Reflections Of Fenelon Falls Secondary School Cadets On Colborne Street

Just like in the military, the students were organized into platoons, each of which had a lieutenant and a sergeant. Day after day, they would practice their marching to prepare for inspection, when the students would show their discipline as they marched and stood together as one, just as in the military. They marched and they marched and they marched—day after day. No coats allowed in winter, and wearing their full uniforms on a hot sunny day. They were learning to have the strength and resilience of good soldiers.

For many years boys were expected to carry rifles as their marched. They would also learn marksmanship, as they practiced their shooting—often at Hartley Graham’s gravel pit. There were not always teachers present as the boys learned how to shoot. Many of the cadets were already proficient with arms, having grown up on a farm, where they were needed to help control predators. The rifle team went to compete at Camp Borden and Jordan, near Niagara Falls. But imagine what the school board would say today about giving the students guns and live ammunition without teacher supervision! They knew they had to be responsible.

This photograph reflects what a different place Fenelon Falls was in interwar years. How would motorists feel about having the cadets march and stand for inspection on the main street today? At the time, it was common to hold special events and celebrations on Colborne Street—the cadet inspection would be an important event for the town. In the background is Deyman’s Furniture and Undertaking, which was one of the village’s longest running businesses. At the time, no one would have found it odd to buy furniture in the funeral parlour, because the Deyman family were the village’s joiners—they had the woodworking skills to make caskets and household furniture. To the right is Little’s Ford Dealership—the village’s first car retailer. On the other side of the main street the Robson Family sold tractors and farm implements. Imagine having multiple car dealers and implement shops on the main street of Fenelon Falls.

During the interwar years, the cadets faded away, only to be revived during the Second World War. Once again, some students had the experience of having family members serve overseas. Some had the dreaded experience of being called out of class—everyone knew the bad new they were receiving. Would anyone in class ever forget that memory? After the war, the cadets continued to be a mandatory part of the curriculum for boys and girls. Not everyone thought that all students should receive basic military training—but in that era, it was a difficult subject to broach. Science Teacher Bud McCardle was also a veteran and did not believe that it was appropriate that students were being pushed into it. He had the nerve to allow students to work with him on maintaining the school’s flower beds instead.

In the 1950s, the school and the village were changing rapidly. By then practically every family had a car and the main street was becoming a busy highway, especially in summer. Up to the mid twentieth century, villages had their own continuation school, but with the advent of bussing, the continuation schools of northern Victoria County were consolidated into Fenelon Falls Continuation School. Within a few years, the school had a gymnasium and it would not be long until the school’s cadet corps was disbanded. Instead of marching down Colborne Street in uniform with rifle, the next generation of kids could play basketball in the gym. The cadet program continues to this day separate from local secondary schools.

This story is part of our partnership with Maryboro Lodge, The Fenelon Falls Museum.

If you want to make a donation to the museum, you can e-transfer to: [email protected] or mail a cheque to :

Maryboro Lodge Museum

Box 179

50 Oak Street

Fenelon Falls, ON

K0M 1N0