The schoolhouse serving School Section #4 Moore was located on Lot 21, Conc. 10.
An early teacher was Margaret Garvey, who came from Norwich in 1866 to teach at S. S. #4 Moore. She taught 2 years before marrying James Kane, who lived on the 10th Line (now Petrolia Line) near the school.
The minutes of the annual meetings of the trustees of S. S. #4 record some highlights in the school’s history:
- in 1904, the trustees agreed to pay $19 for the year for lighting fires, sweeping the school, and dusting the seats – by 1908, this cost $40
- a motion to buy a clock was defeated in 1904 (but a clock was purchased for $5.00 in 1911!)
- in 1905, a box of chalk cost 18 cents and a broom 25 cents
- a special meeting was held in 1909 to discuss options – build a new school, turn the school “half around” and make repairs, move the school across the road or repair it on location – it was decided to repair it on location and apply brick veneer
- a school garden was frequently mentioned in the accounts, including $4.65 spent for seeds and potatoes in 1924
- the teacher’s monthly salary was listed at $115 in 1925, but later teachers’ salaries ranged from $72 to $92 per month – this may reflect the effects of the Great Depression, and may also have varied based on the class of certificate held by each teacher
- in 1932, 1,000 sheets of foolscap cost $1.85
Other highlights were S. S. #4 Moore winning the most first place prizes at the 1925 Moore Township School Fair, held at Moore Centre, and hydro being installed in the school in January 1937.
The last teacher before the school closed in 1963 was Mrs. M. Vanderveen. At that time there were 33 students attending the school (8 in grade 1, 6 gr. 2s, 5 gr. 3s, 6 gr. 4s, 1 gr. 5, 2 gr. 6s, 5 gr. 7s and no grade 8s).
Sources:
S. S. #4 Moore Secretary/Treasurer Book, 1901 to 1942. Moore Museum Collection D995-17-1
S. S. 4 Moore. Handwritten notes of a member of the Birmingham family. From the collection of the Lambton County Archives.
S. S. #4, Moore. Set of notes in Moore Museum Research Files R749