SCHOOL DAYS -

Also from the book 'Sound of the Cockies' by Bill and Jenny Bunbury comes the following description of how some farm kids used to get to and from school.

Here are some excerpts that explain how things were done:

“We had to set the stove’s fire before we went to bed, except on Saturday night, then put a match to the kindling and paper before going to do our chores. It didn’t take long for the two big black kettles to boil to make the wheat-meal porridge. The wheat was put through a hand grinder. It was made by the one who didn’t help wash up. We’d put a few cups of wheat through the grinder and put it in a pot to soak for breakfast.”

“We had it pretty tough. We had to go and catch our horse every morning and harness it to the cart.”

“We had a five-mile trek. Some pupils had to go seven miles. That was about the limit with a horse and cart. You not only had to get there but get there on time and it’s not easy on a cold frosty morning.”

“When we got to school we’d take the horse out of the sulky and tie it to a tree. Each one had its own tree and we’d have to take feed in for the horse. You fed it with hay or chaff. At lunchtime there was a race down to the government well to give the horses a drink. We’d have to put them back in the sulky to do that and take them out again when we got back to school. You’d have your lunch and then go back to class. Then after school you’d put your horse back in the sulky again and there’d be a race to see who could get around the town first and over the railway line.”

“And when we came home from school we had to take the horse out of the sulky, let it go and feed it and then come home. If my mother had a heavy day or a washing day, I’d have to wash the dishes.”

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