Education for their children was always a priority for my parents. Neither of them were able to pursue their own educational opportunities, so both were determined their daughters would have the best education possible and establish good careers.
Reading to each other was always something we simply just did in our household. Stories on a lazy Sunday morning, a book under our pillows at night to read quietly if we woke up early, regular visits to the local library, all were treasured parts of my childhood.
School was taken seriously and my parents regularly attended parent/teacher nights, attended school events and helped out where they could. Time and space was devoted to homework and study. The school community was a big part of our lives.
Both my parents left school for economic reasons. My mother finished her education a few weeks short of her Year 9 Matriculation when her father’s health deteriorated and she had to find work to help keep the family afloat. My father similarly had his school days cut short in order to start earning a living and help out the family. Storied of their school days were few.
Cleaning out the family home after my parents passed away gave me new insights into their school days. Tucked away on an old shoebox in the linen cupboard, I found a box of photos and papers which included all my mother’s school grade photos. Dated 1935, I found an old school certificate of my father’s for coming second in a relay race. A photo of my father and some of his siblings in the pony trap driving themselves to school was also in the box. Precious memories of my parents’ distant school days.
#52Ancestors
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