In 1903, under the leadership of teacher David Toews, meetings were convened to address the question of education for Mennonite youth in the Valley. Toews was born in the Russian colonies, but did most of his growing up in Kansas where his father eventually became a minister. He came to Canada to study at the already established Mennonite school in Gretna and eventually found his way to the Laird-Rosthern area as a teacher. (A plaque in honour of his efforts to establish Rosthern Junior College is prominent at the school’s entrance today.)