Some of Coll's school-teachers in the past may have been pretty handy with the strap and some only too glad to leave the island. But one, at least, was apparently a gentle soul whom one former pupil still remembers with affection, 'She never hit any of us once', and, after leaving Coll, she wrote a nostalgic poem about it. Miss Helen Parker was a one-time teacher in the Cornaig Board School. She married Charles MacFadyen of Bousd and they emigrated to Canada. While there, she used to send literary contributions to "The Scottish Farmer" under the pen-name 'Hopeful Sue'. This is part of the poem she wrote:

ISLE OF COLL

Fair Isle of the Hebrides - 'Coll' in thy naming,
A song we would make in thy praise,
As the New Year is dawning, our thoughts go a-roaming,
And we dwell on the past happy days.

Isle of the little rocky hills we have wandered far from thee
O'er the wide ocean to Canada's shore,
But our hearts are yet near thee, we ne 'er can forget thee,
While for us memory holds a wide open door...

Thatched the low cottages we loved to enter,
Warm was the welcome we always received.
Hearts kind and tender, all ready to render
Services neighbourly, true Gaelic breed!

Coll of the waves may God's blessing rest on thee,
Islet of glamour so haunting, so fair,
Thine own exiled children thy praises are singing
While yearning once more to breathe thy pure air.

(With grateful acknowledgement to Betty MacDougall for information about Miss Parker and her poem.)