Miss Henderson kept encouraging both Travers and Crowe to get
jobs in Spirit River or nearby towns. Just as Travers was thinking
of going to Spirit River, many returned soldiers were looking for
work, so jobs were not as plentiful as before. There were still lots
of schools, but they were in the Peace River area. To entice her two
friends to come north, she said, "the boys here are gentlemen,
unlike the mountain boys."7
Miss Henderson had a great many friends. She invited Sam Boynton and
Mary Johnston for supper one evening, but had only one knife and one
fork for her guests! Afterwards they attended a dance, for Miss
Henderson loved to dance, although she disliked pairing off. The
more there were to dance with, the happier she was. If an extra
musician was needed, she often played the piano, occasionally being
given five dollars for her efforts. After the dance was over, she
and her friends had a big meal at Charley Wing's restaurant in town.
One after another of her friends invited her for supper, either at a
restaurant or out to their home in the country on weekends, where
there were often other invited guests. In a letter to Travers, dated
May 21, 1919, she says, "I may not be in Calgary for July 1 after
all. The Brinkmans are getting up a party to go to Hudson Hope, go
by boat from Dunvegan, return on a raft - take tents, camp along the
road. It surely will be glorious."8
Students remember Miss Henderson as a good teacher who maintained
strict discipline in her classroom. One of her students and a
neighbour, Olive Boorman (nee Holmberg), remembers her with fondness
and affection. She and her sister and two brothers always called her
"Auntie Hen," but never in a school situation. She recalled:
Like every Protestant family in Spirit River, we had Miss Henderson
for a teacher in the early grades. I bet she hardly ever missed a
day, either. And at school it was not "Auntie Hen" but a proper
"Miss Henderson," no matter what your family's connection with her
was. I don't think anyone was familiar with her, and I'm pretty sure
that the children of the town never called her "Auntie Hen" to her
face, once they had her for a teacher. Everyone had a lot of respect
for her. She was strict in school, didn't play favourites, was
always kind, but not in the least sentimental in manner, and kept a
tight rein on the classes, using the strap whenever she felt it was
called for.
I remain thankful to her for several things that happened to me in
her class. One was that I could read! In those days when one room
had to accommodate several grades, I thank her for choosing to read
aloud the inspiring tales of the lives of explorers and discoverers,
so that lowly Grade Ones could hear - installing a taste for World
history, geography and social studies that would be reinforced in
later grades.9
Another of Miss Henderson's students, Kay (Moravec) Arndt, has
particular memories of her musical abilities, and of how she treated
her students:
Miss Henderson wore a large gold ring with gold nuggets mounted
on it and if we were doing something we shouldn't have been, she would walk casually down the aisle and
with the back of her hand she'd wrap [sic] you ever so gently on the
top of your head to remind you it was class work she was interested
in. She had us all spellbound when it came to music hour and I can
still see her at the board writing the words of a new song we were
to learn for that month. A very special treat was festival practice
with Miss Henderson at the piano and Mr. Jolly, the school janitor,
as director. We had a great time.
Heritage Community Foundation Presents
