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The <strong>School</strong> Ghost Rings the Bell on Halloween<br />
John Donaldson recalled a funny incident from that year. The new town police chief,<br />
determined to flex his authority, visited the school <strong>and</strong> told the older students there<br />
would be no ringing the bell that Halloween. It ain’t gonna happen on my beat!<br />
He should have known better! On Halloween Day, a group of students arranged a<br />
surprise school fire drill. As teachers <strong>and</strong> students filed out in orderly fashion, a nylon<br />
fish line was attached to the clapper, <strong>and</strong> later that afternoon [when most folks had gone<br />
home] the line was lowered over the side of the school <strong>and</strong> tied surreptitiously to a tree.<br />
At midnight…a crowd gathered at school…the word had got out…the school bell rang.<br />
The police chief was ready. Within a minute the school was surrounded…no escape…<br />
<strong>and</strong> Timmy Langille was dispatched to bring the culprit down to the large audience.<br />
An amazed Timmy-you could see his flashlight as he had searched the buildingleaned<br />
over the edge of the tower <strong>and</strong> shouted that there was no one there. Barely<br />
were the words out of his mouth, than the bell rang again…<br />
A startled <strong>and</strong> horrified Timmy ran for it <strong>and</strong> left the building in record time, pursued,<br />
in his mind, by the fiends that haunted the tower.<br />
H. V. Corkum Is Offered The Principalship<br />
The school board was desperate to find a well qualified principal who would stay for<br />
more than a year or two. At the March 21st 1956 school board meeting, the minutes<br />
record,…‘Mr. H. V. Corkum was called by telephone <strong>and</strong> offered the position of<br />
principal. Mr. Corkum asked for a few days to consider.’ He turned the offer down.<br />
The offer was a well kept secret. But the school board lucked out. A new immigrant<br />
became principal.<br />
An “Aussie” Becomes <strong>School</strong> Principal:<br />
Patrick Mason, 1956-8<br />
Mr. Mason, newly arrived via London, Engl<strong>and</strong>, from his native Australia was to be an<br />
immensely popular teacher <strong>and</strong> administrator. Betty Walsh, who experienced some eight<br />
principals during her teaching career at the school, remembered<br />
he kept good discipline with humour. He was a favourite of<br />
Marilyn Millett’s. He entertained the staff with stories of his<br />
experiences of teaching in the tough schools of London. He<br />
did not mind looking after classes for teachers who were called<br />
away. Once when Betty returned to her room, he had been<br />
entertaining the students with sounds of Australia. There were<br />
fits of appreciative laughter at his imitation of the laughing<br />
jackass sound of the kookaburra.<br />
The 1956-57 yearbook printed Verlene Jeanette Veinotte’s<br />
poem, dedicated<br />
to him.<br />
1956-7 was also the last year for grade 12, until its restoration<br />
in 1962-3.<br />
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