Happy 100th to Winfield elementary
It has proudly stood on the hill, overlooking what is now Highway 97 for 100 years. It’s well-deserving of recognition these days, when much of our past has been lost or destroyed and relegated to the landfill long before celebrating its centennial.
Winfield elementary school has long been the heart of Winfield, now part of District of Lake Country. Opened in 1923, this school has served numerous generations of local children, offering them the opportunity to acquire a sound public school education.
Much of the information for this article has been gleaned from pages 57 and 58 of “From Slates to Blackboards to Computers – A History of Public Schools in The Central Okanagan.” This well-researched source of local history was published in 1999 by the Educational Heritage Committee of the Central Okanagan Retired Teachers Association. I keep my copy of this book close at hand and frequently refer to it, knowing that the information between its covers is accurate.
The 13 people who compiled and wrote this book were retired teachers, possessing much first-hand knowledge of the history of Central Okanagan education.
Built in 1923, Winfield elementary school originally consisted of two large classrooms with two similar rooms beneath them; in the 1920s and 1930s these non-classrooms were used as the girls’ (north room) and boys’ (south room) indoor play areas. Since electricity for indoor lighting was not readily available, the classrooms featured large windows, allowing natural light to enter the classrooms.
There was no indoor plumbing in the school until the 1930s. Prior to that, there were two “four-hole” outhouses – one for the girls and one for the boys – at the back of the school.
During the 1920s, the school was the benefactor of the good work of the local Women’s Institute. Members of that group raised money, through local projects and events, and purchased for that school an organ, books, sewing materials and a flag pole and flag. Other funding was provided to allow local students to take music lesson at the school. The annual school Christmas concert also benefited from the women’s institute’s hard work and generosity.
From the outset, the elementary school was a community hub and it remained so for many years.
For its first 25 years, the school benefited from the teaching and leadership skills of Rutland-born George Elliot (1902-49). He was hired in 1924, serving as classroom teacher and principal until his untimely death in 1949.
During those years, George Elliot, numerous other teachers and support workers who served in that school, provided their students with a good public education.
Elliot later recalled that he probably obtained his teaching job at the school because of his love of baseball; this coincided with the baseball passion of one of the school’s three trustees, who happened to be on the school’s hiring committee.
As the population of Winfield increased, it was necessary to add classrooms to the school. In 1946, a third classroom was added to the north end. In 1950 the school had another classroom added to it, with a long hallway constructed to link the classrooms. A final addition in 1964 saw the construction of a muchneeded school gymnasium.
In subsequent years, other changes were made to the original building, including the use of portable classrooms.
For many years, the school housed grades one through eight students. Many students were deemed to have completed their public school education at the end of grade eight, when they left school and took up jobs. Students who wanted to continue their education travelled to Oyama – location of a one-room high school until 1945 – or possibly to Vernon or Kelowna.
I have a personal interest in the history of the elementary school. My mother, the former Wilma Doreen Clement, attended that school as a grade eight student, in 1935-36. Her teacher was George Elliot.
Born in Kelowna in 1922, Mum attended Ellison school from 1928 until the end of June 1935. Her parents, Ernest Leslie and Margaret Annie (nee Whelan) Clement, purchased the Winfield general store in late 1934. Ernest and Margaret moved to Winfield, taking up residence in an upstairs apartment in their store. Wilma remained at Ellison, living with her recently-married brother and sister-in-law, Cliff and Effie (nee Mitchell) Clement, until the end of June 1935, when she rejoined her parents at Winfield, subsequently attending Winfield elementary school in 1935-36.
From grades nine to 12, Mum and several fellow Winfield students travelled to the Oyama high school, to complete their public school education under the capable tutelage of teacher Gordon Hall (1909-98).
Winfield elementary school, celebrating its centennial year, sits empty. Occupying prime property in Lake Country, its fate is currently unknown.
School District 23, stretching from Peachland in the south to Oyama in the north, has within its boundaries numerous vintage school buildings, many of which are repurposed to continue serving the community:
• 1908 Peachland school houses the Peachland Chamber of Commerce and Visitors’ Centre
• 1912 Ellison school is a much-used community hall
• 1913 Central school remains a public school, providing services to vulnerable youth
• 1913 Rutland brick school is an upscale residential complex
• Kelowna’s 1904 board school houses the Brigadier Angle Armoury
• Kelowna’s 1909 high school is the Kelowna Boys and Girls Club
My fervent hope is that the Winfield elementary school will have a similar happy fate, allowing it to continue serving the citizens of that community.
With much enthusiasm I say, “Happy one hundredth birthday, Winfield elementary school!”
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This article is part of a series, submitted by the Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society. Additional information would be welcome at P.O. Box 22105, Capri P.O., Kelowna, B.C., V1Y 9N9.