A quiet but sociable young lady who retains the dignity generally supposed to belong to lengthy hair. She has never been known to be late bus no one has ever seen her hurry. She is made for a "school marm." — 1929 Kayaitchess

Our family home was just across the street from the High School on St. Paul Street. The schoolyard was gravel and was not landscaped with grass until many years later.

When I entered grade one, Kamloops School was crowded so our grade one class was located in the High School. Our grade one teacher was Ethel Austin. There were two classes, “A” and “B’ as some students began in September and some in January depending upon your birthday. I started in January so was in the “B” class. I stayed on for grade 2 in the High School. In grade two, my teacher was Kathleen Lawrence.

For grade three I was in the Kamloops Public School, known as the Kamloops School. The next year, due to overcrowding, I went to school in a commercial building across from the old courthouse (where the Klapstock Building now stands) on the corner of First and Victoria. There were three elementary classes in the old courthouse on the S.W. corner (current location of City Hall). We had to cross first avenue to go to the outdoor bathroom at the Court House biffy — it was cold !

All of the children who lived east of Fifth Avenue, were destined to go to the new school being planned for Dominion Street and Eighth Ave. We were located in temporary quarters.

In 1922 a new elementary school, or public school as elementary schools were then known, was built. There was a contest won by Alice Powers and Dorothy Matthews, the daughter of Allan Matthews, to select the name for the elementary schools. Lloyd George and Stuart Wood Elementary were the names suggested by both girls.

In 1924 I went to Vancouver for a while. When I returned, I was placed in Stuart Wood Elementary School. Elementary schools in those days went up to grade 8.

I entered grade 9, the first year of high school in 1925. By 1928 I had completed grade 11. There were only a few students in grade twelve.

In the fall of 1928 I returned to the High School to take Special Commercial. The room was crowded. There was little room for aisles between the desks. During that year the Junior High Building was constructed and by 1930 junior high students started going to the High School. That was also the year of “Black October” when the depression began.

Some of the teachers I remember are:

• Miss Muriel M. Murray, a very good teacher. Triple “M” we called her. Interestingly enough, she was followed by “triple “K”, Karl K. Knapp.
• I was very fond of R.B. Masterson who, in some ways, appeared to be an absent minded professor, but he was a wonderful teacher.
• Miss Elsie Carr was our Special Commercial teacher.
• Agnes Ure, later Mrs. Burton was our English teacher.
• A young teacher, Ruth Harrison was our history teacher. She was very interested in Little Theatre.

Kathleen Bones, Sarah Embury, Marjorie Moffat, Jessie Mac Callum, Bertha Erickson, Meryle Wain, Joan Carter, Brenda Moffatt, Margaret Kenward, Ellsie Corben and coach Arthur Stevenson.

We had a great basketball team. Art Stevenson, an elementary teacher, was our coach. Sometimes we played as a School team, sometimes as a KAA Hall team. Mr. Stevenson was the president of the KAA so it didn’t really matter. After graduation I played for the City team. In1934 when I was playing for the KAA City Team we were the provincial champions. Art Stevenson was a very caring individual who later worked for the Red Cross in Physical Training during the War.

After leaving school I worked for my father’s electrical business and then at the army medical store from 1943 until just after the War. I then became a newspaper reporter for the Kamloops Sentinel. I worked for the Sentinel for 30 years, and was the City Editor for the last ten years (the Sentinel in those years was the major newspaper in Kamloops).

As a newspaper reporter I covered School Board meetings. During the 40’s and 50”s the School Board Office was above Taylor’s Bookstore (later known as Passmore’s Bookstore) and after the High School moved to Munro St. and the old school was re-named the Allan Matthews Elementary School, the School Board moved upstairs in the Allan Matthews School. The secretary treasurer was A.J. Blake and his young assistant, Alan MacLeod.

Meryl Matthews as Chairman of the Board of School Trustees From left to right: Henry Grube, Dave Kenall, Mel Rothenburger, Jake Jansen, Meryl Matthews, Chuck Kuhn, Don Gavin, Russ Gerard, and Tom Balson.

Meryl Matthews made Freeman of the City

In 1946, as a result of the Cameron Commission, the district expanded. Many of the rural people were not happy with the cost of running a large school district. I remember one meeting when Mr. Blake and Al. MacLeod asked for a raise. The Board refused and they both resigned and left the meeting mad. The next week they were back and I never knew whether they got a raise or not. Because funds were not included in the plan to improve rural school facilities and all of the money in the referendum was to be used to build a new high school in the city, the 1948 referendum failed to get support in the rural areas of the district. That’s the main reason the referendum failed to pass. (Before 1946 municipalities had to provide the property and pay for a good portion of school construction. After 1946 school districts could raise their own funds but had to have their proposals approved by voters.)

Meryl Wain married Fred Matthews in 1948. Her husband passed away in 1974.