Elkhorn Township School #1

Some photos from a spring road trip through parts of North Dakota last year.   

Elkhorn Township is in the extreme northwest corner of the state, and while researching the area, discovered there had been four schools built over the years for the ever growing population in the early days on the frontier.  

I couldn't find any specific dates as to when they were built or how long they were in service but was happy to find that all four were still standing...some in better condition than others.  This is Elkhorn Township School #1...ravaged by time but still holding on.  

This part of the world was settled mostly by people of Scandinavian descent, and going to school here was where all their youngsters learned to speak English...who in turn taught their parents.  Most everyone still living here are direct descendants of those Northern Europeans who originally settled the area.  In many ways, not much here has changed for well over a hundred years.  

Photographed in Elkhorn Township, North Dakota on June 18, 2023.

Spring Flowers

Filled a mini-fridge full of spring bulbs this past fall so I've been enjoying spring flowers (indoors, of course) for the past couple of months.  Still have about another month's worth yet to bloom.  This is the first time I've forced bulbs in years but will definitely be making it an annual event in years to come.   

Photographed on May 25, 2024.

Easter Sunday

Some handsome wooden carvings of Jesus, Mary and Joseph for Easter Sunday.

Photographed at Saint Joseph's Cemetery near Frenchville, Saskatchewan on May 25, 2022.

The East Wing of Saint Mary's

Saint Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church dates back to 1914 with additions in 1920 and then again in the mid-50's.  The photos here were taken in the latter addition completed in 1956.  I felt quite at home there in the east wing...me and it being the same vintage and all.

Photographed in Yorkton, Saskatchewan on December 17, 2019.

Tall Phlox

Something colourful and pleasant for a snowy day...

Not only are tall garden phlox attractive, but they also have the sweetest scent...something to look forward to each and every spring.

Photographed in Eastend, Saskatchewan on June 12, 2020.

Wall of Bales

From this past fall...a wall of golden straw bales near Sylvan, Manitoba.  This is the most captivating display of bales I've seen in recent history...modern art at its best in the prairie landscape.

Photographed on September 23, 2023.

Sunny Afternoon

On my way back home later in the day I stopped to see the little fallen down church again...this time in the sunshine. 

Congregational Church was photographed near Gros Ventre-Tothill on March 14, 2024.

Foggy Morning

Was out to Saint Margaret's to help take down the Christmas decorations a few days ago.  There were patches of fog along the way there making for a new photo opportunity when I stopped the little fallen down church...I'd never seen it in a foggy landscape before.  Enjoy!

Congregational Church was photographed near Gros Ventre-Tothill on March 14, 2024.

Aldag S.D. No. 1361

A monument at the former location of a one-room schoolhouse in southern Saskatchewan.

"Construction of the Aldag School began in 1912 - completed in 1913.  Enrollment varied from 7 to 35 pupils.  The building was used for church services, dances, card parties and public meetings.  On June 10, 1966 a decision was made to close the school.  The students were bussed to Gull Lake."

As an aside...I grew up on a small farm near the town of Midale in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan.  Through the years the one-room school there was replaced first by a two storey brick building, then by a modern school built circa 1960.  I started school in the new building in 1962 and completed Grade 12 in 1974 in the new wing that had been added circa 1967 to the modern school.  And, believe it or not, the school is still thriving to this day.  A rare thing indeed in this day and age.  Midale has a population of about five hundred and fifty people.      

Photographed near Gull Lake, Saskatchewan on June 17, 2023.

Chickens

One of my first jobs as a kid on the farm was to collect the eggs laid by the hens.  My mom always liked white chickens and this was, at the very least, a fond memory.  And as everyone knows, fresh eggs are the best. 

Photographed in Margaret, Manitoba on October 16, 2022.