The pendulum began a slow swing to the right.  Opportunities for further education were becoming more available but not without struggles.

 I started school at Deep Lake at age six with Katie who was seven.  Nick and Steve went with us.  Our teacher was a Mr. Gegolik (Dzegolik?). Part way through first grade he advanced me to second grade.  Four years later Mr. Braco and then Mr. Cucheran were our teachers.

 As Nick and later Steve finished eighth grade, George and then Lucille joined us.
When Steve completed his country school education, a Mr. Toma, whose two children attended Hairy Hill School asked our parents if they would consider allowing Steve to live with them and transport (by buggy or sleigh) their children to school.  He would be responsible for harnessing and caring for the horse.  Steve lived with the family for two years and took his ninth and tenth grades at Hairy Hill School.
The government ruled that all Alberta children must remain in school until the age of fifteen.  But I had just turned thirteen (in May) when I finished eighth grade. 

Fred bought a small lot ($200) in Hairy Hill.  During the summer he built a small house on it.  Since the Toma’s older child was now old enough to care for their horse, Steve would not be needed.  The plan was that Steve and I would live in the small house and attend high school.  (At that time, in Hairy Hill, grade nine was considered high school.)

The harvesting interrupted the building so the house was not ready by September.  In the meantime our parents decided that rather than have the younger children (George and Lucille) trudge three miles through deep snow to Deep Lake, they would live with us in the little house.  Besides they would benefit from a better education when one teacher taught only one grade rather than eight as at Deep Lake.
During part of September Lucille (grade 2) and I (grade nine) stayed with Annie Kelba (Maria’s cousin) one mile north of town.  Steve (grade eleven) and George (grade five, I think) batched in the almost completed house.

Our parents decided that Katie (Kathleen) who was in eighth grade would continue at Deep Lake and help at home with chores.  By that time both Gladys and Helen were married.  Mike (19) died and both John and Dan were with the RCAF.  Katie’s help was most important to our parents.  (However, much later after her family had grown she ran a successful agency for Sears in Two Hills).
Except for Adeline and Bertha (who would eventually join the Hairy Hill gang, the farmhouse became quite empty.

The adjustment from the farm to town was hard on all of us.  At age thirteen, I cooked, cleaned, got the young ones ready for school and tried to study.  At that time important ‘departmental’ exams were given to ninth and twelfth grade students.  Although I was at the top of my class at Deep Lake, I was now competing with students who had benefited from a far better education than I had at a country school.  I did not know how to study.  At Deep Lake I always did my work at school and never had homework. It was a difficult year for us all being away from our parents but with so many responsibilities it was especially trying for me.  But by the grace of God I passed into tenth grade.

Our parents brought us clean clothes and supplies of food each week.  We had no money to buy anything and our parents forbade us to go to stores.  During a cold spell, they did not make their usual Thursday (market day) trip.  By the weekend we were out of bread.  We could not buy any so I decided to try my hand at making bread.  I mixed a batter and set it to rise.  Then our parents arrived.  Mother looked at my sad effort, added more water and flour, kneaded it well and we had a good supply of bread that week.

The four of us who lived in the house were young; no adults.  Our parents feared being reported.  Now and then teachers asked Lucille and George if one of our parents were with us.

While Steve took his eleventh grade, Mr. Samograd who managed the Imperial Hardware Store in town asked Steve to assist him after school.  Of course Steve was delighted and so were our parents.  Steve earned money!  He saved enough to purchase a lot adjacent to the one where we lived.  He began to build a house on his lot as the little house became crowded.  Bertha joined our group and Adeline would soon follow.

Several years later Mr. Samograd retired.  Steve eventually bought the store and learned much about business, people and life as he ran his store and other businesses, became an active member of the town council and trustee in a school division.  Learning continued for Steve.

The war effort reduced the farm labor.  In the fall the high school was closed for a week or two to allow the students to help with the harvest.  In tenth grade my parents needed my help for an extra week.  It was during that week that the basics in algebra were taught.  I missed it.  It was unfortunate because mathematics was always my strong subject.  With Gods help I got to twelfth grade. 

In twelfth grade the principal handed out forms.  Most other students filled one and I did too even though I was not quite sure what it was all about.  I was timid and had no close friend to discuss things I did not understand.

While helping at the farm during the summer I received a letter in the mail.   It was a response to the form I had filled.  I was still unsure of what I was getting into, but that is how I, a homesteader’s daughter with no idea what a univers9ity was all about, got to university.  (The whole experience was most stressful and intimidating.  I was so naïve!  Now when I look back I find it rather comical but also sad.)   However, I was the first in the Bidulock family to ‘break the ice’ and it warms my heart to think that my struggles may have influenced my siblings, their children and grandchildren.

When George finished high sch00l he was well informed about further studies.  His marks (especially in the sciences) were excellent.  His interest leaned toward engineering.  Because I had become a wage earner ($82/month!), our parents persuaded George to follow in my footsteps.  They had confidence that he would do well as a teacher.  Finally, George caved in and registered in Education.  But he was not happy.  When he arrived at the university in the fall, he immediately and without parental consent, transferred to Engineering.

The cost of living in Edmonton and tuition was always a concern. The three residences on campus (Pembina, Assiniboia and Athabasca) had limited space and were expensive.

 Because George did not wish to be a financial burden to his parents, he joined an RCAF program (Royal Officer Training) that would help him through school providing he attended regular meetings and agreed to work three years with the RCAF after graduation.  He accepted that.

By the time he graduated, George married Rosa and with Jenise just a baby, served the three years at Clinton, Ontario.  On their return to Alberta they stayed at the farm for a spell and then George began studies towards an M. Sc degree in Electrical Engineering.  While Rosa was the bread earner, George took courses, did his dissertation and also cared for Jenise and baby Brian.  Then he joined AGT (Alberta Government Telephones) and had a successful career for many years.  His hobbies: stamp collecting, polishing rocks, interest in special wood - diamond willow and driftwood, bird watching, gardening were all learning experiences.  He had a gift for remembering and telling jokes.

After beginning school at Hairy Hill in Grade two, Lucille was successful in attaining her high school there and then studied education at the University of Alberta.  She completed four years for a B. Ed. degree.  She married and taught in Edmonton and Halifax.  After the family’s return to Alberta she took further courses towards a graduate certificate for a teaching librarian.  She continued in her new career until her retirement.  As a teaching librarian, she learned much.

Beth completed grades one to twelve at Hairy Hill.  After completing her high school she registered in the B.Sc. nursing program (four years).  She lived in Nurses’ Residence across the street, west of the U of A Hospital.  All nursing students in the program were required to live there.  They had rules and regulati0ns that were strictly administered.  For instance they were to be in residence by a certain time in the evenings.  They were not to marry while in the program.

I remember my little sister in a cute pink frock with white starched apron, white stockings and white shoes, as well as a cute white nurse’s cap on her natural curly hair.  She looked professional.  Today it is often difficult to distinguish between who is staff, a visitor or a patient.  Times have changed.
Beth’s learning continued in her work, especially in the many years of cancer research that she undertook at the University of Hawaii.

Adeline was not exposed to a country school experience except for two years when our parents insisted that she live with me in a teacherage at Brierfield school north of Derwent.   Other than that she studied at Hairy Hill.  She registered in Chemistry at U of A and earned her degree in four years.  Her studies have provided her with a wealth of experiences including government appointments and contributions of scientific papers for textbooks.  She was also interested in travel, hiking and music.

While the younger ones of the family were busy doing high school and university, John who returned from overseas after the war finally was able to resume his studies.  With government assistance for returned men, he studied at Canadian Union College and received the equivalent of a B.A. degree.
 
During that time, I, who had only an interim war emergency certificate after one year at university, took summer school courses towards a degree in education.  But it was a slow process because I could take a maximum of two courses per summer.  If it was a lab course, I could only take one.  Some fifteen years later, after marrying and raising a family I returned to university.  I scheduled my courses so I could be at home when the children were home from school for lunch and when they got home after school.  Finally, three years later (1970) I got my B. Ed

But my learning did not stop there.  As time went on I registered in adult and interest courses: painting, writing, languages (French, German, Portuguese, a refresher in Romanian), papermaking, wheat weaving, winemaking.  Working with the Hansard group at the Legislature and as a historical interpreter at Fort Edmonton added to my education.  I am sure that everyone gains knowledge through workplace experiences.  Learning is a lifelong process.