Roros School District No. 2193
Some pioneers of the Chauvin district arrived as early as 1905 and took up
homesteads in the area which lay just south of the Battle River and along
the Ribstone Creek. No school district had, as yet, been formed, but the
settlers realized the need for the education of their children. In the
summer of 1909, a few families got together and financed a temporary
school in a borrowed granary with Miss Clara Bratvold (Mrs. John Johnson)
as teacher. The first pupils were Marvil Reitan; Tillie Anderson; Oline
Sorken; Mary and Anton Nysetvold; Paul, Anders and Oscar Reitan. In 1910,
a school district was formed. Since many of the homesteaders originally
came from a coal mining town in Norway called Roros, the district was
named Roros School District #2193. Because there was no municipality
formed, the secretary-treasurer collected school taxes of ten cents an
acre. This varied later from $12 - $16 a quarter section.
The first school, built by Hans Nysetvold, cost $1200 for material and $160 for labour. It was opened June 5, 1911 with Miss Branwell as teacher. School was open for six months with a teacher’s salary of $65 per month. While looking through the minute books, we find Ole Nysetvold and John Murray, who served on the board, were instrumental in organizing and getting the school operating. In 1912, a small teacherage was added for the teacher who also performed the janitorial duties. In 1916, a new, larger teacherage was built for $22 in wages and the old shack became the coal shed. In 1922, a porch was added and as money permitted, a bell and a Waterbury wood and coal heater were added. A cord of wood and a load of coal cost three dollars each. As they were never able to get a good water well, a student brought a five gallon can of water for ten cents each day.
We are fortunate in having records of teachers who taught in Roros: Mr. White in 1912, Miss Carrathers (Mrs. Shep Sewell) from 1913-14, Mr. Windle and Mr. Chesterman from 1915-16 (who enlisted in World War I), Miss Ellingson from 1917-18, Miss Berg in 1919, Miss Trainer in 1920, Miss Hendrickson (Mrs. Rustard, Wainwright) in 1921, Mrs. Martin from 1922-23, Miss O. Folkins (Mrs. Olive McKenzie, Wainwright) in 1924 and Miss Armour from 1924-32. I remember going to school then when Joe McKenzie would come for the teacher in his new, black, touring Ford car.
Reminiscing, I remember Mr. P.H. Perry (1924) travelling with a team and buggy or sleigh. At Christmas, his good wife, also a teacher, would bundle up three small children and come to help with the Christmas concert. This was the event of the year! A tree reaching to the ceiling would be brought by Mr. William Nysetvold from the Ribstone creek nearby. Real candles adorned the well decorated tree in some early years.
The school building was not only a place of learning but also served as a community center for various functions, meetings, chicken suppers, oyster stew suppers and, on occasion, church services and Sunday school. Children had entries in the Chauvin fair, such as handwriting and drawings of flowers and vegetables.
I remember going to school with my brother in a sleigh in winter and a cart in summer pulled by a black Shetland pony. If you rode the Shetland and came to a slough, the pony would lie down resulting in two wet children. When we drove, we would fill the cream can with water, get to the school early and light the fire. When it warmed up, I would be able to practise music lessons on the new piano which was bought in 1926. When the piano arrived, the teacher, Miss Armour (Mrs. E. Erickson, Wainwright) would let us try to play and learn notes in small groups at noon. How she stood the noise, I’ll never know! But this instilled music into several of us. During the summer, a music teacher would come every Saturday to give lessons.
In the early years, I remember the teacher and pupils would take their lunches and trek to the creek for a class in nature study and also for a picnic. Bathing suits were unheard of so, for a dip in the creek, the boys went north and the girls went south with a sentry half-way between to warn of unexpected intruders.
Another event was a community picnic at the end of June with an afternoon of ball games, races, pie-eating contests, ice cream, treats and balloons for prizes. Everyone brought lunch. Coffee was made in a large wash boiler and lemonade from a cream can quenched the thirst. Truly, those were the good old days of community spirit and fellowship!
The school year was extended to ten months when Grade VIII departmental exams were written in 1924. Roros can boast of the distinction that the Governor General’s Bronze Medal for the highest standing in the Wainwright and Provost inspectorate was won by John Murray in 1927, (Mrs. E. Nysetvold) in 1928 and Elmer Johnson in 1929. Miss Armour deserves a lot of credit for those awards. Grade IX was added in 1925.
Teacher’s salaries increased from $65 a month to $110, then declined to $84 in the late thirties. School attendance varied from eight to thirty- six. Several students became secretaries, engineers, teachers, nurses, members of the armed forces, etc.
Names of some of the families who attended Roros School during the years are: Anderson, Arneson, Bengtson, Erickson, Johnson, Larson, Lien, Murray, Nysetvold, Reitan, Ramlo, Simpson, Sorken, Sewell and Taylor.
Times in the rural area were changing with the advent of better transportation to nearby towns, and a lack of enough students in the small schools. On January 1, 1939, Roros became a part of the Wainwright School Division. Teachers who taught here were: Miss Johnson, Miss Christensen, Mrs. Arnett, Mrs. Dewar and Mrs. E. Nysetvold. I remember the Roros School and Edinglassie School were the first in that area to be bussed to Chauvin. So in 1949, Roros School became a part of a larger centralized school system. For some years, the school was used for meetings and as a polling station for municipal and government elections. The Roros School still stands as a reminder of the pioneers and the work they did to improve the education of their children.
Roros School District No. 2193
Submitted by Emmy (Johnson) Nysetvold
119-120-121