Browning School District No. 4002
The first Browning School was built in 1927 on the NE ¼ 26-41-4 W4.
The name Browning was suggested by Lewis Taylor, after his favourite
poet, Robert Browning. The first teacher was Lottie McLeod (later Mrs.
Chris Meyers), who boarded at the Evans home. No records of the school
were located, so only memories could be relied on for the following
information.
The first students to attend the school were: Alfred Harbak; Louise, Marie and Margaret Freestone; Eluned, Glyn and David Evans; Pamela Rice; Helen, Lois and Faye Johnson. The teachers that taught were: Lottie McLeod (Mrs. Chris Meyers), Alice Cranmer (Mrs. Wilfred McPeak), Miss Sims, Mr. McLaughlin, Ann Spilde (Mrs. Ken Sparks), Ruth Freeman, Miss Carroll, Hazel Congdon (Mrs. Fuglum), Miss Bodden, Mildred Carrington, Beth Reinhart (Mrs. Mike Belik), Grace Tveten (Mrs. Ray Snyder), Bill Hanson, Barbara (Mrs. Frank) Davis.
Some of those serving on the school board were: Harry Rice, Walter Taylor, Fritz Alwood, Mrs. George Woodbridge, Harry Scott, Mrs. Paul Harbak and Jim Armstrong.
Several of the community families opened their homes to the teachers, including the Alex Meyers, Evans, Houses and Woodbridges.
The school burned down in 1930 and was rebuilt that year. During this time, Charlie Walters’ shack was moved to the school site and used as a classroom until the new school was ready.
Mr. Bevans provided and helped plant honeysuckle and caragana cuttings around the schoolyard. Mrs. Rice and Mrs. Woodbridge cultivated these rows for two years or more, with a horse and garden cultivator. A little plot of lilac was planted just inside the gate by the school children in memory of their school chum, Teddy McPherson.
In about 1945 a portable teacherage was placed in the school yard. Bill Hanson was the first teacher to live in it and a teacherage shower was held at Evans to help equip the new home. In 1950, because of so few students to attend, Browning School was closed, and the students were bussed to the McCafferty school. The school division later moved Browning school to Empire as the Empire school had burned down. Don Guy purchased the barn and outbuildings. At one time there were as many as twenty-five homesteads in the school district. The school in the earlier years was the nucleus of the community and all our social functions were held there. There were dances, card parties, box socials, picnics, Sunday School, embarkation leave parties and so on. One of the highlights of the year was the Christmas party. We would practice for weeks for that ‘magic evening.’ Mrs. Rice would walk to the school to play the piano and assist in many other ways, including costumes. She played for nearly every concert held in the Browning School during the twenty-two years. For many years Harry Rice played the role of Santa Claus. For the winter social events, usually the family living furthest away would load his sleigh with straw and quilts and pick up the other neighbours along the way. By the time we reached the school, we would nearly all be standing to make enough room for everyone.
Our community was fortunate to have many talented people: Alwoods
played for many of the dances; Lorna and Harry Alwood were very artistic;
some of the Harbak family had lovely voices; Harry Alwood was a talented
pianist and, of course, the Rices were gifted for entertaining.
During the war years, the school children had a Junior Red Cross, which was later turned into a Junior U.F.A. I remember one of their projects during the mid ’40s was making money to buy a toboggan. Hot dogs were sold in the Co-op store in Edgerton to finance the projects, and the toboggan was purchased. The Junior U.F.A. also published a monthly community paper called “The Browning Breeze.” It carried the latest local news, jokes, stories of interest etc. and was sold to the local families at $.25 a year. When I recall the labour involved in ‘going to press,’ I am sure it was a labour of love, as little money was derived for so many hours of work. With the use of a typewriter and our artistic Alwoods, it really was a pretty fair paper.
At one picnic at Arm Lake, Wilfred McPeak and Tom Woodcock went early to catch enough fish for everyone for supper. The mothers arrived with their frying pans, and all had a bountiful supper of fish. Everyone ended up with dysentery except the two fishermen, and the reason still remains a mystery.
The annual sports day held in Edgerton was another day that was eagerly anticipated. All the Edgerton area school children would gather and compete for the coveted prize ribbons. The ball tournaments during the day were taken very seriously and I doubt Babe Ruth could have felt any more important. Picnic lunches were taken and shared, and nearly all the children got a few pennies to spend at the booth on the grounds. An exciting, long, tiring but happy day.
Those days are gone, the schoolyard is empty, but the memories are ours to cherish.
Browning School District No. 4002
Submitted by Mary (Taylor) Whitby
101-102-103