OUR SCHOOL BEING AUCTIONED TODAY

Breaking News:

Just learned that the Blyth School was sold at auction for $210,000. I have no word as to who bought it.
==============================================

Today an on site auction is taking place to mark the end of over 150 years of education provided in our community of Blyth, Ontario.

Our school is being sacrificed to help pay for a new monster school which will actually not be completed for the next school year. The new school will be known as the Maitland River Elementary School . Although only a portion of our children will be attending this school; most will be bused south to the tiny village of Londesborough which is in the next municipality. Some classes will apparently be relegated to portables.

The decision to close our only school was taken by the Avon Maitland District School Board on which we have no active representation. School board members tend to support their own community and ignore all the others. The board is best described as a group of money-grubbing leeches.

The whole exercise began several years ago to address the issue of declining enrollment in our schools. The decision to build a monster school (24-rooms) in the midst of a situation which apparently already had too many schools and too few children, seems to defy logic.

Turns out that in this particular adventure, declining enrollments were not the issue at all. Board members from Huron County felt that since Perth County got a new school last year, their county should get a new school this year. Thus a completely unnecessary school is being built in Wingham as a multi-million dollar monument to a handful of school board members who really represent no one but themselves.

The board steals our school grabs the money and leaves the property up to chance as to whether the highest bidder will use the property for the betterment of this community or its degradation.

Remember when we used to refer to school board members as "trustees"?  

Brock Vodden

A Musical Joke

French Horn

I just learned that the French Horn is considered by many musicians to be one of the most difficult instruments to play - especially to play well.


Why is the French Horn known as the Divine Instrument?



Answer: A person blows in one end, and only God knows what sound is going to come out of the other end.

A little wisdom I picked up from the CBC Radio 2. Thank goodness for the CBC radio service giving us real music to listen to in Huron County.

A QUESTION FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS - AND OTHERS

Teaching of English Literature: WHAT ARE THE GOALS?

Many years ago i was a secondary school English teacher. Over a number of summers, I took graduate courses on a variety of education topics towards qualifying for the Master of education degree which I obtained in 1969.

One of the studies I undertook was to answer a question that had bothered me for some time.

"Are the official purposes of the teaching of English Literature in sync with the methodology and achievement measures employed by teachers and schools?"

I gathered what was said about the teaching of English Literature in the curriculum guidelines presented by the Ministry of Education of the time, along with various curriculum overviews prepared by secondary schools, along with a number of other official and semi-official publications available at the time in the mid 1960s. This collection, for the purposes of my study was the apparent objective of English Literature instruction in the secondary schools of Ontario at that time:

The following is my best attempt at remembering  the stated official purposes of English Lit.

The purpose of the English Literature program in our secondary schools is to help people achieve the following: developing in students the ability and the desire to appreciate and understand good literature; the development of good taste in literature; to develop in young people the habit of being lifelong readers who remain aware of all aspects of their world.

I interviewed a number of English Lit teachers to determine their instructional strategies and methods.

I also collected English Lit. curriculum descriptions from several schools, along with the English Lit. examinations, tests, and project assignments from teachers.

I also surveyed a large number of students from Grades 11 to 13 asking them to indicate what they felt were the main purposes behind the teaching of English Literature

What I discovered, in brief, was a very strong relationship between what the official Ministry pronouncements were on the purposes behind English Literature and the general statements by the school and the teachers as to their aims in English Lit.

However, there was a very distinct difference between all of that and the student perceptions of the subject's purposes, There was a similar disconnect between the stated purpose and the apparent objectives behind teaching practices and the examination contents.  The students seemed to draw their clues as to the purpose of  English Lit. from their exposure to examinations in the subject, rather than from general course or curriculum descriptions. They knew that their overall achievement was measured by their recall of teacher's valuation of the material studied, rote memory of content, names, arguments contained in the material studied. In other words, their ability to answer questions based on the opinions expressed by, or approved by, the teacher during the course, was the end goal of these courses.

At that time, I discovered a very inciteful two-volume book entitled "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives".

Volume One deals with the Cognitive Domain. Volume Two deals with the Affective Domain.

Published in 1956, this book is still regarded by many educators as the most influential book on the field education of all time. It should be read by teachers, instructors, educators of all types. the volumes are still available after more that 50 years. It helps to clarify what is meant by educational objectives by expressing them in terms of the intended  behavioural outcomes of students.

In this instance, it is helpful for English Literature teachers to re-think their goals and objectives as a basis for their curriculum design and as a means ot re-thinking what goals and objectives they are trying to develop or encourage in their students.

Brock Vodden

THE THEFT OF OUR BLYTH SCHOOL

Scene of the Crime

 The closing of Blyth Public School is a tragic affair, but it is the outcome of years of incompetent management by the Avon Maitland School Board, incompetent governance by the Ministry of Education under both the previous PC government and the current Liberal government. Mike Harris started the decline and Dalton McGuinty is working hard to outdo him.

The decline of public education in Huron County has been augmented by the increased involvement of faith-based education systems which have grown as a result of the loss of confidence many families have felt towards the public system as it exists in this county.

Public education, in my view, is the ideal basis for developing a solid, tolerant, fair, and progressive society. The fragmentation of education which has increased dramatically in recent decades, while consistent with legislation, has done a great deal of harm to our education system.

The sign announcing the coming auction.

Part of the problems stem from the progression of amalgamations of school boards from community-based boards to county boards to a two-county board, Avon Maitland District Board of Education, which covers both Huron and Perth counties: covers, but serves poorly. The effect of the enlarged "area of administration" has been that board members have lost all meaningful contact with most of the communities for which they are responsible. And the result of that is that communities like Blyth, Brussels, and Zurich have no representation at all. As that process plays itself out, board members end up representing no one but themselves and most citizens within the two counties have no one tending to their concerns, needs, interests, or welfare. Accountability to the people and community connection are diluted to the point of being undetectable.

At the same time, as elected boards lose touch with their constituencies the entire focus of power and decision-making falls to the senior staff of the school board, the Director of Education, and the various Superintendents and Managers. The system then is controlled by people who are unaccountable to the people of the counties.

Blyth Public School on the market

This situation is a complete denial of the fundamental principles of public education. It could be rendered tolerable if the elected board members have the capacity to value and respond to their entire constituency, and the administrators have the competency, wisdom and the ethical foundation to provide a sound and effective public education system.

Unfortunately, in our case, we have been unlucky on both counts with the quality of most board members and of administrators. The people of Huron County have been short-changed in terms of both governance and operations. We have been routinely misinformed about what it happening and why. Administration officials have become spin doctors as opposed to responsible public servants. Board members have to rely on sound bites provided by their hirelings.

The entire scenario related to school closures and the construction of the Maitland River Elementary School makes absolutely no sense from either an educational or fiscal point of view. The only explanation that makes any sense is that the board's primary and only goal was to build a large new school to serve as a monument to the present and recent board members and to create a symmetry with the new school recently opened in the Perth County side of the area (St. Marys). Several schools, including Blyth and East Wawanosh are being sacrificed to "justify" that multi-million dollar adventure.

A question that is still being asked is why the Blyth school is being closed while the Hullett Central School in Londesborough remains open. Also, why are the schools being closed even though the new school will not be completed for a year or more. The answer is MONEY.

Blyth school is considered to have greater real estate value than the Londesborough location. So Blyth loses because it has a slightly higher real estate value and therefor subject of a cash grab. The rush to close schools is simply a matter of getting the cash as quickly as possible to help pay for the Wingham monument.

The school board and its officials continually trot out the phrase "It's all for the children" to try to explain their bizarre actions and to cover up the unexplainable. That won't work in this case.

The salient actions of Avon Maitland DSB have nothing whatsoever to do with the children or with education quality. It's all about the names that will be on the plaque in the new school.

So Blyth Public School has been stolen from this community. Blyth cannot afford this loss. And the school board does not care because they do not represent us.

Blyth will survive as it always has through times of change.

Perhaps one of the long term benefits of this period of neglect and abuse by AMDSB will be that in the next election of 2014 we will take a lot more care to see that we have responsible candidates for school board positions and our votes will be determined by much more cogent thought than the last time.

Blyth Main Street circa 1910

Queen Street at King looking to the north

This is one of my favourite pictures of Blyth's main street.

The nearest building on the left is the former George Radford Construction building, but was a livery stable in the olden days. It was also home to Doc Perdue's veterinarian services. The store next to this building was a harness shop operated by a Mr. Carter. His wife had a dressmaker business on the second floor of this building.

Just past this block there is a mysterious, small wooden box-like structure which has a sloped top. It is just to the left of the sidewalk and appears to be raised a few inches from the ground. I have never been able to identify what this item is.

On the right-hand side of the picture in the foreground is the Queen's Hotel, operated at this time by the Mason Brothers.

The brick building next door is a house built by William Johnston, who operated a livery stable next door. We believe the person beside the stage coach is the driver of the Clinton-Wingham stage either hitching up as fresh team or unhitching the team to be replaced.

Note the sidewalks crossing the street to help the ladies keep their long skirts out of the mud. (Also to protect the men's boots?)

WE NEED THE OMBUDSMAN TO CONTROL OUR SCHOOL BOARD

WHEN WILL THE ONTARIO OMBUDSMAN BE ALLOWED TO INVESTIGATE SCHOOL BOARDS?

The people of Blyth did everything within their power to prevent the closure of their school. We lost the battle, but the field on which we fought was not a level one.

Avon Maitland District School Board, despite the fact that they had  major control advantages, violated many of the rules that could have made the contest somewhat more fair. Blyth was not fairly represented, ARC meetings were not properly advertised, the board did not recruit proper representatives. 

Unfortunately, the board's records have whitewashed the entire process. When I lodged a complaint to the Ontario Ombudsman I knew that he would not be allowed to investigate the school board, so my complaint went to the Ministry of Education, which is fair game for the Ombudsman's investigative powers.

The reply that I received from the ministry was based entirely on the Avon Maitland false and misleading reports. While that was quite frustrating, I realize now that even if the OO had found the ministry at fault, that would not change AMDSB's decision since the Education Act gives them the absolute power to close any school they choose regardless of how egregious the decision might be.

A truly representative school board would have asked the question: "Can Blyth afford to lose its only school?" The same would apply to Brussels and Zurich schools.

Apparently the perfidy of this board did not end with unnecessary closure of schools and the wasteful spending of undetermined millions spent on a totally unnecessary new school. There are rumours from reliable sources that $200,000 has been given to a couple (both retired school principals on full pension) to sort out, organize and dispense with all the movable assets from the closed schools.

Further evidence of the inability of this board's administration to plan for the near future has been noted. In the normal K to 8 schools, during the winter months, older children are always on hand to help the little ones to deal with their winter clothing and footwear at the beginning and ending of the school day. With the Turnberry "Campus" being totally dedicated to K-1 children, there will be no one but a handful of teachers to help with these duties.

A large portion of your tax dollars are going to pay the salaries of those who make decisions like that, and who seem to do everything they can think of to disadvantage places like Blyth, Brussels, and Zurich.

The Ontario Ombudsman, André Marin, has been actively pressing the Ontario government to allow his office to investigate the so-called "MUSH" group: municipalities, universities, schools, and hospitals. The pressure is mounting from the thousands of people who, like us, have legitimate complaints about errors, decisions, and bad policies of public service organizations.

It is a matter of justice and fairness for all citizens.

Brock Vodden

Insensitive Wingham Advertising

The people of Blyth who happened to be listening to "The One" radio station on a recent Thursday morning heard the following announcement:

"There are so many reasons to visit Wingham! Come and see all that it has to offer! 
Including the new public school, the terrific sports complex and the fantastic services offered at the High School and hospital!
Wingham is a wonderful place to start a business or locate your family! Take the short trip today and shop around main street.
You can win thousands of dollars in cash and prizes just by shopping!
Fill your "Dig our Town" passport to take part! More details online at www.northhuron.ca"

The fact that the North Huron website is referred to suggests that this ad came from our municipal office, and paid for with North Huron taxes.

It turns out that this message was crafted by someone in CKNX who is in charge of communication from the Wingham Business Alliance. That "someone"obviously has the sensitivity of a rhinoceros.

Here we are in Blyth mourning the loss of our only school and wondering how we are going to attract and retain young families. Then along comes this announcement which uses this utterly unjustifiable monster school to lure young families away from here. That is rubbing salt into a very deep wound.

The other attraction is the "terrific sports complex". This is an extravagance pretty much forced on the former town of Wingham by an overly optimistic manufacturer, and overly optimistic business people of Wingham. All three wards contribute to the operations of the complex, although only Wingham residents contribute to the debt for it.


Brock Vodden

BLYTH FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

A view of Dinsley Street from the Roof of Industry Hall

On the left side of this early 1900 photo you see part of the cement block structure of the current Blyth Inn. There are two attached frame structures and then a livery stable. This livery stable was later replaced by another structure at the north east corner of the property. At the eastern edge of the property we see an open shed. This is where guests could tie up their horse and store their buggy. This building remained standing. though unused. until about 1950.

In the right foreground we see the McKinnon & Co. sign. This is the same building that is now occupied by the Gift Cupboard. The second storey of McKinnon's store housed their millinery department.

In the distance on the left side of the photo, we can see St. Michael's Catholic Church which still had its spire. We can also see St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church near the centre background. This church in 1925  became a United Church of Canada. At the same time, the Queen Street Methodist Church became a United Church as well and for several years there were two United Churches in the village. Eventually the two congregations joined together in the former Presbyterian Church, and the continuing Presbyterians purchased  the Queen Street Church which is now home to the Blyth Christian Reform Church.

Brock Vodden

A Stunning Picture of Blyth Comes to Light!

Queen Street Blyth  circa 1907

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL DELIVERY

Near midnight on July 17, 2012, I received an email from an unknown person. The message was simply "Please share this image!"  Attached to the email was a thumbnail image. When the full image appeared I could barely believe my eyes. It was the above picture of the business block between the current location of the CIBC and the Blyth Inn. In the faded distance you can see a bit of the Gift Cupboard.

I replied immediately to the sender, asking him how he expected me to get back to sleep after getting this wonderful but mysterious image. The picture was taken no earlier than 1906 when the hotel was built. The awning on the foreground store indicates "Gerry Hardware". We know that Mr. Gerry sold this business in 1908 but the new owner may not have changed the awning right away.  A good guess would be that the picture was taken around 1907 but it could be slightly later.

The first two stores in the foreground no longer exist. They stood in the gap between the CIBC and Sharon's Miniature Museum. They were completely razed in 1936 when they were both occupied as Munro's Hardware.

I am not sure what business was in the second shop, but the number 3 was the private bank of James McMurchie, and in number 4 was Frank Metcalfe's store. Frank was an entrepreneur with many interests. He was a jeweller, watchmaker, CPR ticket salesperson, telegram agent, book seller. He was also managing director of the Ontario Apple Growers Association. For many years he was one of the most active leaders in the Blyth Fall Fair Board. These two stores are in 2012 occupied by Sharon's Miniature Museum.

The fifth store was Bender's clothing store operated by Ezra Bender. We have close-up pictures of Bender's very attractive window displays. That store was completely gutted in 1929. We acquired pictures from the Huron County Museum showing that store before and after the fire.

The next building is known as the Milne Block. This was the office of Dr. W.J. Milne and he also had a drug store located at the from of the building. Dr. Milne's career was all, or nearly all, in Blyth. He also served as councillor and reeve for many terms and was from time to time Huron County coroner.

At the right side of the picture you can see the faint image of what was known at the time as the Commercial Hotel, but now is called the Blyth Inn. It was built in 1906 to replace an older frame hotel which occupied much the same footprint.

We are so pleased that so many people contribute treasured pictures like this one to the Repository of Blyth History as we call our collection.

HOW DID THIS IMAGE AT THE TOP GET SENT TO ME?

The picture came to me from a post card collector and dealer who lives, I believe, in Michigan. I don't know where he acquired the picture, but it is a really special type of post card. It was produced photographically directly from the negative. It had the names of two people on the back but with no addresses showing. (It had never been mailed anywhere.) The dealer recognized that the paper on which the card was printed had been produced for the Canadian Market. He sent an image of the card to a local (Michigan) Historical Society for identification. They sent it to the Ontario Historical Society in Toronto since they thought the location depicted might be in Ontario. The OHS sent the image to the Toronto Postcard Club, and someone in that club matched the image to other images on this Blog, "All About Blyth", and passed my email reference back to the owner of the card. 

I alerted a local post card collector who has since purchased the actual physical card from the dealer.

The Internet has been around for a long time, but it still continues to amaze.

Brock Vodden

SAGE'S HOTEL IN WALTON

Sage's Hotel in Walton circa 1905

Now known as the Walton Inn

This is an interesting picture given to us by Bill Emigh of Victoria, B.C. This picture was taken during the construction of the CPR railway Guelph to Goderich line. Bill also provided us with information about the people in the picture.

The pair in the buggy at the left side are Bill's great grandfather, Jonathan Emigh and his daughter, Miss Allie. Jonathan built the Commercial Hotel in Blyth (now the Blyth Inn) in 1906 and was for many years before and after a leading contributor to the business and general life of Blyth. He was also the first fire chief of Blyth.

The family standing at the entrance is that of William Emigh, son of Jonathan, who was proprietor of the hotel at this time. Bill Emigh's father is the babe in the high chair.

The workmen to the right of the entrance are part of the crew working at the railway construction taking place in the Walton area at the time. The buggy owners on the right of the scene are curious Blythites who have come to Walton to see how the CPR construction is proceeding.

The newspapers of the time show how high the expectations are for this new transportation link. Blyth will become a two-railway town, which in those days was seen as very positive development. The north south line, the London, Huron & Bruce line had operated since 1876.

The Sage family had operated this Hotel for a number of years. Mr Sage died quite young and his wife continued to operate the business with the help of her daughters and one son. This family offered entertainment with their considerable musical talent. We have collected a great deal of information about the Sage family - all included in the Repository of Blyth History.

SCHOOL BOARD GONE UNDERGROUND?

AVON MAITLAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD SEEMS TO BE IN HIDING

If the Board is cowering in shame over the damage they have committed over the past few months, no one should be much surprised. They may have locked the door of their communications department to prevent further embarrassment of issuing misleading information to the public.

Normally, you would think that during a time when they are in the process of building a monster school in Wingham, they would be proudly announcing every construction milestone as it is reached. But these are not
normal times. The Maitland River Elementary School provides no noble purpose about which to toot the horn. More of a monument to current board members than a needed educational resource, it stand out as a physical reminder of government waste. In its wake lie several communities stripped of their educational heart and soul. AMDSB is no doubt thinking it wiser to lay low and hope that the injured parties get used to being whipped by the people they once thought were their representatives on the school board.

Whatever is behind the lengthy hiatus, we can only worry that they are using this time to dream up further ways to attack small communities throughout their two county domain. When we consider all the adverse decisions that have emerged from this administration, it seems obvious that they much have spent a great deal of time in closed meetings plotting each of these moves. It is to be hoped that the Ontario Ombudsman will continue to investigate such activities in public bodies to ensure that the public have access to the information about the conduct of public business.

Brock Vodden

BLYTH LIONS' CLUB BOYS AND GIRLS BAND

Saturday, July 28

Blyth Lions Club Boys and Girls Band

This afternoon I've been browsing through the Blyth Standards of the 1940s, in connection with one of our research projects. As often happens, the search has turned up some interesting facts that have nothing to do with what I was looking for.

Almost every issue of our old local paper in that time period has one or more front page items about the Blyth Lions' Club Boys' & Girls' Band. The articles included reviews of recent concerts, articles about upcoming band events, stories about band members who were competing in music festivals in nearby or distant communities. 

The Boys' and Girls' Band consisted of about 45 to 50  Blyth and area young people - mostly in their teens - who came out regularly to band practices and were prepared to get all dressed up in their spiffy uniforms to take part in band tattoos, concerts, parades, church services, fall fairs, etc.  They played a wide variety of musical styles - including some very difficult numbers. The instruments they played included coronets, alto horns, baritones, tubas, sousaphones, trombones, clarinets, saxophones, kettle drums and bass drums. They learned to march and perform complex maneuvers while playing music.

The old projection booth in Memorial Hall was full of band instruments that had been unused since the previous Citizen's Band was disbanded (no pun intended).

The leader of the band was Mr. A.C. Robinson of London, Ontario. "Robbie" as he was known by, was a very demanding leader and was very protective and supportive of the band. He was competitive, too, always wanting to prove that the band from this little burg was just a bit better than the other youth bands in the big city of London. The members paid a monthly fee for the lessons and for the use of the instruments. Some members purchased their instruments.

This band developed a number of very talented musicians. Some members had already developed their musical skills through piano or other types of musical training.

But the main thought that came to me while looking at these old local papers was the total impact of the band on the life of the community: the youths who were members, the parents of those members, the Lions' club, and the community as a whole.


What a wonderful opportunity we were given as teenagers to develop musical skills and the ability to entertain each other and the community as a whole. It opened up a whole realm of opportunity for many of us in the village. In addition, it provided the community with a widely respected ambassador group and a one that gave the entire village a sense of pride.

This band was one of the first major contributions of the newly formed Blyth Lions' club and that organization is to be commended for taking on such an ambitious project.

What Will Happen to The Queen Mom's Oak Tree?

Oak tree showing to the left

The following article was written by Gertrude Taylor many years ago and was reprinted in Focus on April 15, 2002, soon after the death of the Queen Mother Elizabeth. It was submitted by Mrs. Taylor's daughter, Ethel Martin, who once operated a store in Blyth.

Two special oak trees were planted on the Blyth School grounds around 1940. Only one of the trees is still in existence. The future of that tree is now very uncertain as the former school grounds are up for sale.

Here is the article:


Big Oaks from little acorns grow. This is an old saying, but proof that it is still true can be seen growing in the school grounds in Blyth.


This story began in 1939. In that year King George VI and Queen Elizabeth toured  Canada. At every stop the Royal train made on this tour great crowds greeted them. Parents were anxious that their school age children should see them. The great interest shown by the children won the hearts of the Royal Visitors, so much so, that acorns from the oak trees growing in the Royal Grounds at Westminster, England, were promised to be sent to the schools according to the number of pupils attending each school, also saplings were promised.


The promised acorn, five in number, arrived at Blyth with instruction for starting and care of same.  Instruction were to start each acorn in a small container, with only a small amount of water, keep moist and in the sunlight. Each acorn was started in and egg sup. In a short time two began to show signs of growth. The other three made no such signs. Early the following year saplings, either one or two, arrived at Blyth.


In those years the 24th of May was always celebrated on the 24th , not a week earlier, nor a week later. I remember that year the 24th was on a Monday. Mr. Jim Huckstep, the town barber for many years in Blyth was also a great lover of horticultural work. He with some of the councillors, carrying a shovel and pail of water. took the saplings to the Memorial Hall grounds and planted them. They then took the two seedlings, which by this time had grown 10 or 12 inches in height, to the school grounds and planted them also. Oh, they seemed so small to be out on their own, but with the protection around each on they managed to come right along.


Because they had plenty of room to grow they are now two beautiful trees. I admit I was very pleased adn excited when the first signs of life began to show in each of the two acorns. I gave them my very best care and feel, when I look at the trees that I have been well repaid for my labours. I still believe that only God can make a tree.


Perhaps there are some who have never heard the story of the two Royal Oak Trees. They are growing on the North West corner of the Blyth school grounds.


The writer of this article lived in and around Blyth all her life until 1950 when she moved to Goderich. There are many beautiful trees in Goderich, too, but none so special to the writer as the two Oak Trees that began life in my egg cups.

Written by Mrs. G. M. Taylor, Goderich, Ontario

WHEN OUR SCHOOL BOARD HAD REAL TRUSTEES

TRUSTEES THAT CARED ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY

(With some added comments in bold)

In 1881 the Blyth Public School Trustees decided to save some money and perhaps reduce the national debt, by lowering the pay of the teachers.The principal's salary was cut by 10% and that of the two female teachers by a little over 11%.

The press story at the time reported "This step has elicited public dissatisfaction in  a very marked way, A petition signed by the large majority of the ratepayers, praying that the salaries be left at the usual figure, was presented at the trustee meeting last Saturday evening"

The trustees had moved and seconded that.the petition be filed (i.e. ignored) but it was later decided that the petition be tabled for consideration at the next board meeting.

The newspaper correspondent added "It is to be hoped that our trustees, who are certainly elected to carry out the wishes of the ratepayers, will in this instance show their good judgment by acceding to the unmistakable evidence of public opinion, and grant the prayer of he petitioners".

If only we had a school board today who actually listened to public opinion and reacted to what they heard. We don't know the outcome of that next board meeting, but given the first response, we could infer that the reconsideration would be sincere and honest. The important difference is that that board was considering the wishes of the citizens of Blyth - not the dictates of Seaforth or Toronto bureaucrats.

Sincere and honest! Imagine what it would be like to be able apply such epithets to our school board (Avon Maitland DSB). Instead we have a small gang of absentee overseers who are utterly disconnected from their electorate, blindly and mutely following a group of overpaid, incompetent, bureaucrats who know little and care less about education but whose abilities are limited to manipulating numbers on spreadsheets.

They stole our school away from us because the spreadsheets indicated that they can't afford to operate a school in Blyth any longer. They gave no consideration as to whether Blyth could afford to lose its school, which should have been the main factor. 

Somehow they managed to find thirteen or fourteen million dollars to build a big new school that is not needed or justified in Wingham.

Now the Wingham Business Alliance is bragging about this new school which makes Wingham so much more attractive than poor old Blyth which (can you imagine?) does not even have a school. Poor old Blyth. Don't move there or your kids may have to attend school in portables in Londesborough  of all places.

And the Wingham Business Alliance says that if you need more information about this wonderful Wingham, just go to the website for North Huron which will answer all you need to know about this wonderful way-better-than-Blyth town.

Brock Vodden

Major Changes to this Blog

Blyth ladies in front of a commercial building that no longer exists. It was between the CIBC bank and Sharon's Miniature Museum.

This Blog, All About Blyth, is returning to its roots. From now on, it's going to be, well - all about Blyth. Mostly historical "news", heritage pictures, historical accounts, research findings, and insider information on the Repository of Blyth History will be the fare from now on.

Comments on Wingham Free Press will be presented in my new blog, named "Shadow of Wingham Free Press". Its address is http://blythwardecho.blogspot.ca.

Feedback from a number of sources indicated that some people felt that the discussion of the sordid blasts out of the WFP was incompatible with the original purpose of this Blog.

I was capitalizing on the strong following as a means of getting the word out that WFP is having a severe negative effect in our community - including Blyth. The WFP criticism drew a very substantial following of people who were not joining us out of interest in Blyth history, and I think their participation had a positive effect.

So if you want to get the REAL story behind the babbling of Stephen Hill and the no-name friends of his, go to "Shadow of Wingham Free Press" at the above address. You can add a comment, positive or negative at the end of any of the items in the blog. If the language is adult and clean, and the point is worth considering, I'll post your comments on that Blog.

I am pleasantly surprised at the number of people making contact through this medium - well over 3,000 hits per month.

Everyone is welcome to tune in at this site for information that is  All About Blyth.

Thanks for the visit!

Brock Vodden

BUSKERFEST IN BLYTH

Buskerfest! What is that?

The name took many Huron County people by surprise, but fortunately the event was sufficiently intriguing that quite a few people showed up.

Queen Street was closed off from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the two-block business area was transformed into a carnival atmosphere with food offerings, face-painting, canvas painting for children, a juggler, pottery products and pot turning, jewelry, and many musicians playing and singing their hearts out.

MURDER IN THE SCHOOL OFFICE - ALMOST

It’s June 28, 2012

A lady enters the office of Blyth Public School and approaches the school secretary.

Sect'y:   Good morning. How may I help you?

Lady:     Good morning. We are moving to Blyth next month and I would like to enroll our children for this school in September.

Sect'y:   Sorry. We are not accepting registrations for this school.

Lady:     I didn’t realize there is more than one school in Blyth.

Sect'y:   This is the only school in Blyth today, and as of tomorrow it is closing.

Lady:     You mean there won't be any school for my children?

Sect'y:   Oh, there'll be a school for them. You have a choice. They can either go south to Londesborough or north to Wingham.

Lady:     Well I am going to be working in Wingham, so I guess they will go there. So, we're talking about Wingham Public School?

Sect'y:   No, that school is closing, too.

Lady:     But you said ......Wait a minute, why are these schools closing?

Sect'y:   We are closing many schools: Wingham, Blyth, East Wawanosh, Turnberry, Brussels.

Lady:     But if all the schools are closing ......

Sect'y:   Don’t worry, Ma’am. We do have a beautiful new school.

Lady:     So why are all these schools closing?

Sect'y:   They have to send the children from several schools to fill up this new school.

Lady:     So why did they decide to build the new school?

Sect'y:   Well they had to have a place for the children whose schools are closing.

Lady:     Typical government circular argument. What is this new school  called?

Sect'y:   Maitland River Elementary School. It opens its doors on Monday morning. We are looking after registrations here right now.

Lady:     Well, that’s great. I’ll register them in Maitland River Elementary School today. Can you tell me where it is so I can drive around and show it to the kids?

Sect'y:   No, you can’t.

Lady:     Why can’t I see it?

Sect'y:   It hasn’t been built yet.

Lady:     But you said, its doors were opening next Monday.

Sect'y:   It doesn’t have any doors yet. It’s just now under construction. Opening doors is just a figure of speech.

Lady:     Now look here. I’ve had just about enough of this nonsense. Figure of speech, indeed! Are we on TV or something? Is somebody going to step out here and say SURPRISE! THANKS FOR BEING SUCH A GREAT SPORT!  I really don't have time for all this. "You can do this. No you can’t do this. First you see it, now you don’t!" I want to speak with the principal and RIGHT NOW!

Sect'y:  You can’t. She isn’t here!

Lady:     Why am I not surprised? Where is she?

Sect'y:   She’s working at the new school today.

Lady:     Working at the new school? The Maitland River Elementary School ? The one that hasn’t been built?

Sect'y:   That’s right.

Lady:     Does she know that it hasn’t been built yet?

Sect'y:  We don’t want to break it to her – too suddenly! We’re sure she’ll notice it herself – gradually!

Lady:     I am running short on time. I am sure there is enough weird behaviour going on here to fill a PhD thesis, but I have to get our kids registered. I want you to do this and please don’t give me any more of these little road blocks. Agreed?

Sect'y:   Sure. That’s why we are here.

Lady:     I have my little Mavis who is starting into Junior Kindergarten. What can you do for her?

Sect'y: Well, the Kindergarten children are going to Turnberry.

Lady:     But you said Turnberry Public School  is being closed tomorrow.

Sect'y:  That’s right but it is becoming The Turnberry Campus of Maitland River Elementary School  as of Monday morning. That’s where Mavis will go.

Lady:     So is there a real brick and mortar building there with doors and a roof and teachers?

Sect'y:   Oh, of course! Except the teachers won't be there till September.

Lady:     Now for my next child. Mark is going into Grade 3. Turnberry for him as well?

Sect'y:   No. He’ll go to Wingham.

Lady:     Aha! I’m one ahead of you. Let me pre-empt your speech. Wingham Public School is closing tomorrow. MRES does not exist yet. So my little Mark will be attending the Wingham Campus of Maitland River Elementary School. Am I right?

Sect'y:   You are absolutely right.  Do you have another child?

Lady:     Yes, and I am going to tempt fate and tell you where she will be going. Francine is going into Grade 8 and she will also be attending the Wingham Campus of Maitland River Elementary School.

Sect'y:   Wrong!

Lady:     Do you never give up? Is there no bottom to your little bag of tricks? What do you propose doing to my Francine?

Sect'y:   She will be attending F.E. Madill High School.

Lady:     No, no, no. Francine is going into Grade 8. She is not going to high school. I’m afraid you are in the wrong this time.

Sect'y:   Maitland River Elementary School  is a Grade 2 to 6 school. F.E. Madill as of next Monday becomes a Grade 7 to 12 school.

Lady:     OK, Miss whatever your name is, you win again. Now I want you to listen to me while I summarize my first encounter with the craziest school system ever devised. My family and I are moving to the lovely village of Blyth which is about to lose its only school. We have three children of grade school age, and they will each be attending a different school. This is a temporary arrangement while this school board gets around to building the Taj Mahal. The board is pretending that this lovely new school is real, but it in reality is still on a drawing board in the office of a very frustrated architect.

Why on earth are they closing the schools twelve or more months before they get the new school  built and ready to accept our wee darlings?

Sect'y:   This plan is intended to create a smooth transition for all the children from the old schools to the new school environment. The children will be grouped wherever possible with the children they will be with in the new school. The children can get a head start on developing the culture of Maitland River Elementary School  instead of having to go through that very challenging process when they actually transition into that wonderful new building. We want them to feel comfortable, free from the stress of change involved in leaving one environment and moving into another very different environment.

Lady:     I'll bet it took you a while to memorize that speech? Some bureaucrat wrote that for you and I have to wonder what he is trying to hide. You have put me through about 20 transitions today exposed to schools that exist today, but won't exist tomorrow, a school that is opening doors it doesn’t have, campus schools that have no parent school, high schools that take in elementary school kids.  The children of Blyth are being put through this insane process. Now, tell me this, and I am asking you to be brutally honest. Are the people of this village happy about their school closing and all these changes?

Sect'y:   There are a couple of old guys creating a bit of a fuss over this but everybody else seems to be accepting the change. A few people signed a petition to stop the closure, but it’s the school board that decides these things.

Lady:     How many people signed the petition?

Sect'y:   Just a few over 600.

Lady:     What is the population of this village?

Sect'y:   Almost a thousand people.

Lady:     I would say that’s almost unanimous disapproval. Doesn’t the opinion of the community count for something?

Sect'y:   The school board is not concerned about the community. Their only concern is the school and the children. We do it all for the children.

Lady:     And the school board goes along with this?

Sect'y:   Of course. It's their idea, well with a bit of prompting by the administrators.

Lady:     What are they going to do with this building? It looks to be in excellent condition.

Sect'y:   That has not been decided yet.

Lady:     I have a suggestion. They should convert this building into a maximum security mental institution and lock all of the board members and administrators in it.

Sect'y:   They can’t do that.

Lady:     Why not?

Sect'y:   They were all committed to another school in Seaforth a few years ago for the same offenses!

Brock Vodden (with apologies to all the Blyth Festival Playwrights)

Picture: BPS Senior Room - Class of 1946

Bert Gray, Principal
How many students do you recognize?

I would like to thank all of the many people of Blyth and area (and elsewhere) who have supported our drive to save our school. Thanks for the letters, emails, phone calls, and conversations that encouraged us. It is unfortunate that we were not successful, but we knew when we started that the situation was stacked against us.

I have encountered only two people from Blyth who opposed our actions. I am sure there were a few more, but I say to them that if they think the closure of the Blyth School is a good thing, they are not aware of the whole situation. There is nothing good about this situation for anyone. 

Avon Maitland DSB is no friend of North Huron.

Brock Vodden

On Beating a Dead Horse?

Relaxed on a trip to Prince Edward County

I do relax once in a while, but in the past three years there have been many issues that create tension and a sense of urgency. Some of this intensity has occurred in connection with our work on North Huron council, but the situations that have perplexed me the most are those associated with what is happening in our education system in Ontario and how these things have affected us here in Huron County, in North Huron, and in Blyth in particular.

Several people have told Greg Sarachman and me and others that we should have given up a long time ago on the "save our school" campaign. They said that there was no way that we could win. "It's a done deal. Forget it!" 

They were right; there was no way that we could win. But I wish I could get people to understand that that is exactly the problem. There should have been a way for the Blyth community to appeal the closure of their school, and to reverse that decision. So far, I have come to know of two Blyth people who seem to agree with the closure. There may be more, but we have 631 people signed their names on a petition to stop the closure. In a democratic society that should count for something. Not in this case, it seems.

What did we achieve? Greg and I agree on one thing: that we can look back on this time and say with pride that we did what we could and that it was, in our view, the right thing to do. We can also say that we have proved that the draconian system set up by the Ontario Ministry of Education and rogue school boards like AMDSB is not just a bad for places like Blyth. It's bad policy for rural Ontario, bad for education everywhere, and a disgrace in a society that considers itself to be a leading example of democracy.

Obviously some people are very happy with the result. They see many advantages in having the new school. They don't really care that it has no educational justification. It's good for the economy - of Wingham. They don't care about the cost to the communities that are bereft of their only schools. They don't care about the undemocratic practices of our school board and our Ontario government. They don't care about the lies many people have told trying to justify the decisions and actions of their board and their ministry.

I care about these things and will continue to work towards achieving a more fair and honest democratic society in this corner of Canada. 

Brock Vodden

WHY WE CAN'T TRUST OUR TRUSTEES

Old school on the hill pre-1896

The term "trustee" refers to persons who have been appointed by someone to perform some service or to represent the appointer in specific matters. In the case of school trustees, the people of a community have elected several people to represent the community in matters related to their school or schools.

The universal understanding in the past has been that the school trustees saw their responsibility as a matter of providing the best possible educational environment within the context of the community.

In recent years, that model has shifted to something quite different. As a result of changes in the Education Act since 1995, school boards have been given certain powers which are not subject to question by anyone, including the very people who elected the board of trustees. School boards, therefore, have the right to close, open, build, or alter any school they so desire without input or objection by the people or the municipal government  of that area.

The net effect of this new power, is that school boards are now controlled by the Ministry of Education, not by their electors. They no longer earn the title "trustees".

On June 12, 2012 the chairman of a city and area school board pointed out that the Ministry now directs the staff of each board through the Directors and senior administrators as to what the elected board is expected to  do, then the director and superintendents give the board instructions on what policies they are to adopt to accommodate the Ministry's demands. This Chairman, indicated that the pressure from the ministry is intense and the senior staff transfer that pressure to him and become quite agitated when he does not immediately comply with the "orders from Queen's Park".

The unstated reason for granting this power to school boards, we believe, is to accommodate the plan of the provincial government to reduce drastically the number of schools in the province, in other words to consolidate schools and make remaining schools larger, more efficient and effective, and by implication, reduce the costs of education.

This trend was started by the Progressive Conservative government of Mike Harris, and has been continued and accelerated under the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty.

School consolidation on a system-wide basis does not work. It does not save money, it does not improve quality of education. In fact, it more often than not increases costs and lowers education quality.

There is a ton of research that discredits consolidation campaigns such as Ontario has been waging. The uncalculated factor in all of this is the damage to communities who lose their schools - in particular, those communities who lose their only school.

This is not to say that all school boards have abandoned their pledge to represent the community. But those that buck the trend are often under threat to be punished in some pecuniary way by the Ministry.