PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE EARLY EUROPEAN IMMIGRANT.
THE STORY OF A YOUNG POLISH SCHOOL TEACHER. (con't)
"In 1903, in the early spring, we started out on the long voyage in
search of a new home. After a month of dreary journeying we reached
our destination, which was Yorkton, Saskatchewan. This little prairie
town was a lonesome, dreary looking place in comparison with what I was
accustomed to see. The late spring, the chilly atmosphere, and the ab-
sence of fruit trees grieved us all. Yet in spite of all this, my father
cheerfully located a homestead about twenty-five miles southwest of this
point, and in a short time a little 'shack' stood in the wilderness. Day
after day passed by and we saw only a lonely hawk, or a prowling prairie
wolf, but no sign of man. Gradually we forgot the hardships, though they
were always present, and determined to accept the new conditions as
cheerfully as possible. Occasionally I accompanied my father when he
drove to town, and assisted him in purchasing provisions. Oh! how I
longed to be able to converse in English! I made use of a Polish dictionary,
but my pronunciation was far different from what it should have been.
On many occasions I could not make myself understood, and was only
laughed at. The organization of a school district in our settlement was
very slow, on account of the ignorance of the people and the scarcity of
English teachers. Finally my wish was fulfilled. A school house was
built and an English teacher was secured.
"My primary school work in English commenced when I was fourteen
years old. The attitude of the teacher toward his work, his method in
teaching, and his strong personality stimulated in me a desire to continue
the school work. Being under his influence for one year and a half, I
obtained an excellent elementary knowledge of the English language. Now,
I had a foundation to begin studies in the Regina training school, which
was an inferior branch of the provincial normal school.
"After having attended during two winter sessions, I was fortunate
enough in obtaining the equivalent to grade eight standing, and during
the summer was permitted to take charge of a certain remote rural school.
This was really a great advantage to me in securing the necessary financial
assistance which I always lacked.
"The following year I was in a position to commence high school work
at Yorkton, and succeeded in obtaining the third class, part 1 academic
certificate. As soon as the school session ended, I had the pleasure of
teaching in a Bukovinian settlement near Theodore. The time passed
rapidly, as I was intensely interested in teaching these children to speak
English. After five months, I was again at Yorkton, planning my future
school life. Consequently, I decided to build a 'shack' on a lot of my
own. For a considerable time I was busy hammering, cooking, studying
and attending high school quite regularly. I now had a shelter of my
own. I worked at everything cheerfully, and was well rewarded for carry-
ing out my duties by passing my examinations for the second part of the
third class teacher's certificate. The next year I obtained the teacher's
third class professional license at the Yorkton normal school, and I se-
cured a position in Homeland district, near the village of MacNutt. After
having taught for eight months, I was able to finance a further course at
Bibliography follows:
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