Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cossette School No. 1378 (Inwood, RM of Armstrong)

Link to:
Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Cossette School District was established in May 1907 and, the following year, a schoolhouse operated at NE34-17-1W in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong. In 1911, it was moved to a two-acre site in nearby Inwood. A new two-classroom structure with a full basement was built at the site in 1922, based upon architectural drawings by Gilbert C. Parfitt. In 1942, the district was dissolved and its catchment area became part of the Armstrong Municipal School District No. 1842. Further expansions were made in 1955 and 1957 (one classroom), and the building was used for all classes until high school grades were moved into temporary structures in 1959. Those grades were transferred in the Fall of 1962 to the new Inwood Collegiate across the street, at which point this building became known as Inwood Elementary School.

With the removal of high school grades from Inwood Collegiate grades to Teulon in September 1967, both buildings operated as Inwood Elementary School (later as Inwood School) under a single Principal. That arrangement lasted into the early 1970s, when the former collegiate building was expanded while the old Cossette School was closed and put up for sale or demolition. The building was purchased and moved to Lundar. The former elementary school site is now occupied by an automotive service station.

Principals (Cossette School / Inwood Elementary School)

Period

Principal

1922-1923

Morley H. Lawrence

1923-1925

Frederick “Fred” Morgan (1870-1936)

1925-1926

Jean F. C. Hopkins

1926-1927

Beulah Beryl McNevin (1896-1963)

1927-1928

Dorothy Evangeline Jennison Belcher

1929

Marjorie Blanche Patmore “Marj” Mikkelsen (1905-1998)

1929

Josephus K. “Joseph” Lamb (1891-1975)

1930

Annie Margaret Gillies

1930-1935

Gertrude Elizabeth McRae

1935-1936

Henry Joseph Grenon (1881-1981)

1936-1937

Thomas Bell (1913-1996)

1937-1938

John Archibald “Archie” Carmichael (1916-2001)

1938-1940

Percy Nimrod Hunt (1910-1990)

1940-1941

William Harrison Lucow (1916-?)

1941-1944

Michael John Mazur (1913-2011)

1944-1946

Lena I. Braun

1946-1951

Percy Nimrod Hunt (1910-1990)

1951-1954

John R. Lord

1954-1955

Doris Horosko

1955-1957

Nicholas Krawchuk

1957

Ervin Chezick

1957-1959

Gustaf H. Finnson

1959-1967

William Alexander Knihinicki

1967-1973

See Inwood Elementary

Principals (Inwood High School)

Period

Principal

1959-1960

Calvin A. Bamsfield

1960-1962

Benjamin Franklin Olson (1898-1981)

1962-1967

See Inwood Collegiate

Teachers (Cossette School / Inwood Elementary School)

Period

Teachers

1922-1923

Annie A. Kallman (grades 1-5), Morley H. Lawrence (grades 5-7)

1923-1924

Annie A. Kallman (grades 1-4), Frederick Morgan (grades 4-8)

1924-1925

Ella M. Hedden (grades 1-3, 1925), Annie A. Kallman (grades 1-3, 1924), Frederick Morgan (grades 4-9)

1925-1926

Jean F. C. Hopkins (grades 4-10), Rose Belle Rogers (grades 1-3)

1926-1927

Alice M. Belton (grades 1-4), Beulah Beryl McNevin (grades 5-10)

1927-1928

Dorothy Evangeline Jennison Belcher (grades 5-8), Rose Belle Rogers (grades 1-4)

1928-1929

Winnifred Margaret Baldwin (grades 1-4, 1929), Dorothy Evangeline Jennison Belcher (grades 5-8, 1928), Marjorie Blanche Patmore (grades 5-8, 1929), Mary Estella Sheffield (grades 1-4, 1928)

1929-1930

Annie Margaret Gillies (grades 5-9, 1930), Josephus K. Lamb (grades 5-9, 1929), Vera Shirley Stokes (grades 1-4)

1930-1931

Lois Enid McLellan (grades 1-5, 1930; grades 1-4, 1931), Gertrude Elizabeth McRae (grades 5-9)

1931-1932

Lois Enid McLellan (grades 1-5), Gertrude Elizabeth McRae (grades 6-9)

1932-1933

Lois Enid McLellan (grades 1-5), Gertrude Elizabeth McRae (grades 6-9)

1933-1934

Lois Enid McLellan (grades 1-5), Gertrude Elizabeth McRae (grades 6-9)

1934-1935

Lois Enid McLellan (grades 6-9), Gertrude Elizabeth McRae (grades 1-5)

1935-1936

Alice L. Clark (grades 1-5), Henry Joseph Grenon (grades 6-11)

1936-1937

Thomas Bell (grades 6-10), Norma Kathlene Mooney (grades 1-5)

1937-1938

John Archibald “Archie” Carmichael (grades 6-10), Viola Uldine Lang (grades 1-5)

1938-1939

Percy Nimrod Hunt (grades 6-10), Viola Uldine Lang (grades 1-5)

1939-1940

Percy Nimrod Hunt (grades 6-11), Viola Uldine Lang (grades 1-5)

1940-1941

Kathleen Violet Heidel (grades 1-8), William Harrison Lucow (grades 9-12)

1941-1942

Michael John Mazur (grades 9-11), Mabel Belle Smithers (grades 1-8)

1942-1943

Christina Herd Hogue (grades 1-8), Michael John Mazur (grades 9-11)

1943-1944

Rita G. Jubinville (grades 1-8), Michael John Mazur (grades 9-11)

1944-1945

Lena I. Braun (grades 9-11), Marie P. McDonald (grades 1-8)

1945-1946

Lena I. Braun (grades 9-11), Olga Lillian Husack (grades 1-8)

1946-1947

Percy Nimrod Hunt (grades 9-11), Lillian Marie Penty (grades 1-8)

1947-1948

Percy Nimrod Hunt (grades 9-11), Irene Marie Therese Ponchon (grades 1-8)

1948-1949

Percy Nimrod Hunt (grades 9-11), Anne Skrabek (grades 1-8 October-June), Rudy Woelke (grades 1-8, August-September)

1949-1950

Percy Nimrod Hunt (grades 9-11), Mary Klym (grades 1-8)

1950-1951

Percy Nimrod Hunt (grades 7-11), Jean Frances Sklepowich (grades 1-6)

1951-1952

John R. Lord (grades 7-11), Nina W. Haacke (grades 1-6)

1952-1953

Frank John Gustaw (grades 4-8), Lillian Muriel Klassen (grades 1-3), John R. Lord (grades 9-11)

1953-1954

Irene Theresa Johnson (grades 4-8), John R. Lord (grades 9-11), Joyce Sitko (grades 1-4)

1954-1955

Doris Horosko (grades 9-11), Helen T. Rucki (grades 4-8), Joyce Sitko (grades 1-4)

1955-1956

Pollyanna T. Babula (grades 1-4), Nicholas Krawchuk (grades 9-11), Denise Marguerite Moreau (grades 5-8)

1956-1957

Margaret Irene Bergner (grades 1-4), Nicholas Krawchuk (grades 9-11), Pauline Labchuk (grades 5-8)

1957-1958

Margaret Irene Bergner (grades 1-3), Elizabeth Mary Boyachek [Boyachuk?] (grades 3-6), Ervin Chezick (grades 9-11, September; grades 7-9, September-October), Gustaf H. Finnson (grades 10-11, September-June), Joseph Grodecki (grades 7-9, November-June)

1958-1959

Margaret Irene Bergner (grades 1-3), Elizabeth Mary Boyachek [Boyachuk?] (grades 3-6), Gustaf H. Finnson (grades 10-11), William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 7-9)

1959-1960

Margaret Irene Bergner (grades 1-3), William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 6-8), Evelyn Lavender (grades 1-3)

1960-1961

Margaret Irene Bergner (grades 1-3), William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 6-8), Evelyn Lavender (grades 4-5)

1961-1962

William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 6-8), Evelyn Lavender (grades 1-3), Marion Shirley Strick (grades 4-5)

1962-1963

William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 6-8), Evelyn Lavender (grades 1-3), Marion Shirley Strick (grades 4-5)

1963-1964

William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 6-8), Evelyn Lavender (grades 1-3), Marion Shirley Strick (grades 4-5)

1964-1965

William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 6-8), Evelyn Lavender (grades 1-2), Marion Shirley Strick (grades 3-5)

1965-1966

Aniceta Blancas (grades 5-6, October-June), William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 7-8; & grades 5-6 September), Evelyn Lavender (grades 1-2), Anne Elva Nechwediuk (grades 3-4, 1966), Vera Shupenia (grades 5-6, August), Marion Shirley Strick (grades 3-4, 1965)

1966-1967

Freida Bernice Jorheim (kindergarten), William Alexander Knihinicki (grades 6-8), Evelyn Lavender (grades 1-2), Vera Shupenia (grades 5-6), Marion Shirley Strick (grades 3-5)

1967-1973

See Inwood Elementary

Teachers (Cossette High School)

Period

Teachers

1959-1960

Calvin A. Bamsfield (grades 10-12, August-September; grades 11-12, October-June), Fredrick John Dolney (grade 10), Michael John McLot (grade 9, September-June), A. M. Sveistrup (grade 9, August)

1960-1961

Daniel Joseph MacNeil (grade 9), Benjamin Franklin Olson (grades 11-12), Carl Joseph Safinuk (grade 10)

1961-1962

D. A. Balfour (grade 9, November-June), Hope V. MacNeil (grade 9, September), Benjamin Franklin Olson (grades 11-12), Carl Joseph Safinuk (grade 10)

1962 onward

See Inwood Collegiate

Teachers

Among the teachers who worked at Cossette School through the early years were N. Bennet (1907), M. Lagimodier (1909), M. H. Connelly (1910), Miss Van Den Haven (1913), M. Compayre (1914), M. L. Trottiere (1915), Zoe M. Collins (1915), Maria Senez (1916-1917, wife of Edward Cossette), Marjorie Mann (1917-1918), B. Collins (1918), E. B. Wood (September 1918 - March 1919 & 1919-1920), Hazel Jackson (April-June 1919), C. B. Woods (1919-1920), E. Inkster (August 1920 substitute), L. J. Prette (September-December 1920), Bowen Collins (January-June 1921), and B. J. Siegelman (1921-1922), along with Mrs. Hall (c1960s, kindergarten).

Photos & Coordinates

Inwood Elementary, the former Cossette School

Inwood Elementary, the former Cossette School (June 1967)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission - Volume 1, File 19a Armstrong.

Inwood Elementary, the former Cossette School

Inwood Elementary, the former Cossette School (June 1967)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission - Volume 1, File 19a Armstrong.

Former site of Cossette School

Former site of Cossette School (June 2019)
Source: Rose Kuzina

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.50667, W97.50229
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Inwood Collegiate / Inwood Elementary School / Inwood School (Inwood, RM of Armstrong)

Sources:

Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.

Arborg topographic map, 62I/14, Edition 1, Series A743 [Archives of Manitoba].

“For sale by public tender,” Stonewall Argus & Teulon Times, 5 September 1973, page 4.

Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission, Schools in the Interlake - Manitoba - Volume 1, Armstrong Elementary - File 19a, March 1968, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Cossette School District No. 1378 - Daily Registers, GR11220 , Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Cossette School District No. 1378 (Inwood Collegiate) - Daily Registers, GR11220 , Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Lakeshore School Division No. 23 (Inwood Elementary) - Daily Registers, GR11220 , Archives of Manitoba.

Plans and shop drawings (GS 0100), Inwood School District, GR3125, Archives of Manitoba.

School District Formation Files (E 0027), Armstrong Municipal School District No. 1842, GR1688, Archives of Manitoba.

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.

The Interlake Beckoned: A History of Inwood and Surrounding Districts by Inwood History Book Committee, 1980, page 261. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.I59 Int]

We thank Jennifer Bisch for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 4 August 2023

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