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As early as 1905, the Manitoba Department of Education was experimenting with consolidation to better serve local communities and students. It was thought that a bigger and better equipped school, in a centralized location, provided better education. Darlingford Consolidated School No. 1228, in the village of Darlingford in the Municipality of Pembina, is an example of those developments. Built in 1910 on a design by Winnipeg architect Frank Robert Evans, allegedly used locally made bricks, the entrance tower is notably off-centre so that, as the school enrollment grew, another wing would be added on the south side of the building. That never happened at Darlingford. The building features a rare fire escape system off the second floor at the rear.
The smaller rural schools consolidated at Darlingford included Lorne School No. 56, Darlington School No. 79, Middleton School No. 404, Calf Mountain School No. 489, Barclay School No. 657, Point Douglas Consolidated School No. 1475, and Rosyth School No. 2030.
Initially, only the two classrooms on the lower floor were fully equipped, with the upper floor classrooms being outfitted as needed, with the third room completed in 1912 and the fourth in 1921. A teacherage was also constructed and utilized until 1963, then being sold to Jerry Baloun in 1968. The school, which became part of the Pembina Valley School Division in 1971, operated continuously until 1984 when, due to low student enrollment, it closed.
The former school building, a municipally-designated heritage site as of 1987, is now home to a community museum. Known originally as the Darlingford School Heritage Museum, it was renamed in 2023 as the Darlingford Pembina Heritage Museum to reflect its broad coverage of history in the region, not merely related to its former operation as a school.
Open during summer months, tours can be arranged by calling Patrick Thiessen at 204-823-0626 or Matt Nichol at 204-384-7414.
Period
Principal
Before 1910
1910-1911
Frances Ruth Crosland
1911
H. Gertrude Feindel
1912
Neil Albert McIntyre (1888-1972)
1912-1920
Richard A. Fines (1871-1966)
1920
Mr. J. McCormick
1920
Helena M. Robertson
1921-1923
George Gordon Grigg (1887-1969)
1923-1924
William George Smith (1873-1943)
1924-1927
George Henry Blackwell (1864-1941)
1927-1932
John Bruce Day (1902-1955)
1932-1939
Willard Ervin Rife (1890-1970)
1939-1950
Cecil Harold Barkley (1908-1979)
1950-1957
John Franklin Morrison (1910-1984)
1957-1958
John Henry Doughty (c1900-1958)
1958
Isabel Jeanette Allison
1958
James H. South
1958-1959
Laura May Cooke Gall (1912-2004)
1959-1963
Oliver Glen Olmstead (?-1997)
1963-1967
Allan Thiessen
1967-1968
Douglas Wayne Kroetsch
1968-1969
Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair
1969-1971
Florence Mary Brooks
1971-1981
Jake Bernard Martens
1981-1982
Jake Letkeman
Period
Teachers
Before 1910
1910
(Fall Term only): Frances Ruth Crosland (grades 1-4, August-December), Rose Crosland (grades 5-8, August-December)
1911
Frances Ruth Crosland (grades 6-8, January-June), Rose Crosland (grades 1-5, January-June), H. Gertrude Feindel (grdaes 6-8, August-December; of Bridgewater, New Brunswick), Myrtle C. Scott (grades 1-5, August-December)
1912
(Spring Term only): Neil A. McIntyre (grades 6-8, January-June), M. C. Scott (grades 1-5)
1912-1913
Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-3, January-June), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Annie F. Hill (grades 4-7), Marie Jackson (grades 1-3, August-December)
1913-1914
Pearl Amy (grades 4-7, January-June), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-3), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-10, August-December; grades 8-11, January-June), Annie F. Hill (grades 4-7, August-December)
1914-1915
Pearl Amy (grades 5-8), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-4), Richard A. Fines (grades 9-11)
1915-1916
Pearl Amy (grades 5-8), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-4), Richard A. Fines (grades 9-11)
1916-1917
Pearl Amy (grades 4-7), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-3, August-December), Richard A. Fines (grades 9-11), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3, January-June)
1917-1918
Pearl Amy (grades 4-7), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3)
1918-1919
Pearl Amy (grades 4-7), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3)
1919-1920
Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Muriel I. Irving (grades 1-3), Edna A. Scott (grades 4-7)
1920-1921
Gladys Christie (grades 4-7), George Gordon Grigg (grades 8-11, January-June), Ethel Lowry (grades 1-3, January-June), J. McCormick (grades 8-11, September-October), Helena M. Robertson (grades 8-11, November-December), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3, September-December)
1921-1922
Gladys Christie (grades 3-5), George Gordon Grigg (grades 9-11), Kathleen M. Kelly (grades 6-8), Ethel Lowry (grades 1-2)
1922-1923
Gladys Christie (grades 3-5), A. Frances Collins (grades 1-2), George Gordon Grigg (grades 9-11), Kathleen M. Kelly (grades 6-8)
1923-1924
Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2, January-June), A. Frances Collins (grades 1-2, September-December), Ursula Cunningham (grades 6-8, September-December & February-June), Verda L. Denison (grades 3-5, September-December), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5, January-June), C. Johnson (grades 6-8, January), William George Smith (grades 9-11)
1924-1925
George Henry Blackwell (grades 9-11), Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2), Ursula Cunningham (grades 6-8), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5)
1925-1926
George Henry Blackwell (grades 9-11), Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-3), Maude M. Brown (grades 6-8, January-June), Ursula Cunningham (grades 6-8, September-December; wife of Samuel Edward Holmes), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5)
1926-1927
George Henry Blackwell (grades 9-11), Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2, September-April), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), E. Kennedy (grades 1-2, May-June), Ina Lee (grades 6-8)
1927-1928
Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2), John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Ina Lee (grades 6-8)
1928-1929
Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2), John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Ina Lee (grades 6-8)
1929-1930
John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 4-5, August-December; grades 3-5, January-June), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Daisy Gwendoline Montgomery Metcalfe (grades 1-3)
1930-1931
John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 4-5), Daisy Gwendoline Montgomery Metcalfe (grades 6-8), Gladys Mary Mitchell (grades 1-3)
1931-1932
John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 4-5), Daisy Gwendoline Montgomery Metcalfe (grades 6-8), Gladys Mary Mitchell (grades 1-3)
1932-1933
Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1933-1934
Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1934-1935
Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1935-1936
Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1936-1937
Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1937-1938
Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1938-1939
Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5, August-December), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11), Gladys Irene Stevens (grades 3-5, January-June)
1939-1940
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Garnet Robson Harland (grdaes 6-8), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Gladys Irene Stevens (grades 3-5)
1940-1941
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Wilbur David Finlay (grades 6-8, September-October & January-June), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2, September - pt March), Jean Elizabeth Lawson (grades 6-8, November-December), Leona Lynd Nichol (grades 1-2, pt March - June), Gladys Irene Stevens (grades 3-5)
1941-1942
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Lorraine Isabel Cowan (grades 1-2), Jean Elizabeth Lawson (grades 6-8), Leona Lynd Nichol (grades 3-5)
1942-1943
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 6-8), Elsie Morgan (grades 1-3), Leona Lynd Nichol (grades 4-5)
1943-1944
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 7-8), Doris Kathleen Gunness (grades 4-6), Elsie Morgan Kendall (grades 1-3)
1944-1945
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 4-6), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 7-8), Elsie Morgan Kendall (grades 1-3)
1945-1946
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 4-6, September-December; grades 4-6, January-June), Lillian Mildred Cummings (grades 1-3, September-December; grades 1-2, January-June), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 7-8)
1946-1947
Mrs. J. W. Amy (grades 1-2), Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 3-5), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 6-8)
1947-1948
Mrs. J. W. Amy (grades 1-2, September-December), Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 3-5), Lorna Maude Compton (grades 1-2, January-June), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 6-8)
1948-1949
Marjorie Anne Checkley (grades 1-4, September - pt February; grades 3-4, pt February - June), Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 5-8), Phoebe Marchant (grades 1-2, pt February - June)
1949-1950
Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), Florence McQuay (grades 3-5), Margaret Hester Potter (grades 1-2)
1950-1951
Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), Florence McQuay (grades 3-5), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Margaret Hester Potter (grades 1-2)
1951-1952
Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Melva Jamesina Skeavington (grades 3-5), Elaine Shirley Wall (grades 1-2)
1952-1953
Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Melva Jamesina Skeavington (grades 3-5), Elaine Shirley Wall (grades 1-2)
1953-1954
Marion Irene McCutcheon (grades 3-5), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Robert Ray Simms (grades 6-8), Elaine Shirley Wall (grades 1-2)
1954-1955
Marion Irene McCutcheon (grades 3-5), Irene Pearl McFee (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Audrey Myrlene Popkes (grades 1-2)
1955-1956
Gladys May Alsop (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Joyce Fielding Muriel (grades 3-5), Audrey Myrlene Popkes (grades 1-2)
1956-1957
Gladys May Alsop (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Audrey Myrlene Popkes (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Anne Robertson (grades 3-5)
1957-1958
Isabel Jeanette Allison (grades 9-11, pt June), John Henry Doughty (grades 9-11, September-May), Edith L. Holm (grades 6-8), Jane Horky (grades 1-2), James H. South (grades 9-11, pt June), Shirley Yvonne Stewart (grades 3-5)
1958-1959
Laura May Cooke Gall (grades 9-11), Edith L. Holm (grades 6-8), Jane Horky (grades 1-2), Shirley Yvonne Stewart (grades 3-5)
1959-1960
Oliver Glen Olmstead (grades 9-10), Mildred Lydia Snarr (grades 3-5), Evelyn Rose Stewart (grades 6-8), Mary Viola Voth (grades 1-2)
1960-1961
Oliver Glen Olmstead (grade 9), Mildred Lydia Snarr (grades 3-5), Evelyn Rose Stewart (grades 6-8), Mary Viola Voth (grades 1-2)
1961-1962
Bernhard Epp (grade 9), Oliver Glen Olmstead (grade 10), Mildred Lydia Snarr (grades 3-5), Evelyn Rose Stewart (grades 6-8), Mary Viola Voth (grades 1-2)
1962-1963
Eleanor Arnason (grades 1-2, August-November), Nora Ada Hunt (grades 1-2, November-June), Oliver Glen Olmstead (grade 9), Carol Fern Regner (grades 5-6), Ronald Terrence Sawiak (grades 7-8), Barbara Jean Vick (grades 3-4)
1963-1964
Leona Elizabeth Ginter (grades 1-2), Jeanette Marie Lob (grades 5-6), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8), Barbara Jean Vick (grades 3-4)
1964-1965
Leona Elizabeth Ginter (grades 1-2), Garth Winston Hay (grades 5-6), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8), Barbara Jean Vick (grades 3-4)
1965-1966
Mary Jean Dressler (grades 3-4), Garth Winston Hay (grades 5-6), Carolyn Anne Soder (grades 1-2), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8)
1966-1967
Edith Myrtle Hokanson (grades 3-4), Douglas Wayne Kroetsch (grades 5-6), Rhoda Myrtle Scharf (grades 1-2), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8)
1967-1968
Edith Myrtle Hokanson (grades 5-6, September - pt February), Douglas Wayne Kroetsch (grades 7-8), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6, pt February-June), Sheila Anne McGinnis (grades 3-4), Rhoda Myrtle Scharf (grades 1-2)
1968-1969
Karen Georgeen Gebler (grades 5-6), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten, April-June), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 7-8), Sylvia Darlene Rackham (grades 3-4), Maureen Ella Ridley (grades 1-2)
1969-1970
Elva Heather Bowler (grades 3-4, pt May - June), Florence Mary Brooks (grades 7-8), Maureen Ella Ridley Cobb (grades 1-2), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6), Carol Lucille Amy Phillips (grades 3-4, September - pt May)
1970-1971
Elva Heather Bowler (grades 3-4), Florence Mary Brooks (grades 7-8), Lynda Jean Desjardin (grades 1-2), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6)
1971-1972
Elva Heather Bowler (grades 3-4), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Carol Margaret Ross (grades 1-2)
1972-1973
Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Carol Margaret Ross (grades 1-2), Marion Leigh Smith (grades 3-4)
1973-1974
Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Helen Jean Scharf (grades 1-2), Marion Leigh Smith (grades 3-4)
1974-1975
Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Shirley Lois Findlay (grades 1-2), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Jacqueline Ann “Jackie” Taylor (grades 3-4)
1975-1976
Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Shirley Lois Findlay (grades 1-2), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Jacqueline Ann “Jackie” Taylor (grades 3-4)
1976-1977
Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Donna Louise Burnett (grades 1-2), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Elizabeth Ruth Poetker (grades 3-4)
1977-1978
Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Donna Louise Burnett (grades 1-2), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Elizabeth Ruth Poetker (grades 3-4)
1978-1979
Linda Louise Knapp (grades 4-6), Jo-Anne Frances LeRoy (grades 1-3), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8)
1979-1980
Linda Louise Knapp (grades 4-6), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Carol Lynn Nuttall (grades 1-3)
1980-1981
Linda Louise Knapp Cowan (grades 1-4), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 5-8)
1981-1982
Linda Louise Knapp Cowan (grades 1-4), Jake Letkeman (grades 5-8)
1982-1983
Ray H. Mutcheson (grades 1-6)
1983-1984
Shayla Levine (grades 1-6)
Darlingford Consolidated School (circa 1911)
Source: Consolidation of Rural Schools in Manitoba, Special Report of the Department of Education for the Year 1912, Manitoba Legislative Library.
Darlingford Consolidated School (no date) by G. G. Neufeld
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 81.
Students and a pair of transport vans in front of Darlingford Consolidated School (no date)
Source: Rob McInnes, MN0591
Darlingford Consolidated School (August 1967)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Darlingford 36.
The former Darlingford Consolidated School building (April 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The rear of the Darlingford Consolidated School building, showing its unique fire escape (April 2011)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.20519, W98.38053
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Darlingford School No. 1228 (Darlingford, Municipality of Pembina)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
MHS Resources: Manitoba Bricks and Blocks: Darlingford Brick and Tile Company
Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.
Darlingford Consolidated School, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch
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.
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
The Darlingford Saga II, 1870-1970, 1970-1999 by the Darlingford Centennial Book Committee, 1999.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Darlingford School District No. 1228 - Daily Registers, GR5330, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Darlingford School District No. 1228 - Daily Registers, GR9650, Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Ken Jacobs, Ed Grassick, Rob McInnes, and Bob Jordan for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 2 January 2024
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