WAINWRIGHT SCHOOL DORMITORY

1. The Wainwright Dormitory was opened in the fall of 1946 with Mr. & Mrs.
2. Ernest Carter in charge. The dormitory was constructed by joining two
3. rural school buildings and building on space for lounges and bathrooms.
4. One of the schools came from the Airlie School District near the
5. Saskatchewan border. The other school was St. Jean Baptiste from south of
6. Chauvin.
7.  
8. The first year 42 students from Chauvin, Jarrow, Edgerton and Irma
9. resided in the dorm. Board and room was $35 per month. The students
10. were required to do certain duties, such as dish washing, setting tables
11. and preparing vegetables for meals. They could stay over the weekend if
12. unable to get home, but were expected to attend the church of their choice
13. Sunday morning.
14.  
15. Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Carter did their best to make life in the dormitory home-
16. like. Special meals were prepared for holidays, and birthdays were
17. celebrated. The Carters also attended school dances. In June 1950, the
18. dormitory closed as a residence for high school students. During the ’50s,
19. the building was used for extra classrooms and meeting rooms for
20. different clubs.
21.  
22. In March 1960, Mrs. Kathleen Miller moved into the suite in the building.
23. The superintendent, Mr. G. Hall, asked if she would take in handicapped
24. children from outside points, that they may attend the Opportunity Room
25. in Wainwright. So, from Easter of 1960 to June of 1967, the dormitory
26. was home to handicapped children from Monday to Friday with Mrs.
27. Kathleen Miller as dormitory mother. The Jr. Opportunity Room was taught
28. by Mrs. Margaret Clifford in the dormitory from 1962-1963. From
29. September 1967 to June 1973, Mrs. Featherstone was in charge of the
30. dormitory for handicapped children.
31.  
32. The building stood empty until 1977 when it was torn down and the area
33. prepared for a parking lot.

Wainwright School Dormitory
Submitted by Nancy Ryall

18-19