Historic schools brought back to life
By Joan Janzen
Kathy and Keith Warrington had a dream of restoring two old one-room schools and inviting people inside once again. That dream materialized this summer when Merid & Magna Historic Retreat opened, enabling guests to enjoy a visit on the Warrington’s 2.3 acres of wide-open prairie. Their retreat is a twenty five-minute drive east of Oyen across the Saskatchewan border. The Warrington’s farm is located across the road from the schools. Keith has farmed and ranched in this area his entire life.
Merid School was originally constructed in 1912. The 1200 square foot building is all that remains of what was once the village of Merid. Many of Keith Warrington’s family members lived in that community and attended school there years ago.
“In 1989 Merid School was formally closed following a long life as a school, church and community centre. It fell into a state of disrepair, and a decision had to be made whether to allow it to decay beyond repair or try to save what we could,” Kathy explained. The Warringtons purchased the school and its 2.3 acres from Sun West School Division in 2015.
The second school was originally built in 1911 in the RM of Milton No. 292. Its Latin name “Magna Bonum School” means “great and good,” expressing respect for goodness of life. This 700 square foot building was originally located north of Marengo. In the 1960’s it was moved to the old schoolyard in Marengo, along with other one-room schools, after the base opened in Alsask. Keith Warrington recalls attending Magna Bonum School in Grades 1 and 2.
In the 1980’s the Magna Bonum School was purchased by Harold Schmalzbauer, who donated it to the Marengo United Church, where it was used as a hall. After many years of use, the church was removed, and the building was empty.
“In 2016, the new owners of the property wanted the school torn down, but we offered to move it beside the Merid School and save it from demolition,” Kathy said. The Warringtons began restoring the school on May 9, 2016.
Making their dream become a reality involved a lot of hard work. “We began slowly stripping back the layers to find anything original that we could salvage,” Kathy said. Pigeons had moved into the building. “I must have seen something that no one else saw when shovelling all the pigeon droppings out of the building.” And they shovelled loads of pigeon manure!
“The roof was caving in and had to be replaced. It was a huge job, far bigger than I thought it would be,” Kathy said. They had to strip all the renovations from the 1960s to get to the original layer.
Renovations were finally completed in 2021. Now, these schools have been completely reimagined into the beautiful spaces they are today! “There’s a lot of schools that have been turned into granaries, fallen into disrepair or pushed over. There’s not that many of them left, so it was nice to save two of them,” Kathy said.
“We worked hard to keep the originality of the schools. The windows are the original size and in the original location,” she explained. They also used the original beams, exposed brick chimney and massive vaulted ceilings. The result is cozy and comfortable accommodations nestled in a quiet, peaceful setting. There are also handmade quilts available for guests to snuggle into, which were made by Keith’s aunt, who had attended Merid School.
Merid School can now accommodate 70 guests and has sleeping accommodations for four, while Magna Bonum School has sleeping accommodations for six. There’s also space available for people to bring their RV’s and trailers. Merid & Magna Historic Retreat opened at the end of August this year.
Kathy said ninety percent of their Air B&B guests come from Calgary and Saskatoon. “It’s becoming a destination,” Kathy said. The facility hosted a couple of weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, family reunions, and sleepovers for girlfriends, and people have also used it for photoshoots. A twelve-foot Christmas tree and decorations provide a beautiful backdrop for photos.
“We had a remembrance of life for one of the pioneer ladies who went to school here,” Kathy added. “We have bookings just about every month.”
Anyone interested in using this facility can call Keith and Kathy Warrington at 306-460-6426, or check out the Merid & Magna Facebook page.
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