The First Schools
Education for the early pioneer families
As the immigrant farmers began buying land from the Canadian Pacific Railway (and the Calgary Colonization Company) and breaking the prairie sod in the Beiseker and Irricana districts, the need to establish schools for their children became apparent. Because the ability to travel was limited, small groups of neighbors organized the establishment of their schools. The school sites were within walking or riding distance of the local families.
· The Irricana School opened on September 8, 1910.
· The Silbernagel School, three miles west and one and a half miles north of Beiseker, was also built in 1910.
· The Keoma School opened on February 1, 1911.
· Beiseker students attended the Odessa School which opened in 1911half a mile east and one and a half miles north of the village.
· Classes began on February 5, 1912 at the Goderich School, eight miles west and one mile south of Beiseker.
· The Herbert Spencer School, four miles west and one mile south of Irricana, was built in 1912.
· The Greenfield School opened on January 6, 1913, four miles east and 2 miles south of Beiseker.
· The Gardner School at Kathyrn was established in 1913.
· The Beiseker School was built in 1914 to accommodate a larger population in the village.
· The Bruce Lakes, Craigdhu, and Hawthorne Schools were started several years later during the 1920’s.
These first one-room rural schools were operated by an elected School Board of local farmers. A chairman and a secretary-treasurer were the leaders of each board.
They began by purchasing a small amount of land (usually 2-3 acres) from one of the farmers or from the CPR. To finance this purchase and construction of the school they issued debentures with interest rates of 6 to 8%. They also collected taxes at a rate of 10 cents per acre to pay the operating expenses. Teacher salaries ranged from $500 to $750 per annum. Coal for heating the building was a significant expense.
Most of the teachers boarded with local farm families and they either walked to the school like many of the students or they rode horseback. Many teachers were paid an extra fee to provide janitorial services at the school. Later, some schools added a teacherage to accommodate the teacher on the school site.
There were several instances where classes began in temporary facilities until the school was ready for occupancy. Because many of the students rode to school on horseback, a stable or horse barn was constructed at the school grounds. Coal sheds and outhouses were also required. As the years passed, water wells were drilled and sometimes a basement was added to the schoolhouse.
It was often difficult to collect enough taxes to pay the teachers and make debenture payments. Classes were suspended at various times until the financial resources were replenished. There were also school closures due to severe winter weather conditions.
Most of the teachers at this time were young single women. For some of them it was their first experience as a teacher. They had the challenge of educating up to thirty pupils in grades 1 to 8.
Because most of the children at these schools came from farms where they assisted with the harvest, they were allowed to be absent from school a total of 20 days at times between September 1 and October 31.
Since the schoolhouse was the only community facility in the area it was often used for social activities such as card parties, box socials and dances.
Consolidation began as early as 1918 with the closure of some of the earliest schools. Many lasted until the 1940’s when motorized transportation allowed for greater travelling distances for the students and the provincial education system was updated. The buildings were usually moved to another location and repurposed as homes, granaries or additional school facilities.
Sources:
Beiseker’s Golden Heritage (Community history book)
KIK Country (Community history book)
Further Information:
