About that school with the annual craft sale

From the archives of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library:

Today all that remains of one of the early schools built in the former Korah Township is a large empty lot located on Second Line between Prentice and Edison Avenues, however, it was once a busy hub for this neighbourhood.

Prince of Wales Public School was a two-room school that was built on the site in 1918 and opened to students in January of 1919. The location on Second Line was deemed ideal because of its central location and access to an adequate water supply.

When Prince of Wales Public School opened in 1919, it was designed to handle 50 students, but it began with only enough students to fill one of the classrooms, under the leadership of the first teacher, Lyla Brooks. The student population continued to fluctuate until 1935 but within six years, the school was forced to look for additional classroom space.

They began by renting Darrow’s Hall, a dance hall located next door to the school. Two years later, short of space again, a brick annex was added to the school. In 1947, with attendance continuing to increase a temporary classroom was found in St. Peter’s Hall on Douglas Street but having a school with its students meeting in classrooms around the neighbourhood was not an ideal way to run a school.

By 1949, the Korah Township Board of Education realized that a permanent addition to the school was needed so by 1953, six permanent classrooms were added plus two temporary classrooms.

By this point, the school had an attendance of 525 students and 16 teachers, but the following year 200 students and five teachers moved over to the newly built James Lyons Public School on Johnson Avenue. This meant that the two temporary classrooms could be removed and for the first time in many years, the entire student body was located under one roof.

For many of us, our fondest memories of school life are related to the teachers and principals who often have such a powerful influence on our lives.

At Prince of Wales, one of the long-time staff members who impacted many of her student’s lives was Janet Farrell. She started teaching at the school in 1942 and retired as principal in 1974. Charles Brown replaced Janet Farrell as principal in the fall of 1974. Another teacher who spent most of her teaching career at the school was Helen Perkins, a primary teacher at Prince of Wales for 26 years before her retirement in 1988.

While it would be impossible to name all of the teachers who taught at Prince of Wales Public School through the years, a few of the teachers included Erna Armstrong (in the early 1940s), Ron Coulter, Stan Halsall, Wendy Gray, Bill Conway and Doris Clarke (1970’s) as well as so many others through the years.

Of course, not all of the most important lessons were taught in the classroom. Around the beginning of November in 1975 the entire school body, including the 250 students, 11 teachers plus the administrative and maintenance staff was divided into groups with kids from kindergarten to grade eight all working on an in-school Christmas Cheer project every week depicting in a very practical way that Christmas is Giving!

One afternoon each week the students and teachers spent time repairing toys that had been donated for those in need at Christmas time.

In addition to the toy repair activity, parents came to the school and taught students how to make crafts including Yule Logs, candles and wreaths. In early December a sale was held at the school to sell these crafts. The refurbished toys and the money raised from the craft sale was given to local Christmas charities so that others could have a Christmas to remember. A smaller version of this project had been undertaken by Grade 2 teacher Diane Shewfelt and Grade 3 teacher Nancy Golec in 1972 and 1973 before it was expanded to include the entire school in 1975.

In 1974 and 1975 a major addition to the school expanded its capacity with the construction of a gymnasium, new washrooms, change rooms and renovation of existing space to create a library and a new teacher’s lounge at a cost of approximately $220,000.

Using the initials from the school’s official name, students jokingly referred to themselves as “Prisoners of War” which probably echoed the sentiment of many students at one point or another!

In the mid-1970s a contest was held to create a school crest and select school colours as a way to raise school spirit. The winning entry was a muscled arm with radiating lightning bolts and the slogan – POWERS – Prince of Wales Ever Returning Stars. The school colours chosen were red and white. The crest and school colours were worn proudly by the school’s sports teams as they competed against other local schools.

Enrollment began to decline during the 1980s and Prince of Wales Public School was placed on a list of schools to be studied for possible closure. By 1991 the school population had dropped to 139 students. In addition, the two-storey structure made it difficult to bring it up to the emerging accessibility standards that were being encouraged for public buildings. In April of 1992, the final decision was made to close Prince of Wales Public School along with four other schools at the end of June 1992.

Following its closure, the school building was rented from time to time for its meeting space but as with any vacant building, it began to rapidly deteriorate. Around 2004, the Algoma District School Board decided to demolish the building to prevent vandalism and now all that remains of this former Korah Township landmark is an empty lot!

Each week, the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library and its Archives provides SooToday readers with a glimpse of the city’s past.

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here