Historic Sites of Manitoba: Chapman School No. 1677 (3707 Roblin Boulevard, Winnipeg)

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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Chapman School District was established formally in May 1913 and it operated a school near this site in the former Municipality of Charleswood, now a suburb of Winnipeg. The original school building was destroyed by fire in 1916. Its replacement, a three-room school, burned down on 23 April (Good Friday), 1943. Movable furniture and around 2,000 textbooks were spared from the flames by firefighters and local volunteers, including local K. Goodison who reportedly made 50 retrieval trips into the blazing building.

Following an affirming 175:44 vote by district residents, construction was undertaken by the Claydon Construction Company on a new Chapman School on the former building’s site. Excavation work for a full basement already underway by November 1943, and the cornerstone of the new six-room school was laid down before the years end. The brick and frame structure cost around $45,000 and was officially opened 30 September 1944, with noted attendees including Clifford Knox Rogers (Superintendent of Education), Harry Leader (MP), and H. A. Lowden (school trustee).

In 1951, it became part of Charleswood Consolidated School No. 2327, and in 1955, high school grades were transferred to the the newly opened Charleswood Collegiate. A commemorative plaque mounted on a rock at the northwest corner of the school’s property was dedicated in June 1993 by the Chapman School Parent Council. The school closed in June 2016, shortly after receiving an MHS Centennial Organization Award. As of early 2017, the building was under lease to the Westgate Mennonite School for use as temporary classroom space during a renovation project. In 2020, it was in use for a Sikh private school.

Principal (Chapman High School)

Period	Principal
1944-1951	Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (1899-1990)
1951-1952	?
1952-1953	Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (1907-1977)
1953-1955	Ernest Friesen Reimer (1909-1999)
After 1955	See Charleswood Collegiate

Teachers (Chapman High School)

School Year	Teachers
1944-1945	Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11)
1945-1946	Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11)
1946-1947	Ralph Johnson (grade 9), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11)
1947-1948	Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grades 9-10), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grade 11)
1948-1949	Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grades 9-10), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grade 11)
1949-1950	Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grades 9-10), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grade 11)
1950-1951	Irene Crofts (grades 10-11), Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grade 9), Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (grades 10-11, 1950)
1951-1952	Irene Crofts (grade 10), Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grade 11), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 9)
1952-1953	James William Gold Aitchison (grade 9), Archibald Martin “Archie” McNicholl (grade 11), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 10)
1953-1954	James William Gold Aitchison (grade 10), James Robert Hodge Forrester (grade 9), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 11)
1954-1955	James William Gold Aitchison (grade 11), James Robert Hodge Forrester (grade 10), Beulah Beryl McNevin (grade 9), Elizabeth Lois Norquay (grade 9) Ernest Friesen Reimer (grade 9)
1955 on	see Charleswood Collegiate

Principals (Chapman School)

Period	Principal
1934-1941	Hilda Grace Sparrow (1906-1999)
1941-1943	?
1943-1945	George Nelson Hawn (1913-1989)
1945-1954	?
1954-1955	Ernest Friesen Reimer (1909-1999)
1955-1956	Jemima Florence Webster
1956-1961	Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (1915-1995)
1961-1964	John Vanderstoel (1933-2013)
1964-1967	Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (1930-2014)
1967-1969	?
1970	John Duchominsky (1906-1977)
1971-1972	Peter Douglas Powell
1972-1975	Paul L. Gluck
1975-1980	William David “Dave” Beer
1980-1984	Harry Herbert Galan (1922-2007)
1984-1993	G. Barry Nelin
1993-1995	Leslie Chale
1995-1999	Janet Taylor
1999-2003	Stan Wiebe
2003-2006	Brenda Lanoway
2006-?	Cyndy Stewart
?-2012	?
2012-2015	Tannis MacDonald
2015-2016	Lorraine de Moyne

Teachers (Chapman School)

School Year	Teachers
1939-1940	Jessie Ellen Morton (grades 4-6), Hilda Grace Sparrow (grades 7-9), Constance Margaret “Connie” Webster (grades 1-3)
1940-1941	Jessie Ellen Morton (grades 4-6), Hilda Grace Sparrow (grades 7-9), Constance Margaret “Connie” Webster (grades 1-3)
1941-1942	Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 7-9), Constance Margaret “Connie” Webster (grades 1-3), Kathleen Louise White (grades 4-6)
1942-1943	Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 1-3), Jean W. G. Lower (grades 5-6), Kathleen Louise White (grades 7-9)
1943-1944	Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 1-2), Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 3-4), George Nelson Hawn (grades 7-9), Jean W. G. Lower (grades 5-6)
1944-1945	Bernice Porterfield Brimmell (grades 3-4), George Nelson Hawn (grades 8-9), Jean W. G. Lower (grades 5-6), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grades 1-2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grade 7), John Charles Mizibrocky (grades 8-9)
1945-1946	Jean W. G. Lower (grades 4-5, 1945), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 1), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 6-8), John Charles Mizibrocky (grades 8-9), Eva May Pearson (grades 2-3), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 4-5, 1946)
1946-1947	Eva Eileen Duncan (grades 3-4), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Ralph Johnson (grade 9), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1947-1948	Anna Elizabeth Fryer (grade 3), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grades 2-3), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Thelma Rose Irene Osman (grades 3-4), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1948-1949	Phyllis Adeline Beaumont (grades 4-5), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6), Nellye Mariette Wiens (grade 3)
1949-1950	Ruby Gladys Kathleen Gibson (grades 1 & 3), Elizabeth Jean Hunter (grade 1), Jennie Elizabeth McKitrick (grade 2), Lillian Mae Mitchell (grades 7-8), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 4-5), Nellye Mariette Wiens Smith (grade 3), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1950-1951	S. Margaret Cantelon (grades 1-2), Anne Edith Cott (grade 3), Eva Cook (grade 2), Mary Jean Irene Gunn (grade 4), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 1), Ernest Friesen Reimer (grades 7-8), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 4-5), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1951-1952	Virginia Dorothy Beatty Andrew (grade 7, 1951), S. Margaret Cantelon (grades 2-3), Christina Fraser (grade 2), Adelmar Friesen (grade 7, 1952), Ann Huch (grade 3), William Alfred McClymont (grade 8), Nellie McKenzie (grade 4), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 1), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grade 5), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1952-1953	Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 7-8), Katherine Mary Madill (grades 1-2), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 5-6)
1953-1954	Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 7-8), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 5-6), Joan Esmerilda Witaski (grade 1)
1954-1955	Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 7-8), Katherine Mary Madill (grades 1-2), Dorothy Mary Sheldrake (grades 5-6)
1955-1956	Mary Badman (grades 3-4), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grade 8), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2), Mary Charlotte McLachlan (grade 1), Jemima Florence Webster (grade 7), Harold William Winlaw (grades 5-6)
1956-1957	Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 5), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Mary Badman (grade 4), Elsie Dugard (grade 3), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2)
1957-1958	Marilyn Anderson (grade 3), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 6), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Mary Badman (grade 4), Arthur H. Juttner (grade 5), Katherine Mary Madill (grade 2)
1958-1959	Mary Badman (grade 4), Janice Barr (grade 2), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 6), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Viola Evelyn Rankin (grade 5)
1959-1960	Shirley Jean Abbey (grade 6), Eileen Appleton (grade 5), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 7), Janice Helen Cavers (grade 2), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney (grade 4)
1960-1961	Shirley Jean Abbey (grade 6), Phyllis Helena Briefcliffe (grade 2, 1961), Constance Margaret Webster “Connie” Brooks (grade 7), Janice Helen Cavers (grade 2), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney (grade 4), John W. F. Tober (grade 5)
1961-1962	Clayton Brian “Clay” Bottrell (grade 5), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Margaret Anne MacDonald (grade 2), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney (grade 4), John VanderStoel (grade 6)
1962-1963	Clayton Brian “Clay” Bottrell (grade 5), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 4), Beatrice Arnetta Connon (grade 1), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), John VanderStoel (grade 6), Gladys Lillian Vigfusson (grade 2)
1963-1964	Clayton Brian “Clay” Bottrell (grade 5), Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 4), Charlene Barbara Ferris (grade 1), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Margaret Louise Sumner Kuharski (grade 3), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2)
1964-1965	Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 5), Charlene Barbara Ferris (grade 1), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Lori Ann Miller (grade 4), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2)
1965-1966	Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 5), Charlene Barbara Edgeworth (grade 1), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Lori Ann Miller (grade 4), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2)
1966-1967	Joanne Elizabeth Sweeney Burke (grade 5), Erdman “Ed” Kroeker (grade 6), Patricia Dianne Mann (grade 3), Karen Lorraine Moffatt (grade 1), Barbara Lenore Ploner (grade 2), Lori Ann Miller Regnier (grade 4)
1967-1968	Karen Lorraine Moffatt
1968-1969	Mrs. Braun, Miss Patzia[?], ? (other grades)
1969-1970	Mrs. Nuttall, ?
1970-1971	Mrs. Koshuluk, ?
1971-1972	Peter Douglas Powell, ?
1972-1973	?
1973-1974	?
1974-1975	?
1975-1976	?
1976-1977	?
1977-1978	?
1978-1979	?
1979-1980	?
1980-1981	?
1981-1982	?
1982-1983	?
1983-1984	?
1984-1985	Ms. Andrew, ?
1985-1986	Miss Elaine Hansen, ?
1986-1987	Mr. Weber, ?
1987-1988	Miss Shawna Bradley, ?
1989-1990	Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. MacGregor, ?
1990-1991	Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. Kozak, ?
1991-1992	Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. Jaeger, ?
1992-1993	Miss Shawna Bradley, Mrs. Karen Kroft, ?
1993-1994	Miss Shawna Bradley, ?
1994-1995	Miss Shawna Bradley, ?
1995-1996	Mr. Ted Mickaniec, ?
1996-1997	?
1997-1998	?
1998-1999	?
1999-2000	?
2000-2001	?
2001-2002	?
2002-2003	?
2003-2004	?
2004-2005	?
2005-2006	?
2006-2007	?
2007-2008	?
2008-2009	?
2009-2010	?
2010-2011	?
2011-2012	?
2012-2013	?
2013-2014	?
2014-2015	?
2015-2016	?

Photos & Coordinates

The original Chapman School building (no date) Source: Len Van Roon The Chapman School building after expansion (no date) Source: Len Van Roon A classroom inside Chapman School (no date) Source: Len Van Roon Chapman School (June 2020) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Chapman School playground commemorative plaque (2010) Plaque Location (lat/long): 49.87002, W97.26197 Source: City of Winnipeg Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.86851, W97.26196 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Along the home front [Chapman School],” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 May 1943, page 3.

“Vote to replace burned school,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 October 1943, page 13.

“Building has already begun on new Chapman School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 November 1943, page 16.

“Cadet Corps inspected at Tuxedo on Friday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 May 1944, page 2.

“New Chapman School attractively designed,” Winnipeg Free Press, 20 September 1944, page 2.

“Will attend opening of new Chapman School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 September 1944, page 3.

“Charleswood’s new school opened,” Winnipeg Tribune, 3 October 1944, page 3.

“H. McIntosh addresses Home and School group,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 April 1945, page 2.

“Charleswood … Then and Now” by Brian Tinley, Oakwood: Charleswood Collegiate Yearbook, 1955-1956, page 36 [Charleswood School Library].

Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.

“Charleswood lists teachers,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 September 1954, page 3.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Chapman School District No. 1677 - Daily Registers, GR10356, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Charleswood Consolidated School District No. 2327 (Chapman School) - Daily Registers, GR10356, Archives of Manitoba.

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

Obituary [Jessie Ellen Morton], Winnipeg Free Press, 17 May 1995, page 34.

We thank Len Van Roon, Jill Paskewitz, Alan Mason, Steven Christianson, Ted Fransen, Karen McCreary, Don Cochrane, David Beer, and Margaret Stimson for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 14 December 2021

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