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The earliest recorded interest of a school being built for
the Hylo-Venice areas are in notes compiled by Father Ludo van
Leewwen in his effort to record the history of Venice and Hylo
in 1954. Since there are no official documents
supporting these early efforts, the accuracy cannot be
confirmed. However, these notes indicate discussions
took place in 1921 to determine a site for a school which
might serve both communities. A site near the cemetery
hill between Venice and Hylo was planned. As only three
trustees were possible, the problem of determining which
community would get two trustees and which would get only one
became insurmountable and finally, Venice and Hylo decided to
each build their own schools.
Until the schools were built,
some children attended the Mission School in Lac La
Biche. As the church in Venice was built, Father Carlo
Fabris started to organize the "Fascio de Venice"
for the Italian community with the hopes of obtaining a
substantial subsidy from the Italian government for a convent
school at Venice. However, after Father Fabris returned
from a trip to Italy in 1927, there was no more talk of a
convent school in Venice. According to the notes by Father
Ludo, Venice School was constructed by a contractor by the
last name of Rycroft. Mr. Roger Johnson was the first
teacher there and taught only for a few months in 1926.
During the summer months of July and August, Father Fabris
taught the children in the church. In 1926, Leo O'Grady,
a returned soldier came to Venice to teach. As there was
no teacherage at the time, he reportedly lived in a separated
room inside the school in 1929.
Official documents indicate
that Hylo School was erected in March 1922 under the Trieste
School District 4101. One of the earliest documents
filed was a response from the Department of Education to J.L.
Gibault, Esq., Inspector of Schools replying to a request for
a special grant to Trieste School District to allow the school
to remain open for several months of the year and to keep
teachers employed and paid. It is an indication of the
hard times that were to come. The early 1930s were turbulent
years for the trustees of the Trieste S.D. 4101. The
trustees were in disagreement and at odds over several issues
including responsibilities of the trustees, payment of
teachers' salaries, as well as hiring of and retention of
teachers, student discipline issues and the general
administration of affairs in the district. The name
Trieste School District 4101 was officially changed to Hylo
School District 4101 on September 11, 1940 to better reflect
the hamlet of Hylo, in which it was located. On April 29,
1942 the building and contents used for instruction of the
senior grades in Hylo were destroyed by fire. The superintendent
approved another suitable building to continue
instruction. However, there is no documentation
indicating where this was.
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