4 Friday, March 6, 2020 brooklintowncrier.com Brooklin Heritage Society A Brooklin School Remembered By Jennifer Hudgins Did you attend the Brooklin Public and Continuation School, once located at the southeast corner of Winchester and Baldwin? Indeed, from 1924 to 1972 many students in Brooklin and surrounding communities attended classes there. This was where kids learned to square dance in the basement when it poured rain outside. They played baseball on the diamond out back as well as tag and Red Rover. There was even a hopscotch board by the front steps. Spring was when the school choir and triple trio competed at the Kiwanis Music Festival in Ajax, often winning awards. Members wore white tops with navy blue bottoms as Mrs. Kight patiently conducted, except for the times when her pitch pipe found its way onto inattentive heads. A highlight was the year the grade 8 choir was bused to the CBC studio on Parliament Street in Toronto. Fred Rogers hosted and the choir sang on the radio. The Tube And then there was the fire escape, a 45- foot long metal tube sloped at a 30 degree angle from the 2nd floor library window to the ground. Students looked forward to the regular fire drills. During summer vacation, they'd ride inside the sizzling hot tube, a popular pastime, at least until the school board caught on and closed it at the bottom. The building came into existence in 1923 when William Croxall, secretary of the Brooklin School Board, advertised for tenders to build on three acres of land. The winning tender was for $35,000. The new school had to be built because the building on Winchester Road, across from the arena, was declared unsafe. It officially opened on January 30, 1924 with six classrooms, running water and fire safety equipment. However, by 1972, declining enrolment forced the school to close and the building was then used as storage for the Ontario County Board of Education, then later, the Durham Board of Education. It sat vacant for seven years before being sold in 1980 for $100,000 to American Holdings. The building was being vandalized so, in June 1982, the developer decided to demolish it, telling the Oshawa Times that it was "just an investment property." A shopping plaza now stands on the site. But if you attended the school and are feeling nostalgic, take a drive to Woodville, Ontario where a school of the same design, built by the same architect and contractor, is still being used by students today. Painting by Jody Edwards and reprinted with her permission. Visit: Etsy.com/ca/people/jodyvanB