One of the legacies of the Libau and Areas Schools Reunion that was held in July of 2017 is a series of eleven signs marking the locations of  schools (below).

Arnhold School

Arnhold School District No. 1618 was established on April 2, 1912. Casper and Anna Ogonowski donated two acres of land for the school on SE ¼ 30-15-6E. The schoolhouse was built in 1913, and classes began that year.

The school served as a community centre for the area. It was the site for meetings, concerts, box socials, and other activities. Arnhold was a small school district and not heavily populated. Attendance at the school declined from close to 30 in the early 1920s to 6 in 1947.

Due to the low enrolment, Arnhold School was classified as a Closed School in September 1947. Area students then attended Poplar Park or Libau Schools. In 1964, the school was sold and removed from the site. Arnhold School District was officially dissolved on April 1, 1967.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Brookside School

Brookside School District No. 1546 was established on October 19, 1910. The school was completed in August 1911 on SE ¼ 29-14-6E, and classes began in January 1912. In 1915, it was classified as a bilingual school, operating in Ruthenian (Ukrainian) and English. After changes to the education legislation in 1916, it operated as a unilingual English school.

An addition to the school was built in 1929 to accommodate increased enrolment. In December 1941, the school was badly damaged by fire. Space was rented from nearby homeowners, Metro and Anne Samagalski, and classes for 29 students were held in their house from January to June 1942. The new school opened in September 1942.

In July 1965, residents in the Brookside School District signed a petition to dissolve it and consolidate with Happy Thought School District No. 1452. The petition was approved. Brookside School District officially closed on January 1, 1966 and classes continued in the school until June 1966. Students were bussed to East Selkirk beginning in September 1966. The school was later sold and moved to a nearby farm.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Hoey East School

Hoey School District No. 2173 was established on October 4, 1927, and named in honour of R. A. Hoey, the MLA for St. Clements and the Minister of Education. The original Hoey School was located west on St. Peters Road.

By the early 1940s, Hoey School was badly overcrowded. The absence of roads also meant that children living in the eastern half of the district could not travel to school. In 1944, residents voted to build a second school on the Two Mile Road. Michael and Olga Kosack donated three acres on NW ¼ 36-14-5E for the school site. The school was built using volunteer labour and opened in January 1945. It was named Hoey East School; the original school was renamed Hoey West School.

Hoey School District was consolidated with the Happy Thought School District No. 1452 and officially dissolved on January 1, 1960. The last classes were held in June 1960. Area children were bussed to East Selkirk beginning in September 1960.

In 1961, the Hoey East schoolhouse was sold and moved to replace the burned-down Poplar Park School.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Hoey West School

Hoey School District No. 2173 was established on October 4, 1927, and named in honour of R. A. Hoey, the MLA for St. Clements and the Minister of Education. Classes were held in a tent from July–¬September 1927, then resumed in November when the schoolhouse was completed on River Lot 117 on St. Peters Road. The school was moved to Lot 122 in 1934, approximately two kilometres north of this sign.

Overcrowding at the school was a serious problem. To help relieve the congestion, a second school, Hoey East, was built on the Two Mile Road and opened in 1945. The original was renamed Hoey West School.

By the mid-¬1950s, residents of the district began investigating consolidation with Happy Thought School District No. 1452. Consolidation was approved in October 1959, and Hoey School District was officially dissolved on January 1, 1960. The final classes at Hoey West School were held in June 1960. Students were bussed to East Selkirk beginning in September 1960.

In 1962, Hoey West School was sold and removed from the site. The building is still in use as a workshop.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Libau East School (First Location)

Libau School District No. 1231 was established on March 28, 1903. Land at SE ¼ 15-15-6E was purchased from John Peterson for $12.50, and a log schoolhouse was built. This building burned on March 24, 1906, and a new log school was constructed on the same site.

Overcrowding quickly became an issue. In 1918, a second school, named Libau West, was built in the village at SE ¼ 17-15-6E, and the original school was renamed Libau East School. It continued to have high enrolment, with over 60 students per year throughout the 1920s.

Libau East School was destroyed by fire on July 24, 1949. A granary was moved to the west end of NE ¼ 11-15-6E and remodelled as a temporary school. It remained in use until 1952, when a new Libau East School was opened. In 1957, the original school property was transferred to St. Joseph’s Polish National Church and used as its cemetery.

The Libau School District was consolidated into the Lord Selkirk School Division No. 11 in 1966 and legally dissolved on January 1, 1967.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Libau East School (Second Location)

Libau School District No. 1231 was established on March 28, 1903. The first Libau School was built in 1903 at SE ¼ 15-15-6E, where the St. Joseph’s Polish National Church cemetery is currently located. The school burned in 1906 and was rebuilt; that school burned on July 24, 1949.

A granary was moved to NE ¼ 11-15-6E, remodelled, and used as a temporary school. It remained in use until October 1952, when the new Libau East School opened. The school was also located on NE ¼ 11-15-6E, less than a kilometre further east.

Libau East School operated until December 1966, when the district was consolidated into the Lord Selkirk School Division No. 11. In 1967, Grade 1–¬6 students attended Libau School (the former Libau West) and Grade 7–8 students attended Happy Thought School. In September 1970, Grade 6 students also attended Happy Thought. Beginning in September 1972, all students were bussed to East Selkirk or Selkirk. The school district was dissolved January 1, 1967.

Libau East School was sold and the building converted into a private home.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Libau West School (First Location)

Libau School District No. 1231 was established on March 28, 1903. The first school was built east of the village at SE ¼ 15-15-6E, but soon became overcrowded. Three acres at SE ¼ 17-15-6E were purchased from Emil and Bertha Greening for $90.00, and in 1918 a new school, named Libau West, was opened in the village. The original school was renamed Libau East.

The Libau area was growing rapidly, and Libau West School, in turn, became overcrowded. Enrolment averaged about 60 in the 1920s and 1930s, and reached close to 50 in the 1940s. On one occasion, children under 7 and over 14 years of age were expelled because they had no place to sit. In 1952, a new two-room schoolhouse was built on the same quarter section.

The old Libau West School building was sold in 1952 and removed from its site.
The Libau School District was consolidated into the Lord Selkirk School Division No. 11 in 1966 and officially dissolved on January 1, 1967.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Libau West School (Second Location)

Libau School District No. 1231 was established on March 28, 1903. The original Libau School was opened in 1903 east of the village; the first Libau West School opened in 1918 on SE ¼ 17-15-6E in the village.

The one-room Libau West School experienced severe overcrowding. In 1952, a new two-room schoolhouse was built on the same quarter section, slightly closer to the village centre. It had two teachers, teaching Grade 1–6 and Grade 7–11. In September 1960, high school students began attending Selkirk High School.

The Libau School District was consolidated into the Lord Selkirk School Division No. 11 in 1966 and dissolved on January 1, 1967. An agreement was reached to teach Grade 1–6 students from Libau, Poplar Park, and Sheffield locally in the Libau West schoolhouse, which was renamed Libau School. Grade 7–8 students were bussed to Happy Thought School; beginning in September 1970, Grade 6 students were included. In September 1972, Libau School was closed and all students were sent to East Selkirk or Selkirk.

Libau School was converted into the Libau Community Club.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Poplar Park School (First Location)

Poplar Park School District No. 545, formed on August 1, 1888, was the first operating district established in the Libau area. A log school was constructed in 1890 (location uncertain), and 21 students attended classes in 1891.

In 1897, Charles Mattson donated one acre of land at NE ¼ 32-15-6E for the school. He may have donated the land where the school already stood, or the school may have been moved here from its original site. It operated at this location until 1914.

Because some children had to travel up to five miles to attend classes, a more centrally located school was needed. A new Poplar Park School was built on two acres of land on SW ¼ 33-15-6E. This school had a frame construction and opened in May 1914.

The original Poplar Park School building burned that summer.

The Poplar Park School District was consolidated into the Lord Selkirk School Division No. 11 in 1966 and dissolved on April 1, 1967.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Poplar Park School (Second Location)

Poplar Park School District No. 545, formed on August 1, 1888, was the first operating district established in the Libau area. A one-room log schoolhouse was built on NE ¼ 32-15-6E in 1897.

The original school was built in the northeast corner of the district, and a more central location was required. Two acres were purchased from Sam Goodman at SW ¼ 33-15-6E and the new wood frame school opened in May 1914. A teacherage was constructed in 1921–22. In December 1960 the school was destroyed by fire, and Michael and Maria Fill’s nearby house was converted into a temporary school. In summer 1961, the vacant Hoey East School was purchased and moved on the site, and classes resumed in September.

Poplar Park School District was consolidated into the Lord Selkirk School Division No. 11 in 1966 and dissolved on April 1, 1967. Beginning in 1967, Grade 1–6 students attended Libau School and Grade 7–8 students attended Happy Thought School. In September 1970, Grade 6 students also attended Happy Thought. Beginning in September 1972, all students were bussed to either East Selkirk or Selkirk.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.

Sheffield School

In March 1919, residents of the northeast section of the Poplar Park School District petitioned the Municipality of St. Clements to establish a new district named Freya. Poplar Park School was overcrowded, and it was difficult for students from the northeast to travel to it. An April 1, 1919 municipal by-law established Freya district, but because another district already had the same name, the Department of Education renamed it Sheffield School District No. 1976.

Sheffield School, built at SW ¼ 3-16-6E under the supervision of the district’s Secretary-Treasurer, W. J. Gayleard, opened in November 1919. In 1951, it was modernized with chemical indoor toilets, electricity, and an oil furnace.

Sheffield School District was consolidated into the Lord Selkirk School Division No. 11 in 1966 and dissolved on April 1, 1967. In 1967, Grade 1–6 students attended Libau School and Grade 7–8 students attended Happy Thought School. In September 1970, Grade 6 students also attended Happy Thought. Beginning in September 1972, all students were bussed to either East Selkirk or Selkirk.

As of 2017, the Sheffield school building stands at its original site and is privately owned.

Libau Area School Reunion Committee 2017

The Reunion Committee gratefully acknowledges funding for this marker received from the RM of St. Clements Council, its Heritage Committee, and Home Hardware Building Centre, Selkirk.