Holy Family students step into local wartime history at Paris Legion
Casandra Turnbull
Managing Editor
For students from Holy Family School, history moved beyond the pages of a textbook last Thursday as wartime toys, homemade cosmetics, hospital equipment and even something as ordinary as milkweed offered a glimpse into what life was like for families in their own community generations ago.
Students in Grades 4 through 8 visited Royal Canadian Legion Branch 29 on Oct. 1 as part of the Paris Legion's weeklong 100th anniversary open house, exploring exhibits that brought local wartime history to life through artifacts, photographs and stories.
The school, one of several visitors, made the trip in groups throughout the day, with Grade 7/8 students attending in the morning, followed by Grades 4 and 5 and then Grades 6 and 6/7 in the afternoon.
At the centre of the open house was Stitches, Strength and Steel: Holding the Line at Home — Women and WWII, an exhibit assembled by the Legion's 100th anniversary committee and the Paris Museum and Historical Society.
The exhibit explored the lives, work and sacrifices of women in Paris and Brant County during the Second World War, using artifacts, photographs, archival material and local stories to show everything from domestic life and fundraising to factory work and support for those serving overseas.
For Holy Family Grade 5 teacher Alison Harrison, one of the most important parts of the experience was giving students the opportunity to discover that the history they study happened much closer to home than they may realize.
“It was especially meaningful for students to learn about the experiences and contributions of people from our own Paris community. Making these local connections helped students better understand that the history we learn about did not only happen in faraway places. It touched families and communities right here at home in our town of Paris, Ontario,” Harrison said.
And there was plenty to capture their attention.
Students explored everything from French knitting and vintage sewing machines to wartime medicine and familiar foods such as Smarties, Kraft Dinner and Spam. They learned how clothing and fabric were reused, how women took on factory jobs and other responsibilities during the war and how knitting and crocheting could even be used to send messages.
For Grade 5 student Diego Yanez, one of the more unusual artifacts stood out.
“My favourite part about my trip is that it would be really complicated to bring something to go to the bathroom so they brought bed pans that could be boiled and sterilized at hospitals,” he said.
The medical display included hospital equipment such as porcelain enamelled steel male urinals, while other wartime medical artifacts sparked a personal connection for one student whose grandfather had served as a medic.
Classmate Samuel Hajjar was drawn to an entirely different part of the exhibit, the homemade wartime cosmetics.
“My favourite thing from this trip was the make up because I didn’t know that they had to make their own make up. It was really cool they had to use different types of food to make it,” he said.
The display included recipes for homemade tooth powder, lipstick and odour paste.
Milkweed also proved to be a memorable lesson.
During the war, children and community organizations collected milkweed pods because the plant's lightweight, buoyant and waterproof floss could be used as a substitute for kapok in life preservers for sailors.
“My favourite exhibit was the milkweed. Milkweed is a lot strong than plain wool,” Grade 5 student Charlotte Wilson said.
The lesson gave Wilson a new appreciation for how difficult life was for families living through the war years, while classmate Reese was surprised to discover that something children could collect on their way to school ultimately helped keep servicemen safe in the water.
The vintage toys and games were another hit.
Grade 4 student Nolan Ferren picked the toy display as his favourite “because it was talking about how old the toys were and when they were used.” Among the items he recognized were the Slinky and Go Fish.
Grade 5 student Chase Richards was equally interested. “We learned about some toys and how old they were,” he said.
The exhibit gave students a chance to consider how children their age entertained themselves long before tablets and video games. For Chase, imagining limited screen time wasn't particularly difficult, his mother already limits him to 30 minutes a day on his tablet, he shared.
A self-described history fan, Chase was also struck by how the war affected the availability of everyday materials.
“Apparently all the metal went to the war,” he said after learning that metal was prioritized for the war effort rather than being used for items such as children's toys.
Reese also enjoyed seeing how children's games had evolved.
“I liked that I got to see how the toys changed over time and what they liked back then during the war,” he said.
Many of the games were unfamiliar and looked very different from what he would choose for entertainment today.
“I wouldn’t knit today, I would probably ride my bike instead,” he admitted.
Harrison said seeing authentic artifacts rather than simply looking at photographs helped students connect with the period. They returned to school with plenty to discuss, from why metal toys became scarce to how children collected milkweed and how women adapted everyday life to wartime shortages. Legion volunteers Cheryl Humphrey, Donna Campbell, Mary Connan and Edith Stone helped guide the school tours throughout the day, sharing their knowledge, explaining the artifacts and answering students’ questions as they made their way through the exhibits.
The experience will continue in the classroom as students prepare entries for the Royal Canadian Legion's Remembrance Day contests. \“We will use what we learned today as inspiration when we begin creating posters and writing poems and essays for the Royal Canadian Legion Remembrance Day Contest,” Harrison said. “We are grateful for this opportunity to help our students develop a deeper understanding of remembrance, sacrifice, and gratitude and are thankful to all those who were involved in organizing these exhibits to share with us as well as the public who attended.”
For Harrison, the local connection is particularly important as students begin to understand not only how much everyday life has changed, but the sacrifices made by people from their own community.
“Most importantly, the visit helped students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the sacrifices made by others and why it is so important that we remember them,” she said.
The Stitches, Strength and Steel exhibit was created as part of Branch 29's centennial celebrations to ensure the stories of those who supported the war effort at home are also remembered.
As Paris Museum and Historical Society curator Tina Lyon explained ahead of the open house: “The stories of those who silently aided at home need to be preserved and revealed to the public so people can understand the hardships and strength that ‘people at the Homefront’ exhibited.”
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