AIRLIE SCHOOL DISTRICT No.2980

1. Airlie School, named after a castle in Scotland, was opened in 1915. Bill
2. Cargill, a stone mason, one of the Cargill brothers from Scotland, laid the
3. foundation. His work was of fine repute as he built the streetcar barns in
4. Edmonton as well as the stone basement of the Chauvin Hotel. Jack and
5. George Newstead were hired as head carpenters. They had just finished
6. building Edinglassie school in 1910. Mr. Coffin, a plasterer, and Bill Farr
7. did the plastering. Neighbours helped at work bees, for there were many
8. homesteaders settling in the area who had school-age children, who spoke
9. either French or English.
10.  
11. The first board members were Frank and Bill Cargill and Chris Matheson.
12. Miss Caldwell from Scotland was the first teacher. It is said “the
13. hairpins flew out of her hair as she demonstrated how to shape up our
14. bodies. She put us through our drills like a sergeant-major.”
15.  
16. When the construction of the school was complete, it had a kitchen, a coal
17. bin, a barn and two outside toilets. This was followed by a pump which
18. sometimes needed priming and which often didn’t work. The kitchen held a
19. pail of water, a dipper, a wash basin and a stove which was used to make
20. coffee for social events. At times, the kitchen was the home of the
21. teacher. As it was unlined, it must have been very cold in the winter.
22.  
23. As many of the children rode a distance of two or three miles, a barn was
24. built in due time. Remember those huge coal and wood stoves with a
25. shield around them for the sole purpose of heating the school? Remember
26. how in the dead of winter it took hours for the school to warm up and
27. teachers and students huddled around that stove with coats and mitts on,
28. trying to study? Cold comfort extended on to lunch time, for the lunches,
29. brought in syrup or lard pails, often needed thawing out before they were
30. edible. Sometimes mothers sent cocoa to be heated on the stove.
31.  
32. The first teacher was Mrs. Claderhead. Charlie Cargill was the second
33. teacher at Airlie, and his stern discipline was ““known around.” He was
34. trained as a teacher and was also an accomplished pianist. Arriving in
35. Chauvin in 1909, he was one of the earliest, if not the first teacher in the
36. Chauvin School. No nonsense or misdemeanour escaped his eye. Big tough
37. young fellows were petrified and had to learn in spite of themselves. The
38. janitor, usually one of the older boys or girls, earned $2.50 to $3.00 a
39. month for sweeping, dusting and starting the fire. Tenders were put out
40. for the hauling of wood and coal. Ladies of the district had work bees
41. for scrubbing floors and cleaning walls and windows.
42.  
43. During the noon hour and recesses, the teacher and the children played
44. games outdoors. As time went on, each school had a softball team which
45. sometimes engaged with neighbouring schools in a game. Once a year, they
46. would have a surprise visit from the inspector who would come knocking
47. at the door. This would set the children’s knees knocking. An important
48. event of the year was the Christmas Concert which filled the school with
49. parents and visitors who came to enjoy the children’s program. An equally
50. important occasion was the school picnic held at the end of the year.
51. There were games, sports and a bounteous lunch prepared by the parents.
52. Mrs. Irene Whitehead (Cargill), Mrs. Hazel Sigurdson and Mrs. Claire
53. Richarson (Folkins) were among the teachers who taught there. Mrs.
54. Perry taught for Pratt Perry when he was ill.
55.  
56. Families had come from Sweden, Scotland, USA, the Maritimes, Quebec and
57. Manitoba. One lady knit socks for another family in exchange for milk and
58. eggs. Her husband trapped animals to help supplement the larder and one
59. time he sold 400 pelts for 10 cents each to buy a cow. Another family
60. who came from Montreal had three daughters who all took sick and died in
61. a very short time of each other. No cemetery was available so they were
62. buried on the homestead. The grief-stricken family returned to Montreal.
63.  
64. Prairie fires were common occurrences and the Airlie people remember
65. one such fire that occurred on Easter Sunday, 1915, which was started
66. near the Saskatchewan border by a spark from a train. Men, women and
67. children were out fighting the blaze. Joe Buck, who had had polio and
68. could get around with only the help of his saddle pony, would get down off
69. Babe’s back and help beat out the flames on his hands and knees. Hard
70. times made many brave hearts return to their homeland.
71.  
72. In June 1942, Airlie School was closed and the children then attended
73. Prosperity or Butzeville Schools. There are no longer any homes in the
74. English-speaking area of Airlie District. The farms have been swallowed
75. up by the big farmers outside the district. In 1948, all rural schools were
76. closed and the children were bussed into the town schools.

Airlie School District No. 2980
Submitted by Eleanor Perry and Irene Cargill

113-114-115