Jake's Butte - Dunbarney School

I always stop at this place, it's right along a paved highway and it's easy to photograph. I have stopped here several times over the years and will continue to until it falls down or I do. 

A hill, a school, and a ranch (still in operation) in the area all share the name of Jake's Butte. Named after Jake Lewis. According to the book, "As We Remember Big Valley", round-up cook Jake Lewis set up camp at the bottom of a hill but the riders couldn't find the camp. Jake put a lantern on top the hill so the riders could spot him, the hill was then named Jake's Butte and the school was also so named. The original school was used from 1913-1943, when Dunbarney School was then moved on site and used until 1950. It closed permanently when Ozark School was moved just over a mile away and Jake's Butte became redundant. It was then sold to the Jake's Butte Community Society. It appears that it was also a home at some point.

*I have an update, I was doing some more reading and found an undated image of Dunbarney School, which was moved to Jake's Butte in 1943. I am reasonably sure that they are the same building. The roofline, 2 small windows on the north side, and the chimney match, it appears the entry way was removed but the roof piece is still there. 

References: Pioneering with a Piece of Chalk; As We Remember Big Valley

Arthurvale Adventure

Coddiwomple: to travel in a purposeful manor towards a vague destination.

Sometimes I coddiwomple my way through life, sometimes I have a set destination but get there in a random way. There are no wrong ways to explore, but there are wrong turns. 

On this particular trip I was actually headed somewhere specific and never ended up getting there. I made some 'right' turns and ended up finding an old church and some other signs (literally) that indicated that a community once thrived here. I had found St. Hilda's Anglican Church in the district of Arthurvale.

Image from 'A History of the Huxley Area'

Many of the first permanent settlers to this area were English men and women who belonged to the Anglican Church. It was a long trip to the closest Anglican Church and the local community asked for their own services. The first service was held on July 29, 1905 in the home of a local man, with 38 people attending. Services continued to be held once a month in various homes until a church could be built. Lumber was purchased in June of 1907 and work progressed through the summer and even though the church was not complete, the first service was held October 27, 1907. Many of the churches furnishings were sent from England by friends and relatives. 

I found out that occasional services were held there right up until COVID happened and that there might be a Spring or early Summer service in the works. This church used to be unlocked for all to enjoy and sign the guest book, until recently when items were stolen from the church, forcing the caretakers to lock the doors. Makes you wonder what kind of person would steal also, it seems particularly evil to steal from a church. 

Just a hop, skip, and a jump down the road is a sign for the short lived Arthurvale Post Office. By the end of 1905 the community met and discussed having the Government establish a Post Office there and the Stephenson House was chosen as the location. The name Arthurvale was chosen after Arthur Stephenson, the only child in the district at the time. 

Post Office Sign and St. Hilda's in the Background.

Another short distance away is the location of Loyalty School, the school is long gone but the entrance gate to the property is still there, just beyond the gate you can see a stone pillar that may at one time been part of a grander entrance or sign. The school opened in 1916 with 42 pupils. The school was already too small and another room was eventually added in 1925. By 1938, High School classes were being offered and the original Arthurville School was bought and moved (about 10km) on site and a dormitory built. The school closed in 1956 and the children were bussed to the nearby town of Huxley. 

What lies beyond..

The pioneers of the area now rest in Arthurvale Cemetery beside St. Hilda's but there are still those who care for the church and keep the history alive.

Sources: Pioneering with a Piece of Chalk and A History of the Huxley Area.

Not so Lakeside School

In Central Alberta, near Blackfalds, you may have driven by an awkward looking building that looks like it was added on to several times. You have just found Lakeside Hall, one of the longest running school districts in the province. 

Starting it's life in 1895, before Alberta was even a province, Lakeside School #348 was opened. It was named Lakeside due to its proximity to Lake Nichol (now Blackfalds Lake). It was situated on a 2 acre piece of land that cost $10. As with many school houses, it became the community hub, hosting events and acting as a place for friends and neighbours to gather.

By 1931, the student population had shifted and the decision was made to move the school 1 mile east, or 1.6km if you prefer. During that summer, a crew of men and a 32-horse hitch team relocated the schoolhouse. 10 years later a larger schoolhouse was built, and the old school was converted to Lakeside Hall. The 'new' school served until 1955, when it was sold and moved to become a home nearby.

Over the years, renovations to the hall included, installing a furnace, enlarging and upgrading the floor space, adding power, a kitchen, a front entrance, building of a stage and dressing rooms, and re-siding and re-shingling. 

It appears to still be in use occasionally, and is a nice reminder of the history of the area.

Lakeside School being moved in 1931 - Lacombe & District Historical Society

Netherhill

West of the 5th went West of the 3rd this summer on a brief trip to the capital city of Saskatchewan. Yes, my summer vacation was in Regina. Not the summer one dreams of but with travel and gathering restrictions in place we couldn't just jet off somewhere exotic, not that we had planned to anyway but the point is we could have in any other year. We did get to meet up with some family and I was able to explore. Win/win under these circumstances. 

I had nodded off while on the road (something I can do within a block of leaving home, it's like my superpower when I am a passenger), and missed Netherhill on the way. I declared that we would be stopping there on the way home. 

I had seen pictures of this school many times and could not simply pass it by! View a great article and more pictures HERE by my friends over at BigDoer.com. 

I had been watching the weather and was hoping for some cloudy skies, because I love a cloudy dramatic sky and that it is how I pictured this school in my head. It was not meant to be.

From the book, 'Memoirs of  Hillsburgh Rural Municipality No. 289', it states that Netherhill School was built in 1912, and received additions. Miss Railton was the first teacher and it was later consolidated with Eagle Lake School.  I have no dates of when it closed as a school, but above the door is the IOOF logo, so it became an Independent Order of Odd Fellows hall for a time before it was boarded up.

I found an image of the school prior to the additions at pararie-towns.com:

Looks incomplete after seeing how it looks now!

Once you pass the school, there is a town, population of 25 according to the 2016 census. It was pretty quiet and we did not see another person. We found the hotel next to the railway tracks though....which is almost a given in most of these prairie towns. 

It looks like it may be lived in? 

Return to Ozark School

With all the craziness in the world right now, I am just trying to keep our days as normal as possible while practicing the new buzzword of the day 'social distancing'. I am not necessarily afraid for myself or my family, if we do get sick, we will recover. I worry about my mother and grandmother and other people in the most affected groups. So dear people, relax, stay in, and have some family time.

In the meantime, it looks like I will have more time to blog and exploring back roads is about as far away from people as one can get.

Let's start with a quick trip I took a couple weekends ago to the Big Valley area. I love this area and have been here several times. I stopped by an old school that was one of the very first schools I searched for and went to find back when I started this exploring thing!

This is Ozark School, opened in 1912. It was moved to its current location in 1950 and looks like it was used a granary.

Ozark School 1949. From Pioneering with a Piece of Chalk.

I spent a good chunk of time here, it was cold and windy and isolated and I loved it. Not much had changed since I was here a few years ago, other than the bell tower which has lost a few pieces.

Wilberforce School

Throwing it back to the Great Road Trip of September 2019.

One of the schools on my list to find was Wilberforce. It was just where it should have been and easy to shoot from the road. It's in rough shape though, one side is wide open to the elements and it's now full of junk. Seems an undignified end for a once important building. Can't save them all I guess.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information or old photos in the places I normally check. The only info I have is from the marker in front that shows the dates the school was in operation, 1913-1955.

Little Yellow Schoolhouse

I was sure I had posted this school before but looking back it appears that I did not. I went by this school once in the summer and most recently in December 2018. Different seasons, different photos! I do believe this is one of my favourite locations.

The History!
Ennerdale School opened on October 1, 1912 and closed in June 1955. It then became a community centre. In July of 1982 there was a reunion of former teachers, students and their families. It has now not been used in quite some time, however a new marker commemorating its 100th year (2012) is in place. In fact the sign is what you notice first, the school seems to blend into the trees despite being a cheery shade of yellow. I have driven right by even while looking for it. I know I am not the only one to have done this.

The school name was chosen by a local settler named John Gathercole. Upon moving to Alberta, in 1905, he became a Justice of the Peace and was instrumental in petitioning for a school to be opened in the district. He chose to name the school Ennerdale after the last place he lived in England before moving to Canada.

Photos!
First I will post an old photo I found, it was dated 1908 but that doesn't fit with the 1912 date the school opened. You might notice that the teacherage (addition on the back) wasn't original and the windows were enlarged at some point.

Photo courtesy of the Mountain View Museum

I decided to make some side by side photos and apparently I am a creature of habit and took virtually the same photos on both occasions.

On a personal note:
Again I have been away from the blog more longer than I intended. Besides my full time job, I also have my 'side hustle', which I have been working on in the evenings in preparation to be an Artisan Vendor at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. I have no idea if I am over or under prepared as I have never done a market like this.

Also my grandpa, who I posted about here, passed away last week at the age of 96. We made a quick trip home to be with my grandma who is 92.

I appreciate everyone who reads and comments and I will visit all the blogs soon! Take care!

A Look Back

Hello Everyone! I did not get any blogging or blog reading done since my last post. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with friends and family, food and drink and most of all joy and happiness. I am looking forward to a great year and want to wish you all the same.

Here is a 'Top 9' collage of 2018 from Instagram. I post a photo a day there so out of 365 images, these were the most popular. A couple of these are my personal favourites but not my very favourites. Interestingly 4 of 9 are from the same trip and 7 of 9 are winter shots. The people have spoken.

If you are on Instagram and want to see more, you can find me @jennspix

I am going to go back to a quick day trip taken on December 22nd. Any exploring trip is a good trip but this one was great due to the fact that 3 old schools, barns, abandoned houses and even some Texas Longhorns were spotted.

Here are the 3 schools in alphabetical order, which seems fitting:

Iola SD #1900 1908-1959. On private property.

Western Sunset SD#4662 1935-1957. On private property, used as a storage shed.

Willesden Green SD#3074 1914-1960. Named after a suburb of London. On a lonely hill with nothing around it except power lines.

I don't make resolutions but there are things I'd like to accomplish this year. The usual, spend more time with my son, eat healthier, and do well at my new job and also with my little side business. Of course my continuing mission is to explore strange new areas, to seek out old buildings and abandoned places, to boldly go where no one has been for awhile.

Do you make resolutions?

Take care all and catch up with you soon.

Bismark

This spot has always been one of those 'I'll stop next time I go by' places, I have probably passed it a dozen times before. It's a cemetery, it's likely not going anywhere.

You can only see the sign from the highway and a path going into the trees. The pleasant looking path curves around and leads you to a small little clearing where you can park before opening the gate to the cemetery. It look likes a relatively small cemetery but there is a hill in the middle and more graves beyond it that you can't see at first glance.

Bismark, like many places I have visited, used to be a busy pioneer district that had a Lutheran church, school, post office (from 1903-1922) and a sawmill.

According to Place Names of Alberta Vol. III, Bismark was named after German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Many of the early settlers where of German origin.

I mentioned above that there used to be a school in the area and that got me wondering if it might still be there. So even though this post was started in September, I had a chance to finish it this last weekend by going in search of the school. Online searching gave me hope as it appeared to still be there. Only one way to find out....

I call this trip a success. I located the school, there is no marker (that I saw), which surprised me as this area has marked their old schools districts. However,  I am going to say with confidence that this is Bismark School since it fits the maps and also is near Bismark Cemetery.  The school opened in 1904 or 1905 and operated until centralization of the local school districts to Crestomere in 1953.

 **UPDATE**
Well folks, I was wrong, I admit it. I had a comment saying the building I assumed was the school was actually the old Lutheran Church that was moved and that the school had burned down. After searching with this new info in mind,  I found that in 1908 a lot was selected, the church was built and the cemetery was developed. The church was relocated in 1947. The congregation joined another parish and then disbanded in 1976.

If this reaches anyone else with more information, stories, photos....I'd love to know or see more!
Thank you.

Abandoned. On the same site as the old church.