Ridgedale Village #4507

Ridgedale Village School District #4507

.

On March 15, 1921 a 1etter was written to the Department of Education, asking that a school be built in the Village of Ridgedale, as there were thirteen children ages five to thirteen, and the nearest school was four miles away, with roads that were impassable at times.

By the beginning of 1922 there were sixty children in the village. School was held in the old Printing Office, located about four lots west of the Post Office, for eighty-two days. The first teacher was Mrs. Janet Hayes. This school was closed and all equipment was removed from the village. The trustees felt that they could not bear the expense to keep a school unless a larger territory could be secured from the adjoining districts.

On Sept. 6, 1922 a representative from the Department of Education went to the Ridgedale School No. 2523 located on SW 7-47-15, which was later known as Ridgedale Rural School. He met with the trustees from Ridgedale School No. 2523, Riverstone School No. 4205, and Preston School No. 2550, and a delegation from the Village Board of Trade. At this meeting all school districts agreed to extend the Ridgedale Village District so they could apply for a school to be built.

On Dec. 14, 1922 a meeting was called to organize the lands into the Village School District and to elect trustees. The first trustees were John Healey, John Warren, and Edward Rictor.

On Dec.20, 1922 a letter was written by the Department of Education informing the Village that a school could be erected and would be known as Ridgedale Village School District No. 4507. The Board to proceeded with the issuing of debentures for the purpose of securing funds to build and equip a school. School was opened on January 28, 1923 in the Orange Hall which had earlier been moved in to the village from the Old Ridgedale District. A two-room school was completed in 1924 of brick and tile. There were also two rooms in the basement which were used as classrooms.

In 1950 debentures were sold, and two additional rooms of frame and stucco construction were added on the north and south ends of the original building. These also had a basement, and doorways had to be blasted with dynamite through the basement walls of the old building into the new additions.

The larger school unit was formed in 1952, and centralization began in the Ridgedale area. In 1959 with the closing of Leather River, Preston, Riverstone and Ridgedale Rural Schools, the four rooms in Ridgedale were not enough. The Riverstone and Armley Schools were moved into Ridgedale to provide additional classrooms. The Orange Hall was again brought into use. This made a total of six classrooms, and a Home Economics room.

In 1960 with the closing of Armley and Henderson schools, a new four-room school was built adjoining the existing four rooms at a cost of $74,600. This new building was of masonry construction with concrete slab floor. Automatic oil heat and modern plumbing were installed, as well as new plumbing in the old school. A sewage disposal mound served both buildings. In 1961 Sandwell School closed and the children were bussed to Ridgedale, and in 1962 Manlius and Waterfield Schools closed with some of the children coming to Ridgedale. In 1964 three more classrooms and a science laboratory were added to the east of the school, with a hallway joining the buildings. The home economics room was renovated in 1982.

.

.

In 1985 a major addition was made to the school at a cost of $904,943. The original brick school was torn down and replaced with an approximately 725 square metre steel-framed, brick- exterior addition. This included a combined kindergarten and music room, a well-stocked library which is open to both school children and adults, a dental laboratory, a home economics room, washrooms, and a gymnasium. In the past, students had to go to the low-ceilinged Centennial Hall for indoor sports activities; but now with the new gymnasium the children were able to enjoy volley-ball, badminton, floor hockey, and other activities. The Ridgedale Curling Rink and Skating Rink were also widely used by the students of Ridgedale School. The official opening of this addition was on February 27, 1986 with Marianne Hancock, local board secretary, cutting the ribbon. Diane Rorke, the present librarian, cut the ribbon to officially open the Wapiti Regional Library. Past librarians have been Joanne Sparrowhawk, Shirley Surman, and Margaret Schreiner.

Since the larger school unit came into effect the children from Manlius, Sandwell, Waterfield, Armley, Riverstone, Preston, Henderson and Ridgedale Rural School Districts have been bussed into Ridgedale by the following bus.drivers: Ken Wilson, Jim Taylor, Hugh Wright, Ivan McCullough, Jake Schreiner. Ted and Ella Clapson, John Hayward, Bev Morgan, Barb Boyarchuk,, Allan Breadner, Curtis Sturby, and Margie McCullough. Janitors over the years have been Bob Green, Cora Allen (about 15 years), Hugh and Edna Wright (for 24 years), Bob and Donna Edwards ,(for three years), and Jasper and Edith Stene.

Beginning in the fall of 1997 the High School students were bussed to either Gronlid or Tisdale, leaving the elementary grades for one more year. The school was closed in 1998.

Since kindergarten was begun in 1974, the teacher aides have been Sharon Goddard, Linda Galenzoski, Regina McPhaden, Gail Galenzoski, Shelley Meier, Marlene Healey, and Margie McCullough. Sub-Unit trustees for the Ridgedale area have been Jim Dorward, Joe Barber, Dale Healey and Bud Healey. Noon Hour Supervision came into effect in 1982. Gwen Reimer, Gail Galenzoski, Heather McLean, Shelley Meier, Elna Fish, Marlene Healey, and Margie McCullough have provided this service.

Home Economics teachers have been: Joyce Newcomb, 1960-1964, 1965-1969; Marjorie Currie, 1964-1965, Shirley Burtman, 1969-1971, Hazel Wrigley, 1971-1972, Joanne Reeves, 1972-1974, Sylvia Dion, 1974-75,Marion Button, 1975-1980, Lois Caskey, 1980-1989 and Judy Reimer, 1989- 1991.

Agriculture teachers have been: Lorne Sparling, 1960-1963; Dennis Allen, 1963-1969; Robert Stiles, 1969-1970; Doug Southam, 1970-1971; Wayne Fehr, 1971-1973; Tom Guidinger, 1973-1975; Ed Wicks, 1975-1976; Marion Button, 1976-1980; Garry Mutch, 1980-1986 and Dwain Drew, 1986- 1991.

The Teachers:
.

Janet Hayes	1922-23	L. B. Kennedy	1923-24
Miss E. V. Head	1924-25	Vera Frazer	1924-26
W. A. Frazer	1925-26	Mr. Rae	1926
Charlotte Eastman	1926	Teresa Maloney	1926-27
N. Hughes	1927-30	Winnifred Smith	1928-34
E. W. Wilson	1929-30	G. M. Burroughs	1930-41
Reuben R. Molberg	1931-32	Thelma Burroughs,	1935-41
Reuben R. Molberg	1937-41
G. H. West	1937-38	Mr. Rear	1939-40
Mr. Remple	1940-42	S. R. Carter	1940-42
Julia May Laurence	1940-41	Kathleen I. Beatty	1941-42
Rena May	1941-62	R. G. Sinnamon	1941-43
Margaret C. MacKay	1941-42	Hrefna Gislason	1942-43
Helen L. Hahn	1942-43	Frances M. Arnett	1943-44
Edward D. James	1943-45	Florence L. Rusk	1944-45
Leanna L. Bowbyes	1944-45	Margaret L. Currie	1945-46
Annie L. Orton	1945-49	A. T. Swindlehurst	1945-56
Mary A. Sawasy	1946-47	Arlene L. Lloyd	1945-56
Olga Hority	1947-48	Evelyn Kindrat	1948-49
John A. Hammond	1949-50	Joseph E. Smith	1950-51
Gaynor L. McDonald	1950-51	Vivian I. Dunham (substitute)	1950-51
Joan V. Rosen	1951-52	W. L. Schell	1951-52
Colin A. Thomson	1952-53	Garner M. Leach	1952-53
Alma M. Renner	1953-58	Doreen Jean Eppen Wilkes	1953-54
Louis C. Auriat	1954-55	Eunice O'Byrne	1955-56
Helen Lawrence	1955-56	Ella M. Perkins	1957-58
Mathew Coates	1958-59	Joyce Newcomb	1958-69
		Joyce Newcomb	1974-75
Edith N. Barber	1959-72	Dorothy Thomas	1959-60
Morris Sadlowski	1959-60	Robert Foster	1960-63
Reginald M. Johnston	1961-62	August Michalko	1962-65
Inez Svare	1962-69	William Batty	1963-64
Edith Batty	1963-64	Florence Hennings	1963-65
Harry Bourne	1964-68	John Elliott	1964-65
Frank Elberg	1965-69	Evelyn Bourne	1965-66
John M. Gillissie	1965-66	Donald Sterzuk	1965-67
Elaine Panchuk	1965-67	Louis Domotor	1966-67
Audrey Tkachuk	1966-71	Maryann S. Domotor	1966-67
Ivan Hollingshead	1967-69	Mary D. Drake	1967-68
Margaret J. Lindsay	1967-68	Larry Chalifour	1967-69
Kathryn Jones	1968-69	David R. Jones	1968-69
Geraldine G. Cowell	1968-69	Elmer J. Gibson	1968-70
Edmund Borsa	1969-71	Beatrice R. Neale	1969-70
Jane A. Allan	1969-70	Robert A. Allan	1969-70
Allan Brown	1969-97	Robert H. Wardhaugh	1969-71
Bernard T. Friesen	1970-71	Brian H. Paine	1970-74
David Panio	1971-72	Barbara A. Smith	1971-73
Coreen McKeith	1971-74	Randy Bergman	1972-98
Audrey H. Meacham Adelman	1972-80	Linda E. Phillips	1972-73
Garry Mutch	1973-75	Bob Fulford	1973-74
Marlene I. York	1974-75	Cheryl Form	1974-75
Robert D. Duke	1975-79	Betty J. Mutch	1975-97
Linda Wilson	1976-97	Darlene McRae	1975-79
Jeanette Bittman	1979-82	Gerry Riou	1975-76
Marion Button	1975-80	Lillian Jenner Hunchak	1980-98
Lois Caskey	1980-89	Judy Reimer	1982-97
Karen Scammell	1983-84	Dwain Drew	1985-
Cynthia Fulton	1986-91	Germain Dauk (substitute)	1988
Sandra Stobbe	1989-91	Warren Jacobson	1995-97

.

.

The School Districts Tisdale School Division a compiled history