Historic Sites of Manitoba: Baldur School / Hnausa School No. 588 (Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton)

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

The Baldur School District was organized formally in May 1889 and a one-room, wood frame schoolhouse operated along the Gimli Road at the border of the SW and SE quarter-sections of 21-22-4E in what is now the Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton. In February 1915, upon the prompting of the provincial Department of Education, local trustees decided in favour of renaming the district as the Hnausa School District, with the Baldur School having become adopted by the former Simpson School District No. 667 located at Baldur.

The school remained at its original site (near N50.91177, W96.98435) through 1938 when the school’s location was moved to the southeast corner of NE20-22-4E. It operated there until some time between 1948 and 1950. By 1951, it had been relocated again to the southeast corner of SE-20-22-4E. It remained there into 1963 prior to a final relocation, back to the southeast corner of NE20-22-4E, for the final years in operation. The district was dissolved in 1967 and its area became part of the Evergreen School Division. The school building is no longer present at the second-and-last occupied site but its shelterbelt still thrives.

Principals

Period	Principal
1939-1940	Solmundur Ejolfson Solmundson
1940-1941	Asgier Ingvar Fjeldsted
1941-1942	Olafia Jonina Jonsson Melan (1887-1966)
1942-1943	Kristin Ingunn Martin
1943-1944	Adeline Humick
1944-1947	Penelope Helena Mastaway “Nellie/Pennie” Tuba (1923-2019)
1947-1950	Benjamin Franklin Olson (1898-1981)
1950-1954	Olafia Jonina Jonsson Melan (1887-1966)
1954-1955	Dorothy Ellen Swinburne Levine (1905-1971)
1955-1959	Larry Kohut
1959-1963	Gustaf Hildebrandur “Gus” Finnson (c1934-2019)
1963-1964	Claude C. Chepil
1964-1965	William Lindsay Black
1965-1966	Mabel Lillian Doll

Teachers

Among the early teachers of Baldur School / Hnausa School were Runolfur Marteinsson (1889-1890), S. Jonasson (1890-1891), Gudny Jonasson (189), J. Magnus Bjarnason (Fall 1892 - Spring 1895), Solveig Sveinsdottir (Fall 1895 - Spring 1896), Gudrun Johannson (Fall 1896 - Spring 1897), Mrs. G. S. Nordal (Fall 1897 - Spring 1898), Miss S. Swinford (Fall 1898 - Spring 1899), Jona Vopni (Fall 1899), J. G. Vopni (Spring 1900), Johannis P. Palsson (Fall 1900 & Fall 1902), J. Magnus Anderson (Spring 1901), John Erickson (Fall 1901 - Spring 1902), Solveig Swinford (Spring 1903), Emily H. Baldwinson (Fall 1903), Helgi Helgason (Spring 1904), ? (Fall 1904), G. E. Jonasson (January-March 1905), E. S. Jonasson (March-April 1905), Petrun Paulson (Fall 1905 - Spring 1906), Christiana Sveinson (Fall 1906), Miss Gusny? E. Jonasson (Spring 1907 - Spring 1908), ? (Fall 1908), George W. Crags (Spring 1909 - Spring 1911), Ingibjorg J. Petursson (Fall 1911 - Spring 1912 & Spring 1913), G. Helgason (September 1912), Kristin S. Petursson (October-December 1912), Jon Jonasson (September 1913), Halla Eyvindson (September 1913 - June 1914), Bjorg Jonsdottir (Fall 1914 - Spring 1915), Ingibjorg Thorsteinson (1915-1916), Agnes S. Pearson (1916-1917), Vilburg Eyolfson (1917-1918), Kathleen Sargent (September-October 1918), school closed due to Spanish Influenza (November-December 1918 & March-April 1919), K. S. Frederickson (February-March & April-June 1919), Capitola Sivgaldason (Fall 1919), S. Johnson (Spring 1920), Veiga Arason (Fall 1920 - Spring 1922 & Fall 1925 - Spring 1925), Thordis A. Eyolfson (Fall 1922), Robert Alexander Laurie (Spring - Fall 1923), Vilburg C. Eyolfson (Spring 1924), Sigurbjorg Oliver (1925-1927), Octavia Anderson (1927-1928), Astras Sigurlin Johnson (1928-1930), Ellen Arngrimson Christine (Fall 1930 - Spring 1933), Josephine Sigrid Olafson (Fall 1933 - Spring 1935), Christine Mae Oliver (Fall 1935 - March 1937), Einar Einarsson (April-June 1937), Vigdis Sigurdson (Fall 1937 - Spring 1938), and Solmundur Ejolfson Solmundson (Fall 1938 - Spring 1939).

Among the later teachers were

Period	Teachers
1939-1940	Thoranna Eyolfson (grades 1-4), Solmundur Ejolfson Solmundson (grades 5-12)
1940-1941	Asgier Ingvar Fjeldsted (grades 5-10), Mabel G. McGowan (grades 1-4)
1941-1942	Kristin Ingunn Martin (grades 1-4), Olafia Jonina Melan (grades 5-10)
1942-1943	Kristin Ingunn Martin (grades 5-10), Valgedur Eliza Sigurdson (grades 1-4)
1943-1944	Adeline Humick (grades 7-10), Edith Nelson (grades 1-6, September-December), Ada Oddleifson (grades 1-6, January-June)
1944-1945	Penelope Helena “Nellie” Mastaway (grades 6-10), Thuridur Olafson (grades 1-5)
1945-1946	Penelope Helena “Nellie” Mastaway (grades 5-10), Thuridur Olafson (grades 1-4)
1946-1947	Thuridur Olafson (grades 1-6), Penelope Helena Mastaway “Nellie” Tuba (grades 7-11)
1947-1948	Thuridur Olafson (grades 1-5), Benjamin Franklin Olson (grades 6-11)
1948-1949	Thuridur Olafson (grades 1-5, 1948; grades 1-6, 1949), Benjamin Franklin Olson (grades 6-11, 1948; grades 7-11, 1949)
1949-1950	Thuridur Olafson (grades 1-5), Benjamin Franklin Olson (grades 6-10)
1950-1951	Phyllis Blandina Brown (grades 1-6), Olafia Jonina Melan (grades 7-11)
1951-1952	Olafia Jonina Melan (grades 5-9), Thuridur Olafson (grades 1-4)
1952-1953	Astos Helga Emily Gudjonsson (grades 1-5), Olafia Jonina Melan (grades 6-10)
1953-1954	Astos Helga Emily Gudjonsson (grades 1-6), Olafia Jonina Melan (grades 7-11)
1954-1955	Phyllis Blandina Brown (grades 1-6), Dorothy Ellen Levine (grades 7-11)
1955-1956	Joyce Christina Kohut (grades 1-6), Larry Kohut (grades 7-11)
1956-1957	Joyce Christina Kohut (grades 1-4), Larry Kohut (grades 5-9)
1957-1958	Joyce Christina Kohut (grades 1-5), Larry Kohut (grades 6-10)
1958-1959	Joyce Christina Kohut (grades 1-6), Larry Kohut (grades 7-11)
1959-1960	Elizabeth Mary Finnson (grades 1-4), Gustaf Hildebrandur Finnson (grades 5-8)
1960-1961	Elizabeth Mary Finnson (grades 1-4), Gustaf Hildebrandur Finnson (grades 5-8)
1961-1962	Elizabeth Mary Finnson (grades 1-4), Gustaf Hildebrandur Finnson (grades 5-8)
1962-1963	Elizabeth Mary Finnson (grades 1-4), Gustaf Hildebrandur Finnson (grades 5-8)
1963-1964	Claude C. Chepil (grades 5-8), Gudrun Bjorg Sigurdson (grades 1-4)
1964-1965	William Lindsay Black (grades 5-8), Gudrun Bjorg Sigurdson (grades 1-4)
1965-1966	Mabel Lillian Doll (grades 5-8), Gudrun Bjorg Sigurdson (grades 1-4)

Photos & Coordinates

Former site of Hnausa School (May 2017) Source: Christine Loff Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.91320, W96.99577 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Simpson School No. 667 / Baldur School No. 667 (Baldur, RM of Argyle)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Baldur District Schools (Baldur, RM of Argyle)

Sources:

Township and parish plans and plats (NR 0212), Range 4 East - Township 22, GR2404, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Baldur School District No. 588 - Attendance Registers, GR10358, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Baldur School District No. 588 - Daily Registers, GR6263, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Baldur School District No. 588 - Daily Registers, GR6124, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Hnausa School District No. 588 - Daily Registers, GR6124, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Baldur School District No. 588 - Census Returns, GR10358, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Hnausa School District No. 588 - Census Returns, GR10358, Archives of Manitoba.

Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.

School division and school district formation files (E 0027), Baldur School District No. 588, Archives of Manitoba.

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

Riverton West topographic map, 62I/15 West, Edition 1, Series A743 [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.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer, Gordon Goldsborough, and Christine Loff.

Page revised: 10 December 2022

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