Less than a year after classes ended at the old Morse School, demolition was discussed. It was August 1980 and local residents sprung into action. By September, the Morse Cultural and Heritage Association was incorporated to save the building from demolition. In April of 1981 the property was designated a Municipal Heritage Property, however, it wasn’t until October of 1984, almost 5 years after the last class was held, that the building was turned over to the Town of Morse and leased to the Morse Heritage Association. On July 4th 1987 the building officially opened as the Morse Museum and Cultural Centre.
From 1987 until 2009 the Morse Museum was able to have a unique partnership with the connected Morse School. This collaborative effort developed a nationally recognized award-winning Heritage School Tour Program. They won the Canadian Museum Association’s Museums and Schools Partnership award in 2009. This award is given in partnership with the Canadian College of Teachers and the Canadian Teachers Federation recognizing outstanding partnerships between Canadian Museums and Schools where they have worked together to develop educational programing. At the height of success, however, a great loss was coming for the Morse Community. Even though enrollment numbers were looking to increase they still did not reach the provincial benchmarks and in April 2009 it was announced that the Morse School would close. Almost 102 years after the first classes were held, the doors closed for good. 85 years after the first Morse School students graduated the last ones did. An era was ending and students once bused to Morse would now be bused away to nearby Herbert or Chaplin. During a four-year vacancy, the building was vandalized and had problems with flooding. In 2013, the Chinook School Division offered Morse School to the town for $1.00. This offer was declined and the school was demolished that year. The 1912/1928 building still stands today as a tribute to the community and the hard work and dedication that built our town. The Morse Museum seeks to honor that memory and preserve its history. We hope you will start planning your trip to the Morse Museum as we look forward to welcoming you in 2021. Until then, stay connected with us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors.
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In January of 1945 a Larger School Unit was formed and surrounding schools joined as they saw fit. Morse was one of the last to join and did so in September 1947. The rural school populations were declining and students began being bused into Morse. Students came from surrounding schools including Mimosa, Wildflower, Crocus Hill, Wiebe, Lady Bank and Ernfold Village School. Three ‘satellite schools’ (former rural schools) were brought to the property to accommodate the extra students. They were Lavender, Rolling Plains and Uren. These were used until 1961 when the new addition was built. Improvements to the original building continued in the coming years and in 1958 the school installed natural gas followed by sewer in 1961.
Every bussed student had a billet in town in the event of bad weather. Bus drivers were responsible for getting students either home or to the billet. During these early years busing, drivers had to be very skilled behind the wheel. Some roads were not graveled and between mud, ruts and storms their job was not always easy. It was common for drivers to seek the help of a nearby tractor or to look for shelter at a nearby farm. For the first one or two winters a bombardier was used and at one point there were 7 buses used to bring in students into Morse for school. In 1961 another addition was added to the existing Morse school but with a much more ‘modern feel’. The new building included a workshop, library, auditorium, gym, science lab, home ec room, principal’s office, staff rooms and classrooms. The architect for this addition was from the area. Clifford Wiens grew up in the Lady Bank district. In 1970 the last addition was completed adding on four classrooms as a Jr. High wing. This addition was built in such a way that it could be dismantled and removed if necessary. With the increased area pulling in students to Morse school they saw increased enrollment numbers. In 1959 there was 240 students and by 1971 328. Teaching staff also increased from 5 in 1948 to 14 in 1971. From 1945-1959 Morse school was used for teacher training for students at the teacher college in Moose Jaw. The high enrollment numbers, however, did not last and on October 19, 1979 the last classes were held in the original 1912/1928 building. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors. After a decision was finally made to build a new school, construction began in 1912. A contract was given to Reilly, Dawson, Hancock & Reilly as the architects of the new building and J.H. Leeby was given the building contract. It was to be completed by October 15th, 1912. In January 1913 the new school welcomed its first students.
This new school had no electric lights, water or sewer and in the winter the classrooms were dark by three pm. Outdoor plumbing was located behind the school and even when water was later plumbed in there was no sewer. Water fountains drained into a bucket that was emptied by the janitor. Later on, when the first lights were installed, they were only bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. At first, only two of the four rooms were used but quickly a third was also needed. By fall 1913 all four classrooms were in use. From time to time during the period of 1920-1925 the Anglican Church once again housed students as an overflow classroom. In 1925, the basement classroom was utilized for a Primary Room, a room that had been used for Home Economics. The basement also boasted shop space. It was in 1924 that Florence Wood and Leslie Ogden graduated – the first students to do so. During the 1920’s, tuition fees were collected by the school. High school was $25 per year and grade twelve was $100 for the first year and $40 for the next year. Students were required to bring their own supplies and find their own transportation. All too quickly, the space was once again too small and in 1928 an addition was built in the same style as the 1912 building adding two more classrooms on the south side. As quickly as the growth came, it was gone. The Great Depression brought a decline in numbers and during the 1930’s the occupied rooms dropped to five and then four. The two north rooms were left vacant but eventually turned into a typing and home economic room. In 1940 light fixtures with a globe replaced the bare bulbs and a septic tank was installed along with indoor toilets. These improvements would prove vital in the coming years as Morse School began to expand its reach. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors. For the next four weeks I will be releasing a 4-part blog series on the history of Morse School. What began as a simple ‘one and done’ blog has transformed into an in depth look at the growth and eventual decline of the Morse School. I found the study interesting and informative. I hope you find it the same. Although I had many sources for the following blogs, most of the information comes from the Morse History book “As the Pendulum Swings” pages 25-29.
In 1907 Morse was booming and more and more settlers were arriving in the area. Residences felt a school was needed as soon as possible and a group of dedicated citizens came forward to form a committee. With W. H. Burgess as chairmen and E.J Daley as secretary the wheels were put in motion and the Education department was contacted. The committee had great results and on November 26, 1907 the Morse S.D. 1921 was formed. With a borrowed $1500 they began setting up Morse School. They were given permission to use a vacant building on the east side of town with the understanding that a new school building was to be built in spring of 1908. Prior to this, classes were held at the station. The first items purchased were six medium desks, five small desks and a teacher desk and chair. Miss. McRae was the first teacher. In May 1908 they called for tenders to build the first school and it was built on the corner of Brownlee St and Saskatchewan Ave. The bell from this original 1908 building was moved and still hangs in the belfry at the Morse Museum. The building later became the Anglican Church and was moved to the corner of Prairie Ave and Main St. until it was moved to Log Valley where is was still in use in the 1970’s. It didn’t take long and early in the summer of 1910 the school was crowded. A meeting was held but nothing decided and in January 1911, two suggestions were put before the board: expand the current building or build a new school. Again, no decision was made but inquires began regarding acquiring different land. In the meantime, the Council Chambers of Town Hall were used as an overflow classroom at which time Morse School employed two teachers. Finally, after much thought, a decision was made – they would build a new school. You can see all our latest updates and posts by following us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MorseMuseumAndCulturalCentre/and Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/morsemuseumsk/. Opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the Morse Museum & Cultural Centre, its Board of Directors or sponsors. |