Description
Audio tape of museum summer student Interviewing Helen Shepherd. She was a teacher for 38 years in North Bay at King George, King Edward, and through out the city with students who needed extra help towards the end of her career. Also, she even taught English to foreign students before her retirement. Helen remembers that she always wanted to be a teacher and began her career in the 1930s initially on a trial basis. She had very few bad memories she recalled about her teaching days. Much of her memories focused on the enriching experience and happy memories she had being a teacher. She even discussed the fact many women had to give up their job if they married, which Shepherd was not willing to do. She called herself a
old maid but she had been very happy and content with her job.
She also talks about her experiences living in North Bay during WWII. She talks about
the men going to war, and how she participated in the war effort by knitting, and sending parcels trying to make the soldiers lives a little easier. She talked about how the war affected her family. Shepherd had a 18 year old cousin go to the war, and die. She talks about this event and how it made this period of time hard and trying for their family. Despite her not having any brothers she talked about how this event impacted her and her family.
Shepherd talked about her family and their lives. Her older sister, Muriel, wanted to be a nurse however her dad, Ralph, did not want her to be a nurse, instead he wanted her to be a teacher.
Shepherd could tell that her sister was not was not happy. Muriel ended up marrying and working in a bank and later had a daughter, also named Helen.Creator
Peter Handley