Mr Bill Jones’

Memories of his years at Mount Hermon

1951 - 1954

My first home at Mount Hermon was Snow View.  I had thought I would live in a mud hut in India, but here was a lovely little cottage for me.  (It was in that cottage that I had my first experience of healing through prayer).  I thought that Mr Dewey would give me several days to settle, to observe the work and the people in the school, and then give me something to do.  I was wrong!  He told me, as he left me on that first afternoon to unpack my bags in Snow View, “I have a class for you to take over tomorrow; the third class teacher is ill.”  I stammered that I had never had any teacher training or teaching experience, and everything looked very different from what I was used to in the USA.  He just asked me “Have you had any good teachers?”  I assured him I had.  He then grunted, “Well just do what they did.”  That is the sum total teacher training; and those of you who wondered why I wasn’t a better teacher can wonder how I ever managed to teach anything at all!   But teach I did; English, Latin, British Imperial History (which was an entirely new field for me) for SC and pre-SC classes, and music (orchestra, choir and violin) throughout the school.  I met Mr and Mrs Johnston who were in the Language School in those days (still unmarried at that time, and was she giving him confused signals!!!)  Kancha Rai was in charge of maintenance, and I worked a lot with him during the winters.  I was also a general handyman for fixing fuses, water taps etc., during the school term.  In fact I got a personal introduction to a new teacher in 1954, Beulah Kessop, by being called to her room to fix an electrical fuse.  She discreetly left the room when I arrived to do the work; but I had other chances to do little things for and with her.  Since – as you know – Mount Hermon has always been a friendly school).  Teachers came and went pretty rapidlyt in 1952 and 1953.  By 1954 when Mr Stewart came to take over as Principal, I was the “senior teacher,” in terms of seniority, though I was at 24 years of age too young and untrained to be designate senior master.  Fortunately, Mr Stewart himself was an expert teacher and a versatile school head.”

Bill (William Wayne) Jones - 1954

Bill and Beulah Jones (Kessop)