Historic Sites of Manitoba: Knowles School / John G. Stewart School (2069 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg)

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

Located in North Kildonan, now a suburb of Winnipeg, on the grounds of the Knowles Centre, the Knowles School was established for educating the school-age children at the facility, which was operated by the Winnipeg School Division. Initially, a single teacher oversaw students in five grades. An expanded building opened in May 1917, with two teachers and eight grades. Senior students attended high school elsewhere in the Division.

In 1951, an industrial arts facility at the school was opened by Manitoba Technical Institute Principal B. F. Addy. The Winnipeg School Division withdrew its teaching staff in 1955 and the school began operating as a private institution, funded in part by the United Way and the provincial government. On 13 December 1959, the building was destroyed in a fire. Three dormitories were renovated for use as classrooms while a campaign by the Rotary Club raised funds for construction of a replacement school building.

Alumni of the school belong to an organization called “The 100 Club.”

In the 1990s, the John G. Stewart School, named for local educator John Gibson “Jack” Stewart, was built at the site and operated by the River East School Division.

Principals

Period	Principal
1917	Rosie Lena Collins “Rose” Lang (1883-1944)
1917-1918	Mrs. J. McGregor
1918-1920	Ruth Hope Wilson (1891-1995)
1921-1933	Marguerite Willard Robertson (1892-1987)
1933-1935	Rudolph Alexander Storch (1903-1988)
1935-1937	Francis Lowell “Frank” Palmer (1906-1994)
1937-1939	Stewart Gibson Dack (1910-1969)
1939-1940	Alfred Thomas Phillips (1915-2010)
1940-1941	Neil Murray McIvor (1906-1970)
1941-1942	Robert Ernest Clague (1914-2006)
1942-1943	Taras Robert “Ted” Korol (1918-1998)
1944-1946	Neil McTavish (1902-1968)
1946-1947	Robert John Walker “Bob” Lyons (1905-1975)
1947-1949	Eva May Calder (1894-1989)
1949-1952	Arthur Milford Preston (1908-1981)
1952-1955	Eva May Calder (1894-1989)
1955-1962	?
1962-1964	Ronald Allen “Ron” Baillie
1964-1965	Maurice Reid Quesnel
1965-1969	Wilma E. Essex
1969-2015	?
2015-?	T. Holroyd

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1914-1915	Vera Theresa O'Hara Miller
1915-1916	Vera Theresa O'Hara Miller
1916-1917	Rosie Lena Collins “Rose” Lang (grades 4-8, 1917), Minnie Mason (grades 1-3), Florence McEathern? (grades 1-3), Vera Theresa O'Hara Miller (1916)
1917-1918	Edna M. M. Kemp (grades 1-3), Minnie Mason (grades 1-3, 1917), Florence McEathern? (grades 1-3, 1917), Mrs. J. McGregor (grades 4-8, 1918)
1918-1919	Eva M. Smith (grades 1-4), Ruth Wilson (grades 5-8)
1919-1920	Eva M. Smith (grades 1-4), Ruth Wilson (grades 5-8)
1920-1921	Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 5-8, 1921), Eva M. Smith (grades 1-4), Ruth Wilson (grades 5-8, 1920)
1921-1922	Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 5-8), Eva M. Smith (grades 1-5)
1922-1923	Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 5-8), Eva M. Smith (grades 1-5)
1923-1924	Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 5-8), Eva M. Smith (grades 1-5)
1924-1925	Bella M. McDonald (grades 1-4, 1924), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 5-8), Mrs. F. Sharp (grades 1-5, 1925)
1925-1926	Bella M. McDonald (grades 2-5), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 6-8)
1926-1927	Bella M. McDonald (grades 1-5), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 6-8)
1927-1928	Bella M. McDonald (grades 2-5), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 5-8)
1928-1929	Harriett Lillian Dyke (grades 1-5), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 6-8)
1929-1930	Harriett Lillian Dyke (grades 2-5), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 6-8)
1930-1931	Esther Hinds (grades 3-5), Irene May Matheson (grades 3-5, 1931), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 6-8)
1931-1932	Irene May Matheson (grades 3-5), Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 6-8)
1932-1933	Marguerite Willard Robertson (grades 4-7)
1933-1934	Rudolph A. Storch (grades 2-7)
1934-1935	Rudolph A. Storch (grades 5, 7-9), Gerald L. Stuart (grades 2-4, 6)
1935-1936	Frank L. Palmer (grades 6-9), Alfred Thomas Phillips (grades 2-5)
1936-1937	Frank L. Palmer (grades 6-9), Alfred Thomas Phillips (grades 3-5)
1937-1938	Stewart Gibson Dack (grades 6-9), Alfred Thomas Phillips (grades 1-5)
1938-1939	Stewart Gibson Dack (grades 6-9), Alfred Thomas Phillips (grades 1-5)
1939-1940	Eva May Calder (grades 2-5), Alfred Thomas Phillips (grades 6-9)
1940-1941	Eva May Calder (grades 2-5), Neil Murray McIvor (grades 6-9)
1941-1942	Eva May Calder (grades 1-5), Robert Ernest Clague (grades 6-9)
1942-1943	Eva May Calder (grades 1-5), Taras Robert Korol (grades 6-9)
1943-1944	Eva May Calder (grades 1-5), Neil McTavish (grades 6-9)
1944-1945	Eva May Calder (grades 1-5), Neil McTavish (grades 6-9)
1945-1946	Eva May Calder (grades 1-5), Neil McTavish (grades 6-9, 1945), Alfred Thomas Phillips (grades 6-9, 1946), Dr. P. Margarite (1946)
1946-1947	Eva May Calder (grades 1-4), Eva Frances Irene Clement (grades 5-6), Robert John Walker “Bob” Lyons (grades 7-9)
1947-1948	Eva May Calder (grades 2-6)
1948-1949	Eva May Calder (grades 2-6)
1949-1950	Eva May Calder (grades 2-5), Arthur Milford Preston (grades 6-9)
1950-1951	Eva May Calder (grades 2-5), Arthur Milford Preston (grades 5-7)
1951-1952	Eva May Calder (grades 2-5), Arthur Milford Preston (grades 5-8)
1952-1953	Eva May Calder (grades 2-4)
1953-1954	Eva May Calder (grades 2-5)
1954-1955	Eva May Calder (grades 2-4, 1954)
1955-1956	?
1956-1957	?
1957-1958	?
1958-1959	?
1959-1960	?
1960-1961	?
1961-1962	Wilma E. Essex (grades ?), Barbara Noreen Heber (grades ?), Constantine Maseiuch [Masiuch] (grades ?)
1962-1963	Ronald Allen “Ron” Baillie (grades 8-9), Wilma E. Essex (grades 4-5), Jean Ann Robertson (grades 2-4), Eugene Alfred Sigfusson (grades 4, 6-7)
1963-1964	Ronald Allen “Ron” Baillie (grades 7-9, 1963; grades 6-9, 1964), Wilma E. Essex (grades 4-6), Doreen Sophia Rudy Hunt (grades 2-4), Eugene Alfred Sigfusson (grades 5-7, 1963; grades 6-7, 1964)
1964-1965	Wilma E. Essex (grades 4-6), Ronald Winston “Ron” Munro (grade 6), Maurice Reid Quesnel (grades 4, 7-9), Stephania Yurkiwsky (grades 2-4)
1965-1966	Wilma E. Essex (grades 4-6), Rudy Frederick Fast (grade 7), Marianne Penner (grades ?), Louis Joseph Regnier (grades 4-6)
1966-1967	Paul Allan (grades 5-8, 1966), Wilma E. Essex (grades 3-4), George Michael Maneluk (grades 5-8, 1966), ? (grades 5-8, 1967), Marianne Penner (grades ?)
1967-1968	Marianne Penner (grades 3-5), George Michael Maneluk (grades 4-7), Franklin Peter Humniski (grades 8-9), Wilma E. Essex (grades 3-6)
1968-1969	Rosslyn L. Ward (grades 2-5), Arthur James Rathgeber (grades 5-8), Charles S. MacIver (grades 7-8), Wilma E. Essex (grade 4)

Photos & Coordinates

John G. Stewart School (October 2019) Source: Nathan Kramer Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.95766, W97.06705 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Manitoba Organization: Knowles Home for Boys / Knowles School for Boys / Knowles Centre

Sources:

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

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

“Knowles boys at Fort Garry,” Manitoba Free Press, 10 May 1917, page 5.

“Their future depends upon your assistance,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 October 1939, page 3.

“Knowles School portage paid, Crossin tells annual meeting,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 September 1940, page 3.

“Cash awards presented to Knowles Boys,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 June 1952, page 7.

“Dream realized, Knowles School shop opened,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 December 1954, page 9.

“Boys’ School may provide own teachers,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 December 1954, page 2.

“Male teacher requires at the Knowles School for Boys,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 December 1955, page 23.

“Fund drive for Boys’ School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 December 1959, page 3.

“100 Club tea marks 50th anniversary of Knowles School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 March 1958, page 10.

“$17,000 for Knowles School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 December 1959, page 3.

“Knowles School conversion program completed in time for new term,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 January 1960, page 3.

[Feature full page article, untitled], Winnipeg Free Press Leisure, 9 March 1968, page 5.

Obituary [Robert John Walker], Winnipeg Free Press, 22 November 1975, page 42.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 2 May 2021

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