Members of the Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society have been crisscrossing Clearwater County marking out dozens of historic school sites, and erecting special location markers at sites that are confirmed.
The idea started out over a cup of coffee two years ago, says Case Korver, committee member of the Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society. He, along with fellow Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society member, Allen Sunde, had noticed historic markers at former school sites in other counties across Alberta, and discussed doing the same in the West County.
The organization has identified around 70 sites where rural school buildings currently stand or once stood, a task that took around two years to complete, with many miles driven, and many interviews with locals, says Korver.
However, this year tangible progress is being made, as Korver says 12 marker signs are finally in the ground at several locations.
In May and June of 2024, Korver says historic markers were erected in Gimlet, Arbutus, Campbell, Gaetz (south of Stauffer) and Beaver Flats.
Gimlet historic school marker sign as seen July 2024. (94.5 Rewind Radio/Jordan Rein)
In August 2024, the organization is putting up markers in Everdell, Garth, Shady Lane, Bingley, Blueberry Valley, Condor, Horseguard, Victory and Hazel Dell, says Korver.
The signs themselves are made of metal, and are each about 6 ft. wide and lifted up about 4 ft. above the ground.
The signs are also a community effort, says Korver, with efforts from not only Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society, but also contributions from companies like Paramount Resources, Bernie Lublinkoff Welding and High Country Surveys.
Korver notes that Clearwater County has been very supportive in the organization’s mission to mark off the school sites.
Clearwater County sign near Gimlet, Alberta July 21, 2024. (Photo by 94.5 Rewind Radio / Jordan Rein)
Rural schools played a large role in the development of the area now known as Clearwater County, says Korver. Not only were the buildings school houses, but also served as community hubs for decades in the areas in which they served.
As in the case of the former Gimlet school site, Korver says the building serves as a community gathering place to this day.
As one of the oldest still-standing school sites in Alberta, Korver says the Gimlet building was completed in 1908 and served as a school all the way up to the mid 1950s.
The schools were typically grassroots organizations started by pioneer parents who wanted an education for their children, says Korver. Communities would bear the cost and labor of not only the buildings, but also the administrative task of hiring teachers.
“We’re reaping the benefits of what these folks did on extremely limited budget,” says Korver. “They recognized the importance of education for their children, they went through a great deal of effort to try to make it happen.”
Following the mid-twentieth century adoption of the centralized Alberta Department of Education, Korver says students then began to be bussed to Rocky Mountain House, Caroline, Leslieville and David Thompson High School, and the schools gradually shut down.
Some aspects and original locations of certain school sites is lost to history, says Korver, as virtually every person who built and taught at the schools have passed away, and students who attended the schools are often in their 70s and 80s.
Some original sites are now located on or adjacent to existing acreages, says Wanda Sunde, longtime member of the Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society. However, Sunde says landowners, without exception, are really happy to talk about the former sites near their properties.
Sunde credits the hard work of her husband Allen, along with Korver for making this project a reality. She says the two men have spent countless hours researching history books and speaking to folks who were involved with the schools decades ago.
While the community buy-in to the project has been outstanding, Korver admits putting markers at all 70 identified locations is a daunting task, and seeing it come to fruition remains to be seen.
Click here for more information on Rocky Mountain House Agricultural Society’s historic school initiative.
Comments