Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
The Blumenort School District was established formally in November 1878 and a one-room schoolhouse operated near the present-day Blumenort in the Rural Municipality of Hanover. The first teacher was Cornelius P. Friesen, who was paid $50 plus oats and hay for his livestock plus firewood. He was expected to construct the benches and tables for the school. In the spring of 1920, a new school was constructed at NE21-7-6E based upon the architectural drawings of Gilbert C. Parfitt. It served the educational needs of the community until 1935 when the district was subdivided to form the new Twin Creek School District No. 2260. The building was moved to SW21-7-6E where it became Twin Creek School, while a new school was constructed one mile north of the old site, as Blumenort School. This building was expanded in 1940 to a two-room structure, with a third classroom added in 1961. Four years later, a new three-classroom school was built one-half mile north and one-half mile east of the former location.
On 9 January 1967, the Twin Creek School was destroyed by fire so its students were bused to Blumenort School. To accommodate the increased enrollment, a portable hut was attached to the existing school as a fourth classroom. In 1968, administration of the school was taken over by the Hanover School Division. In 2013, a commemorative sign was erected by the EastMenn Historical Society.
Period
Principal
1914-1918
Heinrich R. Reimer
1918-1919
Gerhard Giesbrecht Kornelsen (1878-1958)
1920
Wilhelm “William” Kornelsen
1920
Heinrich R. Reimer
1920-1940
No Principal
1940-1942
Aaron Reimer Wiebe
1942-1943
Gerhard Johann Peter “John” Kliewer (1898-1944)
1944
Margaret M. Toews
1944
Cornelius L. “Neil” Toews
1944-1955
Gerhard K. Reimer
1955-1958
Irvin H. Penner
1958-1964
Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe
1964-1968
Melvin Penner
Period
Principal
1963-1968
Gerry B. Doerksen
Period
Teachers
1914-1915
David P. Reimer (junior grades), Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades)
1915-1916
David P. Reimer (junior grades), Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades)
1916-1917
David P. Reimer (junior grades), Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades)
1917-1918
Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades), Maria R. Unger (junior grades)
1918-1919
Gerhard G. Kornelsen (grades 1-5, 1919), Maria R. Unger (grades 1-5)
1919-1920
Gerhard G. Kornelsen (grades 2-3, 1919), Wilhelm “William” Kornelsen (grades 3-5, 1920), Heinrich R. Reimer (grades 3-5, 1919)
1920-1940
(See below)
1940-1941
Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3), Aaron Reimer Wiebe (grades 4-8)
1941-1942
Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3), Aaron Reimer Wiebe (grades 4-9)
1942-1943
Gerhard Johann Peter “John” Kliewer (grades 4-9), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3)
1943-1944
Cornelius L. “Neil” Toews (grades 4-9, 1944), Gerhard Johann Peter “John” Kliewer (grades 4-9, 1943), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3; grades 1-9, 1944)
1944-1945
Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-9), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3)
1945-1946
Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-8), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3)
1946-1947
Helen Pankratz (grades 1-3), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-7)
1947-1948
Helen Pankratz (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-9)
1948-1949
Helen Pankratz (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-7)
1949-1950
Helen Pankratz (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-10)
1950-1951
Betty Koop (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-11)
1951-1952
Betty Koop (grades 1-3), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-8)
1952-1953
Annie Isaac (grades 1-3), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-8)
1953-1954
Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-8)
1954-1955
Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-8)
1955-1956
Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Irvin H. Penner (grades 5-8)
1956-1957
Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Irvin H. Penner (grades 3 & 5-8)
1957-1958
Annie Isaac (grades 1-3), Irvin H. Penner (grades 4-9)
1958-1959
Lena Schinkel (grades 1-3), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 4-8)
1959-1960
Helen Letkemann (grades 1-3), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 4-9)
1960-1961
Helen Letkemann (grades 1-3), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 4-8)
1961-1962
Helen Letkemann (grades 1-3), Alvina June Wiebe (grades 3-5), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 6-8)
1962-1963
Hilda Siemens Friesen (grades 1-2), Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 6-8)
1963-1964
Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Annie Penner (grades 1-2), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 6-8)
1964-1965
Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Annie Penner (grades 1-2), Melvin Penner (grades 6-8)
1965-1966
Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Annie Penner (grades 1-2), Melvin Penner (grades 6-8)
1966-1967
Eva Fast (grades 1-2), Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Melvin Penner (grades 6-8)
1967-1968
Henry Dueck (grades 5-6), Eva Fast (grades 1-2), Melvin Penner (grades 7-8), Margaret Ruth Toews (grades 3-4)
Period
Teachers
1963-1964
Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Peter U. Dueck (grade 10, 1963), Marion Edith Jasper (grade 10, 1964)
1964-1965
Lorene Kiu Chui (grade 9), Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Glenn Rudolph Klassen (grade 10), Theodor Cornelius Martens (grade 9)
1965-1966
Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Glenn Rudolph Klassen (grade 10), Theodor Cornelius Martens (grade 9)
1966-1967
Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Glenn Rudolph Klassen (grade 10), Theodor Cornelius Martens (grade 9)
1967-1968
Murray C. Barkman (grade 9), Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 9), David Friesen (grade 9, 1967)
Among the teachers who worked at Blumenort School through the years were: Cornelius P. Friesen, John B. Toews, Gerhard K. Giesbrecht, Heinrich R. Reimer (1907-1914), Gerhard G. Kornelsen (1920-1921), Frank Wiebe (1921-1923), David P. Reimer (1923-1924), Abraham P. Toews (1924-1927), Wilhelm “William” Kornelsen (1927-1928), John C. Reimer (1928-1939), and Aaron Reimer Wiebe (1939-1940).
Blumenort School (no date) by A. A. Herriot
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 27.
Blumenort School after a second classroom was added in 1940 (no date) by A. A. Herriot
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 27.
Blumenort School commemorative sign (July 2019)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.60201, W96.70957
denoted by symbol on the map above
One Hundred Years in the History of the Rural Schools of Manitoba: Their Formation, Reorganization and Dissolution (1871-1971) by Mary B. Perfect, MEd thesis, University of Manitoba, April 1978.
Schools - Our Heritage: From 46 School Districts to Hanover Unitary School Division (1878-1968) by John K. Schellenberg, The Board of The Hanover School Division No. 15, May 1985, ISBN 0-919673-93-7.
Plans and shop drawings (GS 0100), Blumenort School District No. 62, GR3125, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Blumenort School District No. 62 - Daily Registers, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Glen Klassen, Ernest Braun, and Rose Kuzina for providing information used here.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 January 2022
Historic Sites of Manitoba
This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.
Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | OtherInclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.
Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca.Help us keep history alive!
