Courtesy chm Hornhy

Cassie in her home in Melville. 1983.

I was in school and I was a bit scared and shy. But I can remember that so well, taking me up on her knee, and keeping me there for quite a while.

We had some very nice teachers. It was mostly women in my times, mostly women. But we did have some very nice men teachers. There was a Mr. MacPhee from out Heatherdale. Oh, he really was a lovely teacher and we were all crazy about him. We didn’t have him too long. And there was a Mr. MacNevin too. Teacher MacNevin, he was very good.

Really, there were some good teachers in those days... . Theyjust went to school and then if they passed in their school year they just went to Prince of Wales [College]... in the fall.

I don’t know, dear, what they were paid but you wonder sometimes... . It was this supplement, you know, that the district voted. And they had to depend a lot on that. Of course, if they got a bigger supplement you couldn’t blame them for taking another school. They called it a supple— ment, and it was that much extra for the teacher besides what she got from the government. But it was hardly a living wage, what they got from the government in those days.

That was another thing. They most all had to board. But you know, the people charged very little. Then, some of the teachers were very nice to

Cassie MacLeod 1 83