On March 10, 1911 an Olds-area newspaper notice announced the new country school in Innis Lake would have its grand opening in six days.The celebration promised a ìsplendidî program with a concert and box social.ìThe ladies are planning their boxes, good moonlight is promised and an enjoyable time is in store for all,î said the newspaper article. ìThe proceeds are for the purchasing of a district organ.îFor the next 34 years the school, located 12 kilometres southwest of Olds along Twp. Rd. 324, served scores of rural children. When the school closed in 1945 it marked only the end of its first era of service to the community. That year the Innis Lake Ladies Club was created. It served as a place to organize packages for men who were overseas in combat during the last year of the Second World War. For the next six decades the club, now 25 members strong, continued to provide vital service to the Olds-area community.Earlier this year the district held its 100th anniversary celebration for the Innis Lake Community Hall. More than 150 people attended an Old Fashioned Picnic on June 12. Along with past residents of the area and their families, the guests of honour were seven former students who came to show their gratitude for the old pioneer country school.ìIt holds a lot of memories for many people,î said Marilyn Leonard, 68, and current president of the Ladies Club. ìWe have tried to keep it up.îThe community hall is extra special for Leonard. She not only lives on a farm across the road where the building has stood for more than 100 years but her grandfather, Guy Haynes, who came to the district in 1899 from Nebraska, was an original trustee of the school when it opened.The school's origins began under the moonlight on Aug. 15, 1910 when several men met to discuss the possibility of building a school.The men agreed to hold a ratepayers' meeting on Sept. 3. At that meeting it was decided to put out for tender a school building. The plan was to construct a school 30 ft. long by 24 ft. wide with 10-ft.-high walls. A door was to be constructed to the south. The plan envisioned a six-ft.-high platform for the teacher.In October a tender was accepted in the amount of $860. The following month a debenture was purchased for $1,000 at six per cent interest for 10 years. The Board of Education gave its blessing for the new school on Jan. 14, 1911.Violet Fox was chosen as the first teacher but she soon took another posting. Gutherie Sanford, an educator from Nova Scotia, was hired at $779 a year and stayed until 1916.Those early years were challenging times for both teacher and students. In his first year Sanford earned an extra $17.55 for sweeping floors and the lighting of fires at the school. He was also known for hauling spruce trees by horse and wagon around the school.In 1914 it was decided to construct a teacher's cottage. Sanford was charged rent at $4 a month. That same year winter holidays had to be extended due to bad weather that had forced three-quarters of the students to miss school. And in 1918 school was almost cancelled due to the flu epidemic.But those early years were also happy times for many. A particularly proud moment came when the school was the recipient of the Challenge Cup, an honour awarded for having the best kept grounds of any country school in the region. The trophy, donated by Robert Hainstock, a prominent businessman in the Olds area and former mayor of the town, was eventually donated to the Mountain View Museum, where it is still on display today.In the meantime, Marilyn Leonard's family prospered in the district, largely due to the influence of the country school. Her father, aunt and three uncles were all students. Leonard was too young to attend the school before it closed but she has been committed to the institution since it became the district's community hall.The hall still serves as a meeting place for the district. It is used for Christmas and Halloween parties as well as for bridal showers.The Ladies Club still meets once a month at the hall. It organizes community picnics and showers. Over the past quarter century it has organized fundraisers for the Olds Hospital's auxiliary. Once a year for a month the Ladies Club helps with Meals on Wheels in the town.As for the club's future, Leonard notes many members are getting older now while the younger women in the district don't have as much time to commit to community activities due to careers and families. However, she believes the club will continue in some form while the hall, which will soon see some exterior renovations, will remain vital for the district.ìWe have tried to keep it maintained and in usable condition so it is available to the community,î said Leonard. ìIt is still a big part of the community.î
