Local Schooling
A brief history of the first six decades of formal
education in the Fraser Fort George Region

Tiiu Noukas

Local Schooling:
A brief history of the first six decades
of formal education in the Fraser Fort George region

Researched and written by Tiiu Noukas

From Tiiu’s early childhood in England learning to read, and through studying school
librarianship at UBC, she has been on a quest for knowledge. She came to teach in Prince
George, first in 1971, instructing research skills to elementary children and, later, to secondary
students. Her school library collections all included books on local history which piqued her
interest. Serving on various committees, both professional and civic, connected her to
knowledgeable people and absorbing issues. After Tiiu retired she became involved with the
Prince George Retired Teachers’ Educational Heritage Committee. Her group project work has
included the completion of the transcribing of educational articles from 40 years of early
newspapers. She was also a contributor to, and an editor of, the committee’s book, Historical
Memories, which relates the histories of 139 area schools. Her husband and, perhaps, a cat or
two, have provided welcome support.

Printed in 2021 at Prince George, B.C.

Acknowledgements

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Prince George Public Library and the College of New Caledonia Library for their early newspaper
collection on microfilm and microfiche. Papers included the Fort George Herald, Fort George
Weekly, The Leader, Prince George Post, Prince George Herald, Prince George Star and, especially,
The Prince George Citizen, which provided decades of contemporary reporting.
Subsequently, access to the newspapers was available online from the Prince George Public Library
website: pgnewspapers.lib.pg.bc.ca
The School District 57 (Prince George) Education Heritage Collection. This collection, established in
1995 by the Prince George Retired Teachers’ Association, holds abundant resources of school histories
in this region.
Bob Steventon, the editor of the Prince George Retired Teachers’ Newsletter, kindly edited these
articles for publication with the assistance of Anne Hogan who suggested grammatical improvements.
Kris Nellis, Co-Chair of the Prince George Retired Teachers’ Education Heritage Committee, for her
steadfast support and suggestions during the publication and distribution process.
Papyrus Printers for the production of this book.
The Prince George Retired Teachers’ Association for financing the printing.
Illustrations:
Cover: Sandra Hay for the photo of the desk at the School District 57 (Prince George)
Education Heritage Collection.
First page: Hazel Crate, for her sketch of the King George V School. She was a student
in Mr. Chapman’s Grade 7 class, 1935-1936.
Their booklet, entitled Prince George 1800-1936, was a class project and a copy
can be found in the SD 57 Education Heritage Collection.

Care and effort have been made to ensure the that information contained in Local Schooling is
reasonably accurate and honestly presented.

Any portions of text that are reproduced from Local Schooling should be appropriately acknowledged.

2

Preface

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a compilation of articles first written for the Prince George Retired Teachers’
Association newsletters between 2015 – 2020 explaining how formal schooling began in the Fraser
Fort George region.
I started my research in preparation for the centenary of the City of Prince George in order to
make some posters of schools in the 1910s. This led me to expand the results into a series of essays for
educators.
These essays form the basis of this booklet. It is an overview of the history of area schooling.
As small communities developed in this area families wished to establish schools for their
children. To qualify for an official school the community needed to have at least ten pupils, three
elected trustees, a location for the school and lodging for the teacher, before submitting their petition
to the provincial government.
Excepting the city of Prince George, school districts of the time usually consisted of an
individual school. By the 1940s there were hundreds of ‘school districts’ in the province resulting in
an unwieldy system. The Max Cameron Royal Commission (1945) recommended these small districts
be disbanded and larger collective ones be created. In 1946 schools in our region were allocated to SD
57 (Prince George) or SD 58 (McBride).
In 1970 these two school districts amalgamated into SD 57 (Prince George) which
encompasses the area bounded by the Alberta border (east) to Bednesti Lake (west) and from
Mackenzie (north) to Strathnaver (south).
Hardships in the early days for teachers and students diminished as education with higher
standards, staffing, and structures evolved into the 1960s. Here I ended my articles.
My research purpose was to incorporate many aspects from a multitude of sources resulting in
an overview of the unique educational past of this region.
The School District 57 Education Heritage Collection is available for anyone wanting to
continue this research.
Tiiu Noukas, August 2021

Contents

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Local Schooling in the 1910s (PGDTA Newsletter April 2015)
South Fort George
Local Schooling in the 1910s (PGDTA Newsletter October 2015)
Central Fort George Above the Nechako
Local Schooling in the 1910s (PGDTA Newsletter December 2015)
Prince George, at the Confluence
Local Schooling in the 1910s (PGDTA Newsletter February 2016)
Along the East Line
Local Schooling in the 1910s (PGDTA Newsletter April 2016)
Schools On the Outskirts of Prince George
Local Schooling in the 1920s (PGDTA Newsletter December 2017)
Local Schooling in the 1930s (PGDTA Newsletter February 2018)
Local Schooling in the 1940s (PGDTA Newsletter December 2018)
Local Schooling in the 1950s (PGDTA Newsletter February 2019)
Local Schooling in the 1960s (PGDTA Newsletter February 2020)
Appendix: School Opening dates
Resources

3

South Fort George at the Fraser River

(Local Schooling in the 1910s)
Part 1 in a series. April 2015.

South Fort George was established in about 1909 on the bank of the Fraser River downstream from the
Hudson’s Bay Company post of Fort George. The place name was in recognition of King George III.
Steamboats and sawmills supplied the new settlement as businesses and homes were built. When
another community sprang up on the Nechako River each Fort George would differentiate with “South”
or “Central”.
First School in Fort George
On Monday last, the first Government school opened its doors to the children of this section, and
the fact that sixteen names were entered on the roll during the first day of its existence shows how
great was the necessity of such an institution here.
The advent of this school provides one more (of the) primal necessities of a young city. Without
educational advantages for children surely no town can be considered to be worthy of the name,
and the fact that South Fort George now boasts of a school which is well attended and admirably
presided over both by the principal and the board of trustees give this place a vastly added
importance in the estimation of those families which are settling here, and of the many more to
come.
The school is temporarily in charge of Mr. Cosgrave, a graduate of Princeton University, who
volunteered to fill the vacancy until a permanent teacher could be engaged rather than see the
opening date delayed.
Fort George Herald, September 10, 1910.
The original school, a former garage, located at ‘4th Street’ and Thapage Lane, enrolled both Caucasian
and First Nations students. Miss L. Brady taught from September to December 1910, followed by Mr.
and Mrs. A. B. Campbell.
The site of this school is the utility yard adjacent to the Shaw Cable facility on Queensway Street.
The school was later declared a heritage building and is now located outside The Exploration Place in
Lheidli T’enneh (formerly Fort George) Park.

1910.
First day at the Public School,
South Fort George
Photo courtesy of
The Exploration Place

4

Educational Problems

“But all was not well in the schools of South Fort George and Fort George. In 1911 J.T. Pollock,
inspector of schools for the district, criticized the school trustees for the lack of basic teaching
materials and supplies for the students. At that time, all freight was carried into the area over the
Blackwater Road or by sternwheeler. Therefore it required considerable long range planning to have
all the school supplies for the coming year delivered when classes began in September.
Another problem was that although the teachers in both schools were poorly qualified when they
arrived, once they had gained one or two years of teaching experience they were able to obtain
employment in and move on to other more established communities in southern B.C. This meant the
schools near Fort George were often staffed with poorly trained and inexperienced teachers.”
Bev Christensen, Prince George Rivers, Railways and Timber.
Prince George: Windsor Publications, Ltd., 1989.

1917.
Teacher Emily (née Smith) Tapping
standing in front of a derelict sternwheeler
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Second School at South Fort George
In 1912-13 John McInnis and Jack Davies built a second larger school with two rooms near La Salle
Avenue on the ridge above the original school. The expanded school grounds later accommodated the
construction of “South town’s” third school in 1957. The second school was then used for storage until
a fire destroyed it in October 1979.
Teachers up to 1920 were Mrs. Alice S. Ledger, Mr. Alexander Ogston, Mrs. Grace E. Dunne, Mrs.
Maude A. Smiles, Mr. Douglas H. Stewart, Miss Emily M. Smith, Miss Mary K. Morrow, Miss Margaret
Louise Williams, Mr. D. Macdonald and Miss Beatrice Smith.

5

Central Fort George above the Nechako
(Local Schooling in the 1910s)
Part 2 in a series. October 2015.

If you are at Spruceland Shopping Centre looking eastward, and a little north, imagine the scene in the
1910s. Here are the hotels, banks, churches and businesses that comprise Central Fort George. Many
would be destroyed in a dreadful fire in January 1916.
Central Fort George, complete with its iconic water tower, was located on the bench south of today's
John Hart Bridge. George Hammond's company cleared land for the townsite in early 1910. Lots were
advertised all over the continent. Sternwheelers on the Nechako docked next to the settlement.
Partnering with George Hammond to establish Central Fort George’s anticipated railway station was
the president of the Grand Trunk Railway, Charles M. Hays.
The First School: In 1910, Reverend Alfred Bell, a Methodist Minister, and his wife taught five
children in a log building sited near today’s Second Avenue and Johnson Street. In the autumn of 1911,
this school was designated a Government Assisted Rural School.

1914.
Teacher William Bell with pupils, at the first (Central) Fort George school
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

The August 26, 1911 Fort George Herald reported: “R. Campbell, a brother of Mr. P. Campbell of the
Second Street stationery business [South Fort George] was amongst the arrivals on the B.X. this week.
Mr. Campbell is to take charge of the school here [Central Fort George] as a teacher. He is a gold
medalist in mathematics, from Prince of Wales College, and is a most competent teacher. Mr. Campbell
comes here direct from Prince Edward Island, clear across Canada.”
The Second School: A frame building was completed in 1913, a few blocks from the log school. This
“Pink School House” at York and Cassiar (later 4th and Harper) soon became over-crowded. It had one
room with 8 desks for 75 pupils. The original log school housed the surplus students.
The Third School: In 1915 these numbers precipitated the construction of a traditional two-room,
two-story-with-basement new school north of, but adjacent to, the “Pink School House”. This was to fit
the needs of a community numbering 750 people that May. There was sufficient room in the basement
for future classrooms.

6

c1916.
Two Central Fort George schools
(“Pink School House” on right)
Photo courtesy of The
Exploration Place

Central Fort George was solidly built up with businesses for three blocks on both sides of Central Street
but a series of disasters halted the progress of this settlement. In 1912, Charles Hays went down with
the Titanic. World War I siphoned off available men and resources. The Grand Trunk station came to
be built in the new Prince George to the east. Fires destroyed many buildings. Central Fort George never
recovered. Many businesses relocated to Prince George, their owners even hauling their buildings with
them. However, many residents remained and were secure in their schooling needs.
!
1917.
Students and teacher, Mr. William Bell,
at the second (Central) Fort George
School
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

!
!
!
1918.
Pupils at the third (Central) Fort
George Public School

Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

7

Prince George at the Confluence
(Local Schooling in the 1910s)
Part 3 in a series. December 2015.

The land at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako Rivers was the best in the area as evidenced by
the settlement of the Lheidli T’enneh peoples. The band moved to the Shelley area, a move that is still
the subject of controversy. This opened up the land for settlement and, by 1914, lots were sold for the
new community of Prince George – named after Prince George, son of King George V. He was to become
the Duke of Kent. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway line was completed in 1914 and this gave impetus
to the new community.
Cottages (1915): The newly established board of school trustees agreed to the construction of three
purpose-built cottages, each with two classrooms, located on the east side of Vancouver Street between
4th and 5th Avenues. This first public school for Prince George opened in January 1915. Today the site
provides parking at the back of the RCMP building. Early teachers included Miss W. Luella Hammond
(principal), Mrs. Charlotte Warner and Miss Elizabeth Milligan.
June 1915.
Prince George Public School picnic
at Cottonwood Island for pupils
of the “Three Cottages”
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

The growing town needed something more substantial so construction began on two proper schools.
Winnipeg at Seventh (1916): A four-room school including basement, a standard plan of the
Department of Education, was built in late 1915 by local contractors Mason & Henderson. It functioned
as Prince George Public School from January 1916 until 1922 when a new elementary building was
constructed (the future King George V School). The older structure was virtually empty from 1922 until
1925 when it was reconfigured into the Prince George High School. A 1929 school-naming contest
resulted in its conversion to Baron Byng High School. The 1925 visit to Prince George by Baron and
Lady Byng of Vimy (Governor General of Canada, 1921-1926) influenced the choice of the name.

1917.
Prince George Public School on
Winnipeg Street at 7th Avenue
It later became Baron Byng High School.
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

8

Queensway at Fifteenth (1916): The other school built concurrently was at Connaught Hill and
was known as the Millar Addition School. It consisted of two classrooms and a large central hall,
cloakrooms, two smaller rooms in the basement and a utility room housing a coal furnace to supply
steam heat. The wooden floors were periodically oiled. It opened in January 1916 enrolling one class of
elementary students. A water tower for town use was on Connaught Hill behind the school.
Families who could afford it sent their children by train to high school in Edmonton.
By September 1917, there were 14 high school students registered at the Winnipeg Street school and the
city fathers thought that was close enough to the 20 required for Prince George’s first high school.
A former mayor writes:
“I hastened to the office of Dr. Robinson, then Deputy Minister (Victoria), and he immediately gave
me assurances in writing, dated Nov. 1, 1917, that High School courses would be given forthwith,
and an official High School would be recognized as at Jan. 1, 1918.”
Honorable Harry G. Perry, M.L.A.
(Notes for speech at the opening of the Prince George High School, January 2, 1945.
SD 57 Education Heritage Collection)
Plans were made to accommodate the high school students at the Millar Addition location and
consolidate the elementary students at the Prince George Public School on Winnipeg Street.
This was done in September 1918 with Mr. Alleyne A. Wright as teacher/principal of the high school.
The influenza epidemic of 1918 caused much misery and resulted in many changes to everyday life. One
effect was that the new high school was used as an emergency hospital for several weeks. By the
beginning of December the few remaining patients were removed to their homes and cleaning and
fumigation of the school was commenced. School opened up again early that month.
1917.
Prince George Public School, later High School,
on Queensway Street at Fifteenth Avenue
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Reorganization … In 1925, the Prince George High School moved to occupy the former public school
on Winnipeg Street. The Millar Addition building was then used for overflow classes.
Its name changed to the Connaught School after a June 1929 contest.
In the late 1940s, to meet the needs of the growing city, a major expansion enlarged the school to seven
elementary classrooms. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the building in 1951.
Sadly, there are no traces remaining of these early city schools.
Did You Know?
o In 1918, Hannah Director, the Chairman of the Prince George School Board, was the first elected
Jewish person in Canada.
o W. Luella Martin (née Hammond) and Ethel Jean Mutch were two early women principals in PG.

!
9

Along the East Line

(Local Schooling in the 1910s)
Part 4 in a series. February 2016.

In 1903, the Government of Canada and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Co. agreed to build a railway
from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert via central B.C. Tete Jaune became the regional headquarters for
supplies and workers, many of whom were brought in from eastern Europe. Scows and sternwheelers
were built to take supplies down the Fraser River to construction sites. Navigating the treacherous
Grand Canyon, 100 km east of Fort George, resulted in the loss of many lives. By 1914, once trains
opened up this corridor through the province, the sternwheelers were no longer viable.
As the railway progressed, stations were established about 16 km apart. There would be a station
master and a section foreman. Some stations were named after railway personnel, others were
English place names suggested by Josiah Wedgwood. Logging, sawmilling, trapping, construction and
farming were common occupations at settlements along the route.
Families joining the railway workers started schools in tents and boxcars in the early days. These
progressed to log and, later, planed lumber buildings. The expectations for thriving communities were
set back both by the death of Charles Hays, president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, who was a
passenger on the Titanic, and also by the outbreak of World War I.

c1912.
Mrs. Middough with her students
This Tete Jaune School, like many
town buildings, was a canvas tent!

Photo: SD 57 Education Heritage Collection

The first school at Tete Jaune was unregistered
but, by 1913, was listed as an official B.C. school.

McBride had a one-room school in 1913. It was replaced by the larger Fraser School by 1917.
Willow River was a lumber mill centre. Its first school was built in 1914 on a large plot of four acres of
land. There were 24 pupils enrolled from grades 1–10 in the 48 foot by 24 foot building with windows
only on the south side.
Lucerne, just 16 km from the Alberta border, was affectionately known as “Box Town” as many people
lived in railway boxcars. Miss Grace B. Wood was the first teacher, 1915.
Swift Creek School, near Valemount, opened for 16 students in 1916. It was not on the Grand Trunk
Pacific line but rather on the Canadian Northern/ CNR route from Kamloops to Jasper. By 1920 the
troubled GTP was managed by Canadian National Railways and was fully merged by 1923.
Cariboo School, just 8 km west of McBride, was located in Mr. R. Veale's home and operated in 1916
and 1917.

10

1916.
Dunster School parents and children
Photo courtesy of The Exploration
Place
Dunster School opened on
March 22, 1916 with 11 students.

Dome Creek, a major job site as it was half way between Tete Jaune Cache and Prince George, had a
population of 250 by 1915. Its school opened in 1918.
An email from Doug Coletti about his grandfather, George E. Apps, who was the first teacher at
Giscome in 1916, says:
“Story has it that when he finally reached the settlement of his first post he stepped off the train and
made inquiries into the location of the school. The person he contacted led him to the site where a
pile of lumber stood and he was thus informed that he must first build the school! My family has
never been much for embellishment so I trust there is truth to this story.”

1920s.
Children playing at the Lee School

Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Lee School's (1919) walls were 7 logs high.

Loos was able to have a school in 1919 when the Leboe and Songary families arrived.
Hutton School opened in 1918. The community, called Hutton Mills, by 1919, grew to 400. Its main
employer was the United Grain Growers Company which employed over 300 men in the main sawmill
and area camps enabling the community to have the means to erect nice homes, a hospital and a
general store. Sunday church services were held in the school house as was the case in many
communities.

11

Schools on the Outskirts of Prince George
(Local Schooling in the 1910s)
Part 5 in a series. April 2016.

Oh, those indomitable settlers battling gumbo, raging waters, ice floes, obstinate livestock and
deficient trails in order to set up primitive homes with stump farms and bush pastures. Some
travellers from southern parts of B. C. arrived at the end of the Cariboo Wagon Road and continued
on to ‘The Georges” on sternwheelers. Others made their way on horseback, on foot or by stagecoach
along the Blackwater Trail, an ancient route utilized by the Overland Telegraph Line extension, and
then followed the Stoney Creek trail to Fort George.
By 1910, a reaction ferry enabled those travellers heading further north to cross the Nechako River. It
operated throughout the decade except when the river was frozen or running too high. Today one can
see the ferry landing at the far end of Wilson Park and the crossing to the western edge of the Del Haven
property. The ferry transported not only people but also livestock, teams with wagons, and cars.
1910s.
Looking west at the Nechako River at Central
Fort George, with the ferry crossing and the
Hammond Mill visible in distance (left)
The present day Del Haven estate would be on
the right.
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Road gangs were hired to widen paths, cut away
snagging branches and level the ground. The workers
consisted of mostly eastern European men who were
housed in tent camps. They completed the road to
Chief Lake in 1915.
1910s.
Canvas covered wood huts of a road gang winter camp
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

The Chief Lake settlement had the requisite number of students. The community set up the required
school board of three citizens, and petitioned the government for a school and basic furnishings.
A condition for approval was to provide lodging for the teacher. The teachers from 1915-1919 were
Mr. Ernest Towers, Mr. D.H. Anderson, Mr. J.E. Fowler and Miss E. Wright.
The Salmon Valley area was also growing and it too, petitioned for a school for the Johnson, Turner and
Bonnet children. The teachers at the Hartley School from 1915-1918 were Mrs. Edith McLauder, Mrs.
Maude McNeill and Miss J. McDonald. The school closed and was replaced by the Salmon River School
and in a different location. Its early teachers were Miss Mary Elizabeth Tucker and Mrs. Margaret
Williams. Families in the area included the Ericksons, Smaaslets, Satrums, Johnsons and Hammonds.

12

1914.
Jean McLarty and her dog Rex standing on Central Street in
Central Fort George, B.C.
Jean later taught at Hutton, Mud River and Giscome schools.
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

A ferry across the Fraser River operated from the Hudson’s Bay Company post. It ran from 1911 to 1916,
at which time the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway bridge, completed in 1914, was modified for foot and
vehicular traffic.
By August 1915, the road gangs had completed a wagon road to Willow River by way of Six Mile Lake.
As Willow River was a stop on the GTP railway it already had a school (1914). Giscome also had
warranted a school (1916).
The area west of Prince George was sought-after by homesteaders because it proved very fertile. The
original Beaverly School was located on Muralt Road in east Beaverly. Construction by the community
began in 1918 and was completed in January 1919. Miss Olive May Clarke was the first teacher, followed
by Miss Elizabeth J. Gibson. The building in a farmer’s field in east Beaverly still remains and is used
for hay storage.
1918.
Olive Clarke with her Beaverly School students
at an official flag raising in commemoration
of Empire Day
Local families included the Kienzle, Hiller
and Muralt children.
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Mud River School was also established at the end of the decade. Its arable land attracted a number of
Lithuanian settlers. Andrew Miller built the log school modified later with a room in the back for the
teacher’s quarters. Mrs. K. Rockyleft taught the Miller, Bush and Malgunas children.
The valiant early country teachers were distant from reasonable transportation and dependent on their
neighbours and employers. They endured loneliness, wild animals, the cold, mosquitoes, frozen water
and frozen ink. Conditions would improve in the next decade as many more areas opened up.
Another ten new rural schools would encircle Prince George with fifteen more along the east rail line.

13

Local Schooling in the 1920s
Part 6 in a series. December 2017.

In 1920, school children of the upper Fraser River basin came of age in a more cautious world. The
momentum and development of the previous decade was diminished by the collapse of the Grand Trunk
Pacific Railroad, the abandoning of homesteads and the deaths resulting both from World War I and
the influenza epidemic.

Giscome Chronicle by J. Kent Sedgwick
http://valleymuseum.ca/1museum/Library/2008-SEDGWICK-GISCOME13450.PDF

14

There were 42 schools in this area, and 24 were east of Prince George, along the Canadian National
(formerly GTP) railway line. Most school districts consisted of one school excepting Prince George
which had both an elementary and a high school. Communities around Prince George depended on
mixed farming and trapping. Those along the ‘East Line’ were based on railway and sawmill work.
So, how did new teachers get here? The western route involved boarding the CNR ships, SS Prince
George or SS Prince Rupert, in Vancouver bound for Prince Rupert. Then passengers would continue
on by train to Prince George and points east.
Teachers taking the eastern route could leave Vancouver on a CN train to Jasper and then transfer to
another CN train heading toward Prince George on the former GTP tracks. Passengers originating from
other provinces would take this train.
The central journey involved boarding a Union Steamship to Squamish, then transferring to a Pacific
Great Eastern train to travel to the terminus at Quesnel, then continuing by stagecoach or, after 1924,
by car, to Prince George. Of course many teachers still had to venture further to their school sites.

1923.
Two teachers from Victoria travelled on the
PGE Railway to the end of the line at Quesnel
and then continued on by road to their
destination at Prince George.
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Woodpecker’s School Marm Made Long Trip On Her Wheel
Mrs. A. Ashby, the teacher in the Woodpecker school hung up the B.C. cycling record in making her
return from the coast to resume her classes at Woodpecker. She covered the distance in fifteen days,
including two and one-half days in rest-taking. Between Hope and Merritt she was forced to take to
the railway grade but for the rest of the way she had a road of some sort. She reports the chief
annoyance on the trip came from herds of cattle. Many of the animals were fired to join company with
her while others persisted in blocking her progress. Mrs. Ashby has had a lot of cycling experience in
England and is open to consider any challenges which the ladies of the interior may send along.
The Prince George Citizen, October 22, 1925

15

In 1926 a new teacher, Carlyle Clay, was hired to teach at a school halfway between Prince George and
McBride. There would be 32 pupils in grades 1–10. Normally the trustees of the school would meet him
at the station. However, the board secretary and his wife were in jail and the chairman had broken into
their house to get the books and was charged with break and enter. So, it was the school inspector from
Prince George who took over the welcome.
Breaking the isolation of many rural families were seasonal events held at their school. Schools
combined sports days and church services which brought settlers together. Participants in the east
travelled by train. In March 1922 sleighs brought families from Prince George to a dance at the new
Pineview School.
The highlight of the year was the ‘Christmas Tree’ held with the proceeds of much fundraising. This
event, sometimes advertised in newspapers, included class skits, recitations, and carol singing leading
up to ‘the reveal’ of a Christmas tree decked with presents for every child in the community. Then a
supper and a dance would cap off the evening.
Ken Bradley, a former teacher of mine, began his career at Reid Lake School in 1927. A school mate
visited the 104 year-old at a seniors’ home in Victoria and this is how he remembered the Christmas
concert that he organized that first year: “They expected ME to put on a Christmas concert, but I didn’t
expect THEM to stay all night.” By early morning it was such a drunken debacle that one of the young,
strapping youths picked up his father, opened the front door, and pitched him out into four feet of snow.

1920s.
Children playing on roof of the Swift Creek School’s outhouse
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Did You Know?
o
o
o
o
o
o

In 1921, the principal of Prince George Public School established night school classes.
In 1921, H. B. MacLean, a B.C. Normal School instructor, published the first MacLean Method
of Writing manual.
In 1922, South Fort George School District organized the region’s first PTA (Parent Teacher
Association) group.
In 1923, Prince George High School students participated in a debate on “Would free trade
with the U.S. be of advantage to Canada?”
Not only did teachers announce ranked individual student marks but also The Prince
George Citizen published these results for all to see.
Schools were occasionally closed because of communicable diseases: smallpox (1920),
measles (1924), influenza (1927), scarlet fever (1928), diphtheria (late 1920s).

16

An interesting profile of a school is that of Baron Byng. It was built in 1916 as Prince George Public (or
City) School on Winnipeg at 7th. In 1922 it was vacated when elementary grades moved into a newly
built school to the north of it. From 1922-1924 the Prince George Agricultural Association occupied the
site to administer the Fall Fair. In 1925, after major renovations, this became the Prince George High
School for the 69 grade 9 to 11 students, replacing the school located in Millar Addition. A 1929 schoolnaming contest resulted in the change to Baron Byng High School. The Prince George Public School
became the King George V School and the former high school in Millar Addition, which was used for
extra classes, became Connaught School.

1922.
Prince George High School on left (later named Baron Byng)
Prince George Public School on right (later named King George V)
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

1922.
Children race at Prince George Public School (KGV)
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

As the decade closed hopes were high for the region even though the October stock market crash would
have many repercussions.

17

Local Schooling in the 1930s
Part 7 in a series. February 2018.

So, what the heck is a “Cinderella Dance”? It was advertised to occur on April 28, 1934 at the “Pink
School House” in Central Fort George. Could we presume that many individuals in the Depression years
hoped that their situations would have happy endings?
People in small settlements in the central interior vied to board the local school teacher. This would
bring in necessary funds to support the household. However advantageous this was to the landlord,
there were situations that were abysmal for a teacher. There were examples where the bedroom was
shared with the homeowner and spouse with only a blanket hung for a divider. Food could be canned
moose meat for nearly every meal. Happily, many teachers had better living environments. Elwood
Rice taught at Salmon River School, from 1930-1931, and was fortunate to rate a teacherage. He wrote
of being entirely alone except for the children in the school and would get up in the middle of the night
to play his phonograph in desperation to end the overwhelming silence.

c1923.
Frances Kirkham, teacher at Isle Pierre

Photo: SD 57 Education Heritage Collection

If one had a teaching position in town there were various pursuits to enjoy. Many gatherings and
meetings commenced with a musical solo or duet. Prince George schools produced large dramas and
operettas. Both teachers and students had opportunities to participate in organized sports.
Because of the Depression, many sawmills were closed and loggers came into Prince George. Some of
them were of Scandinavian descent and they cleared the north face of Connaught Hill in order to
construct a trestle-type Nordic ski jump. They made skis and experimented with ski waxes sometimes
made from pine tar or a concoction of melted gramophone records, paraffin and beeswax. Town schools
planned ski meets with jumping events, as well as short and long races (four miles to Moore’s Meadow).

18

H.D. Tulley came to teach at Mountain View School, near McBride, in 1934. For his students he relates
how, “I showed them how to belly flop on the sleigh and I pretty near hung myself the first time I tried
it. I said, ‘This is how you belly flop. You take the sleigh and hold it up in front of you, and you take a
run down the hill, and then you flop on to it with your belly.’ Unfortunately, I had a tie on, and the tie
went under the runner and I stood on my head. The children thought it was quite hilarious.”
(The Robson Valley Story, 2008)

1933.
Klondike Night: Tom Warder and Len Chapman,
teachers at KGV school
Photo: SD 57 Education Heritage Collection

Teachers’ conventions in the North Central region became an annual event in the 1930s. It was most
beneficial for teachers in isolated settlements to attend not only the workshops but also the receptions
and dances. Some years they could even avail themselves of the use of a car through the generosity of
local auto dealerships.
Project work was encouraged for educators. In 1936 Len Chapman’s grade 7 class at King George V
School researched, wrote, illustrated and bound copies of “Prince George 1800-1936”. The project was
typed, printed on a Gestetner and its binding was hand-sewn by students. There is an original copy in
the SD 57 Education Heritage Collection.
An appeal in The Prince George Citizen, November 2, 1933, exposed the desperation of the Depression.
“Until recently children have been seen coming to school without shoes or stockings. Where it was
possible to get along during the summer months with scant clothing it is no longer so, and the Clothes
Chest is anxious that the children of this district shall not suffer for want of warm clothing during the
colder months of winter.” A number of children had fathers not employed or who worked in relief
camps. Even teachers were not immune. Salaries were cut and cut again. School supplies were scant
and wood was substituted for coal in the large schools.
The Citizen also provided levity in columns penned by various Baron Byng High School students that
highlighted school events, albeit with a cheeky perspective, giving insight into contemporary teen life.

19

In the early 1930s the provincial government appointed a Teachers’ Welfare officer, Miss Lottie Bowron,
to appraise teaching and living situations in isolated rural schools and provide support to teachers as
necessary. There had been some tragic situations involving teachers during previous years and so she
visited virtually every one-room school in the province.
Did You Know?
o 55 schools existed in the region during this decade.
o The Dick and Jane reading primers were published.
o New to high school: Home Economics, Manual Training and, Commerce courses.
o IQ and standardized tests were introduced.
o 1931: High school completion would now require 4 years rather than 3.
o 1932: Teachers’ salaries were standardized in B.C.
o 1938: Accreditation of high schools began.
o 1938: the Canadian Radio Commission commenced twice weekly school broadcasts.

The Prince George Citizen advertised many community events.
The Royal family was an element of community life. “God Save The King” was sung daily in schools.
Pupils had a day off on November 29, 1934 to observe the wedding of Prince George, Duke of Kent, to
Princess Marina of Greece. (This would be the Prince George whose name graced the city.)
The memorial service at the Strand Theatre of King George V’s passing reportedly had many in the
packed audience overcome with emotion. McBride students raised $5 to send to Buckingham Palace for
the 1937 Coronation of King George VI and Dunster students planted a Royal Oak tree in the school
grounds. Students were chosen to journey to Vancouver to see the tour of King George VI and his wife,
Queen Elizabeth, while others organized to take the train to Mount Robson or to Jasper to see their
majesties in May 1939. In Prince George, each school voted for a candidate for the May Queen contest.
The winner and her attendants would ride on a float at the annual May Day parade.
Upon reflection, perhaps a Cinderella Dance was quite appropriate …

20

Local Schooling in the 1940s
Part 8 in a series. December 2018.

Their world expands. Children of the 1940s saw family members depart for far-off regions; various
newcomers arrived in communities; foreign crises revealed distant places. Post-war decisions would
assemble small schools into large districts.
B.C. schools promoted Canada’s war efforts. In 1940 compulsory cadet training was established for
grades 7-12. It was augmented by exercises in signalling with buzzers and semaphores. Children
collected scrap metal, rubber, glass, old clothes and even aluminum foil from gum packages. Classes
raised money for the Red Cross, War Saving Stamps and Victory Bonds. Lessons included the tracking
of theatres of war in Europe and other locales. Boys and girls learned to knit socks for soldiers that
would have no bumps or seams to cause blisters. Older students applied for seasonal work on farms to
help bring in the crops. Youth enlisted in the armed forces; many had not been away from home
before. They went first to training camps and then often overseas. By January 1944, 122 Baron Byng
High School students had enlisted. Teachers, too, joined up to fight leaving vacancies at schools. This
resulted in many married women, former teachers, who were convinced to resume teaching. Nearly
everyone planted Victory gardens.

1940s.
Len and Wilfred Peckham, former Baron Byng students

Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

By 1942, 8,000 Canadian and U.S. troops were stationed in Prince George. Their encampment included
a bakery, a hospital, a telephone exchange, barracks, garages, drill and mess halls. Some soldiers’
families came to join them swelling class enrollment and straining housing resources. Many children
had these newcomers sharing their bedrooms and living in spare rooms. The influx of young soldiers in
town did not impress the local teen boys who responded by acting out in order to impress their female
classmates. Youngsters were banned from shooting ranges but often tried to score chocolate bars from
the troops.
To the east, by 1942, internment camps for B.C. men of Japanese ancestry were established at Lucerne,
Tete Jaune, Albreda, Red Pass and Valemount. The locals watched with some concern but found the
men kept busy building roads, baseball diamonds, bathhouses and even rock gardens in the midst of
their own suffering.

21

Supplies were fiercely rationed and even when Baron Byng High was declared the second worst school
in B.C., there was little hope to get authorization or building materials for a replacement. However,
permission was granted eventually and a referendum was passed. It paved the way for the state-of-theart Prince George Junior-Senior High School that opened in January 1945. This school, with its stage
and gymnasium, became a focal point for the area as evidenced by the participation of 450 students in
the inaugural Music Drama Festival held in May 1945. Three extra rail cars were added to CNR’s Way
Freight train to bring these eastern participants to town.
A new school principal, Ray Williston, and School Board chair, Harold Moffat, were a dynamic duo.
They saw a need for playing fields at the new high school and so they closed the little-used roads that
had crossed through Duchess Park. They anticipated the accommodation needs for out-of-town
students and so contacted the War Assets Corporation to procure vacant army barracks. Barracks were
moved with the skills of supervisor, Harry Bailey. Some were converted to dormitories (opened 1947),
one became the new school board office on 6th Avenue, with a few to be used as shops for the high
school. The city of Prince George took over the army hospital, vacating the old one. In 1948, the dynamic
team was able to repurpose the old hospital into much needed apartments for teachers and named it
“Pine Manor”.

1949.
Teacher skits in the basement of Pine Manor

Photo: SD 57 Education Heritage Collection

Post war, many female teachers resumed their housewife roles as ex-servicemen returned to fill teaching
positions. Students learned about atrocities including the Holocaust, concentration camps and the
bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki. Displaced persons, including children, arrived in Canada with halting
English and horrendous experiences.
After years of unwieldy school governance in B.C., a commission was appointed. The Max Cameron
Royal Commission recommended a re-configuration of B.C. schools. From 1946, schools would be
administered in consolidated school districts eliminating the many single-school districts.
The new School District 57 (Prince George) replaced 22 individual school districts. The new School
District 58 (McBride) amalgamated 15 districts. This reorganization closed many ungraded schools and
was the start of school busing. Children would now meet others and adapt to larger schools and more
rules ... and some would excitedly experience indoor plumbing and central heating.

22

The McBride district had its first high school ready for occupation in 1947. However a fire destroyed
the Fraser (elementary) School so those displaced students occupied the new building leaving the
secondary students to again await new construction.

The hopeful 1946-47 McBride high school class –
they would have a new school in the next decade.
Photo courtesy of The Valley Museum

Did You Know?
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

In 1940, B.C. teachers were expected to take an Oath of Allegiance to his majesty, his heirs
and successors.
In 1943, daily Bible Readings in schools were authorized.
In 1944 a “Helping Teacher” for rural schools was hired to assist the regional School Inspector.
In 1944, The Family Allowance Act was passed.
In 1946, a teacher at Ferndale School was murdered by a distraught would-be suitor outside her
teacherage.
In 1946, Wally West opened up a photography studio and for many years took class photos.
In 1947, the Red Pass School and police station shared one building.

1940s.
Typing class at PG Senior High School

Photo: SD 57 Education Heritage Collection

The 1940s was a decade of many new faces and many new places.

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Local Schooling in the 1950s
Part 9 in a series. February 2019.

🎵 Up in the morning and off to school. The teacher is teaching the Golden Rule …
🎵 Don’t know much about history. Don’t know much biology …
🎵 I want to be Teacher’s Pet …
🎵 Who walks in the classroom cool and slow? Who calls the English teacher Daddy-O?
(Charlie Brown)
These hits provided the soundtrack for students and staffs of the 1950s.
After the tumultuous decade of WW II, culture evolved to provide a safe and happy environment for
youth. There was a need for security, a determination for optimism and an acceptance of conformity.
Still, there remained an undercurrent of unease about communism, newly revealed war atrocities and
the threat of atomic bombs.

1958.
Colleen Lancaster and the grade 1-12 authorized
textbooks she would use in her school years
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

The post-war baby boom coupled with economic growth and de-rationed building materials resulted in
a vigorous 1950s school construction agenda of 30 new schools for the region. By 1953 SD58 celebrated
the opening of McBride Junior-Senior High School. SD57 had its first junior high schools (Connaught
and Duchess). On Ross Crescent a modern Prince George Senior High School was erected. Even this
wasn’t sufficient.
The Prince George Citizen on September 3, 1958 stated, “One in every ten school-age children in the
Prince George school district did not attend opening classes today. Critical teacher shortages, coupled
with delays in the construction of new classroom units, are the reasons for the situation. Close to 600
of the anticipated 5,000 students in this area are either without schools or teachers.”

24

Where to find more teachers? In 1953 the BC Government amended the Public Schools Act stating that
no teacher be employed beyond the school year at which he or she attains the age of 65. In 1956,
Vancouver and Victoria Normal Schools were discontinued. Teachers were expected to have at least two
years of training offered by the new Faculty of Education programs either at Victoria College or the
University of British Columbia. Married women were once again persuaded to reenter the workforce.
In a bold move, the school board applied to the Agent General in London to distribute SD57 application
forms. The plan succeeded but many British teachers found living and working in the Prince George
region too much of an adjustment and didn’t stay. The 1955-1956 staff turnover was an unprecedented
80 per cent.
In particular, two new schools were unique. Aurora School was built in June 1958 in the traditional
barn raising method. A dozen Prince George contractors completed the two-room building in an intense
18-hour marathon. The Handicapped Children’s Society, the Contractors’ Association and the Kiwanis
Club of Prince George coordinated the project. It included financing for a bus to transport its students
who now had their own school.
The second unusual school was Mount Baldy Elementary at the radar base 40 km. southwest of Prince
George. The school enrolled the children of United States Air Force personnel but the Canadian teachers
and curriculum introduced the American youngsters to our Three R’s, our anthem - O Canada, and
celebrated both Thanksgiving holidays. These students didn’t stay long because the families moved
about every second year. Along with the American children, pupils from a local sawmill school joined
the population in 1958.
The Prince George region really was cut off in those days but things changed in 1952. Engineering
expertise of WW II resulted in the completion of the Hart Highway to Dawson Creek and points beyond.
Also, the challenges of the long awaited Pacific Great Eastern Railway connection from Quesnel to
Prince George were surmounted. The “Prince George Eventually Railway” extension from Squamish to
Vancouver was completed later in the decade. There was no road access to McBride.

1958.
Hula Hoops were a new fad.

Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

In the spring of 1959, the Prince George Parent-Teacher Council presented “Parent-Teacher Time” on
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on CKPG radio. This half hour program explained various aspects of local education
through weekly topics.
The opportunity to travel was exciting for local residents. P.G. Senior High School students started
their “South Peace Invasion” tournaments. Dawson Creek and Prince George would alternate years in
hosting team competitions in basketball, curling and even commerce. The eager commerce department
teams vied for dominance in contests such as typing, shorthand and bookkeeping machines.

25

The McBride Junior-Senior High School opened in 1952 providing a long-needed facility for students
in the Robson Valley. Students from Valemount to Dome Creek now had a properly equipped building
to provide their secondary education.

1950s.
Student dormitories in Prince George
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place

Both Prince George and McBride had school dormitories. There was a wing for boys and a wing for girls.
Students were expected to make their beds, clean the floors, set up for meals, do the dishes and study
at prescribed times. The “dorms” enabled rural students to complete their high school education. Many
lasting friendships were formed during these years.
Did You Know?
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

There was a widespread Polio epidemic about 1953 which affected many people. The Salk
vaccine would not be available until later in the decade.
Each student received a Coronation medallion to commemorate the accession of Queen
Elizabeth II.
“God Save The Queen” would be sung by a standing audience at the end of performances and
movies.
Prince George still had wooden sidewalks but the children were amazed at the escalator in the
new Hudson’s Bay store.
A grade 9 class at the Prince George Junior-Senior High School held a successful Gun Raffle
and raised $50 for the March of Dimes.
Effective February 1, 1954, the local trustees declared that school janitors would be known as
“custodians”.
The Prince George Chinese Benevolent Society established a school for Chinese children near
the end of the ‘fifties’. They attended classes at the Chee Duck Tong building from 3:00
to 6:00 p.m., three days a week.
Ink pens were phased out and ballpoint pens were then permitted for classwork.
The province of British Columbia was founded in 1858. The centennial was celebrated in
schools and often featured the mascot, Century Sam, in contests and performances.
Prince George welcomed Princess Margaret as a guest for the 1958 Dominion Day.

Television and other media influenced school-age youngsters to engage in mid-century fads and
fashions that included Davy Crockett hats, Penny loafers, Rock ‘n Roll, Sputnik, cowboy shows, poodle
skirts, Alvin and The Chipmunks, pop-beads, hula hoops and, on March 9, 1959, the Barbie Doll.

26

Local Schooling in the 1960s
Part 9 in a series. February 2020.

Counting Out The Sixties:
ONE new town created - Mackenzie, B.C.
TWO years of teacher training minimum.
THREE pulp mills constructed in PG.
FOUR schools badly damaged by fire.
FIVE-sided Quinson classrooms.
SIX-sided gyms at numerous new schools.
SEVEN - Expo 67 for Canada’s centenary.
EIGHT, the beginning grade of high school.
NINE secondary schools in SD 57/58.
TEN elementary schools in SD 58 (McBride).

The decade opened with the 1961 Chant Report on Education. Among its many recommendations was
that grade 7 be moved to elementary (at the time schools were grade 1–6 and grade 7–12). Grade 13
could be added to high school. French was to be compulsory for grade 8. “Secondary” school would
replace the term “High” school. Grades 8–10 would have two streams: academic and pre-vocational. An
Occupational program could be offered to the lowest achievers in grade 8–10. Schools should have an
adequate gymnasium and a properly staffed library. The enquiry (or discovery) method of lab work
would be incorporated into science classes.
Many of these recommendations were adopted locally. Henry Lunn spearheaded the establishment of
a school offering the Occupational program. In September 1965, Winton School opened in former army
barracks at 9th and Winnipeg. All classes were limited to 15 pupils per class. Much of the instruction
was individual. By grade 10 students were eligible for work experience, alternating with months at
school. In 1968, Winton moved to the building formerly occupied by Duchess Park Junior Secondary
School at 9th and Edmonton.

1966.
Mod Fashions at PGSS, Ross Crescent
Photo courtesy of The Exploration Place
P991.09.09.328.3

Another application of The Chant Report was in school libraries. All SD 57 urban schools during the
1960s had school libraries. In 1967 a Central Library was established to supply small schools with books
and supplementary readers. Also, it supplied teachers with a multitude of resources.

27

Grade 13 was introduced at Prince George Senior High School and continued until the 1969 opening of
the College of New Caledonia.
The 1960s were boom years in the Prince George region. Three pulp and paper mills were constructed
during this time. A large workforce arrived in Prince George and so housing became a real challenge.
There was a need for new apartment buildings and houses. Families came and so additional schools
were required. City planner, Des Parker, determined that a school would be the focus of any new
subdivision.
About a dozen new schools were planned. Seven of these used Allan Greenwell’s design of a 16-room
school with a hexagonal gym, in a “loop” plan around a central courtyard. Briggs Greenwell Associates
were also the architects for the 1968 Prince George Senior Secondary School, the erection of which,
after years of proposals, had finally been approved by the Ministry of Education.
Meanwhile district children and families had to adjust to schools on shift until these projects were
completed. In the 1966-67 year, 142 divisions were on shift. In 1967-68 the number of divisions was
reduced to 69.

1968.
Building the Mackenzie Elementary school, an
Allan Greenwell plan - notice the hexagonal gym.
Photo courtesy of Mackenzie and District Museum

In 1966 the new town of Mackenzie, B.C. was ready for occupancy, with two portable classrooms
comprising the first school. Telephone service did not start until 1967. By 1968 a newly built 16-room
school was finished.
North of Mackenzie, 120 km up a logging road, was Finlay Forks School which was financed by Indian
Affairs and run by SD 57. It consisted of a double-wide trailer for the intermediate class and a singlewide trailer for primary. English was a second language for the many Sekani students. The school was
open from 1967 until 1971 when Williston Lake (the W.A.C. Bennett Dam project) inundated the area.
Many teaching positions needed to be filled for the rapidly expanding school population.
Superintendent Dave Todd went to England on a successful hiring trip, even buying himself a Rolls
Royce. Advertising overseas resulted in a so-called “Aussie Invasion”. One story from the late 1960s is
that Dave Eldred, Director of Elementary Instruction, still needed 34 full-time teachers for the
commencement of school. He was able to hire two Australian teachers who had phoned from
Vancouver. Further inquiries revealed that there were another 29 who also had just disembarked from
the same ship, so he hired them all sight unseen. This rapid hiring meant that the staffing was virtually
complete for school opening three days hence.

28

Among educational innovations was the Principal Trainee Program. As Allan Reay, principal of King
George V Elementary School, explained in the fall of 1965, elementary vice-principal positions were
now eliminated and replaced by principal trainees who, on a part-time basis, would observe the
principal’s duties plus visit and relieve designated teachers in order to absorb various teaching styles.

In this decade, the Robson Valley also had an influx of people. Some were American opponents of the

Vietnam War and some were proponents of a counter-culture lifestyle. These new settlers, many highly
educated, brought new concepts as to how their children should be educated.
The CNR trains provided the link between Prince George and points east because Highway 16 was still
under construction. At McBride Centennial Elementary School, teacher Marilyn Wheeler created one
of the early public school kindergarten classes in 1968.
Open-area construction enabled a new type of instruction whereby teachers had the flexibility to plan
team teaching and group learning. Students would be grouped at different ability levels in select
activities under the auspices of various teachers. Open areas ranged from double classrooms to virtually
the whole school.
1960s.
A reading group at Quinson Elementary
Its 5-sided classrooms were a design feature
of architect, Trelle Morrow.
Photo Courtesy of The Exploration Place

Women’s rights were beginning to evolve. In some jurisdictions, women were given a one-year teaching
contract to be renewed at the end of a school year – if the woman was not pregnant. Men had continuing
contracts. If a woman became pregnant she usually resigned her job when her situation became visually
apparent. Maternity leave in British Columbia began in 1966 and was minimal at best. Differing salary
scales for male and female teachers were now eliminated. Males dressed in shirts and ties; women in
skirts or dresses. Mini skirts – yes; Pants – no. As in previous decades, teachers referred to one another
as Mr. or Mrs. or Miss. The principal was “Sir” (most likely). Co-habitation between unmarried
teachers of opposite sexes could result in dismissal.
Recreationally, curling was popular with adults and youth. A teachers’
curling league was established with members in various communities.
Nationally, the Canadian Schools Curling Championship was hosted by
Prince George in February 1961.
1967. The PG Senior Secondary School Boys’ Curling team won the
National Curling Championships held in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Photo: SD 57 Education Heritage Collection

The ten years of the 1960s reflected economic opportunities and societal transformation.

29

Appendix

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School Openings
These school names have been sourced from the Annual Reports
of the Government of British Columbia Department of Education.
New schools that opened in the 1910s:
Situated at the three “Georges”:
South Fort George (1910, 1912)
(Central) Fort George (1911, 1913, 1915)
Prince George Public (1915, 1916)
Prince George High School (1918)
Some schools were sited north and west:
Chief Lake (1915)
Hartley (1915)
Beaverly (1918)
Salmon River (1919)
Many opened along the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway line:
Tete Jaune (c1912)
McBride, Fraser School (1913)
Willow River (1914)
Dunster (1915)
Newlands (1915)
Swift Creek (1915)
Cariboo (1916)
Lucerne (1916)
Giscome (1916)
Dome Creek (1918)
Hutton (1918)
Lee (1919)
Loos (1919)
Mud River (1919)

New schools that opened in the 1920s:
Baron Byng High School (formerly Prince George High School)
Aleza Lake, Beaver River, Bend, Canyon Creek, Cranbrook Mills, Croydon, Dewey,
Fraser Flats, Isle Pierre, Kidd, King George V (formerly Prince George Public), Longworth,
Mountain View (McBride), Penny, Pineview (Blackburn site), Red Pass, Reid Lake, Shelley,
Sinclair Mills, Snowshoe, Stone Creek, Tabor Creek, Thompson, Woodpecker

30

New schools that opened in the 1930s:
Albreda, Bednesti, Camp Creek, Crescent Lake, Ferndale, Fort George Canyon, Hansard,
Ness Lake, Salmon Valley, Shere, Sylvan Glade, Valemount

New schools that opened in the 1940s:
Prince George High School (9th Avenue at Edmonton Street)
Airport Hill, Connaught, Crescent Spur, Goat River, Lamming Mills, McBride (later McBride
Centennial), Pylot Mountain, Strathnaver, Summit Lake, Tabor Creek South, Upper Fraser

New schools that opened in the 1950s:
HIGH SCHOOLS:
Connaught Junior High, McBride Junior-Senior High, Prince George Senior High (on Ross Crescent),
Prince George Junior High (named Duchess Park Junior High in 1958) on 9th Avenue at Edmonton
Street
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS:
Aurora, Baldy Mountain, Bonnet Hill, Buckhorn, Bud Lake, Clear Lake,
Croydon North, Fraser Flats, Fraserview, Hart Highway, Hart Lake (Bear Lake),
Harwin (South Central), Hixon, Island Cache, Kelly Road (Elem), Kerry Lake (Mile 4),
McLeod Lake, Mile 4 (Kerry Lake), Millar Addition, North Nechako, Nukko Lake,
Peden Hill, Pineview, Red Rock, Shady Valley, South Central (Harwin), St. Marie’s Lake,
Tay, Telachick, West Lake

New schools that opened in the 1960s:
SECONDARY SCHOOLS*:
Blackburn Junior, Kelly Road Junior, Lakewood Junior, Winton Junior.
Duchess Park Junior moves to Ross Crescent (former PGSS building); Prince George Senior
Secondary moves to new location on Griffiths Avenue.
* In the 1960s the descriptor “Secondary school” officially replaced “High school”.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS:
Austin Road, Bear Lake, Beaverly, Blackburn, Carney Hill (Van Bow),
Finlay Forks, Foreman Flats, Highland, Mackenzie, Quinson, Seymour,
Spruceland, Van Bien, Vanway, Westwood, Wildwood, Wright Creek

31

Resources
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Adams, Joan and Thomas, Becky. Floating Schools and Frozen Inkwells: the one-room schools of
British Columbia. Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour Publishing, 1985.
British Columbia Ministry of Education. Public School Records. Victoria, B.C.: Queen’s Printer, 1910-2016.
Chamberland, June A. From Broadaxe to Clay Chinking: stories about the pioneers in and around the
Prince George area. Prince George, B.C.: College of New Caledonia Press, 2006.
Chapman, V. Lennie. A Montage of Chapmannals. Sidney-by-the Sea, B.C.: Peninsula Printers, 2000.
Christensen, Bev. Prince George Rivers, Railways and Timber. Prince George, B.C.: Windsor
Publications, Ltd., 1989.
Exploration Place Museum and Science Centre, Online Exhibits (photographs). Prince George, B.C.
www.theexplorationplace.com
Giles, Valerie, M.E. Remembering: a celebration of Prince George’s storied past. Prince George, B.C.:
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Gratton, Shirley and Rollings, Jennifer. Saga of a Pioneer’s Dream. Prince George, B.C.: Salmon River
Farmers’ Institute, 1997.
Leslie, Agnes and Nadalin, Kathy. “The Book”: memoirs of our members. Prince George, B.C.: Elder Citizens
Recreation Association, 2008.
Life Before the Pulp Mills. Prince George, B.C.: Prince George Council of Seniors, 2010.
Morrow, Trelle. Silent Passage: life with reaction ferries. Prince George, B.C.: Talisman Publications, 2016.
Olson, Raymond W. Ghost Towns on the East Line. Prince George, B.C., 2015.
Runnalls, Rev. F. E. A History of Prince George. Prince George, B.C.: City of Prince George, 1946.
School Leadership: essays on the British Columbia experience, 1982-1995. Edited by Thomas Fleming.
Mill Bay, B.C.: Bendall Books, 2001.
Schooling in British Columbia, 1849-2005: voices from the past. Edited by Thomas Fleming. Mill Bay, B.C.:
Bendall Books, 2010.
South Fort George: a trip to the past. Prince George, B.C.: South Fort George Community Association, 1987.
Sugden, Jessie Bond. In the Shadow of the Cutbanks: a story of growing up in Prince George.
Prince George, B.C.: Fraser-Fort George Museum Society, 1985.
Veemes, Mai. Mackenzie, B.C. Turns Twenty. Mackenzie, B.C.: Mackenzie’s Anniversary Committee, 1985.
Wheeler, Marilyn J. The Robson Valley Story: a century of dreams. McBride, B.C.: Sternwheeler Press, 2008.
Williston, Eileen and Keller, Betty. Forests, Power and Policy: the legacy of Ray Williston.
Prince George, B.C.: Caitlin Press, 1997.
Yellowhead Pass and Its People. Valemount, B.C.: Valemount Historic Society, 1984.

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