It was not until
1901 and 1902 that men in any appreciable numbers began filing on
homesteads in the Chesterwold district. However the country "settled"
quickly and in 1904 the married people of the district decided they
must have a school for their children. Jas. Rairdan, Sam Clark and
John Unland Sr., were named directors.
By 1905, with Sam Clark as the chief carpenter and with the help
of the other men of the district the school was ready for occupancy
and was named Pigeon Creek, after the small river only one-half
mile away.
However, all was not clear sailing. Trained teachers and money were
both in very short supply, so until Miss Nellie Waddy came in 1909,
only Miss Jennie Johnston had trained as a teacher. However, Mrs.
Lugston, who lived near the present Sylvan Heights School, and Sam
Lanning, a homesteader, a short distance north-east of Pigeon Creek,
came to the rescue for the 1905 and 1907 summer terms. Miss Johnston,
who later became Mrs. Sim Deuel of Lundgren, taught the 1906 summer
term. Although Mr. Lanning and Mrs. Lugston had no formal training,
they were able to teach the children the three R's - "Readin', 'Ritin'
and 'Rithmatic".
In those early days, when the McLoed and Nejedley children travelled
51/2 miles, the L. Dorans travelled 41/2 miles, all on horse back,
it is easy to see why school was only in operaton when the weather
was warm.
In 1914, Lawrence Armstrong came at Easter and taught without a
holiday until the summer of 1915. He taught again from September
until December 1915, when he enlisted in the Canadian Army. Mr.
Armstrong had 2 firsts: a) the only teacher to teach in the winter,
and b) the first grade 8 class.
In 1945 and 1946 the new Pigeon Creek School was built, 1/2 east
of the old school on S.E. Section 5-45-27-W4th. This
school was complete with furnace, electricity, basement, playroom
and a teacherage. However, 10 years later, Pigeon Creek was consolidated
with the Falun School and the new school was sold to the United
Church at Mulhurst.
In 1950, the old Pigeon Creek school was sold to "Our Lady of the
Snows" Catholic Church and moved 2 miles south to the Pat Doran
farm. However, in 1960 a new church was built and Pat bought the
old school to use as a granary. |
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