Sunday 6 September 2015

Netherby School August 22, 2015

From what I could find out the Netherby School operated from 1911 to 1963. Apparently it was also used in a movie at one time. If there ever was a town nearby called Netherby I cannot find a record of it. The nearest town of any size near here is Hanna, Alberta. This place is north and east of Hanna.



Just over the row of trees in the background is the Netherby Cemetary.


You can walk inside the school. There is nothing to see.


The building is not in great shape. I doubt it will be standing in the next ten years. I am trying to get out and see some of Alberta's history before it disappears entirely.


6 comments:

  1. Hello, accidentally found your blog page while doing a Google search for "Netherby School". I was not sure of the name of the school, i just referred to it as "Netherby School" since I did not see a sign when I was there and that was the name of the cemetery next door. I accidentally discovered Netherby School this past summer while on a day trip to the Special Areas to look for the Garden Plain and Spondin town sites. I found Spondin without too much trouble since there was a community centre building close by. The Garden Plain townsite took some effort to find (at least I believe it to be the town site), it was down what looked like a dirt track and located beside the empty embankment of the former CN rail line. All that is left is a 3 dilapidated buildings (one of which looks like it used to be a barn) and an outhouse. If you weren't so far away, I could show you the photos I took of my expedition.

    Bill Dang

    bdang@rogers.com

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  2. Thank you for the photos. This school was used in the 1977 Canadian movie "Why Shoot the Teacher?", obased on the novel by Max Braithwait. The credits at the end of the movie say it was filmed around Hanna, AB; and this location was chosen due it appearing extremely rural with a bleak surrounding landscape in winter. A guick Google search brings me to this page.
    The entire movie can be seen here: please enjoy.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_F_C7xkHpY

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    Replies
    1. I read the book by Max Braithwaite. I never saw the movie because I heard it deviated from the book. The book is kind of sad, his prior effort "Never Sleep Three In A Bed" is a very entertaining book.

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    2. The post is from 2015 and I'm curious if the schoolhouse is still standing? Any thoughts of preserving the building? Joe

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    3. It is still standing in 2021.

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  3. I grew up in this schoolhouse while watching this film over the years. All 💕

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