Lightwoods #825

Lightwoods School District #825

.

By early 1912 there were fifteen school age children in the district with nineteen tax assessable persons. In January of that year a “Petition for Organization of a School District” was sent to the Department of Education by W.H. Prosser, S.G. Sands, and C.W. Connell. The petition was approved by the government on February 8, 1912. The first meeting of the Lightwoods School District was held on March 18, 1912 at the farm home of C.W. Connell. At a poll held that day, six voted in favor and five against the organization of a school district. The name, Lightwoods, suggested by W.H. Prosser, after a park by that name in Birmingham, England, was chosen for the school district. C.W. Connell acted as the first chairman with Mr. Prosser as secretary- treasurer. The school site was obtained from O. Bostad at the southeast corner of SE 9-42- 15-W2. This was a central location in the district

On May 18, 1912 a motion was passed by the Lightwoods School District No. 825 to borrow $1,000.00 to purchase the land and to build and equip a one room frame school. A blueprint was adopted and debentures were accepted from the Alberta Supply Co. for a loan of $1,000.00 at 6 per cent. Lumber was supplied by the Farmers Lumber of Valparaiso at a cost of $380.00. O. Bostad agreed to clear the one acre site for $6.00. E.G. Harris was hired to load, haul, and unload the lumber from Valparaiso for $10.00. Frank Hey was awarded the tender to build the school for $250.00 plus an extra $100.00 for paint and labour. The firewood was delivered and piled at 75 cents per cord. Taxes for 1912 were set at 5 cents per acre.

The school opened in the fall of 1913. The first grant, issued by the Department of Education, in 1918 was $78.45. The teacherage was built in 1940-41. In 1949 a new chimney was installed, the basement was enlarged and a new furnace was installed in the basement to replace the old barrel type stove. The total cost of these renovations was $276.30. The school was never equipped with electricity or running water.

During the early years, the children were allowed to do janitor work at $4.00 per month. The money went toward their parent’s taxes. During winter months they had to carry water from home and come in early to preheat the school with the wood burning stove.

Instruction was provided for grades one to eight, however, older students were allowed to take their correspondence courses at the school. The assignments were sent away to be corrected.

.

Lightwoods' Teacherage

.

Over the years the Lightwoods School House served the district as meeting hall, community centre, and a church, as well as a school. A school garden was started in 1917. In 1921 the students sold forty bushels of potatoes, some beans and some beets and earned $16.20. At the annual meeting held in January of 1919, Jim Whitson, secretary-treasurer of the local Red Cross Society, reported a balance of $382.25 was handed over to the Red Cross. The money was raised at two box socials and a picnic and dance.

The Tisdale School Unit No. 53 was established in 1952 and the Lightwoods School District was included in Sub-Unit No. 2. In June, 1958, the Lightwoods School was closed and the district children were bussed into McKague School. At the time the school closed, there were fifteen students enrolled. The school building was sold to the Lightwoods Community Club in 1960 for $110.00. In 1961 the club sold the building to Myrtle and Vince Dickson.

The Teachers :

.

Mary Levia	1913-14	C. L. E. Cambell	1913-14
Dorothy Horsfall	1916	James Armstrong Whitson	1917-19
Joseph A. Holland	1919-20	Miss Pennington	1921
Albre Elliott Ettinger	1921-22	Dorothy Bunce	1922-23
Mary Dempsey Argall	1922-23	Hilda I. Dougherty	1922-23
Marion Hill	1923-24	Jean E. Dickson	1925-26
Dulcie J. (Phelan) Trotter	1926-28	B .T. Plunkett	1928-29
Francis F. Isley	1929-30	Robert Frances Perry	1930-32
John Wesley Joyce	1932-35	Mary Elva Yake	1935
C.B. Brownridge	1935	Lucille Estella Tuck	1936-37
Margaret G. Scott	1937-38	Mabel Anderson	1938-39
Lucille Estella Tuck	1938-39	Gregory J. Dickson	1939-40
Frances Marty Labelle	1940-41	Mary Frances Adock	1941-43
Pauline Antoski	1943-44	Glajys Elizabeth Hamilton	1944-45
Myrtle A. Bourne	1944-45	Dorothy Martha Kirstein	1944-45
Edith Alice Will	1945-46	Robert Francis Perry	1945-46
Annie Huk	1946-47	Andrew William Gillanders	1946-47
Iva Maude Fry	1947-51	Marie-Ange Rose Casavant	1950-51
William Harry Femiuk	1951-52	Elizabeth Mae Lazonby	1952-53
Louise Hartman	1953-54	Noreen Jacobs	1954-55
Mary Jean Fisk	1955-58

.

.

Information based on an article by Carol C. Clark

.

The School Districts Tisdale School Division a compiled history