Mabel (Jeffery) Barnett, 90 today

     Today is my Aunt Mabel's 90th birthday.  Mabel Ethel was born in Lauretta, the 4th children of Louis and Annie Jane (Cannon) Jeffery.  Mabel married William *Bill* Barnett on November 13, 1946.  They had two children: Carol (b. 1949) and Myles (b. 1957).  For many years Mabel worked at Griffin's Warehouse in Elmsdale.  Mabel and Bill lived at Elmsdale Corner beside the train tracks - following Bill's death Mabel and Carol moved to Alberton where they live today.

Jeffery Siblings Above: Eileen Greene; Wilbert; and Mabel Barnett.

Photo taken by Carol Barnett at Jeffery Picnic, Alma, August 2010

* * * * * * * * *

Lauretta Summer 1941 - Louis & Annie Jeffery's children:

Back Row: Mabel Kinch (neighbour) Mabel, Stirling and Wilbert

Front Row: Eileen, Gladys and Preston

Missing are older brothers Gordon and Harold

* * * * * * * * *

     In the summer of 1930 when Mabel was 5-1/2 years old she remembers Spurgeon Jeffery's house moving down the road to it's new location to Alma across from Jimmy Dunbar at the top of the hill on the Centerline Road.   The house had been built in 1912 on the corner of Centerline Road and Klondike (now McLellan Rd) Road in Lauretta.
     Below is a model built by Kerras Jeffery depicting the moving process - the model can be seen at Alberton Museum. 

* * * * * * * * *

     On the night of December 25th, 1947 Mabel saved the lives of two Matthews children in Elmsdale.  Below is the story as told in the newspaper and an excerpt from the book about Elmsdale, Goin to the Corner.    

Ellis Smallman - Happy 85th Birthday

     Eight-five years ago today on June 12, 1929 Ellis Smallman was born to John "Frank" Smallman (1897-1931?) and Ella Beatrice Ellis (1903-1980).  At a young age, following his father's death, he came to live with his aunt and uncle Hattie and Jimmy Dunbar on the Centerline Road in Alma.
     When Ellis and Carrie were first married they lived in the Jim Kinch House in Lauretta; then they moved to the Dunbar Homestead (where he was raised) where they lived for 30+ years and raised their family.  Ellis and Carrie moved back to the Kinch property in Lauretta in the early 1990's where they built their retirement home.
     Ellis holds the distinction of being Alma-Lauretta's oldest resident, closely followed by Wilbert Jeffery.

     Here's a great photo of Ellis with a bunch of men in front of his old barn being re-constructed.  Thanks Donna (Barbour) MacPhee for this 1964 photo.

     Happy birthday Ellis!!

Retired Farmer Recalls Early Potato Equipm't. WB McLellan 1978

  Another big thanks to Donna (Barbour) MacPhee for loaning me her scrapbooks - they're a wealth of articles from bygone days - including this one of W.B. McLellan of Lauretta. 

----------------------------------------------

The Shopping News.  Thurs. May 11, 1978 - 7
By Richard Wightman

     ELMSDALE-  W.B. McLellan of Elmsdale (formerly of Lauretta), recalled recently his efforts in 1919 to lessen the work involved in potato production.
     The retired farmer from the Center Line Road said they had on his farm at that time what all other farms had a plow and harrows.  The iron plow was likely made by a local blacksmith.  Some had plows from equipment makers such as Massey-Harris.
     Mr. McLellan saw the largest problem with his operation being the digging of the potatoes.  It was hard work in the fall when conditions were often poor.  He wrote letters to the major farm equipment manufacturers inquiring about their potato digging machinery.  He was told that the machinery for digging potatoes would not work well as too many weeds were allowed to grow with the potatoes which would keep the digger from working properly.  The farm equipment manufacturers told him weeds should not grow with potatoes.
GETS ADVICE
     The answer the companies suggested was to get a horse hoe cultivator to turn the soil up around the potatoes and disturb the weeds between the rows.  The cultivator required straight rows that would best be achieved by using a planter to get the potato sets in the ground.
     The planter required seed that was cut in regular sections, so a seed cutter was advised.  Bugs being a problem in the fields, a mechanical sprayer was suggested to stop that problem.
     Mr. McLellan decided he would be better off buying all the machinery at one time so he purchased it through Ed MacRae in Alberton.  He recalled the seed cutter had a seat on it.  It was hand feed and operated by foot levers.  The sets then fell into a basket.
     The planter was drawn by a team of horses and would do about one acre an hour, one row at a time.  The horse hauled cultivator would make a number of trips through the fields in a season.  The sprayer also used a team of horses and as it did four rows at a time and could do about four acres an hour.  
     The elevator digger dug up the full row on a digging chain with the soil dropping through the chain and the potatoes and tops falling off the end at the back.  It required a four horse team to haul.  To help pay for the new machinery Mr. McLellan did custom work for his neighbours charging four dollars an acre for planting or for digging.
     "You could do about four acres a day with the digger," said Mr. McLellan, "but you would not stop too long at that."
GOOD ADVICE
     The producer said he received good service from the potato equipment which totalled $600 in cost at that time.  He was one of the larger producer in the area at the time growing about 10 acres.
     "It lightened the work and made it easier for the people involved.  I was never sorry I purchased the machinery."
     The farmer recalled he was one of the first to grow registered seed in the area.  He was able to purchase a 90 pound bag of Irish Cobblers from a shipment to a group of farmers in Lot 16.  
     One year a group of farmers went together and imported fertilizer ingredients in bulk and were able to reduce the cost to each of them by four dollars a ton.  Nitrate was shipped from Chile, potash from Germany and phosphate from the United States.  It arrived in Charlottetown and was sent out to the farms by rail where it was mixed.
     "Sometimes a late spring is not too bad a thing," said Mr. McLellan.
     The farmer who will be having his 91st birthday during the summer recalled that a researcher at the experimental station in Charlottetown had kept track of the type of spring and the resulting crop for 35 years and found that late springs were followed by betters harvests than those with early springs.

- Below is the article as it appears in Donna's scrapbook -

Lauretta ( Loretta ) School Kids - 1963

     On the back of this photo it says, "Loretta School Kids 1963".   
     Since Loretta School closed in 1960 with Shirley Barbour being the last teacher - maybe these were the school children from the Lauretta district who were then going to Alma School.

Photo cf. Donna (Barbour) MacPhee Collection

Above translated:

Loretta School Kids
Left to Right 1963
Back Row - Barry Arsenault; Burt Arsenault; Billy MacLellan; Leigh Arsenault.
2nd Row: Wayne MacLellan; Jimmy MacLellan
Seated:  Holly Arsenault; Beth Smallman; Debby McLellan; Judy Smallman; Doris Dunbar; 
Verna Smallman; Anne Barbour; Helen Barbour; Norma Smallman; Mary MacNeill
and Gail MacLellan.
On left seated - probably George MacNeill

Lauretta School Certificate of Promotion 1960

     We weren't sure when Lauretta (Loretta) School closed - some thought it was in the mid 1950's.  Well Donna (Barbour) MacPhee provides proof that it was 1960 with her Certificate of Promotion dated June 24th, 1960 - see her certificate below.  
     Lauretta School was closed in the mid 1950's, however, it was re-opened when Shirley Barbour (Donna's sister) took the teachers position in the fall of 1958 for two years.  Donna transferred from Alma School to Lauretta School for grades 8 and 9.

Thank-you Donna ( Barbour ) MacPhee

     Recently Donna ( Barbour ) MacPhee brought me a whole lot of photos, clippings, documents, etc. relating to the history of Alma and Lauretta.  I've started scanning them and will post them over the next few weeks.  She has a valuable collection and I sincerely thank her for sharing!!
     Donna is the daughter of Waldron & Daisy (Rix) Barbour of the Centerline Road, Alma.

Spurgeon Jeffery - Farmer, Building Hauler, Churchman

     The previous post on this blog was a 1938 article from the Guardian Newspaper about the accidental death of Spurgeon Jeffery.  
     Spurgeon was a well-known farmer and building hauler who lived in Lauretta and Alma.  In 1930 he moved his entire homestead up the Centerline Road to Alma - a distance of less than a mile. He moved the 12-year-old house, barns, and even the orchard.   My brother Kerras built a scaled model depicting the move.  
     Mabel (Jeffery) Barnett recalls the day the house passed by her family home (where Kerras lives today) - it was a memorable scene for a little 5-1/2 years old girl.
     Below are photos of the house and barn. 

Above, L-R:  Mary, George & Eva Jeffery with their mother Dorcas (Collicutt) Jeffery

     Kerras donated his motel to the Alberton Museum - below is a little booklet made-up for the occasion.  (click on the image to enlarge)

Here's photos of the model...

Spurgeon Jeffery killed at St. Louis October 1938

The Summerside Guardian and Prince County Chronicle

October 24, 1938 - Page 7

FATAL ACCIDENT -   A sad accident occurred at St. Louis on Friday afternoon about 5 o’clock resulting in the death of Mr. J. Spurgeon Jeffery of Alma, who was struck by the capstan of the machine used for hauling buildings.  Mr. Jeffery received such severe injuries to his head that he died about 11 o’clock that same evening.  Mr. Jeffery who is known all over the province as a contractor for moving buildings, was on a job at St. Louis moving a dwelling house when something went wrong with the machinery and Mr. Jeffery was struck such a blow on the head with the capsan that he was rendered unconscious.  The men who were working with him called Dr. J.A. Johnson of Tignish; Dr. R.H. Kennedy of Alberton was also called, but it was found that little could be done for him, and he was taken to his home, where he died without regaining consciousness.  The cause of death was a fracture at the base of the skull.  An inquest was not considered necessary.  Mr. Jeffery was a progressive farmer and had one of the best farms in the district of Alma.  He had operated a house moving outfit for many years and had moved many buildings all over the province.  One of the buildings moved by him was the Roman Catholic Church at Souris.  He was a member of the Anglican Church and an excellent citizen, and his death is a distinct loss to the community.  He was 75 years of age and leaves his wife formerly Miss Dorcas Collicutt of Lot 7, one son, George, and one daughter Eva; also a brother Rev. George A. Jeffery of Summerside, to all of whom much sympathy is extended in their sad bereavement.  The funeral took place on Sunday afternoon from his late residence to Holy Trinity Church at Alma, Rev. Wm. J. Phillips officiated at the service.  –S

Info cf. http://islandnewspapers.ca/islandora/object/guardian%3A19381024-007?solr[query]=Jeffery&solr[params][defType]=dismax&solr[params][facet]=true&solr[params][facet.mincount]=0&solr[params][facet.limit]=20&solr[params][facet.field][0]=PARENT_century_s&solr[params][facet.field][1]=PARENT_decade_s&solr[params][facet.field][2]=PARENT_year_s&solr[params][facet.field][3]=PARENT_month_s&solr[params][qt]=standard&solr[params][facet.date][0]=PARENT_dateIssued_dt&solr[params][f.PARENT_dateIssued_dt.facet.date.start]=NOW/YEAR-120YEARS&solr[params][f.PARENT_dateIssued_dt.facet.date.end]=NOW&solr[params][f.PARENT_dateIssued_dt.facet.date.gap]=%2B1YEAR&solr[params][f.PARENT_dateIssued_dt.facet.mincount]=0&solr[params][facet.date.start]=NOW/YEAR-20YEARS&solr[params][facet.date.end]=NOW&solr[params][facet.date.gap]=%2B1YEAR&solr[params][fq][0]=PARENT_decade_s%3A%221930%22&solr[params][qf]=OCR_t%5E10.0

Parmenas Currie, Lauretta

     Parmenas lived on the other side of the bush as Dad would say, he lived where Gary and Kim Beaton live today.  Minus, as he was known, was often mentioned in the goings-on in the journals of Eva and Mary Jeffery.
     Below is from The Island Regristry cf. http://www.islandregister.com/currie3.html
JOHN JAMES³ CURRIE,JR (JOHN CURRIE² SR, WILLIAM CURRIE¹) was born 19 February 1841 in Freetown lot 25 P.E.I. ', and died 29 January 1927 in at his son Rogers home Glenwood P.E.I.. He married MARY JANE BROOKS 20 December 1860, daughter of ROGER BROOKS and MARY SULLIVAN. She was born 18 November 1840, and died 14 February 1917.  John died at the home of his son Roger Currie at Glenwood P.E.I.
Children of JOHN CURRIE and MARY BROOKS are:
1. JAMES ROGER⁴ CURRIE, b. 5 December 1861, O' Leary P.E.I. ; d. 26 March 1949, Glenwood P.E.I.
2. PARMENAS CURRIE, b. April 1865, O' Leary P. E. I.; d. 1947, Alma P.E.I.
3. JOSIAH CURRIE, b. 10 August 1868, O' Leary P.E.I.; d. November 1967, Cape Wolfe. Burial: Cape Wolfe United Cemetery. Josiah Currie: 10 August 1868, Not married.
4. ZILPAH CURRIE, b. 28 June 1871, Springfield, P.E.I.; d. 12 October 1953, Berton Lot 7 P.E.I.
5. NELSON CURRIE, b. 22 August 1873, Alberton P.E.I.; d. 21 April 1934, Elmsdale, lot 3, P.E.I.
6. ANNIE LAURA CURRIE, b. 15 October 1875, Alberton P.E.I.; d. 1935.  Annie Laura Currie: 15 October 1875, Not married
7. MARY JEANETTE CURRIE, b. 3 March 1879, Alberton P.E.I.; d. 5 May 1968, St Petersburg Florida.
8. ETHLE CURRIE, b. Alma P.E.I.

PARMENAS⁴ (Minus) CURRIE (JOHN JAMES³, JOHN CURRIE² SR, WILLIAM CURRIE¹) was born April 1865 in O' Leary P. E. I., and died 1947 in Alma P.E.I.. He married CLARA ELIZA JANE GILLIAN, daughter of THOMAS GILLIAN. She was born 1867 in Huntley P.E.I., and died 30 January 1940 in Alma P.E.I.  Parmenas and Clara are buried at Holy Trinity Anglican Alma P.E.I.
Children of PARMENAS CURRIE and CLARA GILLIAN are:
1. JENNIE FORBES⁵ CURRIE, b. 15 January 1910; d. 19 November 1935. Burial: Holy Trinity Anglican Alma P.E.I.
2. REAGH GLIDDEN CURRIE, b. 22 March 1903; d. 1988.  WWII Veteran. Burial: Holy Trinity Anglican Alma P.E.I.
3. MYRTLE CURRIE.  Died in Infancy?

Homestead wells

     I was asking my father, Wilbert Jeffery, about dug water wells in the area of Alma and Lauretta.  He said there were few of them around.  Most homesteads relied on ground springs bubbling up into brooks and waterways for water used in the house and for livestock.
     He said in Lauretta the only people who had a dug well were John Smith and Birt Smith (neighbours) who lived across the road from Lauretta School.  Wilbert said when they were going to school they had no water at the school, so they would go into Birt Smith's porch and help themselves to the water.
     Digging a well was a large project - not only was it great labour to dig, then it had to be lined with sandstones to keep the walls from falling.
     Below is an image of digging a well.  cf. http://www.nzdl.org

     After the well was dug an enclosure was built around it to keep out dirt, animals and people from falling in.

O'Brien-Jeffery House, Lauretta/Elmsdale

     I always thought this house was a 1970's bungalow, but no.  My father, Wilbert Jeffery, told me this house once belonged to Peter O'Brien of Lauretta.  It was located on the south side of Centerline Road behind (west) of Bona McLellan's farm.   In Cumin's 1928 Atlas of Prince Edward Island it shows that 50-acre property being owned by Geo. Barnett.  The house was small with two rooms, a large kitchen and a bedroom.
      Peter used the house when he was working over on the farm.  His main homestead was beside Abram/Louis/Kerras Jeffery's - the first property in Lauretta on the north side of Centerline Road.  

     In 1947 Gordon Jeffery (son of Louis Jeffery) and his wife Freda Barnett moved this house to the Western Road in Elmsdale (across from the Griffins) and fixed it up.  In recent years the house was raised and added to.

     Not long after Gordon and Freda moved this house, Gordon went to Montreal for back back surgery - a disk problem.  Wilbert thought it was 1948 or 1949.  After surgery Gordon arrived by train and came off on a stretcher - he was in full body cast.  A big surgery in those days, however, he recovered well.   

     After a few years Gordon and Freda sold the house and moved to Alberton.

Centerline Road (Rte.151) Alma

     The Centerline Road in Alma goes east and west from the Western Raod (Rte. 2) taking the district of Alma to the east to Montrose and to the west to Lauretta and St. Lawrence.  Wilbert Jeffery recalls  in the summer of 1956 the government improved the Centerline Road from the Western Road down to the Klondike Rd. (today the McLellan Rd).  Wilbert Jeffery was asked by road-overseer Stanford Greene (he took over from Roy Burns) if he'd like a job working on the road.  The equipment was fairly basic, shovels and a bulldozer.  Wilbert recalls the dozer operator was Alfred Cormier (d. Sept.2011) of Waterford.  Wilbert's job was to move away the stray rocks and brush that came put on the road from ditching so cars passing wouldn't be damaged by the debris.
     The following year, 1957, the power poles and lines were brought into Alma and Lauretta - from the Western Road in to the Klondike Road.  About half of the residents on the road connected.  Wilbert recalls a neighbour saying, "I couldn't afford to buy the kerosene last year, so I don't think I'll be able to wire the house and connect to the electricity."  At the time Wilbert also recalls Premier Matheson saying, "we're paying 90% of the cost to put the electricity through the countryside."   Wilbert & Verna Jeffery got power to the Stephen/David Jeffery Homestead in 1964.     

 

     The Centerline Line Road was the road cut through the middle of Lot-3 from St. Lawrence to Montrose - it was the "center line of Lot-3".  In the 1863 Lake Map above you can see that it was first known as the "proposed road".  Click on map to enlarge.

Homesteads of Lauretta - 1928

     Below is a plan I drew of the homesteads of Lauretta using the Cummins 1928 Atlas of Prince Edward Island.  
     The Atlas also lists the property owner's name, address, wife and children's names.  It's a wonderful resource.

Below: an older version of the Cummins 1928 Atlas.

 http://www.islandimagined.ca/fedora/repository/imagined:collection/-/Island%20Imagined/3

Above: a more recent, reprint copy of the Cummins 1928 Atlas.

Justin Smith, champion powerlifter ties to Lauretta

     There’s a connection to Lauretta in this story about Justin Smith – Justin’s grandfather was Weldon Smith of Lauretta.  Weldon was the son of Birt & Violet Smith – they lived across the road from Lauretta School on the Centerline Road.
     This story appeared in this weeks West Prince Graphic - http://peicanada.com/west_prince_graphic/publication/mount_pleasant_powerlifter_captures_three_medals_poland

Mount Pleasant powerlifter captures three medals in Poland

Wed, 09/05/2012 - 05:15 /By Cindy Chant / cindy@peicanada.com

             At just 18-year-old, Justin Smith has some more medals to put under his weight lifting belt after his recent trip to Szczyrk, Poland. The Mount Pleasant powerlifter not only won a gold, silver and bronze medals at the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Powerlifting Championships, he set a new world record for his deadlift.

            “When I won the medals it was a moment of awe, and felt that my past three years in the sport finally paid off,” said Mr Smith. He explained, “After I pulled my first deadlift (which was already good for a gold medal) I felt awesome because I knew that it was going to be good for either gold or silver since it was so far ahead of the second place starter.”

            For the competition Mr Smith was in the men’s subjunior 59 kilogram weight class, down from the 66 kilogram class he is used to competing against in the deadlift of 235.5 kilograms.

            “After I pulled the world record rather easily on my second I felt like I was on top of the world,” said Mr Smith.

            Powerlifting involves three components - the squat, the bench press and the dead lifts. The weight successfully hoisted in all three events is then combined for the competitor’s total score. That’s based on total weight lifted, divided by body weight. Evangeline Recreation Centre in Abrams Village has been called home for Mr Smith in preparation to the upcoming event.

            According to Mr Smith the silver overall medal felt more like a gold given the circumstances of how close the competition was.

            “It really came down to the last lift which unfortunately slipped from my grip,” he said.

            “I checked the final results/statistics and I actually have the best deadlift in the world, not only for my specific division, but for the entire sub-junior age division.”

            The grounded teen encourages anyone who is interested in getting into the competitive sport to take a few words of advice.

            “Firstly that they will not get big and bulky like the professional bodybuilders we constantly see on the cover of the magazines, regardless of gender. Expect to get in the shape of your life and gain a lot of strength and energy doing so. Also when starting out, what you lift is not important at that time. Proper form and technique to do the exercises is the most important thing,” said Mr Smith. He went on to say, “Lastly, if they take the time and dedicate themselves to the sport, they will get somewhere.”

            The three medals will hang over Mr Smiths’ team Canada T-shirt, which has yet to arrive after ordering it before leaving Poland. He will be keeping with tradition as all Mr Smith’s medals hang over his competition shirts.

            The world championships wrapped up Sept 2.

Abigail Jeffery

     Abigail Jeffery was born on August 6, 1898, baptized on September 11, 1898.  She died on October 3, 1911 probably of pneumonia or meningitis - she was buried the following day at Holy Trinity Alma cemetery.
     Abilgail was the daughter of Spurgeon Jeffery and Dorcas Collicutt.  There is little known about Abigail, other than she was a child living with her parents, a brother and two sisters - they lived at the corner of Centerline Road and Klondike Road (today known as MacLellan Road) in Lauretta.  Amoung the papers found in her family's home, following the death of her sister Eva in 1982, was the hand-written short story below, likely a class assignment at Lauretta School.  The story was possibly told to her about her grandfather Stephen E. Jeffery who was a blacksmith down the Centerline Road less than a mile away in Alma - Stephen died two months after Abigail.  Abigail's uncle Albert was a blacksmith at Alma Corner and her uncle Robert was blacksmith in Elmsdale.

     Abigail was likely named after her grand aunt Abigail (Jeffery) Burns, sister of her grandfather Stephen E. Jeffery of Alma.  Aunt Abigail (1826-1913) lived in Sherbrooke, PEI.

     Spurgeon and Dorcas lost three children at a young age – Elizabeth died at 7 days old on June 9 1887 (first to be buried at Holy Trinity Alma Cemetery); and a daughter Hannah died at the age of 7 years old on May 1898.

Off to Malagash Salt Mine

     In 1939 Stephen Kinch, son of Martin & Theresa (Walsh) Kinch of Alma, and Harold Jeffery, son of Louis & Annie Jane (Cannon) Jeffery of Lauretta, left their homes on their bicycles, off to find work in the Malagash Salt Mine in Malagash, Nova Scotia - they traveled the whole distance on their bikes.  According to MapQuest, on today's roads, that's a distance of 262 miles from Alma to Malagash. 
     Harold was 18-years-old in June 1939 that year - he worked in the mines for 2-1/2 years.  Expecting to be called to serve in WWII, he left Malagash and came back to Lauretta to wait for the call.  He was in the army for 3-1/2 years - training in western Canada and did not serve overseas. 
     Martin also went on to fight in WWII.

Above: a bicycle similar to those sold in the 1930's

cf. Google Images.
http://www.autogallery.org.ru/adler.htm

     The Malagash Salt Mine was the first rock salt mine in Canada.  It opened in 1918 and closed in 1959.

Above: Malagash Salt Mine c.1930s

cf. http://www.museevirtuel-virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/histoires_de_chez_nous-community_memories/pm_v2.php?lg=English&ex=00000308&fl=0&id=exhibit_home

Lauretta Post Office

     Lauretta had a post office from 1897 to 1913 - it was last operated by Mrs. Catherina O'Brien and likely from her home.  Cummins 1928 Atlas shows the O'Briens living in the area of the school.
     Below is information from Post Offices and Postmasters - National Archives of Canada website giving the name of the three postmasters and the dates they operated Lauretta Post Office. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/post-offices/001001-119.01-e.php?&isn_id_nbr=14965&interval=24

     If one might have doubted the existence of the post office, the postmark below can be found in the book, "2000 Postmarks of Prince Edward Island 1814 to 1995" by G. Douglas Murray, on page 117.

Pte. John Callistus McLellan, WWI

     John Callistus McLellan was the son of Augustine and Elizabeth (Walsh) McLellan and brother of W.B. "Bony" McLellan.  John joined the 27th Battalion Canadian Infantry Manitoba Regiment as a private on September 14, 1915.  He was killed in action on November 17, 1917 and buried in Belgium.

Information cf. Norma McLellan

Lauretta School - No. 171

     The origin of the community of Lauretta's naming is described in Geographical Places Names of Prince Edward Island, "Possibly named for a teacher, such as Lauretta Nelligan, who was teaching at DeBlois Road in 1898". 
 
     One of the first references to the Centerline School, (Lauretta School) No. 171, can be found in the 1894 Annual Report of the Prince Edward Island School Superintendent.  He indicates the school has no teacher or pupils and the following years reports the same. 
      The first school teacher of Centreline School was Adeline Arsenault, she began to teach on July 1, 1896 and taught there until June 30, 1898.  That first year W.B.*Bony* McLellan was nine years old and there were 55 students enrolled. 
     Lauretta School pupils were photographed in 1897 - Nellie (Smith) Beaeristo showed me the photograph in the mid-1980s.  She told me on that day in 1897 she and Eva Jeffery were 5 years old and not yet going to school, however, they were sent up to the school to be included in the photograph.  In the early 1980's there were two known copies of this photo, Nellie's and Bony McLellans, neither seem to have survived.
     The following is a list of known teachers who taught here during those first years:

 1896‑1898      Adeline Arsenault

 1898‑1899      Katie Hennessey

 1899‑1902      Stephen Jeffery, Class 3 license
 1902‑190?      E. Christopher

 195?‑              Shirley Barbour     

     The Lauretta School closed in the early 1950’s, students were sent to Alma School.  Lauretta School was sold to Lawrence Arsenault who lived across the road and used it as a barn.  I remember the old school being there in the late 1960's - it was demolished sometime in the early 1970's.

     I am not aware of any photographs of Lauretta school.  Below is an illustration of the school drawn by Donna (Barbour) MacPhee when a student here in the 1950's.

W.B. *Bony* McLellan Homestead, Lauretta

     This is an aerial view of the William "Bony" McLellan homestead on the Klondike Road ( today known as the McLellan Road ) in Lauretta.  This homestead disappeared in the late 1970's. 

     Photo cf. Donna McLellan Rowley (granddaughter of Bony).

     Bona was married first to Lucy MacIntyre (dtr. of Augustine MacIntyre of Grand River) who died giving birth to twins of which one survived, Lucy (1916-2011). Bona then married Annie MacIntyre of Alma - from this union were the following children: Hester, Mildred, Marion, Jack, Carl, Claud, Lemuel, Anna, Doris and Irving.
     Bony was the son of Augustine McLellan and Elizabeth Walsh - he came west as a lad to work at William Walsh's in Elmsdale and married his daughter.  They moved to Lauretta when Bony was 2-years-old.   It's been always said that they were one of the first settlers in Lauretta.  Bony died on May 13, 1980.  cf.  Norma McLellan