The Riverview site is perched above the Fraser River in West Quesnel. The school has a great view of the town of Quesnel, the old bridge and the river. Some say there has been a school on this lot since 1908, but there is a record of a one-room school since 1929/30. This school was called West Quesnel School. It was an elementary school. It stood in the corner of the lot and the front door faced the river. The only windows were on the north side.
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School was very different then. It was not unusual for a student to have a smelly encounter with a skunk on the way to school. The school had an oil stove, and of course there were outhouses. There was a crock of water with one cup in the cloakroom. The library consisted of a box of books that came from Victoria about once every two months. A student was paid three dollars a month to clean the blackboards, light the stove, and haul water from Magnowski's farm.
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Audrey Boyd (nee Dawson) attended this school and remembers sledding down the hill after coming out of the school's front door. She recalls one teacher, Miss Pahkela, very fondly. That year the school had a garden and a newspaper "The West Quesnel Wizard." The Superintendent was also very fond of Miss Pahkela, but she turned him down. Not all teachers were so loved. One student organized a strike and some students marched to Judge Holt's farm to complain about the teacher. The teacher resigned. The school had picnics and Christmas festivities where Mr. Marsh was Santa.
By February, 1954, the new school was built. It had flush toilets and running water. What excitement! Very few homes in West Quesnel had such luxuries at the time. West Quesnel still did not have streetlights. Only one thing was wrong -- the school was too small! Again, the little school was used. The teacher there that year was Audrey Boyd! The overcrowding was so bad that the gym held three classrooms. During the first few years of the school, there was a province-wide hepatitis epidemic and the teachers and students of Riverview did not escape it.
Riverview is a small school, but it has had its successes, both academically and athletically. Students from Riverview have gone on to attain degrees in forestry, science, business, education, and law. The school even boasts an alderman among its alumnae. Two former students are in the Canadian Armed Forces, and one has served in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Two are now in medical school. One of the students became a long distance runner, and was rated third in the province while she was in high school. Her running career began in the 100 km Club at Riverview.And what of the little West Quesnel School? It was torn down in the 1970's.
By Ms. P. Foulkes Retired Riverview Teacher |
The population in West Quesnel increased considerably after WWII and the little school was just too small. Plans were made to build a new school on the same site. In 1953, Winnie Fairweather (Gale) and Marg Alcock (Gale) were two of the teachers hired for the new school. Unfortunately, there wasn't one! The stakes had not even been put into the ground. Little West Quesnel School continued to be used. Marg had the morning shift and Winnie the afternoon. There was no equipment and the morning class had to store its "stuff" in cardboard boxes, while the afternoon class had the desks. Other classes were all over town. One was in the United Church, another in an old post office, and one in what is now the Cariboo Observer office. The principal, Ralph Shaw, visited his dispersed school on foot.
Riverview School continued until 1996 when it was burnt down by an arsonist. The students and the teachers were put-up in Baker School. The grade five, six, and seven classes were housed in portables, while the younger students were accommodated in the school itself. Meanwhile, the parent group, led by Irene Kopetski, campaigned to have Riverview rebuilt. The government was not very enthusiastic about the idea. The parent group met with politicians, but it did not look very promising. The climax of the campaign was the taking of a School District 28 school bus, filled with students and parents, to Victoria. It caught the attention of the media: the school was rebuilt.
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