Without getting into the educational dispute in B.C., it is the time of year when we are inundated with advertisements, promotions and lots of commentary on back-to-school needs.
Our mailboxes have had numerous flyers over the last several weeks, all pushing the current requirements for starting the upcoming school year.
Today, these “requirements” are far broader in scope than what many folks grew up with and seem, at times, to be simply another catalogue of things related to day-to-day living, not just to school. Stationery and office equipment stores have been featuring large displays of multiple-page lists indicating specific items needed.
For many people, especially those who are a little older and who grew up in the Lower Mainland, one store’s back-to-school events stand out – Woodward’s Department Store. There were many others, of course, but this one led the way.
There were always back-to-school hints early in the summer, but the Woodward’s late summer $1.49 Day was massive for students and their parents. It was a scene of organized chaos in which, school supply lists in hand, students gathered up the necessary goods, some with the Woodward’s name attached – especially the coveted blue and white pencil boxes.
In the decades prior to the Woodward’s example, back-to-school was sometimes referred to, but not nearly in the same way or frequency. Some of the shops that prominently featured seasonal items for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and Halloween also pointed out what they had for the local “scholars.”
Some of the items we see in their advertisements include notebooks, diaries and ledgers, pencils, fountain pens, straight pens, pen nibs and ink, art and drafting supplies, folders, binders and brief cases. Even though required textbooks were supplied by the schools, the stores noted that they had selections of atlases, dictionaries, almanacs and encyclopaedias.
When people reminisce about picking up school supplies, they remember many different things connected to various grades. Pencils were mainly HB (the standard), and nothing harder unless you needed them for drafting.
Now about the ballpoint pen. Well, in the ’50s, it was a relatively new item and wasn’t allowed in local schools until around 1958. Many people remember being told when they could bring them to school. Some will recall the straight pen and nib and the desk inkwell, especially for writing class. So many things connected to memories of back-to-school and we’ve touched only a few. No doubt you will have your own favourites.
