Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rathwell School No. 578 (Rathwell, Municipality of Norfolk Treherne)

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

The Rathwell School District was established formally in May 1889 and a school building was erected in the village of Rathwell in what is now the Municipality of Norfolk Treherne. In 1903, it was replaced by a two-storey wood frame building designed by Brandon architect Walter H. Shillinglaw. In 1956, the district was consolidated with Gordon Union School No. 393 (earlier located at SE2-9-9W) to form Rathwell Consolidated School No. 578. The building was demolished in 1961 and replaced by the present structure. In 1967, it became part of the Tiger Hills School Division No. 29.

On 18 July 1982, a stone monument topped by the original school bell was erected by former students and teachers in front of the last Rathwell School building, which is now closed and used for industrial purposes.

Principals

Period

Principal

1900-1901

John T. Little

1902-1903

?

1904-1906

Lilburne Lorne Dawson (1877-1942)

1906

?

1906

Jessie J. McKenzie

1907-1908

Mary K. Anderson

1908

Abram M. Cronkhite

1909

Douglas M. Brown

1909-1910

Adam Sharpe Gibson (1880-1935)

1909-1911

Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (1865-1944)

1911-1918

Clifford Knox Rogers (1889-1968)

1918-1919

Angus McNevin (1862-1923)

1919-1923

J. A. Draper

1923

Edith Ann Fingland (1877-1957)

1924

James Andrew McKaughan (1877-1968)

1924-1925

Omar Ernest Campbell (1868-1936)

1925-1926

James Andrew McKaughan (1877-1968)

1926-1927

Mary J. Perry

1927-1928

John Alfred Hammond (1898-1988)

1928-1931

Wilfrid Gatley Booth (1904-1986)

1931-1932

Charles Edward Clare Durnin (c1903-1974)

1932-1936

Wesley Sterling McGill (1904-1986)

1936-1939

Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (1884-1976)

1939-1948

James Austin Delgaty (1894-1974)

1948-1952

Clair Edmond Dawson (1913-1995)

1952-1953

Lorne Avery Chapple (1920-2000)

1953-1956

William George Cooper (1911-1983)

1956-1964

Maurice Alfred Decosse (1928-1977)

1964-1966

Wayne James William Hollier

1966-1967

Bernhard W. Wiens

1967-1968

Violet Adeline Palmer

1968-1970

G. S. Miller

1970-1971

Peter Deczycia

1971-1973

Ronald Ivan Bell

1973-1980

Mark Richard Singleton

Teachers

Among the teachers who worked at Rathwell School were Minnie A. Ranton (Spring-Fall 1890), John J. Gibson (Spring - pt Fall 1891), Tillie A. Couch (pt Fall 1891 & Spring 1894 - Fall 1895), Jane L. Williams (Spring 1892 - Fall 1893), Herbert L. Walsh (Spring-Fall 1896), and John T. Little (Spring 1897 - Fall 1899).

Period

Teachers

1900

John T. Little, Anna M. Stewart

1901

Josephine M. Dow (Fall), John T. Little, Annie M. Stewart (Spring)

1902

?

1903

?

1904

Lilburne Lorne Dawson (senior grades), Lola Duff (grades ?), ? (junior and intermediate grades)

1905

Anna B. “Annie” Bell (Fall), Lilburne Lorne Dawson (senior grades), Marie C. Jacobs (Spring), Edythe Marily? [Manly?] (Spring), Alice McLean (Fall)

1906

Anna B. “Annie” Bell (grades 1-2, June & August-December), M. Allan Davis (grades ?, January-?), Lilburne Lorne Dawson (grades 7-9, January - pt April), Lillian Kinsman? (grades ?, January-?), Jessie J. McKenzie (grades 7-9, August-December), Alice McLean (grades 3-6, January-June), Clara Manly (grades 3-6, August-December), ? (grades 7-9, pt April - June)

1907

Mary K. Anderson (grades 7-10, August-December), Anna B. “Annie” Bell (grades 1-3, January-June), Edith M. Bothwell (grades 3-6), Jessie J. McKenzie (grades 7-10, January-June), Velma Roxburgh (grades 1-2, August-December)

1908

Mary K. Anderson (grades 8-10, January-June), Edith M. Bothwell (grades 3-6, January-June; grades 4-7, August-December), Abram M. Cronkhite (grades 8-10, August-December), Margaret C. McDonald (grades 1-3, August-December), Velma Roxburgh (grades 1-2, January-June)

1909

Edith M. Bothwell (grades 4-7), Douglas M. Brown (grades 8-10, January-June), Adam Sharpe Gibson (grades 8-10, September-December), Margaret C. McDonald (grades 1-3)

1910

Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (grades 8-10, September-December), Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-7), Adam Sharpe Gibson (grades 8-10, January-June), Margaret C. McDonald (grades 1-3)

1911

Francis Kethel “Frank” Coleridge (grades 8-10, January-June), Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-7), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 8-10, August-December)

1912

(January-June only): Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), A. Ethel Hanson (grades 4-7), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 8-10)

1912-1913

Betty E. Christilaw (grades 4-7, August-December), Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-7, January-June), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 8-10)

1913-1914

Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-8), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11)

1914-1915

Frances E. Forbes (grades 4-8), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11)

1915-1916

Alberta Emblem (grades 5-8, August-December), Hetty Grime (grades 1-3), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11), Edna Warren (grades 4-8, January-June)

1916-1917

Hetty Grime (grades 1-3, August-December), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11), Lily L. Ross [Rose?] (grades 1-3, January-June), Edna Warren (grades 4-8)

1917-1918

Laura Hinchliffe (grades 1-2), Hilda Koester (grades 5-8), Clifford Knox Rogers (grades 9-11), Lily L. Ross [Rose?] (grades 3-5)

1918-1919

J. A. Draper (grades 6-8, January-June), Laura Hinchliffe (grades 1-2), Hilda Koester (grades 6-8, September-December), Angus McNevin (grades 9-11), Lily L. Ross [Rose?] (grades 3-5)

1919-1920

J. A. Draper (grades 9-11), Laura Hinchliffe (grades 1-2), Gertrude C. Hurton (grades 6-8), Mary Mott (grades 3-5)

1920-1921

Margaret Arthur (grades 5-8), J. A. Draper (grades 9-11), Etta White (grades 1-4, wife of F. R. White)

1921-1922

J. A. Draper (grades 9-11), Ethel P. Miller (grades 6-8), Margaret Thompson (grades 3-5), Etta White (grades 1-2)

1922-1923

J. A. Draper (grades 9-12), Ethel P. Miller (grades 6-8, August-December), Margaret J. Moore (grades 6-8, January-June), Etta White (grades 1-2)

1923-1924

Edith Ann Fingland (grades 9-11, September-December), Helena McAlpine (grades 3-5), Jessie W. McCreary (grades 1-2, January-June), James Andrew McKaughan (grades 9-11, January-June), Margaret J. Moore (grades 6-8), Etta White (grades 1-2, September-December)

1924-1925

Omar Ernest Campbell (grades 9-11), Helena McAlpine (grades 3-5), Margaret J. Moore (grades 6-8), E. Mae Taylor (grades 1-2)

1925-1926

M. A Chalmers (grades 6-8), Helena J/I? McAlpine (grades 3-5), James Andrew McKaughan (grades 9-11), E. Mae Taylor (grades 1-2)

1926-1927

M. A Chalmers (grades 4-7), Mary J. Perry (grades 8-11, September-March; grades 8-10, April-June), E. Mae Taylor (grades 1-3)

1927-1928

A. M. Balfour (grades 4-7, pt March - June), M. A Chalmers (grades 4-7, September - pt March), John Alfred Hammond (grades 8-11), ? (grades 1-3)

1928-1929

Wilfrid Gatley Booth (grades 8-12), Margaret Fyfe Castell (grades 1-3), Olive M. (grades 4-7)

1929-1930

Wilfrid Gatley Booth (grades 8-11), Violet I. Bruce (grades 4-7), Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-3, wife of Wesley Sterling McGill)

1930-1931

Wilfrid Gatley Booth (grades 8-11), Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-3), Mary Jane Webster (grades 4-7)

1931-1932

Charles Edward Clare Durnin (grades 8-11, September - pt November; grades 9-11, pt November - June), Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-3), Mary Jane Webster (grades 4-7, September - pt November; grades 4-8, pt November - June)

1932-1933

Mary Ida Forster (grades 1-4), Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Mary Jane Webster (grades 5-8)

1933-1934

Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Doris Marie Martin (grades 1-4), Mary Jane Webster (grades 5-8)

1934-1935

Mary McIntyre Cummings (grades 1-4, February-June), Ailsa M. Little (grades 1-4, January), Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Doris Marie Martin (grades 1-4, September-December), Mary Jane Webster (grades 5-8)

1935-1936

Mary McIntyre Cummings (grades 5-8), Wesley Sterling McGill (grades 9-11), Doris Marie Martin (grades 1-4)

1936-1937

Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (grades 9-11), ? (grades 1-8)

1937-1938

Thelma Bessie Brown (grades 5-8), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4), Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (grades 9-11)

1938-1939

Thelma Bessie Brown (grades 5-8), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4), Jacob Truthwaite Norquay (grades 9-11)

1939-1940

Thelma Bessie Brown (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4)

1940-1941

James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4), Winnifred Frances Smith (grades 5-8)

1941-1942

James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12, August-October; grades 9-11, November-June), Jean Frances Rusk (grades 5-8), ? (grades 1-4)

1942-1943

James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Vivian Doris Glass (grades 5-8), Ada Marie Moffatt (grades 1-4)

1943-1944

James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Doris Genevieve Gill (grades 1-4, January-June), Vivian Doris Glass (grades 5-8), Mary S. Ferguson Smith (grades 1-4, October-December), Dorothy Struthers (grades 1-4, September)

1944-1945

Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-12), Nora Kelly (grades 1-4)

1945-1946

Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-11), Nora Kelly (grades 1-4)

1946-1947

Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-11), Nora Kelly (grades 1-4)

1947-1948

Mary Aileen Dale (grades 5-8), James Austin Delgaty (grades 9-11), Dorothy Lillian Hanks (grades 1-4)

1948-1949

Jeanne Marie Baille (grades 5-8), Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Kathleen Elizabeth Shorthose (grades 1-4)

1949-1950

Margaret Mary Alcock (grades 5-8), Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)

1950-1951

Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4), Margaret Jane Viola Ross (grades 5-8)

1951-1952

Helen Harriet Borthistle (grades 5-8), Clair Edmond Dawson (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)

1952-1953

Helen Harriet Borthistle (grades 5-8), Lorne Avery Chapple (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)

1953-1954

Monica Joan Charles (grades 5-8), William George Cooper (grades 9-11), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)

1954-1955

Monica Joan Charles (grades 5-8), William George Cooper (grades 9-12), Minnie MacAulay (grades 1-4)

1955-1956

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-4, August-December; grades 1-3, January-June), William George Cooper (grades 9-11, September-December; grades 10-11, January-June), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 7-9, January-June), George Barry Wherrett (grades 5-8, August-December; grades 4-6, January-June)

1956-1957

Clara Alma Beswitherick (grades 3-5), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-12), George Barry Wherrett (grades 6-8)

1957-1958

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Dave P. Miller (grades 6-8), Paul Harry Rudiak (grades 4-5, pt February - June), Kathleen Simms (grades 4-5, August - pt February)

1958-1959

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Harry E. Klassen (grades 6-8), Paul Harry Rudiak (grades 4-5)

1959-1960

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Paul Harry Rudiak (grades 6-8), Kathleen Simms (grades 3-5)

1960-1961

Linda Karen Becker (grades 3-5), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Roy Verner Johnson (grades 6-8)

1961-1962

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5), Roy Verner Johnson (grades 6-8)

1962-1963

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-11), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5), Douglas Brian “Doug” Reynolds (grades 6-8)

1963-1964

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Maurice Alfred Decosse (grades 9-10), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5), Douglas Brian “Doug” Reynolds (grades 6-8)

1964-1965

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Wayne James William Hollier (grade 3 & 6-8), Ellen Mildred Jackson (grades 3-5)

1965-1966

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Marie Christine Delf (grades 4-5), Wayne James William Hollier (grade 3 & 6-8)

1966-1967

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Bernhard W. Wiens (grades 6-8), ? (grades 4-5)

1967-1968

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), Violet Adeline Palmer (grades 7-8), ? (grades 3-6)

1968-1969

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), G. S. Miller (grades 7-8), ? (grades 3-6)

1969-1970

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-2), G. S. Miller (grades 7-8), Leona Marie Timmerman (grades 3-4)

1970-1971

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3, September; grades 1-2, October - pt January; kindergarten & grades 1-2, pt January - June), Peter Deczycia (grades 7-8), Sharon Diane Marks (grades 3-4), Norah Arlene Sundell (grades 4-6, September - pt October; grades 5-6, pt October - June)

1971-1972

Ronald Ivan Bell (grades 7-8), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Sharon Diane Marks (grades 4-6)

1972-1973

Ronald Ivan Bell (grades 7-8), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Annette Rita Pittet (grades 4-6)

1973-1974

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Sigridur Lenore Nordal (grades 4-6), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)

1974-1975

Laurie June Bush (grades 4-6), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)

1975-1976

Laurie June Bush (grades 4-6), Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)

1976-1977

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Rebecca L. S. Lau (grades 4-6), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)

1977-1978

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Heather Dalene Grobb (grades 4-6), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8)

1978-1979

Monica Joan Charles (grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8), ? (grades 4-6)

1979-1980

Monica Joan Charles (kindergarten & grades 1-3), Mark Richard Singleton (grades 7-8), Robyn-Lee Gale Wright (grades 4-6)

Photos & Coordinates

Postcard view of Rathwell School

Postcard view of Rathwell School (circa 1903)
Source: Andrew Cunningham

Postcard view of Rathwell School

Postcard view of Rathwell School (1908) by Winnipeg Photo Company
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2013-0082

Rathwell School

Rathwell School (no date) by G. H. Robertson
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 90.

Rathwell School commemorative monument with the former school building in the background

Rathwell School commemorative monument with the former school building in the background (September 2013)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.64916, W98.54918
denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Local news [Miss Lola Duff is resigning her position in the Rathwell School ...],” Glenboro Gazette, 23 December 1904, page 1.

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

“Rathwell, Man”, Western Canada Fire Underwriters’ Association map, July 1919, 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.

Board of Education registers (A 0050), Archives of Manitoba.

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

Manitoba School Records Collection, Rathwell School District No. 578 - Daily Registers, GR10755, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Rathwell School District No. 578 - Daily Registers, GR14973, Archives of Manitoba.

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

We thank Andrew Cunningham for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 8 April 2024

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