School, Spuds, Turnips & Cream,. This tale explains how the lives of people in Pemberton changed after the Railway arrived in 1914. We will present information about the first schools, and early farming institutions that were formed to market and ship agricultural products in Pemberton - turnips, cream, and potatoes. To see a clip of Pemberton farmers planting potatoes in 1957 watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=643fa3HPb4g

1. Schools, Spuds, Turnips &
Cream
- Life After the Railway
Tea & Tales 2015: Transportation

2. 1912 – Spetch School
The First School
Built to accommodate the Spetch
children, Samuel Spetch hired a
teacher. Molly Garvin and Gladys
Blakeway both taught there.
After the Railway came in 1914
some families opted for lessons by
mail. By 1919, after much lobbying
by William Spetch, the BC
Government set up the oldest and
largest system of correspondence
education in Canada.

3. 1915 – Upper Valley School
The school was built for
the children of the
Ronayne, Punch,
Dermody and Ross
children.
Perkins mill supplied the
lumber and local men
built and maintained it.
Mothers scrubbed and
cleaned the building.
In 1929 a new, larger
school was built and
remains today as part of
the Copperdome Lodge
building.

4. Upper Valley School
– the early years
1916 Second year of school. Teacher: Margaret Mellish (later, Mrs. Ray Elliot). Front row: Sis and James
Punch. Middle row: John Ronayne, Norman Dermody, Gerald Ross. Back row: Sandy and Vivien Ross,
Ronayne, Rene, Helen Dermody.
1924 Front row from left:
Kathleen Ronayne, Eddie
Ronayne, Dorothy Van Der
Hoop, Tessie Ronayne.
Boys in rear: Bart Ryan,
Robbie Miller, Dick Green,
teacher probably Sheila
Connelan

5. Early Dairy 1912-1930’s
Dora Barbour organized Pemberton’s first milk
route in 1912. The Barbours came from Squamish
and their farm was where Kia-ora park is today.
Jack Ronayne said that after the PGE came farmers
started out to do a little dairying. As long as the
cream was sweet, they did well and for some years,
dairy was the sole means of revenue.
In 1932 a cream cooler was built at the PGE station
and the Board of Trade looked into establishing a
creamery in the District.

6. Birken School 1922
The community of Birken held a work bee and built a school for their children to
attend. Mr. M.B. Pullinger was the first teacher and the school operated until 1944.
The building was used as a community hall and was a hub of community activity for
many years. The school still stands today and there are plans underway to preserve it.

7. Birken School Group 1922
Ernie Ward, Mrs. Taylor, ?, Mrs. Craddock. Middle row: Charlie Friedstrom, Mrs.
Thompson, Mrs. Pullinger, Miss Pullinger. Front row: Charlie Carlson, Kester Taylor,
Lola Taylor. Children: Ida Taylor, Helen Thompson, Gordon Taylor, ?, HarveyTaylor,
Galen Taylor.

8. Farmer’s Institute - 1925
After the Railway arrived, farmers greatly
increased their acreages and government
agricultural experts provided advice.
The Farmer’s Institute was founded in 1922
to “promote conditions of rural life so that
settlement may be permanent and
prosperous…”.
By the late 1920’s, Pemberton cream was
ruled to be sour and prices dropped.
Commercial potatoes became a dominant
crop. The “Netted Gem” was an award
winning potato grown by W.C. Green in
1926.
By 1939 a total of 18 awards were won by
Pemberton farmers. Top honours were
achieved for field peas and turnips, along
with potatoes.

9. The Fall Fair 1929
The Fall Fair was first
organized in 1922.
A professional from the
Department of
Agriculture judged the
exhibits.
After the judging he
spoke about the seed
certification program for
potatoes.
Soon after this first fair
W.C. Green secured 100
lbs of Netted Gem seed
potatoes from Lillooet.
A year later he sold a ton
of seed to Will Miller

10. Awards
Farmers began winning top
honours in potatoes, turnips
and field peas in the 1930s.
Winning gave wide advertising
of the area’s agricultural
products.
Despite multiple awards the
farmer’s were still concerned
with marketing and sales of
their products.

11. Railway
Pass.

12. Pemberton Station School - 1929
After the Railway arrived, the growing
community of “Pemberton Station” needed
a school. Like Upper Valley residents,
people in town were greatly involved in
financing and constructing the new
building.
Bertha “Bussie” Green was the first
teacher. She recalled that volunteers were
still hammering away the morning school
began. Another opening day set-back was
the lack of an outhouse, but fortunately the
school was surrounded by trees and bushes.
The Upper Valley Meadows school was
also rebuilt in 1929 and the two schools
had a keen rivalry in sports for many years.

13. Mt. Currie Schools 1930s-1950s
In the 1930s a one room school was constructed
and served the community until the 1950s. A
second building was constructed in the late 40s.
In 1948 the Missionary Sisters of Christ, took
charge of all teaching duties through to 1966 and
beyond.
A scholarship winner from Mt. Currie was the
first resident to become a teacher. Her name was
Mary Louise Williams, and she eventually
returned to the Pemberton Valley after serving in
various provincial schools.
Despite these efforts to provide local schooling,
many Mt. Currie children were sent away to
residential schools in Vancouver, Mission,
Williams Lake, and Kamloops.

14. The Pemberton Cooperative
The advent of machinery in the 1940s
made a big difference in potato
production.
The Pemberton Cooperative was founded
in 1941 with the objective of helping
farmers to acquire feed and supplies more
cheaply.
It was an important service, serving as the
chief shipping and receiving outlet for all
of Pemberton.
Records show the Coop not only received
and shipped potatoes and turnips, also
washing machine parts, lumber and nails,
even a T.V. antenna in later years! When
the highway arrived in 1966 the Coop was
no longer needed

15. Superior School - 1951
As a direct result of lobbying
efforts by local school trustees,
the Pemberton Superior
School came into being in
1951, a two roomed steel
building serving Gr. 1 to 10.
Two years later the school bus
began a run up the valley.
In 1956 a much larger school
was built for Gr. 1 to 12. The
bus service expanded to Mt.
Currie in 1958. The number
of students from Mt. Currie
who attended the Pemberton
High School increased from 8
to 62 in 6 years.

16. Life After the Railway
1916 – picnic group Picnic group across from the
Pemberton Trading Store. Seated, l-r; Lena Harris,
Mrs. Ernie Sampson, Violet Harris, Bert Perkins,
Hardy Thompson (2 yr old), his mother Edna Harris
Thompson and her daughter Verna Thompson;
kneeling from l-r; Nat Baker and his house keeper,
George Thompson, kneeling behind his family;
standing l-r; Una Harris, Ernie Sampson, Williams,
(Mrs. Ernie Sampson brother) Edwin Harris, Jessie
Harris, Rene Ronayne, Jack Ronayne (behind Rene),
Edith Harris and Vincent Harris
1921 - "Sandy" Ross, Joe Ronayne, Gerald Ross,
"Sandy" Fowler. Front row: Jas. Landsborough,
Norman Dermody, Jack Ronayne, Johnny Ronayne