Edith Mary Manuel (1902-1984)
9. At the next set of traffic lights, turn right on to Rennie's Mill Road. #12 was the home of educator Edith Mary Manuel.
Edith Manuel was born in Twillingate, the first of eight children. She attended St. Peter's School in Twillingate until she completed grade 10, and was then hired to teach grades 1 to 5 at the school she had attended. Edith stayed for three years, leaving to complete grade 11 and Normal School in St. John's.
Edith taught in several Newfoundland communities before joining the staff of Bishop Spencer College in 1929, the same year she founded the first Brownie Pack in Newfoundland. At Bishop Spencer, Edith taught all grade levels from primary to high school. She took a leave of absence from the College to finish her Senior Matriculation at Memorial University. Edith completed her Master of Arts in Education at Columbia University - no small feat for a woman of her time.
Edith wrote the first series of geography textbooks for Newfoundland schools and is considered one of Newfoundland's most influential teachers. Her textbooks include Our World for grade 3, Visits to World Workers for grade 4, and Our Country (later revised as Newfoundland Our Province) for grade 5.
In 1925, Edith joined the Girl Guide movement and set up groups wherever she taught in Newfoundland. For her work, she was awarded the Guiding Medal of Merit and a Life Membership. She was also a founding member of the Canadian Federation of University Women and the Early Childhood Development Association in Newfoundland.
Edith was named St. John's Citizen of the Year on two occasions, and in 1978 she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Memorial University. In 1979 she was the provincial patron for the International Year of the Child.
