Historic Sites of Manitoba: Decker School No. 320 (Decker, Municipality of Hamiota)

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

A monument in the village of Decker, in what is now the Municipality of Hamiota, marks the former location of Decker Consolidated School No. 320. Formed originally in July 1884, Decker School became one of the first to participate in the consolidation movement of the early 20th century when, in May 1912, it merged with Arrowton School No. 728.

In late 1920, a four-classroom brick veneer school building was designed by Winnipeg architect Alexander Melville and constructed at a cost of about $40,000. Opened for classes in January 1921, it was destroyed by fire on 6 November 1935. A one-storey brick replacement measuring 48 by 80 feet with a full basement, containing four classrooms and an auditorium, was constructed while classes were held in the community hall. The new school opened officially on 8 June 1936 at a ceremony attended by MLA T. Wolstenholme, W. Iverach of Isabella, J. Spalding of Miniota, and school inspector J. W. Clarke.

The school closed in June 1968 and the building was demolished. The school’s catchment area became part of the Birdtail River School Division. A school of the same name operates on a Hutterite colony northwest of this site, at SE25-15-25W.

Principals

Period	Principal
1920-1924	John Walter Clarke (1920-1924).
1924-1925	James Clark Whenham (1896-1970)
1925-1927	Joseph Edward Cooper (1887-1973)
1927-1931	Ernest Sidney Heys (1903-1979)
1931-1933	William Lineham Logan (1898-1987)
1933-1937	Ella Bryson Cumming (1899-1985)
1937-1939	Keith Ian Sanburn Smith (c1908-1972)
1939-1956	George Russell Pearson (1906-1987)
1956-1958	Gordon Victor Reynolds (1926-1964)
1958-1960	William A. “Bill” Johnstone
1960-1962	Joyce Isabelle Richardson Lief (1930-1963)
1962-1963	Mary Joan Foxton (1936-2015)
1963-1968	Maureen Milne

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1913-1914	Mr. Moore
1914-1915	Miss A. Howeth, Miss Myrtle Sunley
1915-1916	Mr. Shore, Miss Walker
1916-1917	Ethel Andrews, John J. McCruden
1917-1918	Ethel Andrews, John J. McCruden
1918-1919	Ethel Andrews, Cameron Bean
1919-1920	Cameron Bean, Miss Grace McConnell
1920-1921	Miss Forrest, Miss Hamilton, Miss Evelyn Hardaker, Miss Grace McConnell
1921-1922	Miss Hamilton, Miss Grace McConnell
1922-1923	? Jenkins, Miss Grace McConnell
1923-1924	? Jenkins, Miss Grace McConnell
1924-1925	? Jenkins, Miss Grace McConnell
1925-1926	Ella Barbour, Miss Grace McConnell
1926-1927	William Andrew, Miss Grace McConnell
1927-1928	William Andrew, Miss Grace McConnell
1928-1929	William Andrew, Miss Grace McConnell
1929-1930	Mr. Burnside, Miss Grace McConnell
1930-1931	Miss Grace McConnell
1931-1932	George Pearson
1932-1933	George Pearson
1933-1934	George Pearson
1934-1935	George Pearson
1935-1936	Marion T. Frame, Miss Edith King, George Pearson
1936-1937	Marion T. Frame, Miss Edith King, George Pearson
1937-1938	Miss Edith King, Kathleen King, George Pearson
1938-1939	Miss Edith King, Kathleen King, George Pearson
1939-1940	Miss Edith King, Kathleen King
1940-1941	Kathleen Kidgell, Winnifred Northcott
1941-1942	Winnifred Northcott, Alfred Stevens, Ronald Watson
1942-1943	Edna Pangman Arbuthnot, I. Kathleen Drake, Mrs. E. McInnis
1943-1944	Edna Pangman Arbuthnot, Laura Wallace
1944-1945	Edna Pangman Arbuthnot, Laura Wallace
1945-1946	Edna Pangman Arbuthnot, Laura Wallace
1946-1947	Edna Pangman Arbuthnot, Laura Wallace
1947-1948	Alfred Pierre Champagne, Betty Emerson
1948-1949	Betty Emerson, Lily May Nevin
1949-1950	Lily May Nevin, Verna Pennycook
1950-1951	Lily May Nevin, Gwen Vigfusson
1951-1952	Lily May Nevin, Gwen Vigfusson
1952-1953	Bernice Carson, Lily May Nevin
1953-1954	Evelyn Houck, Lily May Nevin
1954-1955	Lily May Nevin, Mrs. Frances Peel
1955-1956	Mrs. Frances Peel, Oscar Andrew Wurster
1956-1957	Cliff Glenn, Mrs. Frances Peel, Mrs. Leila Roby
1957-1958	Cliff Glenn, Mrs. Frances Peel
1958-1959	Cliff Nichols, Maria Tivey
1959-1960	Cliff Nichols, Estelle Hall
1960-1961	Estelle Hall
1961-1962	Estelle Hall
1962-1963	Agnes Bridge, Estelle Hall
1963-1964	Agnes Bridge, Estelle Hall
1964-1965	Louise Hyndman
1965-1966	Louise Hyndman
1966-1967	Nora Davidson, Mrs. Sadie Higgins, Louise Hyndman
1967-1968	Louise Hyndman

Photos & Coordinates

Decker School (no date) by J. B. Morrison Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 22. Decker School (no date) by J. W. Clarke Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 22. Decker School commemorative monument (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.26976, W100.78397 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Tenders for Decker Consolidated School,” Winnipeg Tribune, 12 June 1920, page 39.

“Teachers at the convention,” Brandon Sun, 15 October 1920, page 6.

“Decker Consolidated School burned down,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 November 1935, page 17.

“Decker proud of new school opened with appropriate program,” Brandon Sun, 10 June 1936, page 17.

“Formal opening of new Decker School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 June 1936, page 9.

“Teachers are named,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 August 1937, page 9.

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

“Mrs. Boyd Lief enters into rest,” Hamiota Echo, 8 May 1963, page 1.

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.

Decker Memoirs: A History of Decker and Community, 1880-1970, Decker Women’s Institute, 1970.

Funeral announcement [Mary Joan Foxton (Teal)], Campbell Funeral Home.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

We thank Nathan Kramer, and Ken and Vicki Smith for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Blaine Little.

Page revised: 4 February 2023

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