My Mother’s Graduation Class Photo

My mother graduated from high school in June, 1937...

She graduated from Strathcona High School in Edmonton, Alberta.

Here’s a close up of her picture - fourth from the right in the bottom row. 

The following year she worked as a maid, to save money to go to “Normal School” - which is what teachers’ training school was called.

After one year at Normal School (1938-9), she headed to northern Alberta by train in August 1939 to teach in a one-room country school at Preston Lake near Lymburn in the “Peace River Country” - as it is still known. She didn’t return home to Edmonton until her 10-month contract was over. The following year, she taught in a different school, not quite as remote.

When she started to teach, she had just turned 20.

Here she is with some of the local children. She was often invited to students’ homes for dinner, so she got to know the local families well.