Mahone Bay Old School_A Life and Times_Bob Sayer

Margaret Freeman-Kedy Retires, 1977
A bouquet of roses from the grade 11 class, an engraved silver tray from the
Board and golf clubs from the teachers
She taught in the 1920s and the 1970s
The popular Mrs. Kedy had an extraordinary teaching career. She taught two totally
different generations. She had gone to the new Mahone school in 1914 as a six year
old, was strapped by Blanch Oxner in grade VI for deliberately breaking her desk
mate’s [Louise Bruhm] pencil point, and went straight from grade 11 to teaching in
Blandford [one room with pot belly stove] in 1925, then went to Teacher College in
Truro.
As a young woman she had been a regular on H.V. Corkum’s staff of the 1930s. In
1939 she resigned to get married and raise a family, two daughters-Mary Elizabeth
and Carolyn. She was coaxed out of retirement in 1960 when teachers were hard to
get and good retired teachers were desperately needed.
In her perceptive, honest and charming autobiographical notes, she wrote, ‘I decided
to go back to teaching as “Bups” [her husband] was not very well…I did some
substituting the previous year…was accepted for grades V and VI in September 1960.
After two years, I was transferred to grade VII…I enjoyed teaching but had a few
problems [but don’t we all]...I liked the students very much…I remained in grade VII
for fifteen years, retiring in June 1977 ….I received many lovely gifts from the students
including a bouquet of roses from the grade XI class…The School Board presented
me with a beautiful engraved silver tray…the teachers gave me a set of golf clubs…so
I started to learn to play and I thoroughly enjoy the game…’ [ author’s note: the
Freemans were good athletes].
Photos: Courtesy Mary Elizabeth and Carolyn Kedy
184
Home and School’s Other Triumph: The Building of the School Field
The School Field had been bought from farmer Westhaver by the Town in the mid
1930s It was H.V. Corkum’s dream to have it developed into a true sports field.
But over the years only bits and pieces of work were done. By the early 1970s, the
field was still poorly drained, with areas of swamp and areas of hard rock or rubble.
It had only patches of grass surface and was very uneven. There was a jumping pit,
used for practice. The school had abandoned soccer: the field was too rough and the
outfield at the ball park too small. Even track practice was dangerous on the school
field and it couldn’t be used for physical education classes.
Three Years of Pressure from Home and School, 1974-77
The Home and School Association, led by president Barb Stevens and secretary
Roberta Douglas, with informed support from this writer, Dr. David Dowse and his wife
Heather and Al Leslie [the last four had good soccer knowledge from their European
background, had children in school and wanted a soccer programme], had motions
passed and presented to Town Councilors and School Board members.
• Fighting Words. A start was made in 1974. In 1975 the Home and School asked
the Town to ‘create a Recreation Committee so that provincial
grants may be obtained, and, hopefully the playing field
completed at the earliest possible date…it seems a great pity
to have the partly finished field lying useless, and deteriorating
with each week that passes.’
• The Recreation Committee was formed with Bob Sayer,
the Home and School rep., Rev. Bill Dye, Bobby Mader and the
Whynott brothers, Robert and Johnny.
• The Architect and The Builder: Darryl Spidle and
Johnny Whynott John Wynott, the town council rep. on
the Committee took the project and ran with it. Without him it
would never have been completed. He had access to all the town
equipment and ensured it was made available. His business was
in excavation. He had his own backhoe and truck. He got good
prices or gifts on fill and soil from contacts, like Merryl Langille.
He got his son-in-law, surveyor Darryl Spidle, to donate his time
in surveying and drawing up the plans, particularly for the vital
drainage. They were presented, and approved by council.
• Drainage pipes were laid, there was a huge amount of filling and
levelling, then topsoil and seeding. Johnny personally supervised
the work and built a roller out of a 500 gallon tank that could be
filled with water. The field was ready for the summer of 1978.
The field was immediately used extensively by both school and
community. The school now had a large, grassy, safe play area for
recess and noon hour. Many spring and summer physical education
classes were outside. Soccer became a major school and town
sport, and the field was used for ball and track and field practice.