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North Enderby School

2966copy.jpg (24671 bytes)While the townsite of Enderby was growing, the outskirts of the town were also flourishing. New homes and farms were being built in North Enderby and it became evident that a school in this area was needed.

The first North Enderby School was built in 1906 beside the property that had at one time been owned by Jim Wynn. The first year the school operated, 15 pupils attended classes and were all taught by Miss A.W. Griffiths.

At the time when the North Enderby School started, teachers were hard to come by. The School Board searched hard for their teachers. Many of them came from as far away as England, Scotland, the Maritimes and Ontario. In the last few years the School Board managed to find teachers native to B.C. The teachers worked hard for their small salary. They were conscientious and taught their students the basic academic subjects. Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic were popular and essential subjects that were taught to the students.

Christmas was a special time of year for those who attended North Enderby School. The children practiced and performed a concert at Christmas. All who were involved with the performance had a lot of fun.

Although the children played around and had fun at school, they also worked hard at their studies and made progress. The school was very thankful to their hard working School Board. The School Board was responsible for providing the best accommodation and education possible at the lowest cost. Money was not in abundance and had to be used sparingly during those years. Like the children, the School Board worked hard and was pleased when the school ran well.

At most times the school ran very well, but on occasion the North Enderby School did run into a problem. One well-remembered conflict was that concerning the flag rope. Apparently the rope fell apart every weekend, and had to be spliced together each Monday morning. This procedure wasted at least an hour's worth of class time each Monday. Week after week every Monday morning the School Board members spliced the rope and raised the flag. Never did these men ever let on whether they thought anyone had cut the rope. One day at one of the board meetings it was brought up that the flag had been left alone for a month. The woman members laughed, saying, "Why the quitters." The men looked very stern and dignified. They had been the ones who had spliced the rope many, many times!

North Enderby School had some very lively students. One year at school closing a School Board member visited the school. One of the many chores that the children were doing was lowering the flag and putting it in the cupboard. All of a sudden there was a chorus of giggles and a portion of the flag could be seen snapping in and out of sight. A boy, Harry Hill, was dancing a Hula using the flag as a skirt. Suddenly the teacher's stern reprimand brought their fun to an end. As she walked home the trustee thought, "Maybe this is wrong. Maybe we should be more serious about this." The answer came to her soon. World War II came along and the boy who had all the fun with the flag took it seriously now. They had been out of school long enough, and they enlisted and went off to war. All the fun and actions from the lively bunch of youths disappeared. The North Enderby School was very quiet during War times. Many homesick letters were written, mentioning activities that the boy had remembered taking part in at school.

After the war, the Education Department took a strong look at Education. The Cameron Report recommended consolidation of School Districts. As many of the small schools as possible were closed and the children went to the town school. By this time a bus service was in operation.

The little old North Enderby School was closed; the building was moved and the area was used as a park and campsite and picnic ground for tourists for many years. The small North Enderby School served its purpose well in the district. Parents and teachers combined to see that the children received the best teaching and the highest ideals possible.

Interviews
Mary Woollam
Irene Imbeau

Jacqueline Baird, Craig Campbell, Colleen Giesbrecht
ALF School 1989