Movies, Skating Parties, Holding Hands & Prince George Mayday Parade
Lejac Indian Residential School was run by the Oblates and the Roman Catholic Church, a very strict religious Order. In the early 1960s students were under very strict rules which included absolutely no swearing, no fighting, boys were forbade from ever talking to girls, and we were never to be seen in the company of a girl unless a supervisor was present. We did not speak our own language but were taught English. We prayed constantly. Boys were only allowed to be on the ‘boys’ side’ which was on the west side of the great big school. Girls were only allowed on the ‘girls’ side’ and never to be caught anywhere on the ‘boys’ side’.
We were never allowed to talk to the girls at Mass on Sundays or even at the movies Friday nites. At church they sat one side of the aisle we sat the other. At the movies, they sat one side of the movie hall we sat the other. But then they started changing everything around in the late 1960s, maybe around 1967. First thing was they built us that great big dining room that year and you could now sit anywhere. You could even sit with your own girlfriend if you had one and nobody would even say anything.
Another thing they did was they also began to relax the rules when it came to being with the girls. Before, it was girls one side, boys other. In about 1967, they allowed all the girls and all the boys to walk together up to gate on the highway. Just for exercise. There was almost always at least one supervisor with us at all times. But sometimes there weren’t.
Then they allowed us to walk together, boys and girls, around the whole school. There was a road which went right around the school and when we weren’t busy in dorm, doing chores, or watching Hockey Night in Canada, many of the kids liked to get outside and go for a walk around the school. Then they started letting us sit together in Mass on Sundays and even at the movies. All the boys and all the girls together, all mixed up.
We also had Skating Parties on some of the Friday or Saturday nites during the winter. That’s where all the boys and all the girls in the Intermediate and Senior dorms would all get together at the ‘big rink’ and they would play music over the loudspeakers at the rink under these great big lights and served us snacks and hot chocolate while us students would all skate together in groups sometimes even holding hands.
The older students hung out in groups. The younger boys loved these skating parties. Or when they had public skating with everybody from the whole school on the ice because they would play tag and hiding behind people dodging in and out of everybody on the ice. That’s how they learned to skate.
When I first attended residential school in 1963 we were forbade from ever ‘holding hands’. ‘Holding hands’ means a girl holding the hand of a boy, or a boy holding the hand of a girl. By 1967 or 1968, it was not unusual to see boys and girls holding hands as they walked around the school together evenings. At least in the dark anyway.
Another thing they introduced by 1968 was allowing the older boys to become ‘nightwatchers’. We have a night watchman at school. His job is to watch the whole school at night while everybody slept. By the late 60s they would give the night watchman weekends off and hire two of the older boys to be night watchmen on Friday and Saturday nites. I got hired once, me and Arthur Joseph of Fort. One Friday night. As a night watchman we had to walk around the school and check all the doors to make sure everything is all locked up and there were no burglars breaking in and stealing stuff. Then we had to punch in the clock every hour so they know we were still awake and not just sleeping. It was pretty exciting at first but you sure got tired and sleepy by 3 o’clock in the morning and by 6 am you could hardly even stay awake. At least you got to sleep in that whole next day while all the other boys had to get up.
Another thing they did is in the early 1960s the Lejac School Band was strictly an all-boys band. By 1969-70, the girls started joining the Band, sometimes even coming on road trips with us. One year, in 1970, I remember them travelling with us to the Prince George Mayday Parade and going on parade with us. Lejac School Band was famous in the north and a favourite at the Mayday Parade.
Probably the coolest thing ever happened was when they allowed us to wear our own clothes. When I first got to Lejac, we had to only wear the clothes they issued us when we first arrived in September. That means only blue jeans. Bill Robertson came in as the Intermediate dorm Supervisor in 1969. Bill had the coolest duds ever! He wore bell bottoms (today they’re called ‘flares’) and a medallion around his neck. And platform shoes! He was from Vancouver and we used to ask him everything about what it was like there. Many of us never ever been to such a big city before and we all thought he was the coolest guy in the whole wide world because he near done everything and near seen everything!
Lejac Indian Residential School was run by the Oblates and the Roman Catholic Church, a very strict religious Order. In the early 1960s students were under very strict rules which included absolutely no swearing, no fighting, boys were forbade from ever talking to girls, and we were never to be seen in the company of a girl unless a supervisor was present. We did not speak our own language but were taught English. We prayed constantly. Boys were only allowed to be on the ‘boys’ side’ which was on the west side of the great big school. Girls were only allowed on the ‘girls’ side’ and never to be caught anywhere on the ‘boys’ side’.
We were never allowed to talk to the girls at Mass on Sundays or even at the movies Friday nites. At church they sat one side of the aisle we sat the other. At the movies, they sat one side of the movie hall we sat the other. But then they started changing everything around in the late 1960s, maybe around 1967. First thing was they built us that great big dining room that year and you could now sit anywhere. You could even sit with your own girlfriend if you had one and nobody would even say anything.
Another thing they did was they also began to relax the rules when it came to being with the girls. Before, it was girls one side, boys other. In about 1967, they allowed all the girls and all the boys to walk together up to gate on the highway. Just for exercise. There was almost always at least one supervisor with us at all times. But sometimes there weren’t.
Then they allowed us to walk together, boys and girls, around the whole school. There was a road which went right around the school and when we weren’t busy in dorm, doing chores, or watching Hockey Night in Canada, many of the kids liked to get outside and go for a walk around the school. Then they started letting us sit together in Mass on Sundays and even at the movies. All the boys and all the girls together, all mixed up.
We also had Skating Parties on some of the Friday or Saturday nites during the winter. That’s where all the boys and all the girls in the Intermediate and Senior dorms would all get together at the ‘big rink’ and they would play music over the loudspeakers at the rink under these great big lights and served us snacks and hot chocolate while us students would all skate together in groups sometimes even holding hands.
The older students hung out in groups. The younger boys loved these skating parties. Or when they had public skating with everybody from the whole school on the ice because they would play tag and hiding behind people dodging in and out of everybody on the ice. That’s how they learned to skate.
When I first attended residential school in 1963 we were forbade from ever ‘holding hands’. ‘Holding hands’ means a girl holding the hand of a boy, or a boy holding the hand of a girl. By 1967 or 1968, it was not unusual to see boys and girls holding hands as they walked around the school together evenings. At least in the dark anyway.
Another thing they introduced by 1968 was allowing the older boys to become ‘nightwatchers’. We have a night watchman at school. His job is to watch the whole school at night while everybody slept. By the late 60s they would give the night watchman weekends off and hire two of the older boys to be night watchmen on Friday and Saturday nites. I got hired once, me and Arthur Joseph of Fort. One Friday night. As a night watchman we had to walk around the school and check all the doors to make sure everything is all locked up and there were no burglars breaking in and stealing stuff. Then we had to punch in the clock every hour so they know we were still awake and not just sleeping. It was pretty exciting at first but you sure got tired and sleepy by 3 o’clock in the morning and by 6 am you could hardly even stay awake. At least you got to sleep in that whole next day while all the other boys had to get up.
Another thing they did is in the early 1960s the Lejac School Band was strictly an all-boys band. By 1969-70, the girls started joining the Band, sometimes even coming on road trips with us. One year, in 1970, I remember them travelling with us to the Prince George Mayday Parade and going on parade with us. Lejac School Band was famous in the north and a favourite at the Mayday Parade.
Probably the coolest thing ever happened was when they allowed us to wear our own clothes. When I first got to Lejac, we had to only wear the clothes they issued us when we first arrived in September. That means only blue jeans. Bill Robertson came in as the Intermediate dorm Supervisor in 1969. Bill had the coolest duds ever! He wore bell bottoms (today they’re called ‘flares’) and a medallion around his neck. And platform shoes! He was from Vancouver and we used to ask him everything about what it was like there. Many of us never ever been to such a big city before and we all thought he was the coolest guy in the whole wide world because he near done everything and near seen everything!
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