BULL CREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT No.3161
- Bull Creek School was built in 1914-15 on a high hill overlooking the
- Killarney Lakes and hiss, about three miles from Bull Creek and
- approximately 14 miles south and east of Chauvin. It was a frame
- structure 30’ x 20’ built with lumber purchased from the Farmers’ Co-op
- Lumber Co. in Vancouver, B.C. A woodshed attached to the school housed
- the fuel for the wood and coal burning heater. This school was moved to
- Provost in the early 1940s where it is residence and the large bell in
- the steeple now rings from the Anglican Church in Provost.
- Some of the early school board members included A. Godin, Sam Burtch,
- Felix Page, John Knox, Archie Merriman, D. Hager and Geo. McEwan. Other
- families in the district were Grays, Wilfred Watsons, Lloyd Webbers,
- Ungers, Borgstroms and the George, Joe and Ambrose Skinner families.
- Many of these families immigrated in the years 1908 – 12 and many came
- from Illinois, Michigan, southern Ontario and New Brunswick.
- Uncle Hi Shippey (as he was known to all) a brother of Mrs. Everitt
- Skinner, played his dulcimer at the dances and social functions in the
- school. This instrument was the only known dulcimer in this part of
- Alberta.
- When the A. Godin family were on their way from Chauvin to their new
- farm, numerous buffalo bones were noticed scattered over the prairie.
- One of the older boys said in a loud voice, “The Indians were here and these
- are the bones of the people they killed.” The fear and trembling stayed
- with the younger siblings for a number of years as Indians from a nearby
- reservation, curious to learn what was taking place, were often noticed
- skirting around.
- Bull Creek, like all rural schools, was the social center for the
- neighbourhood. Dances and pie and box socials were means of raising money
- for the Christmas Concert expenses and in 1921, John Knox was paid $75
- for building the school barn, a portion of that money being raised form a
- box social and dance.
- The school well was a costly item - $30.75 plus the cost of materials for
- 253 feet of cribbing! Mr. Bill Farrer dug the well which cost fifty cents a
- foot for the first fifty feet and fifteen cents a foot for the next twenty-
- five feet. The school board furnished 253 feet of casing and Mr. Page built
- this cribbing for two dollars.
- Mr. Joe Coatsworth, the first teacher, was hired for four months at a
- salary of $80.00 a month – he was expected to do the janitor work as well.
- Local teacher at Bull Creek were Claire Richardson (Folkins), Gretchen
- Richardson (Wright) and Heather Richardson (Bradley). A Mr. Miles was
- especially interested in physical training and, during his term, had his
- pupils trained at pyramid building. They exhibited their skill at fairs in
- Provost and nearby social functions.
- One day, after there was enough snow to ride a toboggan, four or five
- children decided to test the slope – one of them being Jimmy Burtch in his
- first year at school. On the way down the hill, he put his leg out just as a
- tree loomed up. Their enjoyment came to an abrupt end! Jimmy was taken
- to the Provost hospital with a badly broken leg and there he recuperated
- for some time. However, the fracture healed well and unless you know of
- the incident, the limp is barely noticeable.
- On January 12, 1938, Joe Skinner signed a conveyance contract to take the
- children to Marquis School. Bull Creek School doors and windows were
- fastened shut. This is a deserted area now. Of all the students that
- attended this school, Ambrose Skinner is the only resident in this
- immediate area. However, a different hive of activity exists three-
- quarters to one mile west of the Bull Creek School site – the battery of
- Renaissance Energy Ltd. Its beacons at night, from the highest hill in the
- terrain are visible for miles around the country to attest to a very rich
- and memorable heritage.
Bull Creek School District No. 3161
Submitted by Eleanor Perry with help from Evelyn Skinner
129-130