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North Enderby School
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 |