Mahone Bay Old School_A Life and Times_Bob Sayer

Canada’ by John B. Calkin, M.A., published by Nelson in 1908] can be seen
below.
• It includes the idle ditty about ‘Oh my how the money rolls in.’ The
text would horrify twenty-first century students. Its chapters are packed
with tightly knit facts, with no diversions. At the end of each chapter are
‘Questions For Further Study.’ They were clearly used for tests, and needed
memorization and regurgitation. Predicable but boring!
• Old Fashioned Grammar ‘The Elementary English Grammar’ by D.J. Coggin
M.A., D.C.L, published by Gage, would bring many modern day students
to the verge of tears. It expounds the rules of grammar and has hundreds
of exercises to practice the rules. Clyde’s notes on the verb matching its
subject, and the exercise on adjectives, adverbs and modifiers would be
foreign language at 2006 schools.
• Try them out on your children or grandchildren:
• Fred Mosher tells us about Clyde. He did not follow the family business.
‘After school Clyde went to Amherst and opened an Insurance Business.’
• His good grammar would have been a great help. As a young man he
learned electrical and power installations and worked for local and provincial
power corporations. He was a keen artist and sailor.
Mahone School: A Leader in Rural Science
The Rural Science Movement: The Buzz, Mr. DeWolfe, the Exhibitions.
The Buzz Rural Science was the new development, the cutting edge in
1913/14/15. The provincial superintendent, regional inspectors, principals
and teachers referred to it as ‘The Rural Science Movement.’
• The Provincial Department of Education was promoting it aggressively.
Additional grants were paid to teachers who majored in Rural Science at
Normal College, or who completed courses at summer schools.
L. A. DeWolfe
• The Director of Rural Science School at Truro was Prof. L. A. DeWolfe
He had the staff and plant and general resources of the Agricultural College
and Normal School at his disposal.
Content, Focus and Staff Involved
• Teachers chose from a number of elective courses: nature study, botany,
chemistry, soil physics, biology, horticulture, physics, entomology, bird study,
biology, bacteriology, agriculture, plant diseases
• The focus was hands-on: develop school gardens, beautify school grounds, and, in
the class rooms: study insects, birds and crops; grow flowers and vegetables, collect
and study actual specimens; study farming and cattle, pig and poultry raising.
• Pearl Keddy, Alice Veinotte, Jesse Dauphinee and Lois Kennedy [the lastnamed
left the school in the summer of 1914] took the summer courses. The
first two both received Rural Science Grants for outstanding achievements.
Mahone Bay School’s Rural Science Exhibition, September 1914
The first major item on the new school’s agenda was the Exhibition.
Students and teachers had been preparing since the spring.
• The Progress Enterprise, Wednesday, September 30 1914 gave unstinting
praise to the Exhibition, held at the Parish Hall.
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