The Test of Time:
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Nestled in the Prairie Hills of Camrose County, you'll find an intriguing architectural example of resiliency and transformation. The structure itself has served in three separate capacities, as a school. It has a brief history as a youth sanctuary, and now, has been reinvented as a beautifully modernized living space.
The photo gallery shows the Norbo school in its original setting. The photos document some of the transformation process that the structure has undergone. Go ahead, click on the "PRAIRIE TRANSFORMATIONS" button below to hear the current owner, Forrest Hagen, share some of its compelling history. 
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Past Presence:I wonder if the artist of the pencil sketch of the Norbo school, knew at the time of his rendering, that he would end up living within those walls.
The sketch shows the school in its original capacity, ready to welcome students in to a world of learning, community, and fresh awareness. Forrest was never able to attend this particular school, even though his older brother did. By the time he was ready for formal education, the centralization trend had long since been busing students into larger settings. Thankfully, some of the buildings remain, recreated into new purpose and passion. Surely though, somewhere within their framework, the laughter, wonder, and discovery of the one room schoolhouse remains well intact. |
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A Life of Returning:
There's just something about the call of wide open spaces; the fields, alive, the fresh breezes. Once you've succumbed to their whispers, there is no hope for happiness in any long term sense of separation. Of course, the fluidity of urban opportunities have a place in the splendour of life, but somehow, the soul finds its way back to the respite of rural time and again. Click on the box below to hear more of the history behind Forrest Hagan's home, his family and his passion for the land.
