Scotia, 1925-1942, Getting There

(Camera pans across a green valley with a road cutting down the middle over to a fence. A historic marker in the shape of a small school is on a post. It says Scotia School. The title of the film appears: Getting There. Scotia School).

(Monty Metzger shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Monty Metzger: When we came to Beiseker, we had a bus. But in the rural school there was no bus. My neighbours rode a horse to school everyday. A lot of times that was a lot of fun, they’d get bucked off or something like that.

(Fred Lyczewski shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Fred Lyczewski: What the horse would do if she didn’t like it when you cinched them up, she expanded her stomach. Then when we went, it was loose and the saddle went underneath the horse and threw us off, so then we had to walk home.

(Leah Uffelman shares memories from her home over zoom)

Leah Uffelman: When I first started school, we lived about four miles out, so once in a while we had to walk. We went with horse and buggy, that was the tail end of the horse and buggy at that time. Also, my parents took us in a car to school, but quite often after school, we had to walk home. That was a long way- four miles- for little children to be walking.

(Leonard Hagel shares memories from his home over zoom)

Leonard Hagel: We went with our horse and buggy to school everyday.

(Jean Schwengler shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Jean Schwengler: We were one mile across our field, or three miles around the road. Most days, we walked a mile across the field and usually after school, we walked the three miles to walk with classmates. It was just the thing to visit other people.

(Vera Schmaltz shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Vera Schlamtz: We lived about four and half miles from school and we always went to school in a horse and buggy. In the summertime we had a two wheeled cart and a horse. In the winter, we had a four wheeled buggy that my dad had built, and he made a cover for it that he would put on the buggy in the wintertime, so it wouldn’t be so cold. Because four and half miles by horse is a slow process.

(Fred Lyczewski shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Fred Lyczewski: In the summertime we rode a bicycle. The odd time the folks took us to school.

(Monty Metzger shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Monty Metzger: I remember I got a two wheeled bike and my mom put me on it and I drove it. There was no such thing as training wheels. No helmets or anything like that.

(Matt Schmaltz shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Matt Schmaltz: It was a school bus that came along and it was an army bus, it was an army colour. The seats went lengthwise on the bus, one down each side and one down the middle.

(Monty Metzger shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Monty Metzger: Of course, we would jump from one side to the other when the bus driver wasn’t looking.

(Adrian Wolfleg sits in the Niitsitapiisini: Our Way of Life Gallery in the Glenbow

Museum in front of a large tipi)

Adrian Wolfleg: Being from the Sisika Nation and having other students that were bused in, we grew up together too. More so than just going to school, because we spent the time on the buses together. We got to become friends, because we worked together with common challenges like with homework and with studies and projects and things you need to do. So that bus time was really important.

(Frank Schwengler shares memories at the Beiseker Golden Years Club)

Frank Schwengler: We were still off the beaten track, so either you had to walk that mile and a quarter morning and night, or else I started taking my horse down to Miller’s. They lived right on the corner where the school was, and I’d leave my horse there. When I got a little older, we had a Model A car and if Dad wasn’t using it or anything, I could take the Model A car down there and park it there and I’d catch the school bus. That was quite a trip.