School Ties

Celebrating 60 years of friendship and camaraderie

- Bruce Cummings

Kemptville Agricul-tural School, or K.A.S. as it became known, was established in September 1916 in Kemptville, Ont., for the purpose of providing practical agricultural training to young men. There were also courses offered in home economics to female students. The school remained in operation until 2016, when the last class of graduates completed their studies. There was one exception. During the war years from 1942 to 1944, studies were suspended when the facilities were used by the Department of National Defence.

Over the years, the school earned the reputation of being a quality educational facility for teaching practical agriculture; it was the only one in eastern Ontario and was attended by students from all areas of the province. There were a few international students as well.