I have driven by this site for may years. Five years ago this sign was erected so I knew what was formerly at this location...a country school.
Alberta and Saskatchewan were settled in the late 1890' and early 1900's. Since families came to settle the land schools were needed . A system of country schools was set up. Each country school was set up to serve an area that was convenient for children to travel to the institution. The schools were numbered and run by a local school board. They collected taxes and hired teachers. The school yard was a standard two acres. A number of plans were available for school boards to choose from.
These little buildings were notoriously cold. They were poorly built and had no insulation. They were heated with a large coal and wood stove. The fire went out over night and had to be relit every morning. It would take until noon until the building warmed up.
This site is completely overgrown with trees. As you see from the sign it was Outlet school which was built in 1902 and closed in 1949. So it's been closed for 64 years. The school number was 599 which means that it was the 599th school built in Alberta.
So if there were any grade ones in this school in 1949 , they would now be 70. The memory of these schools and school districts is fast coming to an end.
When I think of these country schools I cannot help but wonder about the people who attended. For 47 years an assortment of students gathered at this site and received some education. Boys, girls, big, small, all kinds of people went through the program. There were many teachers who worked in this school. Who were they. The district was supported by a dozen or more families and it became their community center. There were other uses for these schools. Church services were conducted in many of them. Community meetings , dances and socials were organized in these little buildings.
So I finally stopped the other day at the Outlet school site. I walked in and in the center there was clearing where the school stood. Other than that nature had reclaimed the site. A picture of the school shows no trees around it.
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| This is the outer view of the site. |
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| This weedy clearing looks like where the school sat. |
A few years ago it was decided to mark the location of all the country schools. A marker was set up where my school was located. The memory of these schools may fade but the locations will still be noted.
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| This is where I went to school. The school site is behind the sign and it is now a grain field. |
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| Ten former students. Two of them are my brothers and they attended the last year the school was open. One brother 5 th from the left and second brother 8 th from the left. |
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| Two former teachers unveiled the sign. |
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| A 1947 photo of school students in front of Hiawatha School. My Dad's shadow is on the right as he took the picture. I am first left in the middle row. |
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| I used this photo the other day but, today I want you to notice the large stove in the corner. |
I like to see the old one room school houses. There's one here on the ranch. It has quite a tilt to it now. Its gonna be sad when it falls down. There are quite a few around this neck of the woods. Some in good repair, others not so much.
ReplyDeleteSome have been kept here as local community centers and have done quite well. for other schools they have been abandoned and the community has disappeared.
DeleteOh I love those B&W pictures. Those 10 former students must be thrilled to be together again.
ReplyDeleteWell, when you're old , the pictures are black and white. Many of the ten students have been in contact over the years.
DeleteHow wonderful that markers are put up for every school! Leave it to the Canadians to do it up right! Great post Red, I really enjoyed it and all you photos:)
ReplyDeleteThe country schools have a lot of history since they were closed. I guess there's another post on that.
DeleteThis is a great idea. History shouldn't be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteAdrian, here stuff was built of wood and doesn't last that long so is destroyed. Stone buildings are a little harder to destroy.
DeleteWhat a nice memories, you are a few years older than me, but the heating in our schools sounds familiar to mine in the fifties here. One big heater for a classroom, children who sat nearby were cooking the others were freezing. It is nice to keep the memories alive with placing the signs of the schools in the fields.
ReplyDeleteTrue about the kids near the stove being hot and those further away being cold. I'm glad markers have been placed. A group of people worked very hard to get money to carry out this project.
DeleteOh Red I can imagine the cold in the prairies just getting to school would be challenging enough and then dealing with he cold wow. Tough people back then. I am glad they recognize and honour the memory of those schools. Love the old pics:) Oh so many good memories for you. B
ReplyDeleteWe were used to cold and dressed for it. We played outside all the time. It says something about the value of education.
DeleteYes, now I see where your name came from and what a marvelous bit of history. So nice to see the reunion of 10 former students and even teachers for the unveiling. Your olde black n whites resemble photos my Mom was always taking. Nice post Hiawatha House :)
ReplyDeleteAre you playing with me - you really do not know who the Boston Red Sox are? I think you're just playing?
Now I see where your blog name came from! It must have been quite a challenge to keep those schools warm during Canadian winters.
ReplyDeleteI love those B&W photos. I just returned from visiting my family in Montreal, and brought back tons of old photos from my mom's albums.
It was a challenge to keep them comfortable , but I really do not remember being cold. We dressed for the conditions.
DeleteThere's lots of black and white in my history.
My neighbor taught at one of these schools and we share some fun stories.
ReplyDeleteThe grass you asked is about is blue stem , just caught at a good angle with the sun
Blue stem is good stuff!
DeleteThere are many good stories about country schools.
loved this piece of history. i am glad they are marking the sites of these historic places.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's a very interesting topic. I've read quite a few books on country schools. One of my favorites is "The School Horse."
DeleteI DID notice that all important stove in that classroom picture. I can only imagine how cold winter mornings were back then.
ReplyDeleteWell, come to think of it winter mornings are still cold! We were used to these conditions and dressed for it. I don't remember the cold. We played out side all the time.
DeleteNice post! So good that they're marking where the schools were. We have several old schools still standing in our area.
ReplyDeleteSome of our schools were kept as community centers. Most were sold or destroyed.
DeleteMy school bus passed two country schools when I was growing up. I rode the bus all the way into town to the 'modern' school building. Hearing the stories the kids told in the afternoon I often wondered if I was missing something. It always seemed like they had a better time than we did.
ReplyDeleteMy husband attended country schools first to fourth grades.
Country schools were a hoot. We were like one big family.
DeleteThis is so cool, Red. I am amazed that there are so many of you still in the area to get that picture! :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat ties these people together is that they all come back to family that still live in the area.
DeleteA very good post Red. It's nice to have good memories ;-)
ReplyDeleteBest regards from the Netherlands,
dzjiedzjee.blogspot.com
Thanks. I'm at an age where I can see direct memories disappearing.
DeleteRed, you draw so many comments because you post interesting things. I love this. I think 'progress' means the land is used for something else, or the school is otherwise located, but we can remember the way things used to be.
ReplyDeleteI love this.
My hubby attended a 1-room schoolhouse in Chesterville, Ontario. We've been by a couple of times. It is now a garage.
I grew up in downtown Toronto and all those schools are still going! The house I grew up in is about 150 years old. All very interesting.
Thanks!
DeleteThe school with the black and white photos is still in existence. It's been a shop since 1951. One of the local farmers bought it. The black boards are still on the wall.