When you talk to Barb Hall you quickly learn that she is an amazing woman and a senior at that. Barb is a retired teacher librarian and spent many years teaching at Duchess Park Secondary; her last four years before retirement were spent at the District Resource Center.
Retirement was too slow for Barb so she took on the position of a school trustee for six years. After that Barb says "I finally did retire and that was when I got involved with the Heritage Committee of the Prince George Retired Teachers' Association. We just published Volume 2 of "Historical Memories", a history of over 140 schools in the Prince George School District since 1910.
"What we have covered so far is about two-thirds of the schools in the district's 150 mile radius from MacKenzie to Valemount. Most of the information used in our publication has come from the School District No. 57 Education Heritage Collection, a museum collection with over 10,000 items that is stored at the old Gladstone Elementary School. This space was set aside by School District 57 because they actually own the collection while the retired teachers are the facilitators of that collection.
"A catalogue of the collection is available through the District Resource Centre database. We plan on two more volumes to complete the "Historical Memories" project."
Barb explains, "We are currently working on Volume 3 of this history and we are having difficulty finding enough information on some of the small rural schools in this area. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who could help us with photographs or a short paragraph about their memories of teaching or attending the following schools: Dewey, Cranbrook Mills, Fort George Canyon, Foreman Flats, Kidd, Mud River, Shelley, Shere, St. Mary's Lake, Strathaver, Telechick or Woodpecker."
Many of these schools were north of Prince George and by the railway line to Jasper. If you have stories or memories to share please contact Barb at [email protected]
A copy of Volume 1 and Volume 2 of "Historical Memories" is available in local libraries and museums.
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The Senior Activity Centre at 425 Brunswick Street 250-564-3287 is holding a dance on December 1st. Country Rose will be playing from 8 p.m to 12:00 am. Doors open at 7 p.m. admission is $10.00 at the door, everyone 19 and over is welcome. A midnight lunch is included.
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New Years Eve party tickets are now on sale at the Hart Pioneer Senior Centre 250-962-6712: The cost is $35.00 per person. The music will be by Dave & Andy with a midnight buffet and prizes.
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The annual Christmas dinners at the Elder Citizens Recreation Centre - 1692 10th Ave. are at 5 p.m. on Saturday Dec 1 and 5 p.m. on Sunday Dec. 2. The cost is $16 per person, advance tickets only.
