Bienfait Town Schools- Page 2

Mr John Christianson, Last Name cut off on picture scanned above

FROM THE 1955 HISTORY OF BIENFAIT BOOK

A name was missed it seems from this Teacher list a Miss Hilda Brooke taught school at Bienfait in the early 1920's
She was one of the First Teachers in the White School
Her Granddaughter, Brenda Carriere, notified me of this new addition.
She is 103 1/2 years young, and living in Vernon BC
I think this lady might have taught my Dad!

Lillian Eremko, daughter of Alexander and Katherine (nee Pitts) Eremko
d- Wednesday, January 11, 2006, age 90 years, four months and twenty-two days
taught school at Hirsch, Bienfait (1941) and Valleyview School in Estevan (ca 1962 - retired in 1971)
her first school was at Two Creeks SK, a rural school near Wroxton

1922 to 2011

Mr. Hugh Kenneth Moir
1922-1925
b- Oct 24, 1900 in Dawn Mills, Camden township, Kent Co. ON
d-
attended Normal School in Regina 1919-20
Father- William Alexander Moir, b- Gaspe, Carpenter in 1911, living on Peters Ave. Oxbow,
Mother- Elizabeth Cassie Moir, nee Turner, born in Turnerville, Chatham Tsp, ON,
siblings, 3 brothers, 1 sister.
- Raymond Earl Moir, Allan Leo Moir, Kate Verona “Katie” Moir, Robert Clare Moir
His brother Robert taught at ECI in Estevan.

Mr. F. Wilson
1926-1927

Mr. Barry
1928

Mr. Charles William Locke (Bio below)
1929-1935

Mr. Thistlethwaite
1937

Mr. Albert Edward “Ed” Gough (bio below)
1936 and 1939-1972 (minus 1947 and 1952)

Mr. Conrad
1947 and 1952

Tom Gamble
1972-1975

Joe Knippschild
1976-1983

Kathleen Wilson
(First Female Principal)
1983-1984 (1 yr)

Gary St. Onge
1984-1999
Became Mayor of Estevan

Adrian Schindel
1999-2008

Jane Moriarty
2008- present (2011)

Bios

Mr. Charles William Locke
b- Dec 24, 1890, Bradford, England
(1890 on his WWI attestation papers, but does not add up to age 48?)
d- Aug 17, 1935, at his home in Bienfait, age 48
buried in Bienfait Cemetery
son of Charles Henry Locke and Martha Locke, nee Hill
His mother lived at 111 Tennyson Pl, Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, ca1916.
Martha Locke b- ca 1857
Charles Henry Locke b- ca 1855

Charles William Locke was the Principal in Bienfait, 1929-1935
He immigrated in 1908, to Canada, (I think this is him?)
I believe it is him in 1911, on Township 29, Range 12, W2, Humboldt District,
Age 25, shown born Dec 1886 here, which adds up to age 48.
shown as a farmer here, which jives with his attestation papers.
I found his birth registered in Bradford, Yorks, Jan-Mar 1885,
so that makes him born possibly Dec 1884 (or early 1885).
Charles was elected President of the Bienfait Legion,
He enlisted in St. Vital MB, Mar 3, 1916 in WWI, at that time he was a Farmer and Student of Agriculture. (see below)
Lived in Foam Lake SK., when he enlisted.
1915-1916 he was a Student, 1st year, at the Manitoba Agriculture College
1917- Undergraduate #910072, 196th University Batt.
1918- Queen Mary's Hospital, Whalley Lancashire, England.
My theory is he was injured in the War, and took up teaching instead of farming.
He was a Mason, and given full Mason burial rites.
He had Mason and Legion members as Pallbearers.
wife- Amy May Locke, nee White
d- Feb 18, 1986, age 89
2 sons, Edmund Locke and Ronald Locke

Charles Edmund “Ed” Locke
b- Foam Lake SK
d- week of Jan 24, 2004, Unionville, ON
Edmund was in WWII
1945 Edmund married
Ed is in the Hall of Fame for Builders in Toronto, He was involved with the Ontario Home Warranty Program, with CMHC before that,
He owned his own Contracting companies.

Ronald W. Locke
b- Sept 23, 1923
d- May 1982
buried in Bienfait Cemetery
He served in WWII

Mr. Albert Edward “Ed” Gough Jr.
b- Apr 8, 1913 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England
d- Feb 27, 1989
buried in Souris Valley Memorial Gardens in Estevan

Father and Mother immigrated from Harrogate Yorkshire England, they were married Oct 3, 1908 at the Methodist Church in Estevan
they lived at 1214 3rd st in Estevan
His mother Alice Thompson,
b- June 9, 1885,
d- Jan 10, 1983
buried in Estevan City Cemetery,
Came by ship a month before she married.
She was a School Teacher in Harrogate.
She was also a School Teacher at Maple View School in RM of Cambria No 6, SK

Edward “Ed” Gough Sr.
b- Jan 14, 1883 in Oxford England
d- Sept 30, 1964
buried in Estevan City Cemetery
Immigrated in 1905
His father Ed Gough Sr. was a long time salesman for the Prairie Nurseries.
explains why the Gesell and Gough families were friends.
They homesteaded in the Outram district in 1907, for a short time, on NE Sec 26, Township 2, Range 11, W2, then moved to Estevan.
His Father first worked at the Brick yard in Estevan,
they had 3 sons:

Ed Gough Jr., the Bienfait School Principal,

Maurice Gough
b- Feb 11, 1919
d- May 19, 1994
buried in Estevan City Cemetery
lived in Estevan Nursing Home in 1980,

and William T. Gough
b- Nov 17, 1927 in Estevan SK
d- Feb 6, 2012, at his Green Lake Area Home, age 84
living in Yakima WA. ca 1980.
Attended Washington State University, Degree in English Literature.
William became a reporter of the Seattle Times Newspaper for 3 decades.
Remained a Canadian Citizen all his life.
nickname at the paper “The Captain”
Married Eve Marie Coutley, from Montreal, she died in 2009.
they had one son

Ed Gough Sr. was a Constable on the Estevan Police Force, in Nov 16, 1945 when Teddy, The Alsatian Estevan Police dog died, after 10 years service.
Sr. also served a few years on the Estevan City Council

Ed Gough Jr's wife- Isabel Gough nee Seipp, married in Regina July 13, 1940.
daughter of Anton and Mary Ann Seipp.
b- Aug 9, 1916
taught school in Bienfait as well
They had one son.
Ed Gough Jr. was the last Principal of the Old White School, He was First Principal at Weldon School,
Weldon School opened in 1961 in Bienfait.
He attended school at Hillside School in Estevan, until they moved to 3rd st.

Ed Jr. was a very tall, very big man, well suited as a Principal, of some pretty rough and tough farm kids.
I doubt if he ever lost any argument in his life. Even as a kid I remember the sound of his footsteps coming down the hallways.
big man, BIG Feet!!

Mar 3, 1908
Bienfait sold debentures totalling $2500.00 to build a new School.
Work was to start in the spring. School opened that week with Miss King, from Brandon, as teacher.
She is not shown in the list above, but should be there

July 23, 1908
Secretary, A. E. Watt advertized for teachers

Photos of the Schools

AERIAL VIEW OF THE 3 SCHOOLS
LEFT ONE IS THE BIG WHITE BRICK SCHOOL
MIDDLE SCHOOL IS THE LITTLE RED BRICK SCHOOL
AND THE ONE ON THE CORNER OF YOUNG ST AND CARBON AVE, OPPOSITE ANGLICAN CHURCH WAS THE LITTLE WOOD SCHOOL, MOVED INTO THIS SPOT, IN 1951
IT WAS ORIGINALLY THE BIG BUTTE SCHOOL

THE RED BRICK SCHOOL IN BIENFAIT
PICTURE OF A PICTURE IN THE MUSEUM
SO QUALITY IS POOR

Red Brick School
I believe this is ca 1915

BIENFAIT HIGH SCHOOL
THE BIG WHITE SCHOOL LOCATED ON YOUNG STREET BETWEEN SOURIS AVE (JIGHWAY 18) AND CARBON AVENUE TO THE SOUTH

REAR OF OLD WHITE BRICK SCHOOL 1956
I ATTENDED THIS SCHOOL FROM 1956-1958
GRADE 1,2 AND 3

THE WHITE BRICK SCHOOL ON YOUNG ST
SKETCH FROM THE 1955 HISTORY BOOK, BUILT IN 1920

Right corner of this 1915 map
you can see the lot the Schools were on
Note- on this map it was Carson Ave, not Carbon?
Souris Ave is the same as Highway 18
In town it is Souris Ave, out of town limits it is Highway 18

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