Living Landscapes

From Broad Axe to Clay Chinking
Cranbrook Hill
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Two of the oldest places on top of Cranbrook Hill are the Cranbrook School, built around the late 1920's or even early 30's, and the Garonzy house. Mr Garonzy actually allowed the school to be moved on to his land.

When this school was built, it replaced the first log school that was then used as a teacherage. The farmers all got together and “chipped in.” The logs were skidded from the bush, peeled with a draw knife, then hewed square with a broad axe and laid out to size. The dove-tailed corners were made, holes were drilled in the corners and wooden pins were placed in them to hold them together so the logs wouldn’t twist and turn.

From fourteen to eighteen children attended the school. It was heated with a barrel heater into which they would put two-foot dry pine or seasoned birch. Swings and teeter-totters amused the children and their favorite game for the boys and girls, was baseball, played with bare hands, no gloves, and balls became very old and in tatters before they got new ones. “Fox and Geese” was played in the wintertime. The flag, the Union Jack, was raised every morning and taken down every night. O Canada, God Save The King, and the Lord’s Prayer, were a daily part of their life. Christmas concerts were held on the last day before school was out for the holidays. Children, sometimes, had to walk as far as four miles to go to school.

The Garonzy family was one of the earliest settlers in the Cranbrook Hill area. They came there in the early 20's, their son Bill being born in 1922. His wife died shortly after giving birth and John Garonzy married again. Four more children were born.

Garonzy did farm a bit but although the soil there was extremely good, his main interest was doing carpenter work. The poplars that are pretty well covering the old house were planted by Garonzy. In 1948 or ‘49, he sold out and moved to Chilliwack, where he met his death. While riding home from work on his bicycle, a car ran over him.

CKPG News often used the Garonzy house and fields a background since it was a neat place and had a good view of the surrounding area.

Living Landscapes


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Two of the oldest places on top of Cranbrook Hill are the Cranbrook School, built around the late 1920's or even early 30's, and the Garonzy house. Mr Garonzy actually allowed the school to be moved on to his land. When this school was built, it replaced the first log school that was then used as a teacherage. The farmers all got together and “chipped in.” The logs were skidded from the bush, peeled with a draw knife, then hewed square with a broad axe and laid out to size. The dove-tailed corners were made, holes were drilled in the corners and wooden pins were placed in them to hold them together so the logs wouldn’t twist and turn. From fourteen to eighteen children attended the school. It was heated with a barrel heater into which they would put two-foot dry pine or seasoned birch. Swings and teeter-totters amused the children and their favorite game for the boys and girls, was baseball, played with bare hands, no gloves, and balls became very old and in tatters before they got new ones. “Fox and Geese” was played in the wintertime. The flag, the Union Jack, was raised every morning and taken down every night. O Canada, God Save The King, and the Lord’s Prayer, were a daily part of their life. Christmas concerts were held on the last day before school was out for the holidays. Children, sometimes, had to walk as far as four miles to go to school. The Garonzy family was one of the earliest settlers in the Cranbrook Hill area. They came there in the early 20's, their son Bill being born in 1922. His wife died shortly after giving birth and John Garonzy married again. Four more children were born. Garonzy did farm a bit but although the soil there was extremely good, his main interest was doing carpenter work. The poplars that are pretty well covering the old house were planted by Garonzy. In 1948 or ‘49, he sold out and moved to Chilliwack, where he met his death. While riding home from work on his bicycle, a car ran over him. CKPG News often used the Garonzy house and fields a background since it was a neat place and had a good view of the surrounding area.