As near as I can remember, The Bonnie View school was built in 1928 and 1929 and the first classes started in 1930. I was in grade eight. George told me they were going to build a school out near the farm he had at the time. He told me to bring my books home and I could help build that school. Then, if I desired, I could go back to school. George got the job hauling the materials out from Raymond, so I was put to work hauling the materials. He had a new Wallace Tractor, so with that and three wagons, I hauled the materials out to build the school. There was cement, lumber, shingles, lath and whatever it took to build the school.
I well remember one trip. The wagons were heavily loaded and climbing three different coulee hills made me pretty nervous. I climbed those three hills with my hand on the clutch in case the tractor should rear over backwards. At times, one wheel would rise up off the ground a little, but I managed to get up the hills without any problems. I was about 14 years old at the time and the job was rather scary at times.
The contractors for building the school were J.B. Merril and a Mr. Gilbb. Jimmy Taylor, a carpenter, worked with them too.
The first teacher at the school was a Mr. Wescott, the next year it was Ruby Wiggle, then Mr. Joe Earl came to teach. I had to take grade eight over and managed to complete grade eight the year after the school was finished. By this time I was getting old enough to be of help on the farm, so in the fall and spring, I would have to stay out of school to help with the work there. In the fall, I got started late in grade nine with Joe Earl as my teacher. Then in the spring, I was taken out again to help put the crop in. I was absent for about three days when one evening, Joe Earl came to the farm. He wanted to know why I was not in school. George said he had to go away to work and somebody had to put the crop in. Mr. Earl just shook his head. Finally, he said, “If he wants to come to school after supper, I believe I could get him through his grade this year.” George, said “If he wants to do that, it is up to him.” Joe looked at me and said, “How about it, Clarence?” So, I said I would try. I took six subjects (Literature 1, Composition 1, History 1, Algebra 1, Geometry 1, and General Science 1) for which I wrote Government exams and I passed them all. This did not happen without a lot of effort and work. I would put in my ten hours on the farm, have some supper and then take off for school. Often it would get pretty boring and hard to stay awake. One time I said to Joe, “I better be going and let you get some sleep.” He promptly quipped, “Don’t you worry about me, I can take it as long as you can.”
I was very thankful for Mr. Earl. He did a lot for me, a lot beyond the call of duty. I will say, “By the time school was out that year, I was a pretty tired boy. I was also very lucky, the schoolhouse was only a quarter of a mile away, and I could get there without too much trouble.”
I will give, as near as I can, a list of the students who went to school there when I did. The Harvey Douglas family had about a half a mile to walk but the rest of the student’s had to come on horse-back, horse and buggy, sleigh or whatever. Ray, Lynnsey and Logan traveled to school by horse and buggy. I walked as we lived within a half mile of the school. There was Carl and Walter Eigard, Raymond and Lindsey and Logan Atwood, Helen, Dorothy, and Bob Ellsworth, Roy, and Mike Douglas, Ruby and Bill Coppieters. There was also an Audenart boy, I believe his name was Eddy, and some Vemere children.
I remember the day Jesse Johnson and Bill Coppeiters started school. They were pretty timid little boys. It was probably about the first day they had ever spent away from their mothers. Besides school, we used to have some fun times at the school. At Christmas time, we always had a Christmas Concert. All the students took part in a program for their parents. There would be a treat from Santa and treats were handed out to everyone. It was a big event for all. Then there were the dances. To a young boy of my age at the time, I really thought they were great.
I loved dancing then and I still do. The last time I visited the Bonnie View district, I looked for the old school, but it was no longer there. Later, a friend at Cardston told me he had moved the Bonnie View School to Aetna, so I went looking for it and found it there in Aetna.
Note by Lester Ann: When Dad finished the job of hauling the supplies for building the school, George then went to visit the contractors and collected Dad’s wages. When Dad asked why he didn’t get the money he earned, he was told, “That will pay for the groceries you ate this winter.”
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