rear of the room, though later through the winter I would appreciate its warmth and dry my wet mitts and coat on a line teacher provided near it Chilblains were a common complaint at that time. Recess bell sounded at last and I ran for home. I knew I shouldn’t I had been forewarned, but I went anyway and hid under our back porch. Mum saw me and herded me back too school after lunch. I guess I must have weathered those first weeks somehow. I made some new friends, and learned the intricacies of Hop Scotch and Skipping. “Two little blackbirds, sitting on a waU” became an enticing lure to enter the whirling ropes. Lots of trees surrounded the school and we climbed them happily at recess and played wonderful imaginative games on the stumps. Little boys sailed boats in the small creek on the grounds. I found I was actually happy at school and was beginning to take in what the teacher was saying and realizing the words were meant for me. After school we played “ant-anti-I-over”, throwing a ball over the annex roof. A sudden change occurred in Grade 4. The School Board decided to hold High School in Hollyburn and our class was sent to Pauline Johnson School on 22nd Street What an upset of loyalties! We at Hollyburn had always been violent opponents of Pauline Johnson in sports. Now I was forced to become one of the hated “Them”. Which side did I cheer for? My HoUybum Principal, Mr. Brealey, became principal at Pauline Johnson so we had to accept his orders and “Go Straight” as his motto advised, no matter how divided our feelings. Twice more for Grades 6 and 7 I had to make this switch. Our class must have been a real mixed-up bunch! Continued on Page 7