Forest Grove Area Schools

This file is mainly a collection of school related photos from FG and surroundings, with notes on people in the pictures, most likely dates, and lots of open questions. We hope the reviewers of this document will help fill in some of the many blanks, correct the errors and provide more (and better quality) pictures. Information sources are noted, and often referenced by initials; thus JW and BW refer to Jack and Bev Wilcox, JJ is June Johnson.

(Note: to enlarge images select and left click.)

Initial Release - 24 May 2009

Last Update - 18 Aug 2012

Phil Wilcox.

Education in the Forest Grove region before 1930 was probably a bit uneven and sporadic at best. There was no bussing until about 1950 and the various clusters of homes were quite spread out so several little communities had a school, even for only a handful of students. Thus Bradley Creek, Canim Lake, Forest Grove, Buffalo Creek, Eagle Creek, etc. all had small schools [ need details on these, if/when they existed!]. Some students who were too far removed from any school boarded out. June (Johnson) Wilcox , born in 1920, lived at Chub Lake and had to do this. She commented she often felt she went to whatever school needed the headcount to continue to exist. June went to Buffalo Creek School at one point, but not Bradley Creek as stated in one article (JJ).

In an article by Marianne Van Osch on the Judsons (date ?, probably memories of Louis) she says “In 1930, Marion, Davey Jones and Mr. Vandecamp built the Bradley Creek School.” “There were as many as 17 students at the school and the first teacher was Mr. Edwards. Quoting Louis Judson; “The next teacher was Mr. Becket and he was a terrible man.” Other teachers were Bill Brand, Ross Ashton and Archie Roach. Louis went to FG school in 1937-38. The teacher was Doris Jenner.

The earliest picture we have of a school in Forest Grove was 1922. It appears newly built.This school was likely built before 1918 as Marie Phillips taught school there for two years before meeting her future husband Jack Lloyd. They were married in 1920.

Another interesting photo, below, presumably from the same collection, shows what appears to be a picnic or perhaps a school sports day. Compare this photo with the first one above and you clearly see this is the ‘school’ barn. It is hard to tell if this was before or after the school was built , but they would have been built about the same time (JW).

The original log school burned down in the late 1920’s or early 30’s and was replaced by a framed building. The one (and only) barn served up to 1940’s (JW-BW).

There is then a gap in the records until the 1940’s, but presumably only one building was ever needed for all the students . Jack Wilcox started school in 1934, in grade 2 (and in the new building), and recalls the students were Einard, Eric and Engar Sandback, Cache and Burla Bourgeois, Delight Sisily, Carl Jacobson, Polly Richards, and Roy and Jack Wilcox. The teacher was George Briscoe. Jack was always the only kid in his grade up to grade 8. Getting to school meant either walking or, more likely riding horse (thus the barn). In the winters Jack Wilcox used to drive others in the family to school using a small cutter. The photo below was taken in 1937 (BW) and it appears to be the first picture we have of the school that replaced the log original.

1937 Photo – Doris Jenner Class

Back: Carl Jacobson ,Polly Richards, Burla Bourgeois, Doug Beaman

Next: Roy Wilcox, Cache Bourgeois, ??, Jack Wilcox, ??

Next: ??, Engar Sandback, Buddy McDougall

Front: ??, Ronnie Beaman, Sheila Wilcox, ??

[Possibles for the ?? are: Terry Wilcox; Bob Bourgeois, Raymond; Jean and David Sollows; maybe Louis Judson]

Back: Bernice Wilcox; Sheila Wilcox; Gerry McMynn; Pat Graham; Bev MacLeod; Floris McDougal

Middle: Jo-Jo Graham; Bud Graham; Janet Wilcox; Josie Wilcox

Front: Ann Tubbs; Ron Redpath

Above photo was taken early to mid 1940's.The barn in the background does not look quite like the one built around 1922 so perhaps this photo is not on the school grounds. No one remembers what the foundation-like thing on the left was but one guess would be it is the foundation of the log school.

What Burned When?

In an article in The Tribune, 1983, on Jack Wilcox at FG school, Carol Shaw wrote, “This school [referring, presumably, to one attended by Jack Wilcox in the 1930’s] burned around 1949 and then classes were held in the Community Hall until another school was built. It, too, was one room but with a bunkhouse addition. The one room became the basis for the present school and the addition was moved to Lac La Hache.”

In an article on FG school Marianne Van Osch (date unknown), she refers to first school built ’80 years ago’, thus dating article to about 2002. She said the school was built by the Phillips family and the first teacher was a Phillips daughter. She also refers to a 1922 photo of Herb, brother and seven other students in front of the school; Herb was 7 years. The children rode from Houseman Rd and Canim Lake (suggesting these areas did not have local schools). “The log school burned in the 40’s. A frame two-room school with separate classroom annex became the Forest Grove Consolidated School. Buses brought students from 100 Mile, Ruth Lake and Canim Lake.” ”An addition was built onto the school in 1959. The original two-room school is still in use, incorporated into the present school.”

In a letter posted at the Forest Grove School Reunion, 2007, Doris Wolf wrote “. . . I arrived at the school that first day in October 1945. There were only 11 students (counting myself) in the entire one-room schoolhouse. Ronnie Redpath was in grade one and I was in grade two.” … “Our little white schoolhouse burned to the ground the following summer (1947); ­ spontaneous combustion they said had caused the fire. That fall the grades five and under were ensconced in the building across the road that in later years would become Ruth Sellars restaurant.”

Jack Wilcox stated that the log school burned down before he started school in 1934. Jack and Bev also note that the single room replacement served until 1947 when it also burned. It was immediately replaced with a building hauled in from another location. Apparently it was not set up on the same foundation but positioned a little below the previous building. It was always referred to by the students as the “portable” [JW, BW].

These accounts are not entirely consistent however the personal memories would be most accurate. To summarize, a single room log school served from 1922 to when it burned some time prior to 1934. It was replaced by a single room frame structure which served the needs until it also burned in 1947. It was immediately replaced by another frame building hauled in from somewhere else. It is not clear when the annex (Carol Shaw words) or bunkhouse (M. Van Osch words) was added. It clearly would not have been needed in 1945 when Doris Wolf was there with a total of 11 students. It was probably added after 1948 when the student population started to rise. I (Phil Wilcox) started grade 1 in 1948 in what became the Ruth Sellers’ café. There were five grades in this one room and all the other students were in the “portable”. Thus there were a lot more than 11 students by 1948! I can remember being in the community hall for a spell, maybe 1949 or so, probably when the population further increased and before the new schools were built.

By 1950 the single room was supplemented with two more classrooms. These three buildings would be the FG Consolidated School referred to by M. Van Osch. At this point in time school buses were bringing in students from the surrounding areas.

In the above 1950 picture we can see the single room school on the right. Note the small horse shelter in the background and the community hall on the left. The room on the right looks very similar to the earlier building but the spring cleaning scene below, about 1945, is subtly different from the picture above, e.g. the small roof over the porch and the wood shed. The alcove on right led to basement.

The spring cleaners were, L to R: Gerry McMynn, Floris McDougall, Sheila Wilcox, Dorothy Devore, Josie Wilcox, Pat Graham and Janet Wilcox.

As mentioned above, I started grade 1 in 1948 with five grades crowded into one odd little building, the one mentioned by Doris Wolf. There were not enough desks to go around. Ann Forbes was our teacher. As Doris Wolf noted, this odd little building became the Ruth Sellars Café and through to the mid 1950’s, if you had 10 cents, you could run across the road at noon for a cup of soup.Even had a patio deck (picture below). Café entrance was off to the left, the entrance shown lead to the kitchen area and the house to the right was Sellars’ home.

Below is a picture (about 1983) of a portion of what we believe is that building, sitting derelict on the cemetery road.

There are question marks on some of the names of this high school group, early 1950’s. In the background you can see the Bradley Creek school bus driven by Gordon Duke.

L to R, front: Dorothy Devore; Arlene Duke; Iris Clark.

Back: ?; Freddy Ladoucer (?); Peter Nadin (?); Calvin Jens.

The next picture is similar, no school bus but it does have the high school teacher, Eric Sandback.

The above happy group of kids (about 1945) included:

Back: Pat Graham, Bev MacLeod, Bernice Wilcox, Floris McDougall and Sheila Wilcox.

Front: Jo-Jo Graham, Dorothy Devore, Claudia Dean, Elizabeth Dean, Josie Wilcox, Janet Wilcox, Buddy Graham and Johnnie Phillips.

School Group - about 1951-3 or so. Likely grades 5/6.

Back Row, L to R: Gerry Mason, Raymond Nohr, Gerald Marchak, Peter Baron, Irwin Sellars, Francis Worthington, Donnie Graham, Marilyn Plautz, Marilynne Dare, Shirley McAskil, Teacher Mrs. Measure

Middle Row, L to R: Sharon Cummins, ??, Sheila Redpath, Shirly Cummins, ??, Diane Molnar, Eiko Uyeyama, Silvia Rutley, Patsy Flynn, June Weaver, Vivian Hunt, Laverne Rutley

Front Row, L to R: Aldrid?, Teddy Weaver, Ronny Flynn, ??, Arnie Nohr, Gordy Garbet, Rick Daniels, Russ Haddow

Above are some of the primary grades students in 1950, probably grades 2 and 3.

Back row: Irwin Sellars, Frances Worthington (?), Jerry Mason, Donnie Graham

Front row: Phil Wilcox, Sylvia Rutley, Eiko Uyeyama, Robert White

There seemed to be a large number in grades 4-6, above.

Another early 1940/50’s teacher was Pete Siemens. He was a Saskatchewan boy and allowed the kids to call him Pete, except when the school inspector showed up. He returned to Saskatchewan to marry his hometown sweetheart. [BW]

Peter Siemens

FG Softball Team -- about 1954

Back Row, L to R: Teacher Howard Luxton, Ronnie Ray, Doug Crawford, Jerry Mason, Ollie McKeller, Ronald Nohr (Bucky), Larry Pinkney, -??Fuitt??-

Front Eow, L to R: Arnie Nohr, Jack Swift, Donnie Graham, Irwin Sellars (Shorty), Raymond Nohr.

FG Softball Team -- 1954

Back Row, L to R: Teacher Howard Luxton, Ken Minato, Ron Redpath, Dick Sellars, Bill Dunbar, Robin Nadin

Center: Sharon Baker

Ronald Nohr (Bucky), Larry Pinkney, -??Fuitt??-

Front Eow, L to R: Bert Merideth, Ron Ray, Raymond Nohr, Ron (Bucky) Nohr, Doug Crawford

The following pictures are all circa 1956.

List of Teachers

1918 -192? – Marie Phillips

?? - Miss Blackman (Burla Bourgeois notes)

1yr - Mr Dicksen (Burla Bourgeois notes)

1934/35/36 – George Briscoe

1936/37/38/39 – Doris Jenner

1939/40 – Bob Jones

1940/41 – Mr. Wainwright (left at Christmas) and Mrs. Curl (from Christmas)

1941/42/43 – Mrs. Curl

1943/44 – Thelma Woods

1944/45 – Bertha McMillan

1945/46 – Margaret Carlson (Married Garth Lloyd a son of Jack Lloyd and Marie Manila Phillips)

1946/47 – Margaret Scott

Note: the next four lines are the listing of the teachers in the ‘portable’ [BW]. There was more than one classroom, thus more than one teacher. In 1948/49 Ann Forbes taught grades 1-5 in the temporary shack across the road.

1947/48 – Ann Forbes

1948/49 – Peter Siemens

1949/50 – Bill Oscienny

1950/51 – Eric Sandback

1950- ? - Ina Carlson

1954-55 - ? Luxton

Peter Siemens

1955-56 - ? Madryga

Bob Jones, a Forest Grove teacher wrote the following letter to Jack Wilcox from overseas in 1944. (Select and left click the image to enlarge.)

Other Notes

It was curious but almost none of the local natives went to the Forest Grove School. If they moved from the reserve apparently they could go to school there but otherwise they usually went to school in Williams Lake, to be taught by catholic priests and nuns. This was no doubt rough on them; Janet Wilcox can recall a trip to Williams Lake and some of the native kids riding in the back of the pick-up with them. They just sort of huddled, not saying much and looking scared to death.

Notes on the Community Halls

The first community hall was a 2-story frame structure; no doubt built with lumber from Auld’s sawmill [BW, JW]. Steep wooden stairs at the back (fire escape!) led to the upper floor. Here was a piano and dance floor while the ground floor had a stage for concerts etc. And, of course, the red drum wood heater. Children used to traipse through the trees to the hall for Christmas Concert practices, carol singing, etc.

At one point a spot behind this hall had been cleared (Harry Wilcox helping [JW]) for a ball field. It was only used a few times – maybe too rough or something, as a diamond was later built below the school. This hall burned down in the summer of 1945 [BW, JW], after a dance. Local gossip had it that a couple locals set the fire. Apparently the area under the stage was a firetrap of collected paper and refuse. There might have been a $500 insurance policy [JW]. The Women’s Institute notes for 1945 refer to fund raising and activities to get a new hall built.

The Bradley Creek School

In 1930 when Louis Judson was of school age it was felt necessary to build a school in the vicinity of Bradley Creek. It was difficult to keep a school open as the rules stated that eight children were required to live in the district and at least six had to be in regular attendance.

Marion and man called Davey Jones as well as other neighbours built a school in 1930. It opened with seven students that same year and the first teacher was a Mr. R.T. Edwards. The day the school was to open a dance was held to celebrate this new beginning. The orchestra was provided by natives from the Canim Lake Indian Band. Theodore Michel played the fiddle and Jacob Archie the guitar. Another ative known only as little Joe played the banjo.

In May of 1937 at the time of the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the teacher, Ross Ashton, decided that his seven students – six girls and one boy – should commemorate the occasion by burying a time capsule not to be opened for at least ten years. He had each of the children write a short essay and these along with a pamphlet about the coronation and some newspaper clippings were placed in a bottle which in turn was incased in a jam pail. The pail and its enclosures were buried at the foot of a large rock not far from the school.

Thirty years later Louis Judson, the lone male student, and Carol Shaw a newspaper reporter from 100 Mile House returned to see if they could find the time capsule. Louis located the spot without difficulty and found that the magnesia compound bottle was still intact inside the jam pail although some condensation had made its way passed the paraffin seal resulting in some deterioration to the essays.

The children who had participated in this exercise were the Greenlee sisters, Stella (Tinky)[1] and Vivian Toody)[2], Mathilda Ehret (Maty)[3], Marie Ehret[4], Marjorie Judson[5], Ivy Goffin and Loius Judson.

Each child wrote a few lines about some matter of interest to them on that auspicious date.

Ivy Goffin wrote about her sister[6] who was taking a correspondence course. Stella Greenlee described the boat called the Queen Mary which moved supplies down Canim Lake to her parents place. Mathilda Ehret indicated that her father had hurt his finger in an accident at the Bralorne mine. Marjorie Judson was concerned about the poor state of local roads and the fact that there were few radios and no telephone. Vivian Greenlee was also concerned about the roads and mentioned that there were only a few small ranches along this road. Louis was, however, very practical and stated that his father had just plowed the garden which his mother was planting that very day.

The Bradley Creek School closed in 1942 and the last teacher was Sheila Stewart.

Vital Event Death Registration

Name: Marie Ehert

Event Date: 1940 4 1 (Yr/Mo/Day)

Age: 17

Gender: female

Event Place: Williams Lake

Reg. Number: 1940-09-571474

B.C. Archives Microfilm Number: B13168

GSU Microfilm Number: 1953628

[1] Stella Rosenau of Grand Forks

[2] Vivian Shirran of Canim Lake

[3] Mrs. Adolph Drager of Vernon

[4] Marie died of appendicitis when she was 18 years old.

[5] Mrs. Marjorie McLeod of Prince George

[6] Mrs. William Deschene of Williams Lake