Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rapid City School No. 124 (Rapid City, RM of Oakview)

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

Designed by Brandon architect W. A. Elliott and built in 1902, the Rapid City School in Rapid City replaced an earlier school established in 1881. It became Rapid City Consolidated School No. 2392 in January 1961, combining Rapid City School with several rural schools, including Little Saskatchewan School No. 134, Wallace School No. 405, McBride School No. 558, Centreview School No. 858, and Oakleigh Union School No. 914. In 1968, it joined Rolling River School Division.

After the school closed, it was used as a local museum and cultural centre until around 2004. Beside the former school building is an old telephone exchange building. The Manitoba Telephone System donated it and an operator's board to the museum and they were moved to the grounds on 8 November 1977 after celebrating Rapid City being the final town in Manitoba to receive the dial system. In 1985, the Ralston Colony milk house was donated to the museum by Don and Vivian Sharpe.

A plaque erected on the school grounds by the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba commemorates Frederick Philip Grove, who taught at various schools in south-central Manitoba before moving to Ontario in 1929. He is buried in the southwest corner of the Rapid City Cemetery.

This became a municipally-designated heritage building in 2014.

Principals

Period	Principal
1881-1882	?
1882-1884	Frederick Laurence Schaffner (1855-1935)
1884-1897	?
1897-1899	John Whyte (1850-1927)
1899-1901	John Wesley Peters (1863-1962)
1901	Mr. Laidlaw
1901-1905	George Albert Sproule (1872-1936)
1905-1907	Duncan Crerar (1877-1910)
1907-1916	Charles T. Cresswell (1872-1961)
1916-1918	Harold Elwin Riter (1892-1967)
1918-1920	Arthur Herbert Hoole (1889-1991)
1920-1922	Benjamin Hodkinson (1864-1948)
1922-1924	Frederick Philip Grove (1871-1948)
1924-1926	Samuel Stewart Bryan (1889-?)
1926-1929	Wilfred Gilbert Pearce (1893-1975)
1929-1937	John Sigfus Helgason (?-1978)
1937-1942	John Samuell Dickison (1906-1995)
1942-1944	Garnet Milton Morrison (1915-1992)
1944-1946	John Ernest Ingot (?-2001)
1946-1956	Archibald George Hickling (1910-1968)
1956-1957	Frank Cecil Jacobs (1914-2002)
1957-1965	Robert Octavius Picken “Barney” Bolton (1907-1985)
1965-1967	Edwin Fedak

Vice-Principals

Period	Principal
1951-1952	Samuel Donen (1918-1990)

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1881-1882	?
1882-1884	Miss Allan (junior grades), Miss J. Butcher (junior grades), Frederick L. Schaffner (senior grades)
1884-1917	?
1917-1918	Miss I. W. Clapp (grades 1-2, August-November), Ruby G. Dunlop (grade 1-2 substitute, November-December), Etta Peter (grades 1-2, January-June), Harold E. Riter (grades 9-11), Janie M. Sinclair (grades 5-8), Aneta Jean Whyte (grades 3-5)
1918-1919	?
1919-1920	?
1920-1921	?
1921-1922	?
1922-1923	?
1923-1924	?
1924-1925	Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 9-11), Catherine Grove (grades 6-8), Mary Rosella Pallock (grades 4-5), Mrs. E. J. White (grades 1-3)
1925-1926	Samuel Stewart Bryan (grades 9-11), Catherine Grove (grades 6-8), Mary Rosella Pallock (grades 4-5), Mrs. E. J. White (grades 1-3)
1926-1927	Catherine Grove (grades 6-8), B. J. McNiven (grades 9-10), Mary Rosella Pallock (grades 4-5), Wilfred Gilbert Pearce (grade 11), Mrs. E. J. White (grades 1-3)
1927-1928	Doris Marjorie Forster (grades 1-2), Catherine Grove (grades 6-8), S. Laing (grades 1-2, 1928 substitute), B. J. McNiven (grades 9-10), Wilfred Gilbert Pearce (grade 11), Edna I. A. Shier (grades 3-5)
1928-1929	Doris Marjorie Forster (grades 1-2), Catherine Grove (grades 6-8), B. J. McNiven (grades 9-10), Wilfred Gilbert Pearce (grade 11), E. M. Riesberry (grades 3-5, 1929 substitute), Edna I. A. Shier (grades 3-5)
1929-1930	Mary Bell Currie (grades 6-8), Doris Marjorie Forster (grades 1-2), John Sigfus Helgason (grade 11), Anne Marguerite Loutit (grades 9-10), Elizabeth Mae Taylor (grades 3-5)
1930-1931	M. Carol (grades 9-10, 1930), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Margaret Scott Fraser (grades 9-10), John Sigfus Helgason (grade 11), Hazel Anna McKay (grades 3-5), Margaret Elizabeth Ross (grades 1-2)
1931-1932	Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Margaret Scott Fraser (grades 9-10), John Sigfus Helgason (grade 11), Hazel Anna McKay (grades 3-5), Margaret Elizabeth Ross (grades 1-2)
1932-1933	Jennie M. Bowyer (grades 9-10), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), John Sigfus Helgason (grade 11), Hazel Anna McKay (grades 3-5), Margaret Elizabeth Ross (grades 1-2)
1933-1934	Jennie M. Bowyer (grades 9-10), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), John Sigfus Helgason (grade 11), Hazel Anna McKay (grades 3-5), Margaret Elizabeth Ross (grades 1-2)
1934-1935	Jennie M. Bowyer (grades 9-10), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), John Sigfus Helgason (grade 11), Hazel Anna McKay (grades 3-5), Margaret Elizabeth Ross (grades 1-2)
1935-1936	Jennie M. Bowyer (grades 9-10), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), John Sigfus Helgason (grade 11), Hazel Anna McKay (grades 3-5), Margaret Elizabeth Ross (grades 1-2)
1936-1937	Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Marjorie Augusta Graham (grades 1-2), Gertrude Olive Kristinson (grades 3-5), John Sigfus Helgason (grades 9-11)
1937-1938	John Samuell Dickison (grades 9-11), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Marjorie Augusta Graham (grades 1-2), Gertrude Olive Kristinson (grades 3-5)
1938-1939	John Samuell Dickison (grades 9-11), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Marjorie Augusta Graham (grades 1-2), Gertrude Olive Kristinson (grades 3-5)
1939-1940	Ada Margaret Allen (grades 3-5), John Samuell Dickison (grades 9-11), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Margaret Helen Jasper (grades 1-2)
1940-1941	Ada Margaret Allen (grades 3-5), John Samuell Dickison (grades 9-11), Nellie Louise Finch (grades 1-2, 1940), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Annie Marion Wright (grades 1-2, 1941)
1941-1942	Ada Margaret Allen (grades 3-5), John Samuell Dickison (grades 9-11), Thomas Leslie Fox (grades 6-8), Ruth Mary Todd (grades 1-2)
1942-1943	Ada Margaret Allen (grades 3-5), Garnet Milton Morrison (grades 9-11), Ruth Mary Todd (grades 1-2), Irene Blanche Towle (grades 6-8)
1943-1944	Ada Margaret Allen (grades 3-5), Garnet Milton Morrison (grades 9-11), Myrtle Elizabeth Townsend (grades 1-2), Irene Blanche Towle (grades 6-8)
1944-1945	Ada Margaret Allen (grades 3-5), John Ernest Ingot (grades 9-11), A. G. McQuinn (grades 1-2, 1945 substitute), Myrtle Elizabeth Townsend (grades 1-2), Irene Blanche Towle (grades 6-8)
1945-1946	Mrs. M. E. Glenn (grades 6-8), Kathleen Violet Harkins (grades 6-8, 1946), Barbara Bradley Hunt (grades 1-2), John Ernest Ingot (grades 9-11), Alice Grace Widdicombe (grades 3-5)
1946-1947	Margaret Isabelle Fallis (grades 4-6), Archibald George Hickling (grades 9-11), Barbara Bradley Hunt (grades 1-3), Mae Milne (grades 7-8)
1947-1948	Margaret Isabelle Fallis (grades 4-6), Archibald George Hickling (grades 9-11), Mae Milne (grades 7-8), Harriet Arva Scarlett (grades 1-3)
1948-1949	Shirley Patricia Dalgarno (grades 7-8), Archibald George Hickling (grades 9-11), Harriet Arva Scarlett (grades 1-3), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 4-6)
1949-1950	Archibald George Hickling (grades 9-11), Harriet Arva Scarlett (grades 1-4), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 5-8)
1950-1951	Archibald George Hickling (grades 9-11), Harriet Arva Scarlett (grades 1-4), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 5-8)
1951-1952	Samuel Donen (grades 9-10), Archibald George Hickling (grades 11-12), Harriet Arva Scarlett (grades 1-4), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 5-8)
1952-1953	Archibald George Hickling (grades 11-12), Dr. Stephan Kossak (grades 9-10), Annie E. Lawson (grades 1-4), Miss J. Nykolaishen (grades 9-10, 1952), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 5-8)
1953-1954	Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 1-4), Archibald George Hickling (grades 11-12), Margaret Joan Lomonaco (grades 9-10), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 5-8)
1954-1955	Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 3-5), Archibald George Hickling (grades 11-12), Margaret Joan Lomonaco (grades 9-10), Lily Schoenrath (grades 1-2), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 6-8)
1955-1956	Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 3-5), Helen Jean Hampton (grades 9-10), Archibald George Hickling (grades 11-12), Lily Schoenrath (grades 1-2), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 6-8)
1956-1957	Tannis Yvonne Arbuckle (grades 9-10), Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 5-6), Frank Cecil Jacobs (grades 11-12), Ellen Elaine McCullough (grades 1-2), Arlene Lorna McDonald (grades 3-4), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 7-8)
1957-1958	Robert Octavius Picken “Barney” Bolton (grades 10-11), Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 4-5), Rosaline Chastko (grades 9 & 12), Arlene Lorna McDonald (grades 2-3), Elsie Taylor (grades 1-3), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 6-8)
1958-1959	Robert Octavius Picken “Barney” Bolton (grades 11-12), Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 4-5), Nicholas Constantinesco (grades 9-10), Arlene Lorna McDonald (grades 2-3), Elsie Taylor (grades 1-2), Margaret Levina Wilkie (grades 6-8)
1959-1960	?
1960-1961	?
1961-1962	?
1962-1963	?
1963-1964	?
1964-1965	?
1965-1966	Mrs. Merle Arbuckle, Mrs. Elsie Boys, Steve Dmytriw, Miss Ruth Jacobs, Mrs. Delce Shanks
1966-1967	Mrs. Elsie Boys, Steve Dmytriw, Morris J. Stefaniuk

Among the other teachers of Rapid City School was Effie Weir (early 1920s).

Photos & Coordinates

Rapid City School (circa 1925) by William C. Hartley Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 41. Rapid City School (1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Rapid City 3. Rapid City School (1968) Source: Archives of Manitoba, George Harris Fonds, Acc. 1979-141, P7454, Album 21, Page 41. The former Rapid City School building (June 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Rear of the former Rapid City School building (June 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Former Manitoba Telephone System building beside the school building (June 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Former Ralston Colony milk house building (June 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Grove monument on the school grounds (June 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.11905, W100.03604 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Frederick Philip Grove (1871-1948)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rapid City Mill Office (Rapid City, RM of Oakview)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba

Sources:

“Education,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 March 1884, page 4.

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

“Grade XII instituted,” Rapid City Reporter, 30 August 1951, page 5.

“Teaching staff changes,” Rapid City Reporter, 3 July 1952, page 1.

“Rapid City school board requires two teachers,” Rapid City Reporter, 28 April 1966, page 1.

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.

Rapid City and District - Our Past for the Future, Rapid City Historical Book Society, 1978.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Rapid City School No. 124 Daily Registers, GR2088, Archives of Manitoba.

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

Rapid City and District, Our Past for the Future, Part II, Rapid City Historical Book Society, 2002. [Manitoba Legislative Library]

We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough

Page revised: 1 January 2023

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