SUNNY BRAE SCHOOL DISTRICT No.2075

1. It was on September 11, 1909 that a meeting was held to organize the
2. Sunny Brae School District #2075. The first trustees elected were J.
3. Fenton (chairman), H. Westbrook, T. Sheppard and S.C. Miles (secretary-
4. treasurer).
5.  
6. $1600 was borrowed to purchase a site on the southwest corner of SW 29-
7. 45-8 W4 from Mr. A. Higginson, and to erect a building. The school was 24’
8. x 32’, painted white and green and was built by H. Westbrook, J.D. Campbell
9. and Jack Gillis.
10.  
11. School opened on June 13, 1910 with Miss Milburn teaching at a salary of
12. $60 per month. Later a stable, 14’ x 16’ was built by volunteers with
13. material costing $50. The janitor, usually a schoolboy, received a salary
14. ranging from $10 to $15 per year, up to $40; then in 1922 it dropped to
15. $15 and remained there during the 30s. Teachers’ salaries fluctuated — up
16. to $1250 in 1920 down to $700 per year in 1933.
17.  
18. The first students were: the Westbrook children, J. Fenton children, Edgar
19. Swailes and Blanche Shafner. When the Westbrooks moved away in 1912,
20. the school closed until 1914 when more families moved in. Newcomers
21. were Gladys Stougaard, Martin and Einer Enger. Church services and
22. Christmas concerts were held in school. In 1922 rent of $5 was
23. charged. This was returned to the renter if the building was left clean and
24. undamaged. In 1925 a motion was passed at a board meeting prohibiting
25. the hiring of a married teacher.
26.  
27. Unsuccessful attempts were made to bore a good well on the property, so
28. water was brought from the nearby Higginson farm. Later on Kathleen
29. Knowles carried water to the school for $7.5 a month. To beautify the
30. school yard 1500 trees were obtained from the Indian Head farm, but very
31. few of these survived.
32.  
33. The school was heated with a big, round “Good Cheer” heater, using wood
34. at $4 a cord and coal when finances permitted. The heater was also used
35. to heat milk, brought by the children, to make cocoa. Some of the children
36. had to walk almost four miles to school, so that some winter’s attendance
37. was very erratic. This was before the days of warm ski-jackets and
38. pants, and lined overshoes. Even if they had been available, economic
39. conditions would have made it impossible for some parents to purchase
40. them. Thermos bottles in lunch kits were a luxury, afforded by very few.
41. In the ’30s, used library books had been in the school since it opened – no
42. money was available for new ones.
43.  
44. Christmas concerts were a highlight of the year, attracting people from
45. far and wide. Santa’s visit was exciting, particularly one year when the
46. hat and beard were missing from the borrowed costume. He carried on
47. jovially without it. Each child received a gift — the school board having
48. voted some funds for this purpose. A list of the children’s names and ages
49. was sent to the T. Eaton Co. in Winnipeg. A gift was selected for each
50. child and beautifully wrapped and the order returned in time for the
51. concert and party. Summer picnics at the end of June became a community
52. affair, with races for everyone, plenty of food and a happy ending to the
53. school year.
54.  
55. Trustees have been: R.L. Eaton, J.N. Seton, G. Knowles, A. Smart, T.N.
56. Sellars, T. Sanders, M.D. Askin and E. Fenton. Teachers were Misses
57. Milburn, Beth McDonald, Mabel McDonald, Kellogg, Irving, Ina Askin, E.
58. Morton, M. Bowman, Beer, Freda Forsythe, Douglas, Hazel Congdon, Phyllis
59. Thurston, Mabel Holt, Jean Craig and Joyce Sirois.
60.  
61. From 1949 on, students were bussed into the Irma School. Sunny Brae
62. school was moved on to the Irma school grounds and used by the
63. elementary grades. It became surplus when the new Irma school was
64. completed. Purchased by Mr. And Mrs. J.D. Barber, it was moved to their
65. farm and converted to a comfortable home.

Sunny Brae School District No. 2075
Submitted by Phyllis E. Craig

46-47-48