Past and present Tullymacarette teachers L to R: Mary
Hughes - Vice Principal (1975 to present), Laura Cairns -
Principal (1996 to present), Arthur Gibson - Former
Principal (1974 - 1996), Margaret Potts - Teacher (1956 -
1991),Isabel McDowell (nee Poots) - School Secretary (1987 -
present) and Joan Bloomer - Teacher (1984 - 2000) are
pictured with former pupils William Lindsay, Marjorie Cushnie (nee Kelly), Clarence Morton, Stanley Stewart, Dr
Harold Harvey, John Kelly and Sam Thompson at an �Open
Night� at Tullymacarette Primary School on Friday 1st June
marking the forthcoming closure of the school this summer. Stanley Stewart (fourth from right) attended
both the old and present Tullymacarette school.
Tullymacarette Primary School (near Dromore) opened its doors
last Friday evening and Saturday afternoon to allow an informal
reunion of past and present pupils and teachers. The event
marked the forthcoming closure of the school this summer. The
present school, which dates from 1939, replaced an older school
of the same name. The school will officially close at the end of
August but its 14 remaining pupils will leave at the end of
June.
Former pupil Clarence Morton recalled many happy
memories with his 1940s Tullymacarette classmates
Marjorie Cushnie (nee Kelly), Evelyn Wilson (nee
McCrum), Sheila Martin (nee McCrum) and Ida
Fitzsimmons (nee Alderice) when they met at an �Open
Night� at Tullymacarette Primary School on Friday
1st June marking the forthcoming closure of the
school this summer.
Refreshments were served in one of the
classrooms, providing an opportunity for former pupils from as
far back as 1939 to renew old friendships and recall happy
memories of their early days at the school.
Photographs
On display were many group photographs taken over the years and
others showing the school�s many successes. Most of the photos
were supplied by the school secretary of 20 years, Isabel
McDowell (nee Poots), from a collection which belonged to her
aunt, the late Ray Poots, who owned the local grocery store and
sweetie shop, which was frequented daily by past pupils.
Meticulous records
Also on display were the old school registers and many of the
visitors took great delight in looking through them and seeing
the names of their former classmates meticulously recorded. One
former pupil who commented on the neatness of the records got
this reply �there were no computers in those days!�
Coke-burning furnace
Many former pupils entering the old classrooms of the main
school building remarked �the classrooms seemed bigger in my
day!� Many also commented on the absence of the old coke-burning
furnace in the corner of the headmaster�s classroom and recalled
what seemed a long walk to the nearby corrugated iron coke shed
(which was still there for all to see) to fill up the coke
buckets. Some also recalled that when temperatures dropped below
freezing on several occasions during winter that the little
bottles of milk with popped silver tops were left beside the
furnace to thaw out in preparation for the morning break.
Former pupils Linda McNeill (nee Dickson) and Dr
Harold Harvey enjoyed discussing their career
advancements since leaving Tullymacarette Primary School
in the late 1950s. Linda is now a teacher at Beechlawn
School, Hillsborough and Harold is a lecturer in
Environmental and Occupational Health at the University
of Ulster at Jordanstown.
Playground games
On the subject of computers, it was also noted that with the
absence of computer games in those early days, the popular
playground games were marbles and hopscotch. One former 1950s
pupil recalled that the nail of his thumb was worn right through
with the constant challenge of what was known to all as �marlies�.
1940s pupil Sam Thompson (now living in Newcastle) demonstrated
how he used his thumb knuckle thus avoiding the problem of
worn-out thumb nails.
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Former Tullymacarette pupils
(sisters) Elizabeth Spence (nee Lyle) and Lilian
Alexander (nee Lyle) are pictured at an open night at Tullymacarette Primary School on Friday night (1st
June) marking the forthcoming closure of the school
this summer. |
Kelly family
photograph taken at Tullymacarette Primary School in
about 1952. Mary Emily Kelly (nee Harvey) with Vera
(now Vera Watson), George and John.
|
Last steam train
School secretary Isabel McDowell (who has lived her whole life
in the area) recalled the occasion when former headmaster, the
late Jack Grier (who came to school in an Austin 7) allowed the
children to watch from the safety of the school playground as
the last steam train passed by on the old Belfast - Newcastle
railway line.
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Former Tullymacarette pupil Maureen
Bowman (nee McCandless) who attended the school in
the 1950s. |
Former Tullymacarette pupils (cousins
and life long friends) Dr Harold Harvey and John
Kelly. |
Dedicated service
Another topic of discussion over the weekend was the dedicated
service of Laura Cairns - Principal (1996 to present), Mary
Hughes (nee Peake) - Vice Principal (1975 to present), Arthur
Gibson - Former Principal (1974 - 1996), Margaret Potts (nee
Johnston) - Former Teacher (1956 - 1991), Joan Bloomer - Former
Teacher (1984 - 2000) and Isabel McDowell (nee Poots) - School
Secretary (1987 - present). While most of the teachers over the
years spent most of their teaching careers at the school, it is
worth noting the long service of Margaret Potts, who spent her
entire teaching career at Tullymacarette.
Catering for the whole community
During its entire existence, Tullymacarette Primary School
catered for everyone in the community, irrespective of religion.
First pupils to attend the present school
It was recalled with great interest during the weekend that
Stanley Stewart and William Hull, who both still live in the
area, were two of the first pupils to attend the present school.
Stanley attended both the old and present schools and on Friday
evening he shared his experience of Tullymacarette when it
opened in 1939. It was also noted with equal interest that
William Hull (whose sisters Margaret and Gertrude and brothers
Bobby and Eric also attended the school) was the first new pupil
to be enrolled in the present school.
Final assembly
The next date for your diary is the final school assembly on
Thursday 21st June when parents and all former pupils are
welcome to attend. This will be a very emotional historic
occasion
Ulster Star
01/06/2007
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