BLOOMINGTON VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT No.1757

1. Isn’t it amazing that the contributing factor to the origin and building of a
2. school district in a remote area begins in an area thousands of miles
3. away? Quite true of Bloomington Valley school whose first settlers came
4. from Bloomington, Minnesota, looking for land in a virgin territory. In the
5. spring of 1905, Henry Wigley, a farmer and blacksmith, Harry Haecker a
6. professor at the University of Minneapolis and Thomas Bazley, a farmer,
7. came to Vermillion which was the end of the steel at that tie. There they
8. hired a locator and horses that would guide them through the country in
9. order to select homesteads. Land was chosen in a valley on the south and
10. east gentle slopes of the Saddle Hills. A scarcity of stones on the land
11. was a contributing factor to their choice.
12.  
13. Next spring each settler brought a carload of furniture, livestock and
14. machinery. The families came by train to Lloydminster and, after a weary
15. journey by buggy, wagon and democrat, arrived at their homesteads. They
16. pitched their tents in lush grass from whence came a welcoming
17. committee, millions of ravenous mosquitoes.
18.  
19. Early in the year of 1907, parents began the procedure of forming a school
20. district. Mrs. Bazley submitted the name of Bloomington Valley and it was
21. chosen. In 1908 the school was built with lumber hauled from
22. Lloydminster. Tom Bazley, Henry Wigley and Harry Haecker were the first
23. trustees. The first teacher was a Mr. Wigley who was no relation to Henry.
24. The school was built on the S.E. ¼ 29-44-3. It was located about six and
25. one-half miles north-east of Edgerton on old Highway 14. The original
26. school now stands on the north west corner of the five acre school yard –
27. a stately sentinel of 87 years of progress and a rich heritage.
28.  
29. When the school opened, the Bevington children were transported in a
30. topped buggy pulled by an ox. There were 14 children in attendance in the
31. school when it opened.
32.  
33. Mrs. Burns, a “grass widow” from the southern states, was the second
34. teacher. Another teacher, about 1911, was Miss Mildred Mitchell. On
35. returning from a trip to Quebec, Miss Mitchell stopped off in Winnipeg to
36. visit a friend. Also there to visit the same friend was Dolph Seale whose
37. homestead was in the Battle View District. This chance meeting was the
38. beginning of a romance. Forty miles was quite a distance to court your
39. girl in those days. Mrs. Bazley asked if she could prepare for their
40. wedding which was held in their log house on Christmas Day, 1912, the
41. first wedding in Bloomington Valley.
42.  
43. Single and double desks provided seating for the students. A few long pig-
44. tails were dipped in the inkwells which were in the top centre of the
45. desks and a few irate mothers complained to the teacher. Spring was a
46. favourite time when long underwear could be abandoned for bare legs; felt
47. boots for runners. The big boys were often asked to leave the room to
48. remove their runners and leave them somewhere, anywhere. How great it
49. was to go bare-footed! We watched for the first saucy gophers. A patch
50. of silver willow grew on the east side of the school and a breeze would
51. bring in that heavenly fragrance.
52.  
53. The new school was built in 1930 a few yards south and east of the old
54. school. It was equipped with telephone, chemical toilets, a furnace and a
55. large basement where we played in the winter.
56.  
57. As at many schools, the Christmas Concert was one of the big events of
58. the year; the other, the end of year picnic on the last day of school. Last
59. day of school mothers came at mid-morning to prepare dinner. Dads came
60. at noon to turn the icecream freezers and teacher’s treat was often
61. several large watermelons. On one very hot day, a violent electrical storm
62. accompanied by hail came up and I remember parents holding coats and
63. blankets up to the windows so they wouldn’t be smashed.
64.  
65. The highest attendance at Bloomington Valley was during depression years
66. 1934-36 when 35 children in all grades from one to nine were on the
67. register. Max Saville was the teacher and in order to make connections
68. for a weekend visit to his home in Hardisty, he had to catch the train at
69. Edgerton at 3:00 p.m. On such rare occasions arrangements were made for
70. one of the trustees to supervise from recess until 3:30. This gentleman
71. was adept at tap-dancing and he always agreed to entertain us. He also
72. chewed tobacco and the cold air register in the corner of the room was
73. within easy range of the teacher’s desk. How we enjoyed his visits!
74. School always ended on a happy note for we had to sing and recite memory
75. work in the last period.
76.  
77. Bloomington Valley was closed in the late forties and the children were
78. bussed to Edgerton. The schoolhouse was moved to Wainwright where it
79. became a clubhouse at the golf course. A cairn in the school yard marks
80. the site of the school and tall trees surround a yard where many children
81. worked and played in their quest for an education.
82.  
83. Miss Mildred Mitchell (Mrs. Dolph Seale) teacher at Bloomington Valley in
84. 1912 is Mrs. Ruth Everett’s mother.

Bloomington Valley School District No. 1757
Submitted by Eleanor Perry

110-111-112