SNOW DAYS in the HORNBINE SCHOOL NEIGHBORHOOD of REHOBOTH, MA
Electricity was not in the Hornbine School neighborhood until sometime in the 1920s. So, when there was a heavy snow, how did anyone know if school had been cancelled?
According to students who attended the school… “If it snowed, the children walked to school. If the teacher wasn’t there, they knew they had a SNOW DAY and they would return home!”
Evelyn Rose Boise lived on Purchase Street in the 1920s and 30s. She had six siblings. When they had a heavy snow, their father attached a large log behind the family horse. He would lead the horse down Hornbine Road to the school.
All seven children would sit on the log to add weight and help pack the snow on the road.
Evelyn said that the children thought it was great fun!
Frances Magan Jones lived in the Hornbine School neighborhood.
Her mother would get up early and start the wood furnace in the school building to warm it up for the school day.
She would attend to all the other custodial duties including providing water.
Frances and her brother attended the school.
She was one of the few students who went on to High School graduating at the young age of 16! Frances will turn 100 years old this June.
We invite you to visit with her on June 26th.