Airlie School District No. 2980
Airlie School, named after a castle in Scotland, was opened in 1915. Bill
Cargill, a stone mason, one of the Cargill brothers from Scotland, laid the
foundation. His work was of fine repute as he built the streetcar barns in
Edmonton as well as the stone basement of the Chauvin Hotel. Jack and
George Newstead were hired as head carpenters. They had just finished
building Edinglassie school in 1910. Mr. Coffin, a plasterer, and Bill Farr
did the plastering. Neighbours helped at work bees, for there were many
homesteaders settling in the area who had school-age children, who spoke
either French or English.
The first board members were Frank and Bill Cargill and Chris Matheson. Miss Caldwell from Scotland was the first teacher. It is said “the hairpins flew out of her hair as she demonstrated how to shape up our bodies. She put us through our drills like a sergeant-major.”
When the construction of the school was complete, it had a kitchen, a coal bin, a barn and two outside toilets. This was followed by a pump which sometimes needed priming and which often didn’t work. The kitchen held a pail of water, a dipper, a wash basin and a stove which was used to make coffee for social events. At times, the kitchen was the home of the teacher. As it was unlined, it must have been very cold in the winter.
As many of the children rode a distance of two or three miles, a barn was built in due time. Remember those huge coal and wood stoves with a shield around them for the sole purpose of heating the school? Remember how in the dead of winter it took hours for the school to warm up and teachers and students huddled around that stove with coats and mitts on, trying to study? Cold comfort extended on to lunch time, for the lunches, brought in syrup or lard pails, often needed thawing out before they were edible. Sometimes mothers sent cocoa to be heated on the stove.
The first teacher was Mrs. Claderhead. Charlie Cargill was the second teacher at Airlie, and his stern discipline was ““known around.” He was trained as a teacher and was also an accomplished pianist. Arriving in Chauvin in 1909, he was one of the earliest, if not the first teacher in the Chauvin School. No nonsense or misdemeanour escaped his eye. Big tough young fellows were petrified and had to learn in spite of themselves. The janitor, usually one of the older boys or girls, earned $2.50 to $3.00 a month for sweeping, dusting and starting the fire. Tenders were put out for the hauling of wood and coal. Ladies of the district had work bees for scrubbing floors and cleaning walls and windows.
During the noon hour and recesses, the teacher and the children played games outdoors. As time went on, each school had a softball team which sometimes engaged with neighbouring schools in a game. Once a year, they would have a surprise visit from the inspector who would come knocking at the door. This would set the children’s knees knocking. An important event of the year was the Christmas Concert which filled the school with parents and visitors who came to enjoy the children’s program. An equally important occasion was the school picnic held at the end of the year. There were games, sports and a bounteous lunch prepared by the parents. Mrs. Irene Whitehead (Cargill), Mrs. Hazel Sigurdson and Mrs. Claire Richarson (Folkins) were among the teachers who taught there. Mrs. Perry taught for Pratt Perry when he was ill.
Families had come from Sweden, Scotland, USA, the Maritimes, Quebec and Manitoba. One lady knit socks for another family in exchange for milk and eggs. Her husband trapped animals to help supplement the larder and one time he sold 400 pelts for 10 cents each to buy a cow. Another family who came from Montreal had three daughters who all took sick and died in a very short time of each other. No cemetery was available so they were buried on the homestead. The grief-stricken family returned to Montreal.
Prairie fires were common occurrences and the Airlie people remember one such fire that occurred on Easter Sunday, 1915, which was started near the Saskatchewan border by a spark from a train. Men, women and children were out fighting the blaze. Joe Buck, who had had polio and could get around with only the help of his saddle pony, would get down off Babe’s back and help beat out the flames on his hands and knees. Hard times made many brave hearts return to their homeland.
In June 1942, Airlie School was closed and the children then attended Prosperity or Butzeville Schools. There are no longer any homes in the English-speaking area of Airlie District. The farms have been swallowed up by the big farmers outside the district. In 1948, all rural schools were closed and the children were bussed into the town schools.
Airlie School District No. 2980
Submitted by Eleanor Perry and Irene Cargill
113-114-115