University of British Columbia Press Alex Lord's British Columbia: Recollections of a Rural School Inspector, 1915-1936 (The Pioneers of British Columbia)

Alex Lord, a pioneer inspector of rural British Columbia schools,shares in these recollections his experiences in a province barely outof the stage coach era. Travelling through vast northern territory,utilizing unreliable transportation and enduring climatic extremes,Lord became familiar with the aspirations of remote communities andtheir faith in the humanizing effects of tiny assisted schools. Enroute, he performed in resolute yet imaginative fashion the supervisoryfunctions of a top government educator developing an educationalphilosophy of his own based on an understanding of the provincialgeography, a reverence for citizenship, and a work ethic tuned tochallenge and accomplishment. These memoirs invite the reader to experience the British Columbiathat Alex Lord knew. Through his words, we endure the difficulties oftravel in this mountainous province. We meet many of the unusualcharacters who inhabited this last frontier and learn of their hopes,fears, joys, sorrows, and eccentricities. More particularly, we arereminded of the historical significance of the one-room rural schooland its role as an indispensable instrument of community cohesion. JohnCalam organizes the memoirs according to the regions through which Lordtravelled. Included in the introduction are a biography of Alex Lord, abrief description of the British Columbia he knew, a sketch of theprovince’s public education system and an assessment of the placeLord’s writing now occupies among other works on education andsociety.