A couple of weeks ago I was at a graduation of Air Cadets and met a retired teacher who was also Henry's grandmother who asked me if I was old enough to know what a hectograph was .Hell yes I know I replied in an animated manner because it conjured up an old memory which took place in our kitchen in Cape Breton.
In 1949 my sister Grace held a teaching position in our Public School at the Red Brick School and taught over thirty grade one children. Like all the teachers in the institution Grace walked to school every day burdened by a bag of teaching aids and printed busy work. Some of the kids from our neighbourhood walked with her. Some even wanted to hold her hand. Two boys from across the bog named Clayton and Arthur wanted to be part of the walking entourage. They had a little speech problem and would declare that they were saten and arser. So Grace went to school with many happy followers and Satan and Arser.
Teachers worked under difficult conditions during those days before technology.Working all day and coming home to more hours of work. Teachers were given hectographs to duplicate work sheets for the students. Basically they were tablecloth {plastic backing} covered with a coating of gelatin. The teacher would apply ,with a special pencil work to be duplicated on a sheet. The pad would be dampened and the sheet applied to the pad. Wait a few minutes and clean sheets would be placed on the pad, rubbed and taken off with a magical twist and eureka...a printed work sheet. This was repeated until the sheets were so faded you could not read them, More magic pencil and on with the task. My sister Grace often let us help and she turned out good work but many teachers gave sheets that you had to held up the lights to read.
This hectogragh age went on for years and when I began teaching in Pointe Claire a machine called a Ditto was in use. I was part of the new age of technology. Good bye hectograph and hello Ditto.
In 1949 my sister Grace held a teaching position in our Public School at the Red Brick School and taught over thirty grade one children. Like all the teachers in the institution Grace walked to school every day burdened by a bag of teaching aids and printed busy work. Some of the kids from our neighbourhood walked with her. Some even wanted to hold her hand. Two boys from across the bog named Clayton and Arthur wanted to be part of the walking entourage. They had a little speech problem and would declare that they were saten and arser. So Grace went to school with many happy followers and Satan and Arser.
Teachers worked under difficult conditions during those days before technology.Working all day and coming home to more hours of work. Teachers were given hectographs to duplicate work sheets for the students. Basically they were tablecloth {plastic backing} covered with a coating of gelatin. The teacher would apply ,with a special pencil work to be duplicated on a sheet. The pad would be dampened and the sheet applied to the pad. Wait a few minutes and clean sheets would be placed on the pad, rubbed and taken off with a magical twist and eureka...a printed work sheet. This was repeated until the sheets were so faded you could not read them, More magic pencil and on with the task. My sister Grace often let us help and she turned out good work but many teachers gave sheets that you had to held up the lights to read.
This hectogragh age went on for years and when I began teaching in Pointe Claire a machine called a Ditto was in use. I was part of the new age of technology. Good bye hectograph and hello Ditto.
I remember receiving "Ditto" worksheets in elementary school- the ink was blue and could be very difficult to read.
ReplyDeleteI remember Ditto sheets too. My elementary school used them until I was in the second grade. :) ...to be honest, I LOVED the purply ink.
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