School Name History

Location

2451 Ross Road, Aldergrove, BC

Opened

1962

The School

Ross Elementary opened in 1962 as a one-room school for Grades 1-3 or 1-4, depending on the population of the area. The population of the school fluctuated during the year, rising in the autumn and falling in the spring. This was caused by the building of the Columbia dams. Families whose parents worked on the dams would move to the Revelstoke area in April and return in November when work slowed down for the winter. Most of the families stayed at the Aloha Trailer Park located on the Fraser Highway.

Mrs. Clarice Caldwell was the first teacher at Ross Elementary. She taught there from September 1962 through June 1968, teaching grades 1-3 or 1-4. The school had washroom facilities for the students but not a separate one for the teacher. Mrs. Caldwell had to share the girls’ washroom with the students for the five years she taught there.

There was no mail delivery to the school.  Mrs. Caldwell had to go to the school board office to get library books, pick up her pay cheque, and get the school mail. The school did not have a telephone for the first year or two. Eventually the school did get phone service, but it was a “party-line” meaning many households shared the same line. Sometime in the 1980’s, a private line was installed.

Mrs. Caldwell organized Sports Day with the help of the parents each June. Mothers would help with the activities, cooked the hotdogs at home, and then transported them to school to put into buns. There were no breaks for Mrs. Caldwell—she had to do all the supervision—before school, at recess, and at lunch every day.  A most momentous day occurred in 1963 when a piano arrived at the school.

There have been many changes over the years. In 1970, a classroom, office, storage area and covered play area were added. Another classroom and school library were added in 1972-73. Two more classrooms and a gym were added in 1974-75. When Peardonville Elementary closed its doors in 1982, children were sent to Ross, King, and South Poplar Elementary. In 1989, the covered play area was closed in to make room for the new computer lab.

In 1990, Ross got a Kindergarten class. Up to this time, Kindergarten students went to Aberdeen Elementary. Major renovations to the school occurred in 1993. The front entrance was moved to the north side of the building and three new classrooms were added. Outside, the playground was enlarged and a new tennis court was built.

Origin of the Name

It is not clear from the records if Ross Elementary is named for its location on Ross Road, or Alexander Eugene Ross, or his family the Rosses. It is most likely named for its location. Ross Road was named after Alexander Eugene Ross, the son of pioneers Phillip and Grace Ross. Alexander was two years old when the family came from Kansas to Aldergrove in 1896. Their farm bordered on Ross Road (then named Dennison Road). Alexander went to school at Aberdeen Elementary. When World War I began, he enlisted in the Fraser Valley Battalion. In 1918, he was killed in action in France at age twenty-four.

His older brother, Art, was largely responsible for the construction of Ross Road, which in 1918 was renamed from Dennison Road to Ross Road in honour of Alexander. Over fifty years later, Ross Elementary was built on Ross Road.