聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 On Friday, customers of the Co-op food store in Kamsack were able to purchase 50/50 tickets that were sold to raise money for the construction of a cairn that is to be located on the site of Poplar Point School.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The tickets cost $5 each and a draw is to be made at the RM of Cote meeting on March 7, said information from the cairn committee. 鈥淎ll of our proceeds will go toward the cairn.鈥�
The committee was formed in 2017 with its goal being to have a cairn or large sign erected on the original site of the Poplar Point School, which was located on Highway No. 357 about 3.5 miles off Highway No. 8, the information said.
鈥淲e have sent out letters to former students and residents asking for donations,鈥� it said. 鈥淲e have also had a bake sale and raffled a Christmas wreath made of 40 Scratch tickets in November. The wreath was won by Darrell Bobyk.
Poplar Point School was opened in the spring of 1908, but then a new building was built and opened in 1954, when there were 38 students attending, the information said. The school was in operation until it closed in 1966 with only seven students enrolled.
When the school was still in聽operation it was used for many functions other than as a classroom.聽It was used for political meetings, as a voting poll, for meetings of the Farmer鈥檚 Union and for card parties, picnics, concerts, dances and church services.
After the school closed, the community formed a committee to keep the school in use. There were many bridal showers, stags聽and meetings held. It was well known for its Boxing Day dances in the late 1960s and 70s.
The committee decide to have a reunion in 1995, which was a great success, reuniting many friends and family members.
But, the use of the school started to decrease. The wildlife was starting to damage the building and the fear of a fire destroying it helped the community to decide to ask the Kamsack Power House Museum if it would accept the building as a donation.
It was accepted and on August 7, 2009, the former school building was moved by Phil Mydonick Moving to the museum grounds in Kamsack. A grand opening of the school was held on June 12, 2012.
