Historic Sites of Manitoba: Kyle School / Ross Consolidated School No. 1782 / Two Creeks School (Two Creeks, RM of Wallace-Woodworth)

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

Commonly identified as Two Creeks School due to its proximity to the Canadian Pacific Railway siding of Two Creeks, this school building in what is now the Rural Municipality of Wallace-Woodworth sat atop a small hill that gave it a commanding view of the landscape in all directions. The two-storey, two-classroom brick building was initially known as Kyle School No. 1782 when it was built in early 1915 using yellow bricks made at Virden. Soon after, it was renamed Ross Consolidated School when consolidated with Ross School No. 504 (which had operated since 1887 at SE33-12-26W).

As of September 1959, high school students were bused to Virden. The school closed in August 1966 and all remaining students went to the Virden Consolidated School District No. 144. The next year, the building was purchased from the Virden School Board by the Wallace municipal council, with plans of using it as a community centre. For a few years, the building was the site of public meetings, dances, bazaars, picnics, and concerts. The school bell, estimated to weigh between 250 and 300 pounds, and mounted in a tower on top of the building, was stolen in the autumn of 1977. Eventually the building was sold into private ownership.

The building remained a conspicuous local landmark until it was destroyed by arson fire on 24 September 2017.

Principals

Period	Principal
1938-1940	Percival Henry “Percy” Ford (1911-1971)
1940-1941	Gudmundur August Eyjolfson (1912-1994)
1941-1942	Mr. K. Calverley
1942-1943	Guy Chauviere (1907-1992)
1943-1953	?
1953-1954	Mrs. Marie Doole
1954-1955	Mr. L. Draper
1955-1957	?
1957-1959	Josephine Kathleen “Jo” Stonehouse (1929-2010)

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1916-1917	Jessie Minors, Montague Shore
1917-1918	Edith Cusack, Alice Gerrand
1918-1919	Edith Cusack, Alice Gerrand
1919-1920	Miss Brown, Miss Burris, Maud King
1920-1921	Miss Ada Pauline Herkes, Maud King
1921-1922	Nora Lind, Mr. Slawson
1922-1923	Miss Bridgett, Miss Craig
1923-1924	Miss Bridgett, Miss Craig
1924-1925	Miss Bissett, John Alfred Hammond
1925-1926	Miss Bissett, John Alfred Hammond
1926-1927	Miss Shuttleworth, Mr. E. Heys
1927-1928	?
1928-1929	Eva Clements, Charles Rind
1929-1930	Eva Clements, Charles Rind
1930-1931	?
1931-1932	Miss Burns, Jean Talhurst
1932-1933	Miss Ruby Finkbeiner, Mr. Ramsay
1933-1934	Miss Ruby Finkbeiner
1934-1935	Miss Ruby Finkbeiner, Nellie Henrietta “Nell” Koester (wife of Donald Hood Slimmon)
1935-1936	Miss Gertrude Carefoot, Nellie Henrietta “Nell” Koester (wife of Donald Hood Slimmon)
1936-1937	Nellie Henrietta “Nell” Koester (wife of Donald Hood Slimmon)
1937-1938	Miss Skeleton
1938-1939	Miss Skeleton
1939-1940	Miss Rust
1940-1941	Miss M. Taylor
1941-1942	Miss A. Wilman
1942-1943	Florence Kyle, Jessie McDonald
1943-1944	Marjorie McInnis, Mr. Dyck
1944-1945	Miss A. Baptiste, Mr. L. Draper
1945-1946	Miss Coulthard, Mr. L. Draper
1946-1947	Audrey Gallenger, Eva Webster
1947-1948	Isabella M. Dryden, Mr. McKie
1948-1949	Hazel Dale, Miss Marie Nivon
1949-1950	Sophia Knowalchuk, Miss Smith, Mr. Thompson
1950-1951	Mr. Kolopenuk, Mrs. Wes Robinson
1951-1952	Miss Ada Dawson, Jo Pituley
1952-1953	Mr. D. McBean, Mr. Millier
1953-1954	Miss M. H. Johnston
1954-1955	Miss M. H. Johnston
1955-1956	Miss Picyk, Stanley Sokalski
1956-1957	Miss Picyk, Mr. Loewen
1957-1958	Diana Phelan
1958-1959	Diana Rae
1959-1960	?
1960-1961	Barbara Lindholm
1961-1962	Barbara Lindholm
1962-1963	Mrs. S. Rudneski
1963-1964	Mrs. S. Rudneski
1964-1965	Miss Larsen
1965-1966	Mrs. Bickford

Photos & Coordinates

Ross Consolidated School (no date) by W. R. Beveridge Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 34. The former Ross Consolidated School building (April 1990) Source: Ed Arndt The former Ross Consolidated School building (May 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Ross School building, as seen from Highway 83 (May 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Ross Consolidated School building (July 2015) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Ross Consolidated School building (July 2015) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Remains of the former Ross School building (September 2017) Source: Holly Thorne Remains of the former Ross School building (August 2018) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.03259, W101.03125 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Two Creeks School No. 339 / West Two Creeks School (Municipality of Prairie View)

Sources:

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

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.

Prairie Neighbours 1881-1981 by the Four Corners History Club. Brandon: Leech Printing, 1982.

A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.

“More free dials for phone users,” Brandon Sun, 5 April 1967, page 3.

We thank Ed Arndt, Nathan Kramer, Harley Shepherd, Amanda Blanchette, and Holly Thorne for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 September 2022

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