by Nicholas Lampard
When Nakita Schlakoff took the stage at the Hume Elementary School gym on June 1 in her intricate, traditional Indigenous regalia, the roomful of children and adults in her audience fell completely silent.
Then she started the jingle dance that opened the school’s 100th birthday festivities. The dance set a celebratory tone that continued throughout the day.
The school has been educating the youth of Nelson since 1923. The assembly served as a forum for many generations of current staff, students, and alumni, some with four generations of family history at Hume School. Attendees swapped stories and reminisced on their days spent within the walls of the 100-year-old building.

Eighty-eight-year-old June Campbell came from her home in Rossland to attend the celebration.
“The last time I was here was when I left in grade six, that would have been 1947,” she said. “I lived on the North Shore and there was no bridge back then, we used to take a ferry across. I remember the janitor, Kevin Maloney—when we came in soaking wet, he used to give us hot chocolate and helped us to dry our clothes.”
The spirit of camaraderie and support that Mrs. Campbell recalls has been a constant throughout Hume School’s long history, and was still evident as everyone congregated for the inter-generational event.
“Nothing looks the same inside, but the exterior is just as it was,” Campbell said.
The current brick building is the third iteration of Hume School, and was built in 1923. The first building was a wooden structure on the corner of View and High Streets in Nelson, from 1900 to 1906. That building was eventually deconstructed and reconstructed on Hume’s current site, at the corner of Nelson Avenue and Behnsen Street in 1906.

A wooden two-room school was added in 1915, followed by a wood and brick two story addition known as the “piano box” which caught fire after being struck by lightning in 1923. New construction eventually led to the school and gymnasium that are still in use today.
This contrast between the ever-changing interior and the school’s steadfast exterior is representative of how Nelson’s education system has evolved to be more inclusive, while staying true to core community values, says Sacha Kalabis, Hume School’s current principal.

“The Hume School is a symbolic lens of Nelson,” Kalabis said. “It’s an expression of Nelson’s demographic and how the town has changed over time.”
The school has endured many local and global events, one of the most substantial being a large fire in 1979. The brick façade survived the blaze, although the interior had to be gutted. The damage was estimated at more than $300,000.
John Fred Hume, after whom the school was named, was a prominent municipal and provincial politician and local businessman who also founded the Hume Hotel which is still in operation today. He was an integral part in advocating for Nelson becoming a municipality.

David Hogg, a former Hume student who went on to be a principal in Salmo, spoke to his many years spent in the walls of the school. Like Campbell, he fondly remembers riding the ferry from the North Shore, and later seeing the construction of Nelson’s famous orange bridge. Hogg helped to commemorate Hume’s Scottish heritage by performing on the bagpipes at the ceremony.
As the assembly closed, students filed out to recess, and principal Kalabis cut the ceremonial cake. Students laughed and played while alumni mingled, enjoying the pristine early summer’s day.
“I really like the space dome because you can climb on it,” Clara Nadeau, a third generation student, said. She’s a big fan of art class, recess, and the new playground equipment.
Her mother, Dee Anne Nadeau, also attended Hume School, as did her grandmother, Nancy Horton. Dee Anne is currently active on the school’s Parent Advisory Committee.

“The PAC has been working hard to advocate for an outdoor classroom, and I’m hoping that we can make that come to fruition soon here. It would be a cool way to celebrate the centennial,” she said.
June Campbell thinks the future is bright for this foundational piece of Nelson’s education system.
“It will last another 100 years,” she said with a grin.
In addition to the assembly, the celebration took place over three days with tours of the school, archival displays, social events, and a history fair.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated David Hogg was once Hume School’s principal. He was in fact just a student, but also went on to be a principal in Salmo.