(PHOTO: Hazelmere students and some preschool visitors busy themselves in the classroom. Shown, left to right, are Dustin Best (visitor); Wally Carden, fifth grade; Chester Carden, third grade; Chasity Watt (visitor); Shawn Carden, fourth grade; and Bonnie Best, first grade)
Located on the Colville Indian Reservation approximately 25 miles south of Inchelium in Ferry County, Hazelmere Elementary stands in a clearing between Lake Roosevelt and the main road through a sparcely populated area. It is a three-hour drive from Spokane to the school; the trip includes a ferry ride across the lake at Gifford.
According to long-time board member Nelly Rima, the school was established in 1908. It has been in continuous operation since that date. Carl V. Putnam, a board member of ESD 101, states that it began as Government Day School No. 7 as a result of the McLaughlin Agreement, whereby the United States approved a treaty with the Indians to provide them with such amenities as a trading post, schools, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a gristmill and a doctor. As its name implies, it was one of the seven schools built on the Colville Indian Reservation; now it is the only one that survives. (The present school at Inchelium, however, is at the site of Day School No. 4.)
Rima recalls that although it was referred to as a day school, Hazelmere was actually a boarding school between 1908 and 1916. The children lived in a large frame house adjacent to it. The school's first teacher was Effie Dana. In the early years of the school, funding was sufficient for only six months of operation each year.
Rima and all six of her daughters attended the school. Now three of her grandsons (Chester, age 8, Shawn, age 9; and Wally Carden, age 10), together with a great-grandson Eugene "Blue Jeans" Warren, age 6, are attending. This marks four generations of that family at Hazelmere. Bonnie Best, age 7, completes the present student body.
Emma Baulne, a former teacher now living in Colville, says that in the 1950s there were as few as three students. Built for a capacity of 25, the school has housed as many as 35.
During its 74-year history, the school has born several names. In addition to being called Government Day School No 7, it has been called the Monahan School and Rogers Bar School, the latter referring to its location near the Columbia River. The exact origin of its present name, Hazelmere, is unknown, but it is thought to have been named after Hazel Dana Baulne, a granddaughter of the first teacher. Former Ferry County School Superintendent Jane Cody states the school's early records were destroyed in a fire at the County Courthouse in 1935; hence, the name remains somewhat of a mystery.
The last manager of the trading post, Harold Eddings, now also a Colville resident, recalls that the store served the Hazelmere area until the early 1950s. He does not remember a gristmill nor a blacksmith shop, but says that during his tenure two barns and a good-sized garage were there. While working at the post, he and his wife lived in the frame dwelling that formerly housed the boarding students. He reminisces that during the winter of 1949-50, heavy snows and slides often closed the road, isolating the school and trading post for about a week at a time before the road could be cleared. Eddings also has fond memories of the people of the area and great admiration for their friendliness and integrity.
Hazelmere is now well equipped with learning materials, it has recently been carpeted from wall to wall, and modern lighting fixtures and larger windows have been installed. However, improvements have been slow in coming to the school. Baulne remembers that a good road, mail delivery and inside plumbing became a reality in the 1950s, and that the school's first motion picture projector was purchased in that decade. When electricity reached the area in the late 1940s, she says a party was held at the school to celebrate this significant event.
Cody states that the school has always been a community center for the area, and Rima quickly agrees. She recalls that when Roxie Rooks taught there 30 or 40 years ago, Thanksgiving dinners were served at the school, and parents put on a three-act play to raise money for Christmas candy for the children. She also remembers Saturday night dances there. This fall an Octoberfest was held, with games, films and food prepared from parents' favorite recipes adding to the festivities.
With a student body of five children, Hazelmere is probably the smallest one-room school in the state. The teacher, Rudy Christianson, is also the district's superintendent, secretary, clerk of the board, principal, and counselor. Christianson says that, on first observation, people are likely to comment that it must be great to have only five students, but he is quick to point out that with each student at a different grade level there is five times more preparation required. However, the installation of a telephone this year has enhanced his contacts with parents and the "outside" world.
The children are taught in an open classroom setting with book shelves lining three walls and a listening post in one corner of the room. "Blue Jeans" is in kindergarten; Bonnie is in first grade; Chester, grade 3; Shawn, grade 4; and Wally, grade 5. Individualized instruction is truly to their advantage. Although in the past children attended Hazelmere through the eighth grade, the students now leave to attend school in Inchelium after grade 6.
On Friday afternoons, preschools join the older children at the school for story time and an introduction to life in the classroom. If they arrive early, they can participate in games played on the concrete slab in back of the school. Christianson also joins in the fun and makes certain that the children learn good sports conduct along with softball, basketball and other sports skills before going on to Inchelium. This winter, for the first time, cross-country skiing has been offered.
With frequent appearances of bears, deer, rattlesnakes and other wildlife near the school, science and environmental education fall naturally into the curriculum.
In addition, the students have access to the county nurse, and a screening process provided by ESD 101 is available to detect learning problems before they can lead to school failure. Juanita Warren, a trained reading tutor, also assists the children, provides hot lunches for them, and sometimes drives their school bus.
The small class size allows great mobility. The children can go nearly anywhere at almost any time. Recent field trips have included journeys to Grand Coulee Dam and to archeological sites near Nespelem.
From a professional standpoint, Christianson admits that he is sometimes lonely, but he manages to keep in touch with educational trends and developments through the mail and an occasional workshop or seminar "on the outside." He was reared near Inchelium, and the opportunity to "do his own thing" is what keeps him content. He likes to teach about local interest and Indian studies as well as the basics.
There is strong support for the school among patrons of the district. Hal Braman, administrative assistant for ESD 101, says that as long as they can find five board members, there will be a Hazelmere School. Although money was a problem as recently as five or six years ago, Christianson says that is not a problem now. He adds, however, that school leaders in the 57 remaining non-high districts across the state are constantly working toward keeping their districts viable.
If the district's population should ever increase, it owns several acres of lan about six miles down the river at Mitchell Point as a result of the annexation of the Rothlisburg School in 1959.
Hazelmere Elementary was the subject of a feature article in the Oct. 11, 1981, issue of the Spokesman-Review, a Spokane newspaper Readers who wish to know more about the school are referred to that issue, or they may visit the school and help the children search for the "ghost buck," an especially large deer with tremendous antlers that is said to inhabit the area.
My mom is in the top row 4th from the left in that school picture. Her name is Adeline McDonell. I believe her brother Loren (Bud) is next to her.
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