School days, School days,
Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic
Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick
You were my queen in Calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate - "I love you Joe"
When we were a couple of kids......
This old jingle came to mind when pondering a theme for this cache located where the old Bideford School building once stood. Author Lucy Maud Montgomery taught here for one year in 1894/95 after graduating Teachers College in Charlottetown, and boarded at the Parsonage during her tenure. A museum is now operational in that old Victorian structure located about one quarter mile down the highway from this site. In 1977, the old school house was demolished and the grounds were converted into a beautiful little picnic park. A rock cairn was constructed on the site recognizing the contribution of William Ellis, his family, and his shipbuilding business partners. It was because of this large enterprise that many shipbilding craftsmen emigarted to this area - mainly from the Devonshire area of England. The surnames of these emigrants are still quite predominant in the Bideford, Ellerslie, Tyne Valley and adjacent areas. Other caches pertaining to William Ellis and to the Golden era of Shipbuilding in this area are located at Port Hill (not far from this location) in "Green Park", a PEI Provincial Park, Museum and Heritage Site.