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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
The village of Elva was founded in 1891, on the northwest quarter of 18-3-27W in what is now the Municipality of Two Borders, on land sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway by James R. Skelton. The town was named after Elva Arley Modeland (1884-?), alleged to be the first white child born in the area. The Elva School District was formally established in May 1892 and a school was erected northwest of Elva in the late 1890s. It was moved into Elva in 1898 and, four years later, replaced by a larger, two-storey frame building, located at N49.21649, W101.11817. A new elementary school was built in 1965. It closed in 1974 due to school consolidation. Its former location is marked by a monument.
Period
Principal
1909-1910
William Norman Stewart
1911-1912
Edwin H. Clark
1912-1913
Albert Gilmore [Gilmour] Fulford (1877-1946)
1913
Solomon Abraham (1872-1942)
1914
Mary P. “Mamie” Riddell
1914-1915
Clarence Moore (1884-1977)
1915-1916
John M. McCormick
1916-1917
Mr. W. C. Jones
1917-1951
?
1951-1952
Delorie Wessels “Del” Howell (1925-2008)
1952-1953
F. E. Wadsworth
1953-1954
Frank E. Basiuk
Among the early teachers who worked at Elva School were James H. Dean (Spring-Fall 1893), J. H. Livingstone (Spring-Fall 1894), Annie B. Jamieson (Spring-Fall 1895), Daniel Armenius Wickware (Spring 1896 - pt Fall 1897), C. D. Tulloch (pt Fall 1897), Hector McArthur (Spring 1898 - Spring 1900), Janette Landreth (Fall 1900 - Fall 1901), records not availalbe (Spring 1902 - Fall 1904), Sealy Mack McCleland (?-?), Genevieve Lipsett (Spring 1905), Louise C. Anderson (Fall 1905), Mary Stewart (pt Spring 1906), W. J. Mahony [Mahoney?] (pt Spring 1906) John B. Stewart (Fall 1906), William Norman Stewart (Spring-Fall 1907).
School Year
Teachers
1908
William Norman Stewart (all grades)
1909
Minnie W. Buckley? (junior grades, Fall), Effie J. Robertson (junior grades, Spring), William Norman Stewart (senior grades)
1910
Mary P. “Mamie” Riddell (junior grades), William Norman Stewart (senior grades)
1911
Edwin H. Clark (senior grades), Mary P. “Mamie” Riddell (junior grades)
1912
(January-June only): Edwin H. Clark (senior grades), Olive Grant (junior grades)
1912-1913
Albert G. Fulford (senior grades), Olive Grant (junior grades, Fall), Mary P. “Mamie” Riddell (junior grades, Spring)
1913-1914
Solomon Abraham (senior grades, Fall), Mary P. “Mamie” Riddell (junior grades, Fall; senior grades, Spring), H. A. Snowdon [Snowden?] (junior grades, Spring)
1914-1915
Helen E. Fair (junior grades, Fall), Violet M. Hefford (junior grades, Spring), Clarence Moore (senior grades)
1915-1916
John M. McCormick (senior grades), Gertrude Mason (junior grades)
1916-1917
Mr. W. C. Jones (senior grades), Phyllis Leslie, Gertrude Mason
Among the teachers who worked at Elva School (1917-1929) were Mr. Ball (?-?), Isabel Melvin, John Williams, Beryle McNiven, Miss M. Phayr, Elsie Gardiner (1922), Miss Willa Dorsey, Lela Moon (1921), Marjorie Blowers (1925), Annetta Weichman, Mr. Wright, Miss Jean Anderson, Grace Dunning, Phyllis Leslie, Miss Henry, Inez V. Babb (1922), Miss Ogletree, Reva Stewart, Nettie Turnbull, Dennis Vallee, Elizabeth Grierson, Tranna Calvert (1929), Miss M. McGee, Anne Potter Mainland (1929), Gwen Hawcett, Marie Thompson, and Miss W. Yuill.
Later staff (after 1929) include J. Crawford McMillan (1930), Winnifred Potter, Frank C. Jacobs, William Turkula (1946-1947), Velma Thompson (1946-1947), Mr. Ditchko, Rudolph V. Dankesreiter, Joe Kachor (1948), Noreen A. Robinson (1949), Audrey J. Taylor (1950-1951), Ruth Wilken (1950-1951), Evelyn Basiuk (1953-1955), Grace Johnson Roblin (1955-1956), A. J. MacLeod (1955-1956), Zenon Stephan Pohorecky (1957-1958), Joyce Walker (1957-1959), Sarah Barker (1959-1960), Gloria Allan Innes (1961-1975), Evelyn Roblin (1962-1963), A. E. Gresbrech (1963-1964), Linda Moldowan (1964-1965), Ken Hafenbrok (1965-1966), Gladys E. Snyder (1966-1967), Hazel Lamport (1968-1969), Laureen Morton (1970-1971), Donnelda Wheelans (1972-1974), and Edna Wilson (1974-1975).
Elva School (no date) by George Hunter
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 110.
Elva School commemorative monument (October 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Elva School commemorative monument (September 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.21688, W101.11416
denoted by symbol on the map above
Birth registrations [Elva Arley Modeland], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Elva, Man”, Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, 1916, 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.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
Harvests of Time: History of the R.M. of Edward by Edward History Book Committee, 1983, pages 149-151.
Obituary [Noreen A. Junson], Winnipeg Free Press, 3 October 2020.
We thank Eric Pohorecky, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 19 November 2025
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