COUNTRY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS FONDLY RECALLED BY LOCAL PIONEERS

by Farley Wuth

The thirty-nine former rural schools that became part of the Pincher Creek trading district each had its own Christmas traditions. The celebrations, truly community events that honoured the religious and secular components of the season, were well received by the school ratepayers. Decades later, they became fond memories held by those pioneer families and students. Let’s have a look back at a few of those festive school happenings.

TENNESSEE SCHOOL CONCERTS WELL RECEIVED

Within the old Tennessee School District located just north of the Oldman River, school concerts during the Christmas Season were vigorously performed by its students and enthusiastically greeted by the local community. The first recorded concert was held on December 23rd, 1910, the year in which the school opened, and such concerts virtually became an annual event for the four decades to follow, till the school’s closing in 1951. The 1910 celebration was an evening performance, and saw fourteen students sing several of the holiday favourites. Some of those students included the younger members of the Slater, Gilbert and Easterbrook families, all pioneers of the district. The concert was followed by a Christmas dance attended by all of the community.

Two years later, the Tennessee School District purchased a Bell organ for use within its school. Local fund-raising had secured the dollars required for the purchase. The organ was a welcome addition to subsequent Christmas concerts and made the events even more popular. The early teachers, a few of the senior students and some of the community members held the honour of playing the organ for these concerts.

GADSHILL SCHOOL HOSTED COMMUNITY EVENTS

Over at the Gadshill School District Number 3806, situated several miles north of Lundbreck, the Christmas concerts were equally a strong tradition. For more than a generation following the school’s 1919 construction (the school operated till 1943), parents and neighbours would gather in late November to plan for the event. The program would include a concert performed by the school’s students, several recitals and in some years, a short skit with a Christmas theme. A special part of the evening would be a visit from Santa Claus and the giving out of small gifts for the children. Both the pupils and their younger pre-school siblings would be the recipients of such presents. Santa usually sat in a special spot next to the tastefully decorated spruce tree which adorned one corner of the school.

HOLIDAY TREATS AND DANCES

At the Todd Creek School, the next district to the south of Gadshill, the local board often chose to distribute oranges and candy to each of the enrolled students, provided that the expenses cost no more than three dollars. The Christmas bounty was well received by the children but the families themselves more fully appreciated the holiday dances which were occasionally hosted by the school. Virtually every family attended these events, usually held during the two weeks prior to Christmas itself. They came in spite of the often drifting snow and cold winter weather that frequented the area. Dances often continued to three in the morning and weary yet happy families would return home for a couple of hours of sleep before tackling the morning chores. The Todd School opened in 1914.

THE COMMUNITY OF FIR GROVE

Located between Burmis and Beaver Mines was the Fir Grove School which operated from 1924 to 1958 – this was an era during which those quaint country schools truly flourished. Fir Grove had a long tradition as a community-based school where many local functions were held throughout the year. These ranged from dances and picnics to meetings and card parties. The tradition of Christmas gatherings was particularly popular during the 1930s and 1940s when both school and community parties were held annually. Each gathering was highlighted by a school concert with many of the seasonal favourites being sung. The youngsters gathered eagerly awaited the arrival of Santa. Small gifts were distributed to the children and the entire evening would wrap up with light refreshments being served. These were huge community events for most pioneer families residing in rural areas.

SCHOOL RAFFLES AND OUTDOOR SPORTS

At the Coalfields School located less than a mile east of Beaver Mines, Christmas too was a big event. Several days’ preparation went into decorating the school for the holidays. A large concert was the feature of the evening with a wide selection of festive skits performed and poems recited before the home audience. Dedicated teachers over the years made the program so interesting that each student eagerly awaited his or her turn to participate in it. Santa Claus arrived here too and distributed gifts that had been paid for through school raffles. Coalfields, which at one point boated a teacherage immediately west of the school itself provided a pioneer education for rural students from 1909 to 1962. It was one of the last country schools to close.

In the Parkview School District immediately north of Waterton Lakes, outdoor winter sports were the name of the game during most of the annual Christmas celebrations. A slough was located not too far from the school – when frozen during the winter and manually cleared of snow, it provided an excellent rink for both skating and hockey games. An ever-favorite social gathering around the bonfire would be held after the game, or if the weather turned particularly cold, the pioneers gathered in was the school itself.

Festive holidays during those early school days in the Pincher Creek area indeed were filed with happy events which connected the celebration of Christmas with the school children and the rural communities in which the schools operated.