THE WAINWRIGHT SCHOOLS

1. We came to Wainwright in the fall of 1950 after I had been appointed
2. vice-principal and Grade VIII teacher in the elementary-junior high school.
3. The high school was housed in the two story brick building, which for
4. many years was the only school in Wainwright. The elementary and junior
5. high students were housed in the new eight room plus gymnasium addition
6. to the previous two room high school, plus basement washrooms, which
7. had been built in 1938.
8.  
9. Mr. Hugh Leskey (who died last year at 93) was the principal. His staff
10. consisted of Mr. Humphries, Miss Bloom, Mr. Crombie, and Mr. Wilson.
11. Mr. L.B. Adams, the principal of the junior high elementary school taught
12. Grade IX, I had Grade VIII, a Miss Erickson, Grade VII, Miss Will Grade VI,
13. Mrs. Holt, Grade V, Miss MacDonald 9now Mrs. Burton of Edgerton) had Grade
14. IV, Miss McCullough from Nova Scotia had Grade III, a Miss Fitzgerald
15. taught Grade II and Miss Lolo Mabey had Grade I.
16.  
17. The new school was named Denwood after the original village site. Also
18. in the Denwood yard was the “dormitory” for out-of-town students. It
19. consisted of two rural schools placed side by side on foundations and
20. joined. Mr. And Mrs. Eugene Carter looked after the dorm and supplied
21. meals. Mrs. Carter still lives in Wainwright. When the dorm closed in the
22. early fifties the two schools were reconverted to classrooms again. A
23. small house for the janitor and a home owned by Mrs. Wood, mother of the
24. late Dick Deyell, were also in Denwood yard. The house now sits north of
25. Highway 14 on old 41.
26.  
27. In my second year at Wainwright, the five high school teachers had fifty-
28. seven students. I had forty-five in my Grade VIII class. The Grade 11’s
29. were also seriously over-crowded. A classroom was opened up in the
30. basement of the 1938 building and in it were placed fifteen Grade VIII
31. students and fifteen Grade IX students with Mrs. Kenn Tory as teacher
32. (Marjorie Bagnall).
33.  
34. Wainwright was expanding and more classrooms were needed. A second
35. room was opened in the basement of the 1938 building. Bloomington
36. Valley rural school was moved in and placed in the yard of the brick
37. building. Later that school became the golf clubhouse and, I believe, is
38. still used for storage.
39.  
40. The 1950s saw much school construction. A two-story seven classroom
41. plus playroom school was constructed just north of the hospital in 1953-
42. 54. It was named Parkview and is still part of the high school complex.
43. Mr. Bill Labatiuk was the principal. A multi-classroom plus gymnasium
44. two-story building was built onto the brick building around 1957. When it
45. was finished and classes installed, the brick building was demolished and
46. replaced with offices downstairs and a staff room plus infirmary
47. upstairs.
48.  
49. The new school was named Lolo Mabey after the long-time Wainwright
50. teacher who was present at the official opening.
51.  
52. Near the end of the fifties another school was built 50 or so yards north
53. of Parkview. This was named Westview. It had eight classrooms plus a
54. gymnasium.
55.  
56. In 1962 a major reorganization of schools took place. Lolo Mabey school
57. had high school downstairs and elementary school upstairs. Denwood had
58. eight junior high classes, two grade ones and an opportunity room.
59. Parkview and Westview had elementary grades. The school board decided
60. to install the junior and senior high schools in Parkview-Westview and
61. the elementary grades in Denwood-Lolo Mabey. Mr. John Krilba was the
62. principal of the junior high – high school and Mr. Frank Lee was principal
63. of the elementary school.
64.  
65. In the 1960’s Parkview and Westview were joined giving three more
66. classrooms plus an office complex and storage facilities.
67.  
68. In 1969-70 the business education wing and a large gymnasium were
69. added to the high school. The old gym became the industrial education
70. area.
71.  
72. In 1974 a fire damaged the office area, requiring extensive repair to it
73. and to the three classrooms opposite.
74.  
75. During the 1980s, Lolo Mabey and Denwood schools were joined and the
76. interiors and exteriors were renovated.
77.  
78. The two schools are thought of as the Wainwright High School and the
79. Wainwright Elementary School. The names Parkview, Westview, Denwood
80. and Lolo Mabey are not used very often.
81.  
82. Extensive renovations and modernization of the Wainwright High School
83. took place in 1993, and on February 17, 1994, the public were invited to
84. the ceremonies celebrating the opening of the beautiful structure.

The Wainwright Schools
Submitted by John Taylor

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