WAINWRIGHT SCHOOL DISTRICT No.1658
- The first part of this account is taken from “Buffalo Trails and Tales,” and
- the latter part is contributed by Mr. John Taylor.
- In records of research work, copies were found of ordering the
- establishment of the Denwood School District #1658 on June 12, 1907.
- School was held in the Dawson building with the attendance of fifteen
- pupils. Teacher was Mr. N.S. Kenny.
- In 1908 the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway came through a few miles south
- of Denwood. The people who had settled in Denwood thought that the steel
- was coming through Denwood, so in 1908 all the buildings were moved to
- the village called Wainwright. The rails created a boom, settlers came in
- droves. On May 1, 1908, the children still attended school in the same
- Dawson Building that had been moved to Wainwright. It was situated near
- the site where the old Legion Hall is standing today, on the south side of
- 2nd Avenue East. The children went to class upstairs, as Dewar’s Flour
- and Feed Mill was on the main floor. Mr. N.S. Kenny had relocated and
- continued as their teacher. The school district then, as now, did not
- necessarily coincide with the boundaries of the town, and was run by a
- School Board. Taxes were collected by the town. The tax levy in 1912
- was broken down as follows:
General 14 mills Debt 8 mills School 6 mills - The brick school was built in 1910, at a cost of $18,000. Principal was
- Mr. W.J. McLean, with teachers Miss Shantz and Miss McGregor.
- Three pupils from the first group attending this school finished all their
- grades from one to twelve in Wainwright – namely Lolo Mabey, Vera
- Limpert and Murray Pawling.
- In 1913, the Board was authorized by the Minister of Education to borrow
- the amount of $3300 to erect a brick school house, and fence and improve
- the school site. The little Brick Cottage School was then built in 1913.
- One of the teachers was Miss Cummings. Some of the pupils who attended
- were: Margaret Livingstone, Norma Shirley, Vera Limpert, Merle Mabey,
- Harry King, Murray Pawling, Annislay Kenny, Juan Fan, Josie Reid, Sheila
- Gregory, Lolo Mabey, Stan Drewicki, and Vern Prosser. In a few years the
- little Cottage School was torn down and a dormitory built within the
- school yard. Wainwright School District #1658 was included in
- Wainwright School Division #32 when it was established in 1938.
Roman Catholic Separate School 1932 Denwood School erected 1947-1950 Parkview School erected 1954 Separate (Blessed Sacrament) 1956 Lolo Mabey School 1958 Westview School 1959 - In 1962 Parkview and Westview Schools were joined together to form the
- Wainwright High School.
Wainwright School District No. 1658
Submitted by Phyllis Craig
from information in “Buffalo Trails and Tales”
1-2