Schools, Spuds, Turnips & Cream

- Life After the Railway

Tea & Tales 2015: Transportation

1912 – Spetch School

The First SchoolBuilt to accommodate the Spetch children, Samuel Spetch hired a teacher. Molly Garvin and Gladys Blakeway both taught there.

After the Railway came in 1914 some families opted for

lessons by mail. By 1919, after much lobbying by William Spetch, the BC Government set up the oldest and largest system of correspondence education in Canada.

1915 – Upper Valley SchoolThe school was built

for the children of the Ronayne, Punch, Dermody and Ross children.

Perkins mill supplied the lumber and local men built and maintained it. Mothers scrubbed and cleaned the building.

In 1929 a new, larger school was built and remains today as part of the Copperdome Lodge building.

Upper Valley School – the early years

1916 Second year of school. Teacher: Margaret Mellish (later, Mrs. Ray Elliot). Front row: Sis and James Punch. Middle row: John Ronayne, Norman Dermody, Gerald Ross. Back row: Sandy and Vivien Ross, Ronayne, Rene, Helen Dermody.

1924 Front row from left: Kathleen Ronayne, Eddie Ronayne, Dorothy Van Der Hoop, Tessie Ronayne. Boys in rear: Bart Ryan, Robbie Miller, Dick Green, teacher probably Sheila Connelan

Early Dairy 1912-1930’sDora Barbour organized Pemberton’s first milk route in 1912. The Barbours came from Squamish and their farm was where Kia-ora park is today.

Jack Ronayne said that after the PGE came farmers started out to do a little dairying. As long as the cream was sweet, they did well and for some years, dairy was the sole means of revenue.

In 1932 a cream cooler was built at the PGE station and the Board of Trade looked into establishing a creamery in the District.

Birken School 1922

The community of Birken held a work bee and built a school for their children to attend. Mr. M.B. Pullinger was the first teacher and the school operated until 1944.

The building was used as a community hall and was a hub of community activity for many years. The school still stands today and there are plans underway to preserve it.

Birken School Group 1922

Ernie Ward, Mrs. Taylor, ?, Mrs. Craddock. Middle row: Charlie Friedstrom, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Pullinger, Miss Pullinger. Front row: Charlie Carlson, Kester Taylor, Lola Taylor. Children: Ida Taylor, Helen Thompson, Gordon Taylor, ?, HarveyTaylor, Galen Taylor.

Farmer’s Institute - 1925After the Railway arrived, farmers greatly increased their acreages and government agricultural experts provided advice. The Farmer’s Institute was founded in 1922 to “promote conditions of rural life so that settlement may be permanent and prosperous…”.

By the late 1920’s, Pemberton cream was ruled to be sour and prices dropped. Commercial potatoes became a dominant crop. The “Netted Gem” was an award winning potato grown by W.C. Green in 1926.

By 1939 a total of 18 awards were won by Pemberton farmers. Top honours were achieved for field peas and turnips, along with potatoes.

The Fall Fair 1929

The Fall Fair was first organized in 1922.A professional from the Department of Agriculture judged the exhibits.After the judging he spoke about the seed certification program for potatoes.Soon after this first fair W.C. Green secured 100 lbs of Netted Gem seed potatoes from Lillooet. A year later he sold a ton of seed to Will Miller

AwardsFarmers began winning top honours in potatoes, turnips and field peas in the 1930s.

Winning gave wide advertising of the area’s agricultural products.

Despite multiple awards the farmer’s were still concerned with marketing and sales of their products.

Railway Pass

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Pemberton Station School - 1929

After the Railway arrived, the growing community of “Pemberton Station” needed a school. Like Upper Valley residents, people in town were greatly involved in financing and constructing the new building.

Bertha “Bussie” Green was the first teacher. She recalled that volunteers were still hammering away the morning school began. Another opening day set-back was the lack of an outhouse, but fortunately the school was surrounded by trees and bushes.

The Upper Valley Meadows school was also rebuilt in 1929 and the two schools had a keen rivalry in sports for many years.

Mt. Currie Schools 1930s-1950s

In the 1930s a one room school was constructed and served the community until the 1950s. A second building was constructed in the late 40s.

In 1948 the Missionary Sisters of Christ, took charge of all teaching duties through to 1966 and beyond.

A scholarship winner from Mt. Currie was the first resident to become a teacher. Her name was Mary Louise Williams, and she eventually returned to the Pemberton Valley after serving in various provincial schools.

Despite these efforts to provide local schooling, many Mt. Currie children were sent away to residential schools in Vancouver, Mission, Williams Lake, and Kamloops.

The Pemberton Cooperative

The advent of machinery in the 1940s made a big difference in potato production.The Pemberton Cooperative was founded in 1941 with the objective of helping farmers to acquire feed and supplies more cheaply.It was an important service, serving as the chief shipping and receiving outlet for all of Pemberton. Records show the Coop not only received and shipped potatoes and turnips, also washing machine parts, lumber and nails, even a T.V. antenna in later years! When the highway arrived in 1966 the Coop was no longer needed

Superior School - 1951As a direct result of lobbying efforts by local school trustees, the Pemberton Superior School came into being in 1951, a two roomed steel building serving Gr. 1 to 10. Two years later the school bus began a run up the valley.

In 1956 a much larger school was built for Gr. 1 to 12. The bus service expanded to Mt. Currie in 1958. The number of students from Mt. Currie who attended the Pemberton High School increased from 8 to 62 in 6 years.

Life After the Railway

1916 – picnic group Picnic group across from the Pemberton Trading Store. Seated, l-r; Lena Harris, Mrs. Ernie Sampson, Violet Harris, Bert Perkins, Hardy Thompson (2 yr old), his mother Edna Harris Thompson and her daughter Verna Thompson; kneeling from l-r; Nat Baker and his house keeper, George Thompson, kneeling behind his family; standing l-r; Una Harris, Ernie Sampson, Williams, (Mrs. Ernie Sampson brother) Edwin Harris, Jessie Harris, Rene Ronayne, Jack Ronayne (behind Rene), Edith Harris and Vincent Harris

1921 - "Sandy" Ross, Joe Ronayne, Gerald Ross, "Sandy" Fowler. Front row: Jas. Landsborough, Norman Dermody, Jack Ronayne, Johnny Ronayne