How did we get
to where we are?
The school was moved in September 2002 and volunteers are now busy. The project is going well. We got to this position thanks to a lot of hard work by all the volunteers, the contractors, and all the others who gave us sound advice and guidance. Thanks also to the MD of Rocky View and the Provincial Government for grants, and all those who donated money and time to the project, see Donations.
In the spring of 2000, Jean Gray, the president
of the BHS, made two excellent presentations to the Lions,
requesting that they allow the school to stay in its original
location; the Lions refused.
In the summer of 2000, the BHS with Carol Pilkington as President decided that they would take on the job of moving the school and restoring it. In the fall of 2000, they started to look for a new location for the school. They investigated several possibilities and decided to go after part of the 5.4 acre Municipal Reserve #22, just west of the Community Association building. After visiting most of the neighbors around the MR lot, at the request of the MD Administrator, and getting a very positive response, they officially went after the easternn-most 1 acre of the land through the Recreation Board.
The Recreation Board offered the western-most 1-acre, as the Community Association had requested the land for soccer fields. So the BHS returned to the local residents and again got their approval, with three residents wanting more information. The BHS then went to a Public Meeting at the MD in March 2000, and, as the Community Association had decided to withdraw their request for the MR lot, the Historical Society were given the eastern-most 1-acre of land for the historic site, by a unanimous vote of the councillors. The BHS then prepared a budget and returned to the Recreation Board for their approval of an application for a cash-in-Lieu Grant from the MD. When this grant was approved, the BHS then went to the Province for a CFEP grant, and this too was approved, giving matching grants for a final budget of $156,600. Shortly after we started, a Bearspaw resident gave the BHS $5,000, a good start to the project.
In the spring of 2001, requests for proposals were sent out to 5 architectural consultants, and after reviewing the proposals, Hutchinson Architects Inc was hired. By Christmas of 2001, the architectural report was available, and working drawings were prepared, see Abstract from this report. In the Spring of 2002, Carswell Engineering Consultants was hired to cover the design of the basement and the structural aspects. Sabatini was recommended for soils and Tronnis for the survey work. Once the plans were ready, requests for proposals went out for the basement, and three proposals were received. The BHS was not happy with the initial proposals, so found two more companies and went to bid again. No further proposals were received, so the Society went with Danpro Excavating Ltd, a local contractor, who agreed to build the foundation according to the plans.
Also in the spring of 2001, a number of volunteers prepared the school for the move. They removed the chimney, all the windows from inside the building, cleaned out anything useful from the basement, removed the basement stairs, and the cover over the emergency stairwell on the south end of the building. In late April, York Shaw moved the school off its foundation and placed it about 30m tot he north, alongside the fence, so that the Lions could fill in the basement and prepare the land prior to June 1, for the start of their weekly Farmers’ Market. During the summer, about six volunteers scrapped and painted the school, to remove the graffiti and make it look presentable before the school was moved. Also during the summer, the joists in the floor were doubled up, as stipulated by the structural engineer to bring the building up to the current code for assembly buildings.
In November 2001, the BHS applied for charitable status with the Federal Government, and despite dire warnings of it taking three years and then not being accepted, approval came through in 5 months. This allowed the Society to offer income tax receipts for donations received.
The sod turning ceremony took place on July 23rd and soon thereafter the contractor started work. By mid-September, the basement and parking lot were completed; see Construction.
On 20th September, the School was moved to its new location about 500m west of its original site by York Shaw Building Movers (1983) Ltd. It is now in the new heart of the Bearspaw Community, across the road from the Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre and just about 50m north of the new Bearspaw public school, but most important, it is saved from demolition or being relegated to chicken coup on a farm! In it new location is will be restored and rehabilitated, and put back into use by children and the community.
Almost everyday during November, anywhere from 2 to 10 volunteers worked on the school, taking advantage of the good weather. They closed in the beam pockets, which were required by the building movers, and added the new toilet expansion onto the northwest corner of the building, formally the girls’ entrance; this work was lead by Adolph Voelk, a Lion and retired contractor. When the walls were done, Tim shingled the roof, and he and Nipper fastened the old original door back onto the west wall of the new toilet, to maintain historic accuracy. Jim, Nipper, Tim, Alex and Angus sided as much of the extension as they were able to, before the new window is fitted. New siding has been added to the bottom of the walls to replace the old, rotted wood, and volunteers have added a metal rain sill on the north and south sides to cover the basement wall. All rotted wood has been removed
Inside the school, a new high efficiency furnace has been installed in the mechanical room along with the warm and cold air ducts for the upper floor. All the holes in the classroom floor and walls have been covered in, so that the furnace could be used to warm the school to provide a work space.
Money wise, we currently have enough money in the bank to cover all our committed expenses and the material we require to keep the volunteers working to complete the main floor of the school. We have had donations of over $26,000 and are less than $4,000 of reaching our initial goal of $30,000. Volunteer time can be charged at $7 an hour against our grants, and we are rapidly reaching our initial goal of $9,014, with close to 1000 hours of chargeable time. Once we have the remainder of our donations and have accumulated the volunteer time, we will close out our current Cash-in-Lieu Grant from the MD and CFEP grant from the Provincial Government, and consider applying for anothers. We applied for a grant to cover the heating and plumbing from the Calgary Foundation, and this money has been granted to us. We are breaking the remainder of the work into small projects, then going after local companies and large corporations for sponsorships to cover each item.