By Alice (Buckland) Millson (1922-2012)
When I went to school in the thirties the Christmas concert was the highlight of our school year. Before home entertainment of radio or television, everyone in the community attended the annual concert. This was presented just before Christmas holidays commenced.
Our teacher always started us practising the skits and drills in November. Each class had a special act and every pupil participated in some way.
Weekly visits of our maiden music teacher were used to learn verse after verse of several new songs. And learn them we did! Before the local school board bought a piano, the music teacher used a tuning fork to find the proper pitch of note. This forklike instrument was tapped on the desk and then quickly held to her ear to hear the humming – “Do-Re-Mi,” she would hum and we were started.
Recess, noon hours and even cancelled classes found some group of pupils rehearsing with the school teacher. I expect the boys would rather have been outside playing. We learned our parts, drills were marched, songs and carols memorized.
One year our teacher undertook to instruct some older girls to do the “Highland Fling”.
Because of objections from 2 or 3 parents the lessons were dropped. They declared that it was not suitable or proper to teach their girls to dance!
The last day or two before the concert was devoted to practise and more practise.
Probably the teacher was ready to call the whole thing off, if it had been possible.
The trustees put up a squeaky plank platform and curtains of sheets from home were strung up by a wire to create a stage. The older boys always hiked to a nearby bush to hunt for a spruce tree. Usually it was too high, even for a school, and required further trimming. The girls decorated it using red and green garlands, tinsel, bits and pieces which were stored from year to year on the top shelf of the library.
Names were drawn among the 20 or 30 pupils for a 25-35 cent gift. The teacher received a present from each family and every pupil found one from her under that beautiful Christmas smelling tree.
The trustees supplied a brown paper bag containing one orange, hard candy, a very few pieces of home-made fudge and some nuts.
Parents and visitors arrived by car, horse and cutter or even walked to the concert. The school was lit by noisy, smelly, hissing gasoline lamps. These had two arms with mantles that shattered to pieces with a bit of a bump. If the light started to fade, the man in charge would take the lamp down and pump more air into it.
The desks were shifted about with kids sitting on benches at the front. Some mothers had quite a squeeze to fit into those desks! The men seemed to congregate at the back of the school around the old wood stove.
Excited pupils would be peeping out between curtains before the chairman would get the nod from the teacher and away we would go through the programme.
Any especially talented pupils or adults in the area were expected to add to the prepared programme. Piano playing, solos, and recitations were included. (A recitation is a lengthy poem with a morale or a bit of comedy given by memory.)
We were fortunate to have 2 or 3 small musical groups in our school section.
Even pre-schoolers were given a chance to say their ‘piece’. I can remember saying;
“I have a little finger, I have a little toe. When I grow up bigger, I’ll have a little beau.” I wondered why everyone laughed, because I was talking about a ‘bowl’ thinking of our ironstone potato bowl.
Every year the programme included the Christmas Story from Bethlehem in song or in verse.
At the close of the long evening Santa mysteriously appeared to distribute the gifts piled under that huge tree. What excitement to find who had drawn your name! By this time the floor would be littered with wrappings and nut shells. Poor caretaker!
Sleepy kids would ride home with proud parents. Another concert was over and teachers and pupils were ready to enjoy a well-earned winter holiday.
