No. And I- this is another thing I can remember one of the, it was one of the boys was acting up and the teacher sent me to the principal's office to get the strap, 'cause he was going to be strapped and I thought, "I 'm not going to get that strap." And so I went and I waited around and waited around outside the office and just sort-of walked back and forth and came back and said, "The principal wasn 't there, I couldn't get the strap." Interviewer: And what did the teacher say? Speaker: She said, "Well, we’ll get it later." So I don 't know if I ever got it later, but I was bound I wasn't going to get him that strap.

Interviewer: Was there punishment if you stepped out of line, kind-of-thing? Speaker: No. Nobody stepped out of line. Interviewer: No, they knew better. Speaker: Um, yeah. I did get the strap twice. Interviewer: Did you? Speaker: Once unjustifiably. Only from Mr-H too. Oh no, there 's a man- a vice-principal named Mr-B. He administered the strap. Forgotten that.

Speaker: Well there were few guys with l-- th-- at that time the strap still existed and you-know p-- I didn't get the strap. I got spanked once by a teacher, which would be entirely inappropriate today, but um you- know some of them had anger-management-problems, let 's just put it that way.

Speaker: And I got in kaka one day because it was in the wintertime and we were horsing around and we got throwing snowballs, and I was throwing snowballs over at the girls. And I got- Interviewer: So how bad was the kaka? Speaker: Oh not bad, I ah- I never did get the strap. This was back in the strap days. Interviewer: All of those years. Speaker: I went to school in the strap days, I never got the strap so I wasn't that bad a guy really. (laughs) I never got the strap but I did- that w-- I can remember that ah I can remember that.

Speaker: Ah, um teachers are teachers, I guess. Interviewer: Yeah. Were they good. Speaker: Professional. For the most part, yes. Interviewer: Strict? Speaker: Well your- things were a little more strict then, yeah. And you can get the strap at school- Speaker: I don't think they do that anymore.

Speaker: Oh I really liked it. At that time, there were all nuns teaching us. Interviewer: Oh. Speaker: And ah, they were cross. They could give you the strap. When you got it, you deserved it but- Interviewer: Oh dear. Speaker: You got it pretty good. Interviewer: (Laughs) Did you ever get the strap yourself? Speaker: Lots of times. Everyday (laughs). Interviewer: Oh man. Speaker: I wasn't an easy patient. Yeah. Interviewer: What did- do you remember what you got the strap for? Speaker: You name it, I got it (laughs).

Speaker: And I had to- couple, one man teacher, which I hated. Interviewer: What did he do? Was he mean? Speaker: Well, every time I made a mistake, I'd get the strap. A spelling mistake, every spelling test, every s-- I got a s-- whack on my hands for every mistake I made. And he'd walk down the row watching (inc) and I'd be doing something- spelling something wrong and hit me over the head with a book or hit me with a ruler.

You-know you thought, "Mm, if I do that, I'm going to get in trouble at home, trouble with the teacher, go to the office and get the strap ... n-- I don't I'm going to do that."

Speaker: He had a different teacher. He had um, miss, what's her name? Anyway she's still alive and she was really cross and ah, he used to get the strap every once and a while.

Interviewer: Somebody get in trouble for something they never did? Speaker: Oh well that's just part of growing up I-guess. Interviewer: Yeah? Did you ever get in trouble for something you never did? Speaker: Don't think so. I lived through school without getting a strap. Interviewer: Did anybody get the strap that you knew? Speaker: Oh I think one or two of them may have got them, but it depends on the teacher.

Speaker: Oh the t-- we had- oh they p-- the principal that we had at Victoria-Street, the kids would love to get in trouble with him because (laughs) he had asthma so if you had to get the strap for every time he go "(deep inhale)" (laughs) they knew that they'd be into great trouble in ah- like they'd- they like to get in trouble just to get him (laughs) to have to breathe. Interviewer: Get him going. Speaker: To breathe ah funny.

Speaker: Well she said, "The paper's not wet so it couldn't have-" so she gave me the strap. Interviewer: Ooo! Speaker: Yeah, oh she was pretty strict. Interviewer: Oh my goodness. Speaker: And then I got the strap once more after that, I started learning a bit better (laughs). Interviewer: What did you get the strap for the second time? Speaker: Ah, pretty well the same thing, I ah- Interviewer: (Laughs) Speaker: (Laughs) First I won the (inc). Interviewer: (Laughs) Speaker: Yeah, oh well.

Interviewer: Yeah. Were you ah- were you a good student in school? Speaker: I think so. Interviewer: Yeah? Speaker: (Laughs) Interviewer: So were- would you ah tutor the younger kids? Speaker: Oh I have helped a bit, yeah. I have helped a bit. Never did get the strap so that must have (laughs)- Interviewer: (Laughs) Speaker: Yeah. Either- either I was good or I never got caught (laughs).

Interviewer 1: Magical. Speaker: Yeah it was, it was. As a kid, you would feel it was magical. Except of course when the nuns were giving you the strap, which I never got by the way. (laughs) Interviewer 2: Oh. Did you ever see anyone? Speaker: But almost everybody else did, eh? Interviewer 2: You saw people get the strap? Speaker: Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. Interviewer 2: What did they do? Speaker: Well it was- it was a- we had one nun, ah, Sister-Kenneth- so they used to take a saint's name, so I-don't-know, Sister-S-- Si-- Sister- Saint-James of the cross, or Sister-Kenneth.

Speaker: Because she was a person that if you turned around a little bit your head you'd get a strap. Interviewer: Did you ever get the strap? Speaker: No, I didn't. Interviewer: No? No, you were careful. Did you see anybody else? Speaker: I was c-- eh? Interviewer: Did you see other people get the strap? Speaker: Oh-my-God, yes.

Speaker: I had- I struggled when I went to school because it was mostly Kashub. Then they- and the teachers were trying to teach us English and as soon as we'd get outside for recess it was always Kashub so we'd get the strap if we got caught. Interviewer: Oh, did you? Speaker: Yeah. If we got caught, we'd get the strap for speaking Kashub. I

Interviewer: Do you think teachers were stricter back then than they are now? Speaker: Well, yes, they were. Interviewer: What happened if you did something bad. Speaker: Got the strap. Interviewer: Did you ever get the strap? Speaker: Yeah. Interviewer: What did you do? Speaker: Pulled my hand away? Interviewer: Did that get you in even worse trouble? Speaker: Well, sort of.

Speaker: And it seems the one guy, no matter what he did, the teacher always seen him. So. Interviewer: Oh okay, yeah it doesn't mat-- they're- yeah, in my elementary-school too, always saw him. Doesn't matter how sneaky he's trying to be. Speaker: Yup, yup. Interviewer: Okay, would they um get the strap or- or the ruler? Speaker: Yes. Now they got the strap. Interviewer: Okay, was that a big- did they kind of d-- would they do it in front of everyone to teach them a lesson? I've heard my parents talk about teachers doing that. Speaker: It depended on the teacher.

Speaker: Oh, mostly it was for not doing your homework. Interviewer: Oh really? Speaker: Oh yeah, they were- they- some of them were strict. Interviewer: Okay. Speaker: Or if you didn't behave in class you would get the strap but ah- for some it was every day, but- Interviewer: Mm-hm. Okay. Speaker: Yeah. But others wouldn't get the strap at all. Interviewer: Oh that's- Speaker: But the teachers, they'd find other methods of- of punishing you.

Speaker: And we used to get the strap. Interviewer: Oh, did you guys? Yeah. Speaker: Oh, yeah, like if- if you weren't behaving, they sent you to the principal's office and you waited and you go the strap. Interviewer: And the principal gave it out? Speaker: I never did, but- yeah.