Tokomaru School 125th
Aileen Kars’ memory of her years at Tokomaru School came flooding back when she read books to celebrate the school’s jubilee.
This Labour Weekend Tokomaru School will celebrate its 125th Jubilee in Aileen’s 105th year.
Her parents were Agnes and Jack Schwass, and her siblings were Bonnie, Gladys, Tuppy and Mavis.
Aileen remembered the names of those in her classes, and pointed to herself wearing a hat in some of the pictures in the jubilee books. Aileen has attended all the jubilees since she started at the school in 1918.
“I rode my horse to school There were two siblings riding with me. I was then promoted to a bike.”
Aileen discovers a picture of herself at primary school, and a big smile radiates from her face when she points to her husband Les. Yes, she confirmed, they went to Tokomaru Primary School and later married. She beamed at the memory.
“We were married for 54 years and had a happy life. We never argued.”
Recently Aileen asked if she could visit Tokomaru, but was disappointed at the changes, and at the trees that surrounded the house her brother Tuppy Schwass built on the site where the family’s original home once stood. She could no longer see the house.
But her happy memories returned as she turned more pages in the books.
Aileen and her brother Tuppy were born on the family’s Tokomaru farm and were delivered by a midwife, Mrs Parr, who walked everywhere on the narrow metal roads.
“There were 10 in our class. There was a bake house and a post office, but they’re no longer there. We did everything on the farm. Swaggers were common and they always got a cup of tea.”
Aileen’s father served on both the school and Tokomaru Hall committees for many years and after farming for 45 years, retired to Palmerston North.