Historic Sites of Manitoba: Oak River School No. 253 (Oak River, RM of Oakview)

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

In 1891, the Oak River School building was moved into Oak River from its former site at SW4-14-22W in what is now the Rural Municipality of Oakview. Between 1906 and 1907, that modest building was replaced by a two-storey brick veneer structure designed by Brandon architect W. A. Elliott and built at a cost of about $12,000. The four-classroom building opened in the spring of 1907 but was destroyed by fire on 21 October 1908. A replacement school was constructed during the summer of 1909 and opened later that year.

In May 1917, Oak River School was consolidated with three rural schools, Bankburn School No. 1098, Maplewood School No. 662, and Wheatland School No. 304, to form the Oak River Consolidated School District No. 253.

The third Oak River School was built in 1929. It had four classrooms, with two more added in 1945. It closed in 1977 when the remaining students moved to the Junior High School building.

Principals

Period	Principal
1907-1909	James Henry Kiteley (1871-1955)
1909-1910	Annie Slattery
1910-1913	?
1913-1914	Maggie R. Stewart
1914-1916	D. W. Hoare
1916-1917	John A. “Jack” Urquhart (?-?)
1917-1921	Johann Gestur Johannsson (1886-1978)
1921-1923	Lewis Emmett Lynd (1876-1961)
1923-1925	John Hazelett Duffy (1878-1942)
1925-1929	Wilbur Walter Crosby (1893-1941)
1930-1932	Eleanor Collison
1932-1937	Ernest Sidney Heys (1903-1979)
1937-1940	William Lyle [Decker] Dyker (1915-1994)
1940-1941	Charles William Havelock (1906-2000)
1941-1942	Arthur Milford Preston (1908-1981)
1942-1944	Frank Edward White (1915-1994)
1944-1945	Claude Amnesty Joyce (1908-1997)
1945-1958	Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (1910-1990)
1958-1959	Rene Allen Ollivier (?-1982)
1959-1960	Dennis Babcock
1960-1961	Rene A. Ollivier (?-1982)
1961-1962	Joseph Edwin Murphy (1897-1973)
1962-1967	Glen J. Hammond
1967-1968	Oliver Glen Olmstead (?-1997)
1968-1973	J. Forsyth

Teachers

Among the early teachers of Oak River School were Harvey Elgin Hicks (1890s), Norman Ewart Brett, and Alfred James Bell.

School Year	Teachers
1917-1918	Lily M. Decker
1918-1919	Nina R. Begg (1919), Anna Stuart (1918)
1919-1920	Nina R. Begg
1920-1921	Islay A. McIntyre (grades 3-5), Laura M. Speers (grades 1-2)
1921-1922	Cecile H. Mitchell (grades 1-3), Laura M. Speers (grades 4-5)
1922-1923	Laura M. Speers (grades 4-5)
1923-1924	Helen E. Hepworth (grades 4-5, 1923; grades 5-6, 1924), Stella G. Laing (grades 1-2)
1924-1925	Ermina Shier (grades 4-6)
1925-1926	Ester Olive Birch (grade 9), Allan Shafer Bowman (grades 6-8), Mabel Margaret Buchannan (grades 2-3), Wilbur Walter Crosby (grades 10-11), Doris M. Fester (grade 1), Ermina Shier (grades 4-5)
1926-1927	Wilbur Walter Crosby (grades 10-11)
1927-1928	Helen Fredrica Bennest (grades 1-2), Wilbur Walter Crosby (grades 10-11)
1928-1929	Helen Fredrica Bennest (grades 1-3), Wilbur Walter Crosby (grades 10-11)
1929-1930	Eleanor Collison (grade 11), Mary Anne Isbister (grades 1-2), Bertha E. Nelson (grade 9, 1930), Gertrude Blanche Perrin (grade 9, 1929)
1930-1931	Ethel L. Burnside (grades 3-4), Eleanor Collison (grade 10-11)
1931-1932	Ethel L. Burnside (grades 3-4), Eleanor Collison (grades 10-11), Minnie Hutchinson (grades 5-6), Beatrice Roberta Hyndman (grades 1-2), Eldred George Miller (grades 7-9)
1932-1933	Ethel L. Burnside (grades 3-4), Ernest Sidney Heys (grades 9-11), Beatrice Roberta Hyndman (grades 1-2), Eldred George Miller (grades 7-8)
1933-1934	Ethel L. Burnside (grades 3-4), Ernest Sidney Heys (grades 9-11), Minnie Hutchinson (grades 5-6), Beatrice Roberta Hyndman (grades 1-2), Eldred George Miller (grades 7-8)
1934-1935	Ethel L. Burnside (grades 3-4), Ernest Sidney Heys (grades 9-11), Beatrice Roberta Hyndman (grades 1-2), Leslie Irving Spear (grades 7-8)
1935-1936	Ernest Sidney Heys (grades 9-11), Beatrice Roberta Hyndman (grades 1-2), Leslie Irving Spear (grades 7-8)
1936-1937	Ernest Sidney Heys (grades 12), Beatrice Roberta Hyndman (grades 1-3), Myrtle Jean Lelond (grades 7-8), Margaret Jean Reid (grade 11)
1937-1938	Grace Elizabeth Armstrong (grades 3-4), Margaret Jean Crindle (grades 1-3), William Lyle [Decker] Dyker (grades 11-12), Frank Edward White (grades 7-8)
1938-1939	Grace Elizabeth Armstrong (grades 9-10), Margaret Jean Crindle (grades 1-3), William Lyle [Decker] Dyker (grades 11-12), Frank Edward White (grades 7-8)
1939-1940	Grace Elizabeth Armstrong (grades 9-10), William Lyle [Decker] Dyker (grades 11-12), Willa Margaret Harvey (grades 1-3), Melvin George Pipe (grade 7-8)
1940-1941	Catherine Frieda Andrews (grades 7-8), Emma Clarke (grades 4-6), Charles William Havelock (grades 11-12), Harold Murray Lord (grades 9-10), Marion Agnes McCrindle (grades 1-3)
1941-1942	Shirley Lillian Johnson (grades 1-2), ? (grades 3-5), Harold Murray Lord (grades 9-10), Arthur Milford Preston (grades 11-12), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8)
1942-1943	Elva Matilda Ferguson (grades 9-10), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8), Frank Edward White (grades 11-12), Margaret Jane White (grades 1-2), Mary Eileen Williams (grades 3-5)
1943-1944	Winnifred Norah Hulbert (grades 1-2), ? (grades 3-5), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8), Dorothy Helen Primmer (grades 9-10), Frank Edward White (grades 11-12)
1944-1945	Winnifred Norah Hulbert (grades 1-2), Claude Amnesty Joyce (grades 11-12), Ellen Louise McFarland (grades 3-5), Dorothy Helen Primmer (grades 9-10), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8)
1945-1946	Leah Jacqueline Cory (grades 3-5), Winnifred Norah Hulbert (grades 1-2), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8)
1946-1947	Edythe Georgina Bray (grades 3-5), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8), Annie Edith Stocker (grades 1-2)
1947-1948	Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8), Annie Edith Stocker (grades 1-2), Phyllis Vera White (grades 3-5)
1948-1949	Ina Doreen Hazelwood (grades 1-3), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8), Phyllis Vera White (grades 4-5)
1949-1950	Ina Doreen Hazelwood (grades 1-2), Daisy Hazel McIntyre (grades 3-5), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8)
1950-1951	Ina Doreen Hazelwood (grades 1-2), Daisy Hazel McIntyre (grades 3-5), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8)
1951-1952	Joan Audrey Bowey (grades 1-2), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Alma Bethel Sedywick (grades 6-8), Audrey Kathleen Stevenson (grades 3-5)
1952-1953	Joan Audrey Bowey (grades 1-2), Mary Doreen Hayward (grades 6-8), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Audrey Kathleen Stevenson (grades 3-5)
1953-1954	Joan Audrey Bowey (grades 1-2), Ruth Isabel Hedley (grades 6-8), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 9-11), Audrey Kathleen Stevenson (grades 3-5)
1954-1955	Joan Audrey Bowey (grades 1-2), Audrey Kathleen Stevenson Coulson (grades 3-5), Barbara Criddle (grades 9-10), Ruth Isabel Hedley (grades 6-8), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 11-12)
1955-1956	Joyce Evelyn Alexander (grades 1-2), Barbara Criddle (grades 9-10), Ruth Isabel Hedley (grades 7-8), Audrey Kathleen Stevenson Coulson (grades 3-4), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 11-12), Glennis Wayne Scott (grades 5-6)
1956-1957	Joyce Evelyn Alexander (grades 1-2), Barbara Criddle (grades 9-10), Ruth Isabel Hedley (grades 7-8), Margaret Christina Kinnaird (grades 3-4), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 11-12), Glennis Wayne Scott (grades 5-6)
1957-1958	Joyce Evelyn Alexander (grades 1-2), Alma Elaine Carnochan (grades 9-10), Carman R. Gray (grades 5-6), Ruth Isabel Hedley (grades 7-8), Margaret Christina Kinnaird (grades 3-4), Donald Roderick “Don” McLennan (grades 11-12)
1958-1959	Joyce Evelyn Alexander (grades 1-2), Anne Haggerty (grades 5-6), Ruth Isabel Hedley (grades 7-8), Margaret Christina Kinnaird (grades 3-4), Rene Allen Ollivier (grades 11-12), Joyce Anges Wilkinson (grades 9-10)
1959-1960	Denis M. Babcock (grades 10-11, 1960), Anne Haggerty (grades 5-6), Gladys Dorothy Davies (grades 10-11, 1959), Ruth Isabel Hedley (grades 7-8), Margaret Christina Kinnaird (grades 3-4), Alfrild V. Niven (grade 9, 1959), Rene Allen Ollivier (grade 12), June L. Reid (grade 9, 1960), Arlene Wilson (grades 1-2)

Photos & Coordinates

The two-storey, four-classroom Oak River School, constructed between 1906 and 1907 and destroyed by fire in October 1908 (1907) Source: Education Department Report, 1907, Manitoba Legislative Library. The second Oak River School built in 1909 to replace one that was burned the previous year (1909) Source: Education Department Report, 1909, Manitoba Legislative Library. The second Oak River School (1920s) by W. C. Hartley Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 6. The third Oak River School, built in 1929 (circa 1979) Source: Sharon Simms Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.13835, W100.43026 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Oak River School No. 253 (RM of Oakview)

Sources:

“Tenders for heating,” Manitoba Free Press, 25 September 1906, page 2.

“Oak River School burned to ground,” Hamiota Echo, 22 October 1908, page 1.

“Tenders,” Manitoba Free Press, 25 March 1909, page 2.

Manitoba School Records Collection (GR2063), Oak River School No. 253 Daily Registers, Archives of Manitoba.

School division half-yearly attendance reports, Schedule: E 0757, Archives of Manitoba.

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

Rivers West topographic map, 62K/1 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.

We thank Therese Shamray, Donald Simms, and Sharon Simms for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 28 August 2021

Historic Sites of Manitoba This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only. SEARCH the collection Browse lists of: Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner. Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes. Send corrections and additions to this page to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca. Search Tips | Suggest an Historic Site | FAQ Help us keep history alive!