meals at all hours for 25c. He bid a hearty welcome to settlers and
people taking meals at the Waverley would have their horses stabled
free. Mr. A. B. Sovereen from the Adams Photo Co., would take
pictures of all kinds. And so the homesteaders of 1898 and 99 could
now get just about anything they would require by making the trip to
Swan River. This was no pleasure trip with team and wagon. The
area now known as Square Plains was mostly swamp and under
water. The ridges, and by following close to the Roaring River was
about the only way to travel. By the Spring of 1900 William McGrat-
ten‘s store on NE 29-34—28 opened and again this reduced the dis-
tance people had to go for some of their needs.

By the fall of 1899 settlers thoughts were turning to schools for
the young people. In early 1900, a petition was circulated by Robert
Thompson, homesteader on the southwest 32-34-28. This petition,
requesting that a school district be formed was presented to Mr. T.
M. Maguire, Inspector of Schools at Portage la Prairie. As a result
of the petition, on July 24, 1900 the North half of 16, all of 17, l8,
19, 20, and 21, the North half of 22, West half of 26, plus all of 27,
28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and West half of 35 in Township 34, Range
28 was formed into a School District to be known as Durban School
District No. 1080.

The School was built later that year on the south east corner of
section 29. It turned out to be a very low, wet location. In 1901 the
school was moved to the south west corner of northwest 29-34-28.
Teachers who taught in the old Durban school were Chris Nichool,
W. S. R. Cottingham, Bert Green, Mary S. Guthrie, Mary E.
Barker, Marion Zinger. The school operated from 1900 to 1912,
when the school closed and never was in use again. It burned in a
run—away fire not too long after.

Ruby School was built in 1901 some six miles south east of
where Durban was built. Pretoria School which was four miles south
of the present Town, was built in June 1901 on NB 36-33—29. Some
of the teachers who taught at this school were James First, A. K.
Cameron, May Green, James Mossip, Mrs. Isaac Hunt, Laura Lati-
mer, Mrs. Kinley, A. H. Plummer, Jessie McCaully, and A. B.
Campbell. Pretoria School District entered into consolidation with
Durban in 1913. The first school in the village of Durban was built
after the railroad came through. It was south and west of the present
United Church and was called Central Valley School No. 1408. Some
of the teachers who taught in this school were Catherine Fraser,
Olive Johnson, Elsie Payne, Ida Andrews, A. H. Plummer.

In the winter of 1912—13 meetings were held at the schools in the
area. The topic was the forming of a large school system. Consolida-
tion of schools had been taking place in southern Manitoba. The
school District of Holland was formed January 1906. A meeting was
held in Honsingers Hall, March, 1913. Dan McDonald, Chairman
gave the opening address. The speaker from the Department of Edu-

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