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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.
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
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)
John G. Stewart School (October 2019)
Source: Nathan KramerSite 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
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, 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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