Little Schools in the Parkland

EDGERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT No.2044

  1. Edgerton school, situated on the SE ¼ 2-44-4 W4, was opened in 1910
  2. with Mr. Exall as teacher. This was a large one room school which would
  3. accommodate fifty to sixty pupils. Heat was provided by a large wood
  4. burning stove and later by the monstrous Waterbury heater which stood in
  5. one corner. The teacher’s desk sat on a raised platform 6’ x 6’ x 1’ and the
  6. pupils had single and double desks. A partition across the back formed a
  7. long cloakroom, boys at one end, girls at the other and a long shelf for
  8. lunch pails.
  9.  
  10. The second teacher, Miss Albright from Ontario, was given rough
  11. treatment by the older boys. Miss Couldwell was followed by Sgt. A. King,
  12. whose approach was along military lines. He was killed in World War I.
  13. Mr. McKellar put on a patriotic concert and spent too much time practising,
  14. so soon after the concert he was seen walking down the railroad track
  15. because the school board objected to him wasting too much time.
  16.  
  17. All final Grade VIII Departmental exams had to be written in Wainwright
  18. so pupils stayed there with friends while doing the tests. Those wanting
  19. further education had to go elsewhere.
  20.  
  21. In 1919, the cloakrooms were torn out and the room was divided into two
  22. classrooms by a beaverboard partition (anything but soundproof). New
  23. cloakrooms were added. As the population grew, a third room was added
  24. in 1927.
  25.  
  26. Edgerton joined the Wainwright School Division in 1943 and all the
  27. surrounding schools (about 14) were bussed into Edgerton. Jim and Marion
  28. McGaughey had the first yellow school bus to transport students to
  29. Edgerton. Later school buses were privately owned and at one time as
  30. many as eight buses were in use.
  31.  
  32. Education also introduced new trends. Out with the regimented “Seen and
  33. not heard unless you’re asked,” and in came “Learn by doing” or “The
  34. Enterprise” system. Pupils participated in planning the project, collecting
  35. and borrowing objects. A subject suggested was “Pioneer Days,” with an
  36. outline required such as homes, clothing, health, transportation,
  37. communication, government and recreation. Under a capable teacher the
  38. project became very worthwhile. Later, however, it reverted back to
  39. subjects and basics.
  40.  
  41. Over the years the school participated in many activities such as School
  42. Fairs, Musical Festivals, Christmas Concerts, Carnival Queen Contests,
  43. local and divisional track meets, curling, basketball and softball.
  44.  
  45. During the principalship of J. Ronjom, one of the highlights was Education
  46. Week. Long hours were spent preparing for this. Under J. Ronjom’s
  47. guidance, the front lawn of the school was a showpiece with a lovely
  48. green lawn and gorgeous flowers. One year, he won many awards at the
  49. Wainwright Flower Show.
  50.  
  51. Mrs. Heathy Challenger wrote: “In 1966, a challenge was thrown out to me
  52. to teach Art 10. The pupils were a grand lot to work with and our success
  53. was attributed to their willingness to tackle any project. With limited
  54. space, light and equipment we struggled along. We exhibited and won
  55. many prizes at Lloydminster.
  56.  
  57. By this time, I was teaching Art 20 and we won prizes at Edmonton
  58. Exhibition and Saskatoon. In 1969 we entered the C.N.E. exhibition in
  59. Toronto with a poster “Peoples of the World.” Some students took courses
  60. at the Banff School of Fine Arts. We had three successful art shows.
  61.  
  62. Some of the principles were: Mr. Holland, Mr. McCraig, Mr. Collier, Mr. M.D.
  63. Meade, Mr. G. Welsh, Mr. Coughlan, Mr. Duke, Mr. J. Ronjom, Mr. W. Brink, Mr.
  64. Taylor and Mr. L. Krawchuk. The loss of two teachers, Mr. Bob Stone and
  65. Mrs. E. Lehr was mourned.
  66.  
  67. Some trustees who served were: Challenger, Milne, Bonner, S. Pawsey,
  68. Kelly Walrath, Kondro, Odegard, Postans, Jackson. Wainwright Divisional
  69. Board members were: H. Spencer, F. Zajic, Mel Nichol (member for 17
  70. years) and Mrs. B. Belik.
  71.  
  72. Since Edgerton joined the division many improvements have been made.
  73. The school has been enlarged with all modern facilities and in the 1980s
  74. the outside appearance has also been modernized.

Edgerton School District No. 2044
From “Winds of Change”
submitted by Emmy Nysetvold

14-15