The historic Leslieville School site is among the latest to receive a special marker sign where a schoolhouse building once stood for decades.
The newly excavated soil beneath was still fresh, and reflective safety tape was still stuck to the sign which was erected just days before the Sept. 7 Leslieville Block Party.
During the party, laughs and stories of fond memories from the site were shared by residents, which served as a schoolhouse from 1925 to 1956.
The marker is part of a larger undertaking, in which volunteers with the Rocky Mountain House & District Agricultural Society have been marking out dozens of historic school sites around Clearwater County.
Former Leslieville school student, Danny Gibson, recalls Stan Pattison speaking fondly of his days attending the original schoolhouse.
Pattison’s walk to school included a distance of 5 to 6 miles downhill in the morning, and steep uphill in the evening.
Gibson also recalls Pattison speaking of other kids walking, biking and horseback riding that same long distance from all four directions, and how many of them had remained lifelong friends.
The school greatly expanded the boundaries of the Leslieville district, says Gibson, and served many school functions, Christmas programs, and community gatherings over the years.
The newly erected Leslieville historic school marker, as seen Sept. 7, 2024 during Leslieville Block Party (Jordan Rein/94.5 Rewind Radio)
Longtime area resident and former student, Donna Pattinson recalls the physical school building was moved several times in its history.
She says the school was moved down to the current site of David Thompson High School, before it was bought by the Leslieville Elks and moved up again to its original location, where it stood until it was destroyed by fire in 2017.
“So in my lifetime, I’ve seen that school moved, a new school built, and David Thompson built,” says Pattinson. “I was in the first class at David Thompson in 1957, and I saw the new Condor school built.”
Growing up near Withrow, Pattinson recalls boarding the bus near Blueberry Bridge to be brought to Leslieville.
Pattinson also recalls two other Withrow-area schools – Shady Lane to the south and Blueberry School to the north.
Pattinson adds, she’s thankful for the efforts of the Ag Society.
“I’m glad that they’re doing these projects,” she says. “Because our kids don’t know anything about it, or where these old schools were.”
Signs have also been put up at sites including Everdell, Garth, Shady Lane, Bingley, Gaetz, Beaver Flat, Gimlet, Alhambra, Blueberry Valley, Condor, Horseguard, Victory and Hazel Dell.
Click here for more information on Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society’s historic school initiative.
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