THE COUNTY OF ATHABASCA No. 12 - Excerpts taken from the "Story of Rural Municipal Government in Alberta 1909 to1983" by the Association of the Municipal Districts and Counties Contributed for use in Alberta Digital Archives by Darlene Homme. *************************************************************************** ALBERTA DIGITAL ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed Alberta Digital archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the Alberta Digital Archives to store the file permanently for free access. *************************************************************************** The County of Athabasca No. 12 is situated between townships 62 and 69, ranges 17 to 25, west of the 4th meridian. The land area within the county is 1,137,752 acres with approximately 4,394 kilometers of local roads and 224 kilometres of secondary roads, and an area of approximately 2,000 square miles. The Athabasca River runs through the northern part of the county, and many lakes with excellent fishing are located in the area. Big game is abundant throughout the county. The economy of the county is based primarily upon mixed farming, although mineral resources, gas fields and lumbering are important. The county was formed in January, 1959, combining the M.D. of Athabasca No. 103 and the Athabasca School Division No. 42. Previous to this, the M.D. of Athabasca was incorporated by the consolidation of the M.D. of Cartier No. 637, M.D. of Nelson No. 638, M.D. of Grosmont No. 668, parts of the M.D's of Tawatinaw and Westlock and ID's No. 102 and No. 122. During these times municipal offices were in various places throughout the county; places such as Athabasca, Tawatinaw, Meanook, Boyle, etc. Many reeves and councillors served these smaller districts as well as the larger ones. Councillors are too numerous to mention, but each supplied his knowledge, time and a great deal of energy to provide local government to the residents of the area. The larger municipality, M.D. of Athabasca No. 103, was formed in 1947 with offices in Meanook. Two reeves who served the M.D. were Messrs. Aloisio and Breckenridge. Both gentlemen provided the area with over 25 years of service. Mr. Aloisio served 32 years along with being a member of the legislative assembly. Many others served the area as reeve, previous to the formation of the larger municipality, such as Messrs. Anderson, Smith, Jack, Aloisio, Meyers, Wilt, Olson, Redden, Minns and Curtis. In 1945-1946 things started to move in the rural municipality as far as road building was concerned. The M.D's of Nelson, Cartier and Grosmont co-operated in the purchase of a Caterpillar R60 gas tractor and Letourneau scraper in order to build a standard of road required. Each M.D. was allocated a number of hours in which to operate the unit. Roads were getting their first taste of gravel. The gravel was loaded out of the pits with fresnos pulled by horses and then loaded onto loadlifters, deposited into trucks and spread on the roads. Graders of all types were pulled by tractors and horses and operated by gears, motors and mainly muscles. Ratepayers were allowed to do various types of roadwork to pay their rates or taxes. Assessing was done by bicycle, horseback and automobile. Since this time, many miles of road have been constructed and graveled with the ultimate in construction and earthmoving equipment. In 1959 when the county was formed, administrative offices were at Meanook and Colinton. It was decided that a central location should be provided so a large school from Perryvale was moved to Athabasca for the county office, and is still used for administrative offices to this date. Athabasca in the early days was known as Athabasca Landing. "Athabasca" is a Cree Indian word meaning "a place where there are reeds". The area played an important part in the early history of Canada's northwest. David Thompson, the noted explorer, surveyor and trader, passed through Athabasca in 1799. In 1848 the Hudson's Bay Company established a post at Athabasca Landing as a distribution centre rather than a trading post. Supplies were freighted overland and stored at the post during the winter to await the opening of navigation in the spring. Flatboats carried cargoes to Lake Athabasca, thence up the Peace River to the northwest or up the Slave River to the far north. The Hudson's Bay Company operated a fleet of sternwheeler steamboats, and the Northern Transportation Company also operated a fleet of sternwheeler boats between Grouard, on Lesser Slave Lake, and the Grand Rapids, approximately 125 miles downstream from Athabasca. With the arrival of the settlers, schools and churches were built. The Anglican Diocese of Athabasca was formed in 1874, with the Right Reverend W C. Bombas as the first Bishop. St. Matthew's, the first church, was opened on June 1, 1894, and two hostels were erected by the church to accommodate rural students. Reverend Father Beaudry took charge in 1905, and the following year built a small church. Methodist Church missionaries were active in the early 1900's, but it was not until prior to World War I that a church was constructed. In 1904 the name of the town was changed to Athabasca. It was incorporated as a village on May 18, 1905, and as a town on September 11, 1911. Hamlets which dotted the county during these days were Rochester, Perryvale, Colinton and Meanook along the Landing Trail, and Ellscott, Boyle, Grassland and Atmore along the Lac La Biche Trail and other trails leading north. Many tales are told of the endless wagon trains which plodded along the Landing Trail with numerous hills, creeks, stopping houses and hazards along the way. Many homesteaders first arrived prior to 1905. French, Scots, English, Ukrainians, Germans, Negroes (from the U.S.A.) and various other nationalities followed. They carved their farms out of a wilderness filled with muskeg, buckskin, spruce and poplar. Many hours, days and months were spent providing shelter for themselves and their livestock. This was not unique to this area. What fortitude, ambition and strength it must have taken. Drainage ditches were dug by hand in order to drain some of the sloughs and muskegs. Delegation upon delegation was sent to Edmonton to attempt to secure grants and monies in order to keep local government alive and flourishing within the smaller rural municipalities. The Athabasca School Division was formed in 1938, and 86 school districts were officially absorbed to form the first division. Several other districts were added to the list in 1939, and some were transferred in 1944 to form the Lac La Biche School Division No. 51. It would take many pages to review the history of these smaller school districts, many of them being formed in 1908. In his annual report to the ratepayers in 1939, Mr. Edwin Parr, Chairman of the School Board, made the following observations: * Teachers' salaries for 143 teachers were $30,789.59. * Buildings were in a dilapidated condition. * Teachers were being paid regularly. * Repairs had been made to over 40 schools. * Twelve schools were being operated in temporary buildings, and many others were overcrowded. * There were still 47 log school houses. * One-third of the pupils sat on homemade desks, many not fit for use. The following are further extracts from later reports. 1941: 100 school rooms still in operation of which 79 are one-room, 8 are two-room and 2 are three-room schools. Difficulty in securing teachers. The total enrolment was 2,516. 1942: Volunteer labor from the people can be a very valuable assistance in keeping the schools operating in good condition. 1943: The Department of Education pays isolation bonuses ranging from $100.00 to $200.00. The minimum salary is $900.00 per year. Centralization occurred when seven districts were combined to alleviate the teacher shortage. 1948: 10th Annual Report - comparisons between 1939 and 1948 - 1939 - 99 rooms in operation. Salary bill: $64,000.00; average annual salary: $750.00; conveyance for one month: $20.00; grant from Department of Education: $69,000.00; 64 high school students. 1948 - 80 rooms in operation. Salary bill: $144,000.00; average annual salary: $2,142.00; 19 buses in operation; grant from Department of Education: $180,000.0; 200 high school students. 1949: Teachers' salary schedule referred to the Board of Arbitration for settlement. Construction began on Edwin Parr High School in Athabasca. Some of the school superintendent reports contain interesting highlights as follows: J. J. LeBlanc (1923-1929): "Many of the settlers came from areas where regular yearly schools were in operation. As soon as they were settled on the land, they took early action to organize into school units." W. H. Swift (1930-1935): "The Athabasca Inspectorate was one of infinite variety. I remember my years there with much nostalgia. The Inspector of Schools saw and participated in the establishment of education in and throughout Alberta. He saw its transformation from a simple pioneer service into one of complexity and sophistication." Eric Hodgson (1941-1948): "With the large number of schools and the shortage of teachers, I decided to introduce a bus system. This movement necessitated the holding of many meetings with much opposition from parents. When Dr. Swift came up one time, I took him out to visit some of the schools. When we would come to a hole, he was the one that got out to sound the depth and decide whether we could get through or not." B. Facey (1948-1952): "The Division, of course, was far from wealthy, and although some of the centralized schools were of sound frame construction, many log schools were still in use, although some were covered with siding. Not a single school in the area, even the Town of Athabasca, had inside toilet facilities. The result was the construction of some of the largest privies I've ever seen in my life. I remember travelling up river on the Athabasca ice on a one-way road, the only means of access to one new school district north of Larvert, and also ploughing mud, mud, mud on many occasions. Then for relaxation, the eight and one-half miles from my office in the provincial building in Athabasca to the divisional office in a converted one-room school building in Colinton consisting primarily of forty-three curves and seventeen bridges. To get to Mercury or Richmond Park, one patiently waited for the ferry across the river connecting with some fairly well maintained roads under the jurisdiction of a capable French-Canadian councillor. I remember one local trustees' convention which filled the hall at Meanook. All school buildings had been built from current revenue and the main issue of the afternoon was a debate on my proposition that it was now time to begin the construction of better quality school buildings financed by debenture. After much discussion and a close vote, the meeting recommended the continuation of a pay-as-you-go policy. Probably the most important development during my years in Athabasca Division, when about twenty-one rooms were closed, was the continuing centralization of school facilities at Athabasca, Boyle, Colinton, Perryvale, Rochester and Smith. Getting somewhat larger groups of pupils in a centre resulted in long-term improved educational opportunity for many children in this area." C. G. Merkley (1952-1954): "Much controversy was held concerning the merits of rural centralization as opposed to bussing students to the larger towns. Many a heated meeting debated the placement of schools. The closing of the small schools produced some of the most controversial reasoning ever recorded. Schools with historical background such as George Lake, Laura, Silver Fox, Forfar, Toles and many others will always be remembered by students and parents who pioneered in these areas and who, through diligent labor, provided the initial educational facilities for many prominent Albertans. One of the treasured memories of the two years spent in the Athabasca area was the calibre of people contacted. In no other place have there been citizens who were more ready, willing and able to "call a spade a spade", but in no other place were the people more helpful after an issue had been resolved, more kind to strangers or more dedicated in making their part of Alberta a choice land for families to mature. Surely the saying of the pioneers, "that anyone who drinks the water of the Athabasca River will always have a warm spot in his heart for the Athabasca area", has been proved to be true on countless occasions." The 1950's and 1960's were marked by increasing activity within the county for natural gas wells resulting in population growth. The 1970's saw a decline in this activity and the school population started a slow but steady decline. In the early 1980's the population basically stabilized, but the school population continued to decline along with the national trend toward smaller families. The early 1980's also were marked by the province's decision to locate Athabasca University in the area - a decision made following extensive lobbying and submissions from all local municipalities and many community organizations. Site work on the university was started early in 1983. The county's population took a 10% jump to more than 5,900 in the 1981 Federal census, but the municipality lost considerable assessment area early in 1983 when six new summer villages were incorporated around Baptiste, Island and Skeleton lakes. In the mid 1970's the county assumed operation of a co-operative natural gas distribution system basically covering the eastern half of the jurisdiction. In 1982, faced with mounting system deficits, the county sold the system to a private company providing some relief to local ratepayers. The late 1970's saw the county participate in major funding of an indoor swimming pool and a performing arts centre in the Town of Athabasca, and the provision of artificial ice in the arena in the Village of Boyle. Progress also was made in the provision of water and sewer systems in the hamlets of Grassland, Colinton and Rochester. In education, major renovations were completed at the Smith and Rochester schools in 1982 with large modernization grants provided by Alberta Education. A similar upgrading at Edwin Parr Composite High School in the Town of Athabasca was delayed pending the allocation of provincial funds. The two modernization projects were completed at a cost of about $2.5 million. Three of the six schools in the jurisdiction approved plans to become designated as community schools in 1982-83. The 1 970's and early 1980's saw considerable emphasis on the area's primary industry with the Agricultural Service Board mounting one of the province's largest and most active programs. The start of 1983 also saw work commence on a new $14 million municipal hospital to replace the building destroyed by fire in October 1980. It is difficult to record the various events, personalities and places in a short essay. A definition of history in a dictionary states, "to decorate with a historical record". To decorate personalities involved in the total system would be an endless task. People such as reeves, councillors, school trustees, agriculturists, engineers, teachers, superintendents, maintenance personnel, janitors, students, grader operators, school bus drivers, ratepayers, to name a few, have all contributed. To decorate events, school openings, bridge openings, new roads, gravelled roads, centralizations, annual meetings, council and school board meetings, to name a few, would be an endless list. To decorate places such as the Landing Trail, Peace River Trail, Athabasca River, hamlets and school districts would again be an endless list.