SCHOOLS

of the

BOUNDARY

Susan Dahlo Published exclusively for the Kettle River Museum November 5, 2008

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The following record of all the rural schools in the Boundary area has been a research project of Sus a n Dahlo and is an ongoing p r o j e c t. I acknowledge with gratitude the invaluable knowledge, r e s e a r c h , w o r k and generosity of Alice Glanville who compiled this information into a book called “Schools of the Boundary 1891- 1991” in 1991.

SCHOOLS OF THE BOUNDARY

2 Established Page Kettle River 1891 15 Boundary Creek (later Midway) 1894 20 Anarchist Mountain 1896 31 Greenwood 1896 40 Camp McKinney 1897 49 Grand Forks 1897 53 Rock Mountain 1897 65 Cascade 1899 73 Phoenix 1899 77 Kettle River North 1899 84 Columbia 1899 88 Deadwood 1900 89 Eholt 1900 93 Rock Creek 1900 95 Anaconda 1901 108 Boundary Falls 1901 110 Ingram Mountain 1905 116 Bridesville 1907 124 Carson 1908 129 Myncaster 1909 131 Rock Creek (Lower) 1910 Kettle Valley 161 Fife 1911 181 Berrydale 1911 185 Gilpin 1912 187 Hilltop 1913 180 Sand Creek 1913 190 Christina Lake 1915 192 Coltern 1916 195 Christian Valley 1917 196 Brown Creek 1919 203 Rhone 1920 206 Westbridge 1920 216 Norwegian Creek 1921 222 Kerr Creek 1923 226 Paulsen 1923 227 Rock Creek (Upper) 1925 228 Beaverdell 1925 238 Carmi 1938 236 Wal1ace Mountain 1939 237 Crouse Creek 1944 239 Fish Lake 1950 240

Doukhobors in School 242

3 Outlook 1917 245 Spencer 1920 246 Fruitova 1928 248

Cascade built 1899 26'x42' Kettle River North provided by residents Deadwood built 1900 23'x27' Eholt provided by residents Rock Creek provided by residents Anaconda built 1901 27' x33' Boundary Falls built 1905 26'x 40' on one acre

1898-1899 Common Schools: Anarchist Mountain Kettle River Grand Forks Greenwood

Assisted Schools: Camp McKinney Cascade City Kettle River North Assisted School: This meant that the government provided the teachers' salaries and the community looked after the construction of the building and tended to the maintenance and repair.

New School Buildings: Cascade City Greenwood

Additions: Grand Forks

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This map was in Alice Glanville’s “Schools of the Boundary”. It indicates where all the schools of the area were located.

SCHOOLS OF THE BOUNDARY

5 The last decade of the Nineteenth Century was an exciting time for the Boundary District with settlers coming into this pioneer land. These settlers did more than till the land, hew the forest, and unearth the minerals, they brought with them certain values and ideals that became the foundation of our society. One of these values, the importance of education for their children, resulted in the establishment of schools. In the Boundary, from 1891 on, forty one-room schools were in operation at various times, as well as larger schools at Grand Forks, Greenwood, and Phoenix. These schools, with a limited contact with the outside world, were the centre of the community, strongly interwoven into the lives of the people. Because of the geographical nature of the , schools were opened that could not be permanent. The mining camp or the farm community which formed the nucleus for the school would change. In mining camps, such as Camp McKinney and Paulson, when the mines could no longer fulfill their original promise, the people would move. As P.H. Sheffield stated in the 1924-25 Annual School Report: "In my opinion, a pioneer school of this sort established in a cheaply constructed building justifies its existence even if it remains open only a few years." In other places, such as Greenwood or Beaverdell, the mines proved more steady and the little school continued or grew as did the settlement. In the farming communities, the one room school constantly struggled to keep open. As the young children in the families grew up, others were not always there to replace them. So many rural children started school at four or five years old in order to keep the school open. Most of these first school buildings have since disappeared. Some schools burned down, many were torn down and some were moved to other locations. Some were replaced with buildings which were more in keeping with a growing and prosperous community. Before the memories become too dim or fade away entirely, it is interesting to look back at the schools and the school system. No schools existed in the Boundary until 1891. In fact did not have a Minister of Education until 1891. In 1891 over half the children in British Columbia received no formal education. In the Grande Prairie area, however, the settlers were busy making plans for a school. The first School District was organized on May 14, 1891 and the first school, the Kettle River School, was opened in the fall of 1892. The one-room schoolhouse actually represented a radical, modernizing shift in education. Historically, rich people paid to educate their children, and churches provided schools for select poor children. The idea of free schooling for all children was controversial at best. Wealthy people balked to think of their children attending school alongside paupers. British Columbia's education system came from Ontario. In the 1820's, Bishop John Strachan started the formal educational system in , and it grew under the able management of a Methodist minister, Reverend Doctor Egerton Ryerson in the 1840's. In 1859, John Jessop, a graduate of

6 Ryerson's Normal School and strong advocate of this public system, left his teaching position in Ontario and headed west with the idea of striking it rich in the goldfields of British Columbia. Instead of striking it rich in the goldfields, his legacy was more widespread, long-lasting and rewarding. He was instrumental in designing the Public School Act of 1872 which established the pattern for today's public education system. John Jessop, with his concept of non-denominational, tax supported public education set the broad guidelines of our school system. The Public School Act was passed in 1872, a year after the first government of British Columbia was formed, and John Jessop was appointed as Superintendent of Education. Among his duties he was “to deliver, in each School District, at least once a year, a public lecture on some subject connected with the objects, principles and means of practical education and to do all in his power to persuade and animate parents, guardians, trustees and teachers to improve the character and efficiency of the Public Schools, and to secure the sound education of the young generally." On his inspection travels, he used whatever transportation was available, going by steamer, stage, horseback, and canoe to schools throughout the province. The Public School Act of 1872 provided for the election of a local board of three school trustees. They were responsible for maintaining the school property and accounting for the school money, paying the teacher and providing supplies. A new School Act in 1897 gave the local school boards the right to hire and fire their own teachers. For the 40 one room schools in the Boundary there were 40 school boards, each responsible for its own school. This system for managing schools was basically the one that prevailed from the opening of the first school until the consolidation of schools in 1946. By amendment to the School Act in 1901, provision was made for the creation of additional city school districts. In consequence of this, the thirteen cities of Kootenay and Yale were erected into city school districts, as follows: Columbia, Grand Forks, Greenwood, Kamloops, Kaslo, Nelson, Phoenix, Revelstoke, Rossland, Sandon, Slocan City, Trail and Vernon. The Government grant to city districts depended entirely upon the average daily attendance of pupils, so the Department of Education knew that it was in the best financial interests of the cities to insist on attendance of the students at school. In launching the cities on their new career with part of the financial burden of their schools to bear, the Provincial Government granted generous aid towards purchase of sites and construction of additional buildings needed. The cities of Grand Forks, Greenwood, Nelson, Revelstoke and Rossland were thus very materially aided. Britannica, 11th edition of 1910 From the : "The educational system of British Columbia differs slightly from that of other provinces of Canada. There are three classes of schools; common, graded and high, all maintained by the government and all free and un-denominational. There is only one college in the province, the "McGill University College of British Columbia" at Vancouver, which is one of the colleges of McGill University, whose chief seat is at Montreal. The schools are controlled by trustees selected by the ratepayers of each school district, and there is a superintendent of education acting under the provincial secretary."

7 Most of the teachers in the very early years were conscientious and dedicated people, but they lacked training and experience. Prior to 1901, standards, training and qualifications for teachers were almost non Women of British Columbia existent. In the book, , Jan Gould writes: “By 1873, Jessop and the Board of Education had prepared examinations to assess teacher's abilities. Two standards were applied, one for male teachers and one for women teachers. The examinations included topics such as English Grammar, Bookkeeping Double Entry, Education and the Art of Teaching, History and English Literature, Vocal Music, Natural Philosophy, Mensuration (Measurement), Animal and Vegetable Physiology, and Euclid. For men, the averages were based on their marks in all subjects; for women, the averages were based on all except the mathematical subjects. It was not until 1877 that the ruling was changed to permit men and women to compete on an equal footing.'' To earn a certificate for teaching, the candidate wrote high school examinations in the subjects they would teach and earned either a 2nd Class or 3rd Class Certificate depending on their marks. A university graduate automatically received a 1st Class Certificate. Inspector William Burns who would become the principal of Vancouver Normal School wrote the following report in the 1898 Public Schools Report: “My experience during this year has convinced me of the absolute necessity for a Normal School for training our teachers. A considerable proportion of those employed in this Inspectorate have been educated in the schools of British Columbia, and although there can be no question regarding their knowledge, yet they are deficient in ability to instruct and to use modern methods of teaching, unless by several years of experience they have attained this ability and practicable training at their pupils' expense. Their comparative isolation also deprives them of the opportunity to obtain advice or assistance from other teachers when any difficulty arises. Hence, frequently, with the best intentions and with hard work, poor results are obtained." In 1901, the Vancouver Normal School, specifically for training teachers was established in Vancouver. The Victoria Normal School was established in 1915. It was not then until 1956 that teacher training was transferred to the universities. Women of British Columbia, From Jan Gould's book, she writes: “Early rural schools attracted more female than male teachers. The reason was simple enough: salaries were too small for a married man to support a family. A few single men did accept such postings but most considered other possibilities, such as the chance to pre-empt land or the chance of striking it rich in the mines. A woman was glad to be offered the job. Usually, but not always, she had some training for it; she had no objection to staying with local families − in fact, if she never had tasted isolation before, she preferred to board with a family--and she appreciated the challenge of teaching children from a variety of backgrounds. If she liked country life, well and good. If she loathed it, she tried to endure that first year, after all, no city school wou1d consider hiring her until she had gained experienced elsewhere.” The young men and women who pursued a teaching career out in the wilds of British Columbia were most often from the city and had high expectations only to experience primitive living conditions and loneliness. A woman teacher had to do a job that met with the approval of local school trustees and her personal life had to be circumspect or they were likely to report her to the school inspector. The following is a Teacher’s Contract (for a woman teacher) in Ontario but was likely very similar in British Columbia (September 1, 1923): 1. Not to get married. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teacher marries.

8 2. Not to keep company with men. 3. To be at home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless she is in attendance at a school function. 4. Not to loiter downtown in ice cream parlours. 5. Not to leave town at any time without the permission of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. 6. Not to smoke cigarettes. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teacher is found smoking. 7. Not to drink beer, wine or whiskey. This contract becomes null and void immediately if the teacher is found drinking beer, wine or whiskey. 8. Not to ride in a carriage or automobile with any man except her brothers or father. 9. Not to dress in bright colours. 10. Not to dye her hair. 11. To wear at least two petticoats. 12. Not to wear dresses more than two inches above the ankle. 13. To keep the schoolroom clean, to sweep the classroom floor at least once daily, to scrub the classroom floor once a week with hot water and soap; to clean the blackboards at least once daily; to start the fire at 7am so that the room will be warm at 8am when the children arrive; to carry out the ashes at least once daily. 14. Not to use face powder, mascara or paint the lips. Women of British Columbia From ; “As Depression days came closer, teachers found conditions in rural areas harder to take. Community members were sometimes jealous of each other and counted the number of times the teacher visited each family. The teacher's behaviour was discussed; she was expected to go to church, to set certain standards of politeness and to be neatly groomed. Sometimes, it was hard for her to board with a family where the mother was over-burdened with children, under-burdened with attention or money, and who soon resented the respect that the teacher commanded. “Boarding the teacher" became a competitive venture in a few communities where sometimes the living situation caused personal distress. Inspector Sheffield noted in his 1932-33 Public School’s Report that, “The disturbance in world conditions has had its inf1uence upon the schools. Knowing how difficult it has been for citizens to pay taxes, School Boards have kept their budgets as low as possible, with the result that in many districts, painting and repairs to buildings have not been done and worn equipment has not been replaced...In numbers of cases children who, in ordinary times would have continued at school after reaching the compulsory age-limit have discontinued attendance due to the pressure of economic circumstances. The attitude of the teachers of the district towards their work has, with very few exceptions been highly commendable. Due to reductions in salary many of them have not been able to purchase the usual number of books of reference and pedagogical magazines. I have been particularly pleased with the improvements in the quality of teaching in the rural schools of this inspectorate...I have noted that the schools where exceptional work is done, not only are staffed by competent and earnest teachers, but also are characterized by a commendable spirit of co-operation as between the teacher on the one hand and the School Board and citizens on the other...The quality of the instruction in language has improved considerably since texts in the subject have been authorized for Grades 3 to 8, inclusive, due to the improved definiteness and continuity of the lessons." At the Normal School in Victoria, Dr. MacLaurin began giving “pep" talks to girls going to rural areas. His paternal advice was peppered with sound psychology; he warned the girls not to fall in love with the first men they

9 met; that sometimes some of the male students would be almost the same age as the teacher; to understand that rural conditions would be very different from city life; and to expect loneliness and frustration. A high turnover of teachers was always expected, but difficult for the children to adjust to. Inspector J.D. Gillis made this comment in the 1907- 1908 School Report; “One (the teacher) teaches reading to beginners by the word method; her successor uses the phonic method. Another teaches subtraction by the borrowing method; her successor adopts some other way. The result is that young children are confused and make very little progress for some time after a change of teachers takes place." The following article is taken from the P.T.A. News Letter in Kelowna, May 1959; What is a Teacher? Teachers: they come in assorted sizes, weights, ages and sexes. They are found everywhere. Mothers and fathers expect miracles of them; little children adore them; older boys and girls tolerate and ignore them; heaven protects them. A teacher is Truth with chalk on its fingers, Wisdom with a red pencil on its ear, and Hope with a yardstick on its desk. A teacher must have the patience of a Saint, the understanding of Solomon, the energy of an atom bomb, the curiosity of' a cat, the lungs of a dictator, the imagination of Paul Bunyan, the enthusiasm of a fire-cracker, the sense of humour of a comedian, the sense of fairness of a judge − and eyes in the back of his head. Nobody else is so early in the classroom and so late for supper. Nobody else can cram into one day six or eight subjects, mark sixty books, prepare next day's lessons, bandage three knees, keep thirty children busy, interested, quiet and happy, attend P.T.A. meetings and keep smiling. A teacher is a magical creature; she must like all children, especially yours; never let her own worries or problems interfere with her teaching; treat each child as an individual, with thirty or more clamouring for attention; keep good discipline without blowing his top; smi1e when he would like to scream, scream when she would like to smile; and do with thirty children what parents cannot accomplish with three or four.

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Photo courtesy Rhoda Stewart Phillip Hudson Sheffield (1892-1936) Inspector of Schools 1923 to 1935

Fortunately one of the constants in education was the Inspector. Many fine men undertook the difficult task of touring the province and offering advice and assistance to promote the cause of education. David Wilson and William Burns were inspectors when many of the first schools opened in the Boundary area. David Wilson was the first inspector in BC, appointed in 1887. William Burns succeeded him in 1892. J.D. Gillis was the inspector in the early years of the 20th century and A.E. Miller was the inspector of schools in the teen years--during the First World War Two inspectors, P.H. Sheffield and J.B. DeLong (inspector for high schools in the province), are well remembered by students and teachers of the next era. The visits of inspectors caused excitement in the schools and in some cases trepidation on the part of the teacher and students. In Mr. DeLong's memoirs, he writes of one such visit to a small rural school; "I visited the school one morning and when I had left the teacher asked the pupils to write an essay on the visit of the Inspector. He sent me what he thought was the best essay: The day was dark and dreary. Black clouds overhung the sky. The school bell tolled like some distant knell through the misty air. The children wended their way to another bore some session.

11 The schoolroom was dark and cold. A sense of impending disaster hung like a pall over the pupils. Even the riotous first year class was silent. All of them were waiting for something none of them could name. The silence was oppressive.

Clump, Clump, Clump.

Rap, Rap, Rap.

Everyone jerked upright in his seat. The teacher stopped his monotonous promenading as if he had been shot and then started slowly toward the door, but before he could reach it the door was jerked open and the Inspector stepped into the room. The pupils all turned pale. The teacher motioned them to rise and say good morning. They did so in a dazed fashion. The inspector's deep voice rolled out in reply. A fiendish grin overspread his solemn countenance. At 12 o'clock noon, the Inspector asked the teacher "Are you not going to let the pupils out for lunch?" The pupils filed out slowly. Again the school bell pealed forth. It seemed a little clearer now. As the pupils entered the room they found the teacher sitting at his desk with a cheery look in his eye. “The inspector will not be here this afternoon, I regret to say." A hearty sigh burst from the first year class who had partly escaped the morning visit and a subdued murmur came from the other pupils. The teacher good humouredly quieted them. The work went on as usual and the sun burst through the clouds."

Sometimes the school inspector’s arrival was a complete surprise, especially in the early days when mail often took weeks to deliver and transportation was dependent on weather. The following amusing Women of British Columbia, anecdote from tells about an incident that was likely repeated a few times throughout the province; “In the 1890's the young female teacher ran over to her neighbour complaining that a strange man appeared to be following her everywhere. What should she do? The neighbour advised her to open the school as usual and promised to send her husband to the school to keep an eye on everything. No sooner had the teacher started the day's work than she glanced out of the window and saw the stranger marching up the school path. With the help of the larger children in the class, she pushed hard against the door. The stranger pushed from the other side. Harder and harder she and the children pushed until finally they gave up and stepped back. The stranger staggered into the room and fell to the floor. “I am Mr. Copperthwaite" he said slowly as he picked himself up. “The School Inspector."'' In 1923, T.G. Carter succeeded Mr. Sheffield as the inspector of the Boundary area. 1939-1941 Dr. Burnett January 1942 B. Thorstenson September 1942-1944 J.E. Brown 1944-1946 Dr. Burnet 1946 C.E. Clay

The Cameron Report of 1945 spelled the end of the one room school. In the province, the 649 school districts were reduced to 75 districts and the pupils were bussed to the larger centres. In the Boundary District there were two School Districts formed, School District #12 and School District

12 #13 (Kettle Valley). In the 1946-1947 School report, Inspector C.E. Clay B.A. wrote that: “During the first part of the term much time had to be devoted to organizing the first regular election and holding rate payers meetings.” By the 1947-1948 Report, Inspector Clay reported that: “During the past school-year the many small problems arising from the change-over from the small to the larger administrative unit have been ironed out. As in other districts, there has been noticeable overcrowding. In each district the ratepayers have signified their awareness of the lack of accommodation by endorsing by-laws to raise money for new buildings." By 1948, there was a new high school in Grand Forks, a remodelled Elementary School in Grand Forks, a modern one room school at Brown Creek, a new two-room school in Kettle Valley, a new 3-room school at Midway and new additions at Bridesville and Beaverdell. There now were 3 Superior Schools (Grades 1-10) in School District #13 at Midway, Bridesville and Beaverdell. Each district was giving financial assistance to pupils in attendance areas where there were no high schools of where dai1y transportation was not available. In 1950-51 with the consolidation of schools, the following schools were listed in the two School Districts:

District #12 (Grand Forks) Junior-Senior High School Grand Forks

Elementary Brown Creek Centra1 Kettle River North

District #13 (Kettle Valley) Superior Beaverdell Bridesville Midway

Elementary-Senior High School Greenwood

Elementary Anarchist Mountain ChristianValley Crouse Creek Fish Lake Kettle Valley Rhone Westbridge

The Chant commission of 1960 effectively put an end to classes of 45 or more. It stressed individual instruction, provided for the establishment of kindergarten, and returned Grade 7 to the elementary school. Discipline in the schools was usually very rigid and the use of the strap was not uncommon. In 1973, Eileen Dailly, Minister of Education in Premier David Barrett's government, disallowed the use of corporal

13 punishment in British Columbia schools. Although the abolition of corporal punishment produced controversy at the time, many are now in agreement with Eileen Dailly's action. In 1977, the British Columbia government, with the passage of the Independent School Support Act, gave subsidies to private schools, thus reversing the over 100-year-old policy of supporting only public schools. Some independent schools have operated in the Boundary over the years, but they have not affected to any great extent the support in the area for public education.

The Strathcona Trust and Physical Training in B.C. Pubic Schools Until the Second World War, physical education — or, as it was called, physical training — was provided under the auspices of a privately-endowed, semi-autonomous agency known as the Strathcona Trust.

The Trust was established by Lord Strathcona in 1909-10 with an endowment of $500 000. Lord Strathcona, who was Canada's High Commissioner to Great Britain at the time, was impressed with the Syllabus of Physical Training that had recently been introduced in British elementary schools.

In order to develop a similar regimen in the schools of the Dominion, Lord Strathcona established a trust fund which he turned over to the federal government. According to the terms of the trust, the fund was to be used not only to promote physical training but also to encourage the formation of military cadet corps within the public schools. Thirty-five per cent of Strathcona Trust funding was supposed to be allocated to cadet training, fifteen per cent to rifle shooting, and fifty per cent to physical education.

Across Canada, Strathcona Trust funds were administered by local committees established by provincial Education departments. British Columbia accepted the terms of the Strathcona Trust in 1910. Two years later, in 1912, physical education became a compulsory subject in the public schools.

In City and Municipal school districts, calisthenics and other drills were conducted by non-commissioned officers on loan from the Militia Department. The military also loaned instructors to the Normal Schools where teachers were taught physical training according to methods laid out in the Strathcona Trust's Syllabus of Physical Exercise for Schools.

David Wilson, the director of the Free Text-Book Branch, served as secretary-treasurer of the British Columbia Local Committee, Strathcona Trust, from 1911 until his retirement in 1920. He was succeeded by the registrars of the Education Department — J. L. Watson (1920-1943), T. W. Hall (1943-1946) and T. F. Robson (1946-1953).

By Robson's time, very few public schools supported cadet corps and the Strathcona Trust had become an anachronism. Beginning in the 1920s, the rigid militaristic approach to physical training was frequently criticized and by the 1930s most progressive school districts were developing athletic programmes instead of physical drills. Indeed, the high school Physical Education Syllabus of 1933 was a very progressive document. Thus Edwardian physical training as represented by the Strathcona Trust gave way to a more modern physical education in the public schools of British Columbia.

After 1953, Strathcona Trust funds were used to provide scholarships for students enrolled in the Physical Education programme at The University of British Columbia and to assist inter-school sports competitions.

Written by Patrick A. Dunae

Kettle River School

14 Anarchist Mountain School

The school district of Anarchist Mountain was established on May 13, 1896. It embraced all that tract of land in the southern half of townships 65, 66, 67, Osoyoos Division of Yale, so it was located in the extreme western part of the Boundary District. Charles and Fanny Coss had arrived in the Anarchist area and bought a pre-emption in 1894. For a while they lived in a log cabin, with dirt floor and roof. Soon Charles built a new frame house and donated the old log cabin to be used as the school. Claude Coss related that; “this old log house did not have a floor so they put down shavings, if they dropped their pencil they had one awful time to find it again”. School was opened in 1896 with Miss Alice Blake (later to marry James McMynn) as the teacher for 24 students (12 girls and 12 boys). Miss Blake was hired at a salary of $55.00 per month.

Photo courtesy the McMynn Collection Alice Edith Blake

The Coss, Cudworth, Tedrow, Johnston, and Cullings families went to the first school. Molson had no school until 1903, so several children attended Anarchist school, one student being Ernest Sherling. Five children from Molson are in the school photo of 1901. Mae Atwood (Alice Blake's daughter) told the writer: “Those with good elementary educations were at a premium when in 1891 our Department of Education needed teachers to open schools throughout our province. An examination was set, based on elementary subjects. Out of 48 who wrote, my mother, not yet sixteen came 7th. My mother was sixteen on September 6, 1891 and that autumn opened a school at Genoa on Vancouver Island."

31 Charles Coss donated two acres of his land and the new frame school house of 18' by 26' wood construction was erected during the school year 1896-97. Miss P. Spragge was hired as teacher for $55.00 per month and taught there until 1899. R.G. Sidley was the Secretary of the School Board and E. Stiles and Almquist were trustees. . The school was inspected September 2nd, 1898 by William Burns and thereafter was visited regularly one or two times a year. nd September 2 , 1898; 12 pupils present. “The work of this school was decidedly backward. According to the teacher's report this was due to irregularity of attendance." The teacher from 1899 - 1904 was Albert Letts hired at $50.00 per month. nd April 2 , 1900; present, 19 pupils. “Pupils in too advanced readers in comparison with of their subjects; teacher endeavouring to improve the grading, but grammar, arithmetic, geography still backward although improved." This photo and article appeared in the 1968 Osoyoos Times:

Turn of the Century Picture of Sidley School Familiar faces to some of the old timers in the Boundary area are shown above in a photograph taken in 1900 of the Sidley school and the young students who attended there. Top row: Elmer Tedrow, Mary Cudworth, Minnie Tedrow, Phoebe Johnston, Nettie Coss, Teacher, Albert Letts, Roy Coss, Robert Cullings, Joe Johnston, Ernest Jollie. Bottom row: Mabel Tedrow, Katie Coss, Phil Johnson, Jessie Tedrow, May Cullings, Burt Cullings, Ernest Johnson, Bert Cudworth was absent that day. Mr. Claude Coss (brother Roy in picture) brought the photo in with some background information to help fill in the historical gaps of the early days in this part of the country. Mr. Coss said that this was the first Sidley School house, built 2 miles east of Sidley and about 4 miles west of Bridesville on the Dewdney Trail and Cariboo road. The school was built on the old Coss farm now owned by Anton Bartlings (in 1968).

32 Years later this building was moved down with the other building and in 1968 was still used for a granary. Although this was the first school house, school was first opened in a room built onto the old log house in about 1896. The teacher, Miss Blake later married Mr. James McMynn at Midway. Miss Blake stayed at the Gillespie Hotel, located about one and a half miles east of the school. The hotel burnt down in about 1911 or 1912. As the salon was built a short distance from the hotel, it was not burnt and was used for a house. Mrs. Billups and Bert Cudworth went to school in the old log house. It didn’t have a floor, Mr. Coss related, so they put down shavings and they said if they dropped their pencil they had one awful time to find it again.

Photo courtesy of Wm.J.(Bill) Hatton Students and teacher in 1901

The students who attended Anarchist School in 1900 were: Elmer, Minnie, Jessie and Mabel Tedrow; Mary and Bert Cudworth; Phoebe, Joe, Ernest and Phil Johnston; Nettie and Roy Coss; Robert, May and Burt Cullings; Ernest Jollie. th October 20 , 1900; present, 15 pupils. “This school has made considerable progress during the past year; reading well taught; arithmetic poor in problems." February 19th, 1902; 17 pupils present. “Manual work fairly neat; insufficient time devoted to oral work and composition; history and grammar rather backward; home lessons to be regularly assigned; primary classes making only fair progress; apparent difficulty in securing new text books for school.'' January 22nd, 1903; 17 pupils present. “Difficulty in securing prescribed text books still continues; course of study to be more closely followed; senior arithmetic creditable; as before, insufficient time devoted to oral work and composition; indifferent progress in primary classes." March 10th, 1904; 9 pupils present. “Low attendance said to be caused by sickness and bad roads; teacher should endeavour to secure attendance of larger pupils in district; school-room neither neat nor clean; some improvement in standing of classes observed, but much of former criticism still holds good; a little drawing taken. The teacher has provided himself with some additional reference books.” Mr. A.A. McPhail taught from 1904-1906 (Mr. McPhail had previously taught at Midway School).

33 January 30th, 1905; 11 pupils present. “Sickness and bad roads in winter may be contributory causes of low average attendance at this school for the past year (8.99, or less than 40 per cent of an enrolment of 24), but the parents should also bear some blame for seeming apathy and culpable neglect. Pupils as before not supplied with necessary text-books; the teacher kindly took up this matter and now reports that this defect as, to a certain extent at least, been remedied, Unsatisfactory work in past due to irregular attendance; pupils large but backward; there is great room for improvement in this school." Perhaps rather harsh criticism, especially when we realize the difficulties some of these pioneer families were facing. The school was closed 1906-1908 and Mr. Bill Hatton said that some of the students went to Molson school across the International border. Anarchist Mountain school was reopened in 1908-09, but was reduced to the status of Assisted School. The teacher in 1908-09 was William Letts, in 1909-10 was Miss M.M. McEachern, in 1910-1914 was Albert Letts (Albert died November 19, 1914 at the age of 42 and is buried in the Bridesville cemetery). Florence Letts No Need for Drums Sutherland, who wrote the book, , supplied the following information: In 1886, Albert, William and Frank Letts came to Canada as Dr. Barnardo's Boys. They were fortunate to be picked by three good families and were allowed by these families to get an education. Albert and William became teachers and Frank became a medical doctor. Albert and William came west and settled on homesteads in the Anarchist area and Frank went to the United States. In 1914, the trustees of Anarchist Mountain replaced the old school with buildings that were a credit to the community. It was thereafter known as the Sidley School In 1914-1917 the teacher was Miss Florence E. Peters, in 1917-18 was Mrs. F.E. DeLisle (Miss Florence Peters had married Jeff DeLisle in April 1918. The couple celebrated their 70th Wedding Anniversary in 1986 and then Florence died in May 1988).

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Photo courtesy Florence Letts Sidley School in 1917 Teacher is Florence Peters and students include Charles, Alfred, Leonard Eek, Walter Letts

1918-19 Mrs. E.J. Coss 1919-20 F. van Gorder. 1920-21 Miss G.M. Collier 1921-22 Miss A.A. Morgan 1922-23 Miss D. Weinberg B.A. 1923-24 Miss T.L. Embree 1924-1926 Miss Ethel E. Purkiss (married Christian Piedmont in 1928) 1926-1928 Miss Jean H. Fraickney 1928-29 Miss J.D. Caldwell 1929-30 Miss A.E. Burns 1930-31 Miss J.M. Metcalfe 1931-32 Miss D.C. Hillam 1932-1935 Miss H.M. Fuller 1935-36 Mrs. C. Carman 1936-1939 closed 1939-40 A.W. Horrocks 1940-1942 Miss M.A. Fulton

35 1942-43 Mrs. M.R. McArthur 1943-44 closed 1944-45 T.R. Chippendale 1945-46 Agnes Ells (married Lyle White and resided in Bridesville until her death in 2006) 1946-47 Lucille Neilson 1947-48 Agnes Ells

Teacher Agnes (Ells) White in front of the Sidley School in 1946

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Photo courtesy Helen Miller Walter Cudworth at the Sidley School in the 1960’s

Sidley School in 1946 Miss Lucille Neilson was the teacher Art and Harold Harfman; Bill and Walter Hill; and Don and Shirley Brunner are the students

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Photo courtesy Elva Hedlund The kids who kept the Sidley school open in 1950. The Kienas family, the Harfman family, the Still family and the Kehoe family The school was closed during the school year 1953-54 when the pupils were transported to Bridesville. The local people always referred to this school as the Sidley school. This school is located about a mile off Highway #3 on the north side of the highway. It stands in an open field and is dilapidated and being reclaimed by Mother Nature. Alan Cudworth of Greenwood started school here and had Mrs. Ethel Piedmont of Osoyoos for his first teacher. Alan's father, Bert Cudworth who passed away in 1981 at the age of 99, went to the first Anarchist Mountain School which was usually referred to as the Coss school. The Cudworth (Bert), Charlton, Kehoe, Higginbottom and Lawless families went to the second school. Elva Hedlund (nee Keinas) remembered her days at Sidley School:

A Memory and A Lesson

It was back in the days of a one-room school, and a total of seven students. Our teacher lived in Osoyoos so he drove up the hill to Sidley school every day. During the winter the road could get quite bad so we were never sure if he would make it or not, so the agreement was if he wasn't there by ten o'clock we could go home. Well this one beautiful sunny but very crisp day, ten o'clock came and went and we went out the door and into the barn to get our horses and sleigh. We headed down the road to Robertson hill for a fun day of sleigh riding. As we came to the top of the hill we could see to the bottom and there stuck in the snow bank was the teacher with one student that he would pick up along the way and bring to school. Well, there was no way we were going to be done out of our day off so we made mighty fast tracks back towards the school and down in to the creek bottom where we were going to hole up until the teacher went home. Well, I guess he wasn't as dumb as we thought because he never went home.

38 So there we were down in the creek bottom, no sun there, couldn't go home, wouldn't go to school, after all he wasn't there by ten! I had a few matches (I was the janitor for the school) so we got a fire going right under some trees that were loaded with snow, snow melted, fire went out, no more matches. We took turns sneaking up to the school to see if the teacher had gone home, but no such luck. (You don't suppose he knew what we were doing?) By the time three o'clock came we were all about frozen, so we were going home, at least some of us did, the ones that didn't have to go past the school. As for the two of us that had to, we had to wait till four o'clock and he still wouldn't leave. We couldn't stand it any longer so we put that horse in high gear and went for it. Nothing was ever said about our ‘fun' day, but I guarantee you we never did that again and none of us ever forgot it.

Greenwood School

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