Historic Sites of Manitoba: Springfield School No. 1569 / South Springfield School (1110 Copeland Street, Winnipeg)

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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Springfield School District was established in May 1911 and a two-storey, four-classroom schoolhouse was built at this site on Copeland Street (NW33-10-4E) in the Transcona area of Winnipeg in 1920. Initially, classes were held in grades 1 to 5. In later years, grades 9 to 11 were discontinued. By 1950s, the building integrity had deteriorated such that it was condemned and demolished.

In 1955, the present one-storey, four-classroom structure was built at the cost of around $35,000 and located just a few feet north of the original building. By this time the school had adopted the South Springfield School name, after the original South Springfield School had closed. The district was dissolved in 1967 and its area became part of the Transcona-Springfield School Division. The school closed in June 1970 and the building was used for a time as a facility for special-needs students, and later as storage by the School Division. As of 2014, the former school building still stands at the site, being used as a private residence.

Principals

Period	Principal
1912-1914	E. Lewilda Smith
1915	Lillian E. Roberts
1915	Peter Robert Loutit (1878-1961)
1915-1916	Edna Huntley
1917-1918	James Thomas Cressey (1859-1950)
1918-1919	M. E. Bretts
1919-1922	Walter Ellard McCann (1887-1945)
1922-1927	Thomas “Tom” Petty (1890-1968)
1927-1929	John Cooke “Jack” Le Neveu (1902-1988)
1929-1930	Thomas Henry “Tom” Shakespeare (1883-1965)
1930	John Ensworth Morison (1896-1983)
1930-1931	Victor Snelgrove Dotten (1908-1977)
1932-1933	Frederick James “Fred” Kennedy (1913-1942)
1934-1939	Emily Sumi “Emilie” Denney (1907-1997)
1939-1942	Laurie Elizabeth Bush Tegelberg (1914-1999)
1942	Margaret Ellen Crawford Snell (1918-2007)
1943	Alice E. Copeland
1943-1945	Enid Thomson
1945-1948	Lawrence Peter Roscoe (1896-1988)
1949	Beatrice Sveinson
1949-1954	Donald Murray McLaughlin (1905-2003)
1954-1958	Lawrence Peter Roscoe (1896-1988)
1958-1961	Wilmer John Shynkaruk (c1933-1984)
1961-1966	Lawrence Peter Suchar (1933-2015)
1966-1969	Joseph Myrs Ptashynski
1970	see Dugald School

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1911-1912	E. Lewilda Smith (grades 1-5)
1912-1913	Frances Buckley (grades 1-2), E. Lewilda Smith (grades 3-6)
1913-1914	Frances Buckley (grades 1-3), Melinda Ellis (grade 1), Edith Leckie (grade 1, 1914), E. Lewilda Smith (grades 4-7)
1914-1915	Vida G. Craven (grade 1, 1915), Melinda Ellis (grades 2-4), Edith Leckie (grade 1, 1914), Lillian E. Roberts (grades 5-7, 1915), E. Lewilda Smith (grades 5-7, 1914)
1915-1916	Vida G. Craven (grade 1, 1915), Melinda Ellis (grades 2-4, 1915), Edna Huntley (grades 5-8), Peter Robert Loutit (grades 5-8, 1915), Edna Power (grades 1-3, 1916)
1916-1917	James Thomas Cressey (grades 4-8), P. K. Graham (grades 1-3)
1917-1918	James Thomas Cressey (grades 4-9), P. K. Graham (grades 1-3)
1918-1919	M. T. Armstrong (grades 3-5, 1918), M. E. Bretts (grades 6-10), James Thomas Cressey (grades 6-10, 1918), Eleanor J. C. Popham (grades 1-2), Bertha A. Street (grades 3-5, 1919)
1919-1920	Walter Ellard McCann (grades 7-9), Florence M. Pounds (grades 3-6), Beatrice Carol Whitcomb (grades 1-2)
1920-1921	Walter Ellard McCann (grades 7-11), Jean M. Machan (grades 3-6), Beatrice Carol Whitcomb (grades 1-2)
1921-1922	Walter Ellard McCann (grades 7-10), Jean M. Machan (grades 3-6, 1921), Lilian Scott (grades 3-6, 1922), Beatrice Carol Whitcomb (grades 1-2)
1922-1923	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 2-3), Evelyn Freedy (grade 1), Hazel Grant (grades 3-6), Pearle More? (grades 3-6, 1923), Thomas Petty (grades 7-10)
1923-1924	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 1-3), M. R. Fox (grades 4-6, 1924), Evelyn Freedy (grade 1), Thomas Petty (grades 7-10), M. L. G. Whitelaw (grades 4-6)
1924-1925	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 2-3), Evelyn Freedy (grade 1), Linda M. Merrill (grades 4-6), Thomas Petty (grades 7-10)
1925-1926	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 2-3), Evelyn Freedy (grade 1), Linda M. Merrill (grades 4-6), Thomas Petty (grades 7-10)
1926-1927	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), Thomas Petty (grades 7-10)
1927-1928	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), John Cooke Le Neveu (grades 7-9)
1928-1929	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), John Cooke Le Neveu (grades 7-9)
1929-1930	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), Thomas Henry Shakespeare (grades 7-9), John Ensworth Morison (grades 7-9, 1930)
1930-1931	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Victor Snelgrove Dotten (grades 7-9), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3)
1931-1932	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Victor Snelgrove Dotten (grades 7-9, 1931), Frederick James “Fred” Kennedy (grades 7-9, 1932), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3)
1932-1933	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Frederick James “Fred” Kennedy (grades 7-9), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3)
1933-1934	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), Emily “Emilie” Sumi (grades 7-9)
1934-1935	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), Emily “Emilie” Sumi (grades 7-10)
1935-1936	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 3-5), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-2), Emily “Emilie” Sumi (grades 6-9)
1936-1937	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), Emily “Emilie” Sumi (grades 7-9)
1937-1938	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), Emily “Emilie” Sumi (grades 7-9)
1938-1939	Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3), Emily “Emilie” Sumi (grades 7-9)
1939-1940	Laurie Elizabeth Bush (grades 7-9), Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3)
1940-1941	Laurie Elizabeth Bush (grades 7-9), Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3)
1941-1942	Laurie Elizabeth Bush (grades 7-9), Mary McL. Cooke (grades 4-6), Linda M. Merrill (grades 1-3)
1942-1943	Alice E. Copeland (grades 6-9, 1943), Margaret Ellen Crawford (grades 6-9, 1942), Emily Lenora Gardiner (grades 4-6), Mary Eugenia Neufeld (grades 1-5), Enid Thomson (grades 6-9, 1943)
1943-1944	Lucille Marie Alice Bourgouin (grades 1-5), Enid Thomson (grades 6-9)
1944-1945	Lucille Marie Alice Bourgouin (grades 1-5), Enid Thomson (grades 6-9)
1945-1946	Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 5-9), Adeline Valois (grades 1-4)
1946-1947	Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 5-9), Christine Sveinson (grades 1-4)
1947-1948	Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 5-9), Christine Sveinson (grades 1-4)
1948-1949	Frances Helen Beckthold (grades 1-4, 1949), Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 5-9, 1948), Beatrice Sveinson (grades 1-4, 1948; grades 5-9, 1949)
1949-1950	Muriel E. Bruce (grades 1-4), Donald Murray McLaughlin (grades 5-9)
1950-1951	Muriel E. Bruce (grades 1-4), Donald Murray McLaughlin (grades 5-9)
1951-1952	Stella Poberzny [Pobern] (grades 1-4), Donald Murray McLaughlin (grades 5-9)
1952-1953	Stella Poberzny [Pobern] (grades 1-4), Donald Murray McLaughlin (grades 5-9)
1953-1954	Stella Poberzny [Pobern] Kashty (grades 1-3, 1953; grades 4-6, 1954), Donald Murray McLaughlin (grades 5-9, 1953; grades 7-9, 1954), Marjorie Evelyn Smith (grades 1-3, 1954)
1954-1955	Simone Davidson (grades 4-6), Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 7-9), Marjorie Evelyn Smith (grades 1-3)
1955-1956	Simone Davidson (grades 3-5), Thelma E. Doan (grades 6-8), Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 9-10), Marjorie Evelyn Smith (grades 1-2)
1956-1957	Simone Davidson (grades 3-5), Thelma E. Doan (grades 6-8), Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 9-10), Marjorie Evelyn Smith (grades 1-2)
1957-1958	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Thelma E. Doan (grades 5-7), Lawrence Peter Roscoe (grades 8-10), Mrs. D. Irene Zerbin (grades 1-2)
1958-1959	Simone Davidson (grades 3-5), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-7), Wilmer John Shynkaruk (grades 8-10), Mrs. D. Irene Zerbin (grades 1-2)
1959-1960	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-6), Wilmer John Shynkaruk (grades 7-8), Mrs. D. Irene Zerbin (grades 1-2)
1960-1961	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 4-6), Wilmer John Shynkaruk (grades 7-8), Mrs. D. Irene Zerbin (grades 1-2)
1961-1962	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 4-6), Lawrence Peter Suchar (grades 7-8), Mrs. D. Irene Zerbin (grades 1-2)
1962-1963	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-6), Lawrence Peter Suchar (grades 7-8), Mrs. D. Irene Zerbin (grades 1-2)
1963-1964	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-6), Lawrence Peter Suchar (grades 7-8), ? (grades 1-2)
1964-1965	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Geraldine J. Earl (grades 1-2), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-6), Lawrence Peter Suchar (grades 7-8)
1965-1966	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Geraldine J. Earl (grades 1-2), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-6), Lawrence Peter Suchar (grades 7-8)
1966-1967	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Mary Klassen (grades 1-2), Joseph Myrs Ptashynski (grades 7-8), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-6)
1967-1968	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Mary Madeline Wyllie (grades 1-2), Joseph Myrs Ptashynski (grades 7-8), Charlotte Jane Ross (grades 5-6)
1968-1969	Simone Davidson (grades 3-4), Mary Madeline Wyllie (grades 1-2), Joseph Myrs Ptashynski (grades 5-6)
1969-1970	Mary Madeline Wyllie (grades 1-2, 1969; grades 1-3, 1970), Simone Davison (grades 3-4, 1969), David William “Dave” Normandale (grades 3-5, 1970), Joseph Myrs Ptashynski (grades 5-6, 1969)

Photos & Coordinates

The original Springfield School building (no date) by R. Goulet Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 141. The second South Springfield School building (November 1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission, File 98I South Springfield. The former Springfield School building (June 2014) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88364, W96.99703 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 August 1949, page 8.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 August 1950, page 36.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 September 1951 page 30.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 August 1952, page 10.

Dugald West topographic map, 62H/15, Edition 2, Series A743 [Archives of Manitoba].

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

Transcona, On the Horizon of a Great Future, Golden Jubilee, 1911-1961. Manitoba Legislative Library, F5649.T73 Tra.

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.

“Transcona Council receives notice of school defect,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 August 1939, page 21.

“Transcona notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 February 1955, page 6.

“Parents oppose school closing,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 March 1969, page 18.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Springfield School District No. 1569 Daily Registers, GR9480, Archives of Manitoba.

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

Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission, Schools in Manitoba - Volume 2, South Springfield School - File 98I, March 1968, Archives of Manitoba.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 24 July 2021

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