At the turn of the century, when Alberta was still a part of the
North West Territories, the White School District #678 was
organized. First of its kind in the Lethbridge district, White
School was named after the Baptist minister, the Reverend
G. J. Coulter White. The Rev. Mr. Whtie, a Maritimer, with
his maritime love for education and his enthusiasm, gave the
people of this locality a quick spring to education. In the
fulfilling of his desires he was ably assisted by his fellow
board members, Reuben Tiffin and A. E. Keffer. This
board was responsible for purchasing and financing the
school site, building and equipping the schoolhouse,
hiring teachers, sending out tax notices and collecting
school taxes.

White School, located immediately north and a little west
of the present McNally School, is now used as a dwelling.
For many years it served the District in which it stands, a
district that was bounded on the north by McLean School,
on the east by Wilson School, on the south by the
Community School, and on the west by the River Junction
School.

The school was officially opened in 1902 on its original
site, one half mile west of its present site. It was dedicated
as a church and church services were held regularly, so
for years, dancing was taboo. The school was equipped
with a cistern, a pot belly stove, slates, blackboards, chalk
and blackboard erasers, yardstick, pointer and strap. The
prescribed readers were "The Ontario Reader" (Apples,
apples, Big red apples) and "The Alexander Reader".

Janitorial duties were handled by George and Tom Hadlington
through the years that White School was open. In the
beginning Geroge and Tom shared the work in the winter,
with help from the teacher in the spring and fall. Later the
care of the school was in the hands of Tom, with help from
Mrs. Tom.

Among the first pupils were members of the White, Childs,
Furnald, and Fernel Families; Mel Tiffin, Barney Gwatkin;
Jack, Nell, Lill, and Charles Parry with Mr. W. L. Hudson
as their teacher. James McCaig, M.a., L.L.B., was the first
inspector.

Because of the growing population, the school needed to
be expanded. New grounds were purchased (15 rods from
the nw. corner of N.E. 1/4-12--8-21-4). The White School
was moved and a second room was added in 1927. The old
grounds were sold to James Thompson Atkinson in 1928.
The first staff of the new school were: Miss Jennie Harper
and Mr. Simcoe, principal. Generous and capable members
of the local school board were: Mr. George Hadlington,
Secretary-treasurer from 1924 to 1937; Mrs. C. B. Andrews,
Mr. Oxland, Mrs. Marshall and Mr. Tiffin.

In 1940 further centralization brought the Patterson School
from the Stirling-Wrentham area. Moved on a rainy day, it
was dubbed the 'Mud Hut' from the muddy roads when it
was moved.

The Patterson School #4129 operated from 1926-1936.
It was built in 1926 on the N.E. corner of the south half
8-7-18-4 near the L.J. Patterson farms from whom the
school got its name.

Principal of the three-room school was Mr. L.K. MacKenzie.
It was under the principalship of Leonard MacKenzie that
the Students' Union was organized. The following year
the church was moved to the corner of the school grounds
and put into classroom use on weekdays. In the fall of
1941, senior students from McLean and River Junction
were being vanned to White School by Lou Bishop and
bob Kane. By 1943 White School and the two adjoining
classrooms had been filled to overflowing by a student
population of approximately 120 pupils. The following
year the basement of the school was converted to a
classroom. With increasing numbers of students and
the need for more space, the McMahon school was
moved in on the corner opposite White School to be
used as a classroom and later to become the center
teacherage. Louis Banack, by this time, had taken
over the van routes. In the fall of 1946 the high
school students and teachers were transferred to the
McLean School while all the elementary classes were
held at White. In the fall of 1947 all classes were held
in the newly completed McNally School.

A further addition of a shop area was built by the
students. The shop area continued in use after
classes had transferred to McNally until such time
as students were bussed to Coaldale.

Though school bells no longer ring at the old White
school, it still stands as a reminder of the value placed
on education by the people of the district.

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