The school District served from Mary Ryan’s in Rock Barra at the west to, Tom MacEachern’s at the East end of the district.

Some of the teachers at the school were: Flora MacIsaac, Peggy Campbell, Janette MacInnis, Joe MacDonald, Mr. DesRoches, Rene Doucette, Helen Gillis, Eileen MacEachern, Anna (Rose) MacAulay, Marguerite MacMahon, Genevieve (Campbell) Holland, Bernice MacPhee, Albert Mooney, Patrick Holland, Sadie Monney, Molly Campbell, Rene Doucette, Gene MacAulay, Mary Ryan, and Helen Gillis.

Most of the students that attended the Priest Pond School walked a kilometer or more to school each day. For lunch most students brought their lunches so they could stay and eat lunch with all their friends. The students also had two ten minute recesses one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The children loved to play games such as tag and ball. The children loved to go coasting and have snowball fights in the winter time. The children also liked to pick spruce gum in the woods and pick apples.

Like most other one-room schools the children that attended this school had chores to do. The students were responsible for sweeping the floors, cleaning the blackboards, gather wood for the fire, taking in drinking water and the older boys were in charge of lighting the fire.

The school had a visit once or twice a year from the Superintendent Mr. Harold Hynes. Mr. Hynes would ask the students and teachers questions to check to see how they were doing. He also checked he condition of the school and its facilities.

A Red Cross Nurse came to the school once a year to check all the students for head lice, to check their eye sight and to check their teeth.

The School was part of the Eastern Kings family of schools. The Consolidation of Schools was in 1965. This school was open until at least 1968.

History

The name Priest Pont was in use in 1832. It is believed by many that Priest Pond was named for Bishop A. Bernard MacEachern. He was born in Scotland in 1759, came to P.E.I. in 1790. He ministered to the population of P.E.I., N.B., northern Nova Scotia and the Magdalen Islands. He was first Bishop of the Diocese of Charlottetown.

Priest Pond’s first school was located across the road from its present location. The school was relocated and is now a storage building owned by Grace Ryan.

Jack Ryan built a lobster factory in Priest Pond in 1904, which was later operated by his son William. Mr. Ryan also owned a factory at Black Point.

There was a blacksmith forge, owned by Joe Dunphy, located just west of the school. Donald Fraser owned a mill in Priest Pond. The Campbell’s had a water wheel mill located between Priest Pond and the Provincial Park.

A general store was built across from the East Baltic Road which was owned and operated by the Keays and MacEacherns. It was later owned and operated by Bernard and Loma MacPhee, Pius MacPhee, Sam and Dorothy Jennings. It is now a summer home.

The Robert House was built in 1907 by the Government as a Life Saving Station. It was located across the road from the Priest Pond School. The Rocket House is now used as a storage building.

Priest Pond is known for its trout fishing and anglers come from near and far to try out there luck.

Copyright
Waldron H. Leard