Darowen School 13
Going to the fair
In the early years of formal education local events such as fairs and parades were irresistable to children, and this entry from the Darowen School Log Book of 1900 shows that the school could not compete with the large annual fair in Machynlleth.
Log Book
"Being Calamai Fair - one of the largest fairs of the year at Machynlleth, there was no school kept this day, It having been found useless to attempt keeping school on these occasions".
County Archives
M/E/PS/18/L2
This extract from the log book is from 8th April,1903 and
reads:
"There was no school kept today, as the hiring fair was
being held at Machynlleth".
The hiring fair was a more serious event, and of considerable importance in rural areas such as Montgomeryshire. Local farmers would gather in town and use the occasion to recruit workers in a binding contract for a fixed period. As far as school-leavers and others looking for work were concerned it would be a bit of a lottery between good and often very bad employers.
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