Centenarian Surrey Lamont (nee McClimont) was pupil at Mt Somers School from 1930 to May 1937 and has very fond memories of her time at the school.
‘‘I loved and adored my time at the school. I had a wonderful teacher Miss Scott, she was such a great teacher and very up-to-date with her teaching,’’ Surrey said.
‘‘It is because of her that I was inspired to become a teacher.’’
The school, which was formed after a meeting on December 7, 1874 of Mt Somers households, will celebrate its 150th anniversary this King’s Birthday weekend.
The celebrations will see staff, pupils and members of the community from the Mt Somers, Springburn, Burnside, Alford Forest schools, which combined to form Mt Somers Springburn School, gather to reminisce at the school on May 30.
In the evening a dine and dance will be held at the Hotel Ashburton.
On May 31, the Mt Somers & Staveley Museum and the old school house will be open for viewing before a sausage sizzle at the Mt Somers Rugby Club clubrooms.
While Surrey will not attend the celebrations, she has been enjoying going through books and other memorabilia from previous reunions.
The school had two classrooms, with nine pupils in Surrey’s class.
It’s rekindled some fond memories.
One that has stuck with her was during the coronation of King George VI.
‘‘We were singing God save the King one day, when the teacher heard pupils singing some different words.
‘‘While they were meant to be signing … long to reign over us, God save the King. They were in fact singing the long train ran over us, God save the King.’’
Surrey who lived close walked to and from school and in the summer even walked home for lunch.
In the winter, she stayed at school for lunch as the were given cocoa and had a big fire in the middle of the classroom to sit around.
Surrey remembered it was a good day if her name appeared in chalk on the school’s ‘clean people’ list. It listed pupils who had come to school with clean nails and a clean handkerchief.
She also recalled a tale when senior girls visited the ‘‘old dunny’’ but in stead of going in singularly they went in a group. The door dropped and they got stuck.
With many laughs Surrey and others watched as the headmaster had to use a spade to release the door and free the girls.
Next to the school, Surrey said there was a pony paddock as many students rode ponies to school or arrived by horse and buggy.
Only one family travelled to school by car in the mid 1930’s.
Due to the winds that struck Mt Somers, Surrey said there were times she had to crawl home on her hands and knees as she was unable to stand to walk home.
Surrey’s late parents Bill and Sis McClimont also attended the school.
The school opened with a roll of eight, today it sits at 76. The highest roll was 96 pupils in 1951.
Looking through three the three jubilee books that have been produced some family names are recurring like Vincent, Hood, Beckley, McClimont, Gifkins.
The Gifkins have a long history of attending, and working, at the school; five generations attended as pupils.
Also the late Phyllis Huggins (nee Gifkins), cleaned at the school and she, and her late husband Ian, drove the school bus. Their daughter-in-law Rhonda Huggins drove the school bus for 16 years and has been a teacher aide for nearly 18 years. While her daughter-in-law, Amy, is a teacher at the school.
Wendy Grigg, one of the organisers of the reunion, said registrations had arrived as far away as the United Kingdom, Australia and the North Island.
‘‘We are hoping for about 150 attendees at the weekend of celebrations.’’
‘‘I am looking forward to catching up with those I went to school with as we reminisce about our schooling,’’ she said.
– Registrations for 150th celebration of education in the Foothills close April 22. Register via Mt Somers Springburn School Facebook page.
