The Okotoks Museum and Archives is putting the many one-room schools that once dotted the Foothills on display in its latest exhibit.
The display is reminiscent of last year's early schools exhibit, which focused on showcasing Okotoks Lower School and Okotoks Upper School.
The new one-room schools exhibit takes a broader look at the history of the many one-room schools in the region.
"In the Foothills area, there were over 60 one-room schools," explained Kathy Coutts with the museum.
"Every four miles, there was a new school because kids in those early days would walk or ride their horse, the government determined that having a child walk more than four miles was cruel. So every four miles, there could be a school if the district determined that there were enough eligible school-age children living in that area."
The oldest schools date back to the late 19th century.
"There would be one room, one teacher, teaching grades one to eight," said Coutts of the typical one-room school. "There could be a couple of students in Grade 1, a couple in Grade 3, a couple in Grade 6, there might be gaps, and so that teacher, that remarkable teacher, had to teach all subjects to all those students from grades 1 to 8."
Subjects taught included arithmetic, geography, citizenship and agriculture.
"Agriculture isn't taught nowadays," said Coutts, "but that was very common because the children who went to a one-room school came from farms, and often when they got to Grade 8, that was the end of their education. They went back to work on the farm, or for a lot of women, there was no apparent need to pursue education back in those days."
Going beyond Grade 8 meant going to a town school, such as the Okotoks Upper School which taught grades 6 to 12.
Many teachers in one-room schools weren't much older than their students.
"In the early days, if you wanted to be a teacher, you only needed Grade 9 to go to normal school," said Coutts. "And that's where you could take a four-month course to become a teacher. With a Grade 9 education, then a four-month teacher training program, you could be back [to the one-room school as a teacher.]"
On display at the museum is a list of rules for Alberta teachers in 1915, which banned female teachers from keeping company with men, being married, leaving the community without permission of the school district, and loitering downtown or at ice cream shops.
Coutts shared the story of the very first teacher in Okotoks, Julia Short, who taught at First Okotoks School — located where the D'Arcy Crossing shopping centre is today —in 1890. She started teaching grades 1 to 9 at the age of 17.
"Julia lived in High River, so on Monday morning, she would ride her horse 50 miles from her home in High River to Okotoks, and board at a nearby farm during the week, and then travel back to High River on Friday nights," said Coutts.
In those days, the teacher was also required to pump water from a well and scrub the school house floor, as well as light the fire in the pot-bellied stove at the back of the classroom to get the school warmed up for the students before their arrival.
Needless to say, her teaching career at the school only lasted one year.
Beyond academics, the schools were a staple of the community.
"The one-room school was sort of the hub of the community," said Coutts. "It often served as a community hall as well, and sometimes church services were also held in the one-room school, so it really was sort of a gathering place in the community."
The exhibit gives some background on each of the schools on display, including the origins of some of the quirkier names on the list, such as the Cayley-area Last Chance School, named after the fact that it was the community's "last chance" to decide on a location for the school, and the Diamond Valley-area Uphill School, named quite literally for being located uphill.
"Most grandparents who went to one-room schools would often share stories of, 'when I went to school, I had to walk to school and go uphill both ways,' so I find it quite interesting that there is a school named Uphill," said Coutts.
With the various old desks and books on display, as well as a blackboard and punishment tools such as the strap and infamous dunce cap, Coutts looks forward to welcoming students to show them how different school was back in the day.
The exhibit officially opened on Jan. 11 and is on display until Aug. 30.
