Lynx School District No. 3360
The homesteads in the Lynx area were mostly filed on by 1910 to 1915,
the majority of the settlers coming from Eastern Canada and the United
States. When the need for a school arose, it was built in 1916 and called
Lynx because a lynx had been killed in that area. The school was situated
on the SE ¼ 36-47-10 W4, 16 miles northeast of Jarrow, on the top of
one of the highest hills in a very hilly area. It was one of the newer
cottage-type schools and its gleaming white paint often served as a
landmark for visiting inspectors who found our prairie trails most
confusing. As late as 1940 one of these gentlemen abandoned his car and
walked the last part of the way to the school. When it was time to leave,
he couldn’t find his car and had to recruit the school children to help him
locate it and get him started towards the nearest graded road.
The first school board was made up of Joe Ralph, Vern Wilson, Wm. Bridgeman and secretary, Curly Schroeder. The contract for building the school was awarded to Merriam and Arnott of Edmonton. George Bridgeman supplied the stones and helped with the hauling.
The first teacher was Miss Julie Baker of Calgary, who taught eight pupils from the Bridgman, Bright, Wilson and Faulkner homes. Lynx was a “summer school” operating from March to December, with a two week holiday in the summer. This was because of the poor road conditions and the long distances pupils had to travel to school. Lynx was never a very large school and was permanently closed in 1943. The building was later moved to the Holt Hutterite Colony, where it still serves faithfully as a school.
School Board members who served through the years, included practically every adult male who lived in the district. Some of these were: Wilson, Brown, Bridgeman, Roberts, Shippy, Osborne, Rohrer, Schroeder, Osborne and Smith.
Some of the teachers through the years were: Mrs. Ella McRoberts, Mrs. Day, Miss McKittrick, Lila Wright, Miss Massing, Mrs. Reynolds, Miss Johnson, Mabel Holt, Florence Syson, Gusta Jacobson, Georgina Leed, Louis Aide, Gilbert Creech, Edith McRoberts, Hazel Flewelling, Grace Smith, Catherine Patterson.
The school was the centre of social activities; an occasional dance, once in a while a picture show sponsored by one of the grain companies, and of course the annual Christmas concert followed by a dance. This was the highlight of the year and all the children participated in it. For that one night there was happiness and sociability and all feuds and bad feeling were at bay. Unfortunately this condition didn’t prevail all year.
Names on early voter lists include: Brown, Riley, Wilson, Mark, Bridgeman, Davis, MacKie, Shippy, Bright, Schroeder, Petzman, Ralph, Pace, Osborne, Main, Seepers, Campbell, Hardy, Strand, Marbury, Rohrer, Roberts, Printup, Breckenridge, Legace, Hollar, Davenay, Deverick, Greenwood, McKinnon, Ambler and Edmunds.
The writer of this story, Lila (Wright) Rohrer, first came to Lynx school as teacher in August 1922, and returned to the district in January 1925, as the bride of R.L. (Dick) Rohrer.
Lynx School District No. 3360
from “Down Memory Lane”
31-32