durhamregion.com The Citizen September 22, 2016 5 Prominent Brooklin citizen's school books featured in Whitby Archives exhibit With school back in session, we put together an exhibit in the Archives and Local History Room at the Whitby Central Library to highlight Whitby schools over the years. In Welcome Back: Whitby Schools through the Years 1880-1994, you'll find photographs of the schools, students and teachers, and even some old workbooks, textbooks, and administrative records. In the archives collection is a set of workbooks by Lottie Coakwell. I wrote a series of articles in this column about Lottie, otherwise known as Charlotte Batty, a couple years ago when we focused on the Brooklin Women's Institute and Charlotte's contribution to the written history of Brooklin. Charlotte Coakwell was born in Markham Township on Jan. 17, 1881. She grew up on the Bradley-Coakwell farm at 5380 Baldwin St. S. When she married Frank Batty in December 1903, the couple continued running the farm and it remained in the family for many years. Finally, in 2013, the house and farm were demolished for the Hwy. 407 extension. Charlotte attended the Brooklin Public School, once located at the corner of Winchester Road East and Queen Street. Her workbooks, which date to 1889, include the Public School Writing Course and the High School Drawing Course. In the writing workbook she dutifully completed all exercises which encompassed practising cursive writing and business form writing. As an eight year old, Charlotte's cursive seems effortless and neat, the result of the Ontario Department of Education's emphasis on writing. The drawing book remains incomplete, although Charlotte's basic technical skills are evident in the way she appears to have mastered drawing fruit, lamps, and vases. Perhaps she was more interested in writing; this might help explain her future efforts with the Brooklin Women's Institute. When Charlotte died in 1950, her colleagues at the Brooklin Women's Institute called her someone who took pleasure in "holding the good things of the past, and preserving them in every possible way". Her contribution to memorializing the history of Brooklin made everyone realize the "urgency of this endeavour to keep safe the traditions and customs of the generations of Brooklin, past, present and future". I hope Charlotte would be pleased to know her school work is being featured in an exhibit at the Whitby Public Library. We can use her workbooks to learn about school in rural communities in the 19th century and early Ontario curricula in general. On a personal level, Charlotte's workbooks provide a glimpse into the early life of a prominent community member. Sarah Ferencz is the archivist at the Whitby Public Library. Contact her at archives@whitbylibrary.on.ca Sarah Ferencz Whitby Public Library archivist