Rodino School District No. 3034
The Rodino School was located on the NW ¼ 17-48-10 W4 some 15 miles
northeast of Kinsella and the farthest school west in the Wainwright
School Division.
The Rodino district came to life in 1907, when several families came out from the old countries and filed on homesteads. There were no trails or fences to go by, with the exception of the Battleford Trail, which went through the district and was used to fredight goods from North Battleford to Edmonton and points west.
Some of the early pioneer families were the Clays, Daniels, Macfarlanes, Scotts and Swaynes.
In 1913, there were several families with school-age children, and in the spring of that year, Rodino School began to take shape. It opened the following spring under a school board which consisted of John Scott, Joe Swayne, Ed Clay and Bob Macfarlane as secretary-treasurer.
The first pupils were Bessie and Jenny Scott; Ena and Leslie Clay; and Ivy Daniels. Harriet Macfarlane started in 1915. Some of the early teachers were Misses Ross, Sheets, Betts, Cahill, Drader, Cashman, Rielly, Bennet, Crawford and Sarjeant. The school then closed for lack of pupils. When it reopened the teachers were Kennedy, Astley, Daniels, Crawford and Theroux. Rodino School was closed in 1947 and the children were taken by bus to Kinsella or Minburn.
The school was the centre for many functions. The highlight of the year was the Christmas concert when a stage was set up and the pupils entertained the large crowd of parents and friends with recitations, drills, songs and plays. The Anglican Church minister from Viking held services in the school once a month during the spring, summer and fall. Bishop W. Clarke came from Edmonton for a special service when thirteen people were confirmed. Other functions held were bridal showers, family farewells, card parties, dances, wedding receptions, 25th wedding anniversaries, pie socials, Junior Red Cross, Anglican Women’s teas, and bake sales. The school was used as a polling booth at election time.
In 1975, the Rodino School was moved four miles southwest to a new location where, through a period of years, four additions were built on and it became known as the Rodino Country Club. This is still an active gathering place today, with plenty of room indoors and out for a variety of events. It is memorable to go there and take a step back in time and visualize the days spent in Rodino School.
Today, the Hutterites own much of the land in the Rodino School District. The Martin family are the only people living in the district today.
Some of the other families who have lived in the district are Rayment, Laidler, Beckett, Powell, Levers, Winfield, Faulkner, Revill, Johnston, Astley, Mollier, Nash, Vandevaate, Christenson and Paget.
Rodino School District No. 3034
Information taken from history books of Kinsella, Irma and Minburn
37-38