Crafty Canadians
Skilled craftsmanship transformed this decades-old school into a barn that still stands today
In the early 1900s, the people north of Kinsella, Ont., decided that they needed a school so their children could become educated. A site was chosen about four miles northeast of the hamlet of Kinsella. Because so many badgers had set up housekeeping and were raising their families on the chosen site, everyone decided that “Badger” would be an appropriate name for the school.
As there was no school in Kinsella, the children from there were brought to Badger School in a four-wheeled wagon pulled by two horses called a democrat. As was the case with most schools in the early days, it not only served as a place for children to learn, but was the gathering point for the whole family for card parties and dances. Of course the biggest event was the annual Christmas concert, which the whole community looked forward to and attended.
As the years went by changes came as they always do, and many of the small country schools were closed. In 1947, Badger School was closed and the children were taken by bus to attend Kinsella School. Badger School was moved onto the Kinsella school grounds and served its purpose there for a few years until a bigger school was built. When the Badger School building was put up for sale, my husband Joe purchased it. It was dismantled piece by piece and moved to our farm just north of Kinsella.
In their single days, Joe and his friend Dave Arychuck worked in the lumber camps northwest of Edmonton, so Joe knew just what kind of lumber and the amount needed to construct a hip roof barn. Additional lumber had to be bought to complete the roof of the barn, so at the same time he purchased enough lumber for our house and garage.
The hip roof rafters were all cut by our brother-in-law, Bud Erickson of Bruce, Alta., who was a skilled carpenter and built homes for many family members. The ship-lapped sides and ends of the barn and the hardwood tongueand-groove floor are from the Badger School lumber. The walls are draft free and the loft floor did not let the cha come through to the lower level.
That barn is still standing today, as solid as the day it was built!