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SOUTH PELHAM SCHOOL – NO. 6 PELHAM TOWNSHIP
[Pelham Historical calendar 1979]
South Pelham School, though replaced by a modern building, remains a clear memory to former pupils, among them, Mildred Lundy, later Mrs. Harry Harrison. She began her schooling here, when Miss Jessie Farr was the teacher. She was the daughter of E.W. Farr, and later became the wife of Dr. Clair Misener of Ottawa. Mrs. Harrison’s parents. Frank and Eleanor (Page) Lundy and her grandfather, John Kilman Page, also attended this school.
Mrs. Harrison has the original of this lease:
“1850 from Albert Renner to the trustees of School No. 6 in the township of Pelham, site for Schoolhouse on part of Lot 16, Concession 12, of said Township (Pelham) signed D. Deverardo, Conveyancer, Fonthill.
Teaching school was active in this area much earlier, for this receipt is in existance:- “Received from the trustees of School Section No. 6, in the township of Pelham, the sum of five pounds, ten shillings currency, in payment in full for the quarter ending the 22nd day of September, 1849.
Eliza F. Disher, Teacher.”
In 1861, it was stated that the payment in this school, for a “legally qualified teacher,” was to be “Ninety cents per day.” This was signed by Jacob Moore, S.W. Cant, Peter Beckett, Trustees and Sehin Thompson, Teacher. A School Notice of the Annual Meeting to be held at the schoolhouse, on the 2nd Wednesday in January, 1867, was sent out and signed by Peter Beckett and Peter Grant, Trustees. There was an added personal note by Peter Grant, “Ma wanted me to write you that we have a baby, and we call him Peter Muir. He is now five months old.
On Feb. 2, 1874, a letter was sent from the Clerk’s office, “Tp. Pelham, Ridegeville,” to Peter Grant Esq., Sec. Treas. Un, S.S. No. 6 Pelham, stating that “the half-yearly apportionment of the Pelham Clergy Reserves Fund for the half-year ending 31st December, 1873 has been placed to the credit of that School Section.” It amounted to thirty-one dollars! There was also the admonition that the money was only to be used to pay the teacher’s salary.
In 1874, the Journal of Education issued this statement: “Every child, from the age of 7-12 yr. Inclusive shall have the right to attend some school or be otherwise educated for four months of every year.” We have come a long way from that, but these little schools laid the foundation for Canada’s progress.
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William Hamilton Merritt, builder of the Welland Canal 150 years ago, visited the Town of Pelham Tuesday to sign the guest book and visit two local schools to explain the circumstances surrounding the canal construction to students. When signing the guest book, supervised by Ald. Mary Lamb, Mr. Merritt wondered how a modern contraption like a ballpoint pen could be called a pen and could write, for he did not have to dip it into an inkwell and no ink flowed from it. He was afraid the thing would smudge the book. But it didn’t. Mr. Merritt is played by actor-playwright Dave MacKenzie of Ridgeville