By Storrm Lennie

Calder School restoration finished at Sunnybrook Farm Museum

Mar 7, 2019 | 5:00 PM

Members of the community gathered at Sunnybrook farm Museum Thursday afternoon for the opening ceremony of the newly preserved Calder School.

Calder, a rural community east of Innisfail, was formed in 1903. That year, the Calder Community School District was formed and later, the Calder School was built. Children travelled many miles by foot and horseback to attended elementary school in the building.

The facility was multi-functional, the community hosted church services, dances and picnics in the building on weekend and evenings.

The school burnt down in 1930, and then again in 1931 while it was being reconstructed. In 1932, the school was rebuilt and opened back up as both an elementary school and eventually, a high school. 

At the time the Calder School was the only rural school in the area that offered both an elementary school and high school. Many students travelled to the area and boarded with different families so they could get attend the high school and continue their education.

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The school closed down in 1956 but for many years after the building was used to host community events and functions.

In 2008, the school moved to the Sunnybrook Farm Museum in Red Deer to be preserved rather than being torn down. It sat on the farm for six years as the museum tried to gather the funds and resources to preserve the building back to its original state.

The cost to reconstruct the school was $635,000. The City of Red Deer invested $50,000 into the project, Red Deer County also invested $50,000 dollars and the Government of Alberta gave $375,000. The remainder of the funding came from a donation by the Estate of Vladimir Novak.

In 2014, reconstruction of the building began and in the years since the project started, volunteers and members of the Sunnybrook Farm Museum have worked tirelessly to see this project through.

Former students, teachers and their families visited Sunnybrook Farm Museum on Thursday to see the finished product.

“I didn’t attend this school myself but my husband did,” said Dorothy Calvert, who was a member of the Calder community for years. “When they told me they wanted to burn it down I got my bristles up and I said ‘no way!’ That’s when I started working to do something about it.

“I am just so amazed with how they preserved it. I just hope it lasts them as long as it’s lasted us and that they have as many good times as we did,” she added.

Ian Warwick, Executive Director of the Sunnybrook Farm Museum says the project took many long hours and lots of hard work but he knew it was important that this project was seen through.

“One room schools like this historic building are slowly starting to go away, and it takes an extra effort to spend the time to preserve history,” he noted. “This was an 84-year-old building that was set to be demolished. Yes, it would’ve been less expensive to build a new building and let this one get demolished, but we choose the hard route because there is so much history involved here.

“Our whole museum is about telling the story of the farming community and what makes it strong and the fact that the people came together to achieve this really tells the story on its own.”

The Calder School building is the first heated building at Sunnybrook Farm Museum, meaning they can now host year-round events and offer programs for children and families during both the winter and summer months.

“All of our other buildings are not heated so it’s hard for us to program in the winter. But now we can offer winter programs for school kids to come and experience the one room school and enjoy what it has to offer,” Warwick explained. “It’s also a community center so we are using the downstairs for community groups to rent and host a variety of different events. We want people to use it year round and for it to turn into a cultural hub and community resource. “

Sunnybrook Farm Museum celebrated their 30th anniversary last year, and this year they are celebrating 100 years of farming.

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