Matters of survival, sustenance, shelter and, eventually, procreation took precedence as the first visitors to congregate along the edge of this foreign shore sought to establish a stable, if meagre, existence.

 As time passed and life became somewhat normalized for communities across Nova Scotia's South Shore, residents began to desire the type of social infrastructure that would ensure their children would receive educational essentials in a formalized environment.

 In Mahone Bay, in response to the growing stabilization of the community and the rising yearning for educated youth among the town's parents, the first schoolhouse was constructed along the waterfront in 1815 on what is today known as Edgewater Street, across from St. John's Lutheran Church.

 The one-room school was used for elementary education classes for six months out of the year, usually during the winter months when seasonal concerns such as farming and fishing that young children would typically be involved with were not a consideration.

 The lone teacher who was responsible for the school was paid at predetermined intervals by the parents of the children who attended class. The scene was similar in other nearby communities as the residents of small settlements paid for recruited teachers and began establishing their own small schools.

 As the size of Mahone Bay increased with the development of the community's shipbuilding industry, so too did the parents wanting their children to acquire a basic education that would include, at the very least, learning the basics of reading and writing.

 The first schoolhouse was replaced by a second, larger building in 1861, this one located on an adjacent lot across from the current position of St. James' Anglican Church, also along Edgewater Street.

 Within a few more years, this building too was deemed inadequate to serve the teeming educational pool of youth in Mahone Bay. Furthermore, developments on a provincial level meant that schooling was not just becoming increasingly regulated, but also that it was available to all youth and not just those coming from well-to-do families.

 The first public school, then, was constructed in the early 1870s on School Street. John Gow was named the first principal, and over the next two decades the increasing demand for an education put pressure on the new building. A wing was added to the complex, but even with the additional space, the four teachers on staff were barely enough to serve the booming student population.

 A succession of principals followed Mr. Gow between 1872 and 1913, even including a female principal, Jeanette MacLeod.

 But with the needs of the townsfolk once again outgrowing the educational facilities present, by 1913 it was becoming clear that a new, modern building was needed. With the old school sold off, a wing of which had been moved to Pond Street and used as a dwelling, the work of constructing a new school - one that would serve Mahone Bay for years - began in earnest.

 A company from the LaHave area operated by the Boehner family was contracted to construct the school at a cost of about $16,000, with the intent of having it ready for classes by September 30, 1914.

 The project, however, proved more daunting than first thought: not only did costs overrun expectations by approximately $2,000, but also work on the building had fallen well behind schedule. As a result, during the construction process, classes were temporarily held upstairs at the Mader's Wharf building on Main Street.

 Interestingly, Warren Eisenhauer, who had himself received his early education in Mahone Bay, was one of the construction supervisors, overseeing the erection of an impressive seven-department building.

 Upon completion, Claude Kedy was named the first principal of the new school, which became known locally as "The Academy."

 Over the decades to come, Mahone Bay's famed brown hilltop educational institution would be home to many fine, ambitious students.

 One such student was William Ernst, who after completing his Grade 11 in 1913, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. Mr. Ernst, who was not only one of the top academic students in the province at the time, but also a fine hockey player for Mahone Bay's high school squad, attended Kings University in Windsor in 1913, eventually completing his bachelor of arts degree in 1917.

 Along the way, Mr. Ernst received several additional scholarships and academic merit awards, including the Harry Crawford Memorial Prize and the Oratorial Award in 1916.

 Other notable students to attend Mahone Bay's school during its early days included Dr. Paul Nonamaker, a surgeon who practiced in Halifax and graduated from Mahone Bay in 1934; the Very Reverend E.B. Cochran, who graduated from Mahone Bay in 1929 and went on to lead the All Saints Cathedral in Halifax; and Franklyn Zwicker, who graduated in 1924 and rose to the rank of lieutenant-commander in the United States navy.

 Even prior to the founding of The Academy, the community's fine teachers were having an impact by helping to develop productive, thoughtful citizens. Frank Day, who in 1896 received his Grade 10 education in Mahone Bay, served with the Nova Scotia Highlanders and, like William Ernst, went on to become a Rhodes Scholar.

 The students of Mahone Bay High School, as it was known during the 1920s, also claimed to have produced the first high school newspaper in Lunenburg County.

 The "Academy Times" chronicled the comings and goings of the school's students and was dedicated to the notion of education as being a birthright for every child who lived in the community.

 Such ideals were clearly a reversal of philosophy from just a few scant decades before when only the financially comfortable of the community could afford to send their children to school to learn basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills.

 And while Mahone Bay High School was committed to academic development of the community's youth, like in schools of today extracurricular activities - especially sports - played a significant role in the lives of students.

 The Academy was known for having very strong ice hockey teams during the winter months, and equally strong baseball teams when warmer weather permitted the sport.

 Former Mahone Bay mayor Warren Hirtle is purported to have claimed that Mahone Bay High School's baseball team was the best in the province, though he may have been slightly biased.

 Nonetheless, high school stars such as Edward "Buzz" Barnett, Harold "Hack" Mason, Hector Langille and Maurice Joudrey played with all their hearts, thrilling fans throughout the community, and even brought a South Shore title home in 1921.

 In 1929, H.V. Corkum, who would go on to serve as mayor of Mahone Bay, took up the position of principal at the school. Mr. Corkum held the title for 10 years and during that period the academic experience for students grew dramatically.

 In 1930, the school conducted its first official graduation exercises at the local theatre. He also encouraged students, in conjunction with staff, to create a magazine entitled "The Mahone Highlight," to publicize the successes of the school. Future Mahone Bay postmaster Francis Whynot suggested the name.

 The 1930s also saw the construction of a tennis court at the school to help encourage further athletic development among Mahone Bay's young students. After years of usage, however, the court began to decay and by the time Mahone Bay School closed its doors in 2000, the former site of the court was being used as the teachers' parking lot.

 Mr. Corkum also started a local cadet corps during his tenure, before taking a leave of absence himself in 1939 to serve in the Canadian army.

 Years later, as mayor, Mr. Corkum would lay the cornerstone for the massive new addition to the school in November of 1961, a project designed by Halifax-based architect J. Philip Dumaresq and completed by Acadia Construction Limited.

 In the closing decades of the 20th century, Mahone Bay School's role in local education shifted and the high school program was dropped. The institute still served as a centre for elementary and junior high education, however, through its final decades until its doors closed to local students in the spring of 2000.

 In the years since its closure, the "Old School," as it is lovingly referred to by the town's residents, has assumed a new role as a centre for youth and cultural development.

 The Mahone Bay Centre, as it is now known, offers space for community organizations and activities designed to promote arts, athletics and stewardship for young and old alike in Mahone Bay.

 From gallery openings to yoga classes to gymnastics and educational workshops, the Old School still functions as a centre of learning today, even after its provincially run academic days have come to an end.

 Meanwhile, students in Mahone Bay and its surrounding communities now attend Bayview Community School, where they are free to pursue their creative dreams and academic aspirations in a setting designed to meet the demands of changing times.

 Sources: The Bridgewater Bulletin; "Dear Old Mahone" and "Heritage Inventory Catalogue," Mahone Bay Settlers Museum.

Written and researched by Patrick Hirtle.