Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Charles School No. 2071 (77 Dundurand Avenue, Winnipeg)

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

The St. Charles School District was established in March 1921 and, by the autumn, a one-storey, three-room stone and brick school building was constructed by contractor Patrick H. Hedges, on Lot 94 in St. Charles. A small room on a mezzanine between the two classrooms served as a library and “scolding room.” The school was paid for with the district issuing of two debentures, first for $30,000 in May 1921 to purchase a site, build the school, and then equip and furnish the schoolhouse. A further $20,000 in debentures were issued in January 1922 to complete the schoolhouse, following a vote of local ratepayers by a count of 35 in favour to 5 opposed. A small stable behind the building accommodated the horses ridden by students to school. In 1946, a third teacher was hired to teach a class housed in the basement.

In 1955, four more classrooms designed by the architectural firm of Smith Carter and Katelnikoff were constructed on the back of the building and, four years later, laboratories, a gymnasium, and more classroms were added, bringing the total classroom complement to twelve. In 1963, the district opened a second educational facility in Buchanan School. In 1967, the school became part of the Assiniboine North School Division. As student enrollment declined through the 1970s, especially after construction Hedges Junior High School, the number of classrooms in active use decreased. Finally, in June 1983, with only 146 students, the school closed and the remaining students moved to Buchanan School. The building was demolished and its cornerstone (laid on 22 July 1921 by Deputy Education Minister Robert Fletcher) was also transferred to Buchanan.

Principals

Period	Principal
1921-1924	Annie Cameron (1879-1963)
1924	C. L. Fleche
1924-1927	Flora Isabell [Isabelle] “Flo” Pollock (1902-1981)
1927-1929	Grace Ida McNicholl Keith (1905-1995)
1929-1931	Jean Winnifred Gower Livingstone Lower (1906-1996)
1931-1940	Ruby Marian Douglas (1908-1997)
1940-1941	Jemima Isabelle MacLean
1941-1942	Violet Mary Foot
1942-1944	Bernice May McClelland Bedsworth (1921-2017)
1944-1945	Olga Ciotka?
1945	Julie S. Ryck
1946	Julia Rich
1946-1949	William Connell Murray
1949-1951	Boris Shewchuk
1951	Matthew Samuel Pritchard Glowe (1926-2015)
1952-1953	Mary Emma Watson
1953-1954	Muriel Philippe
1954-1955	Mary Samborski [Samboyka?]
1955	Farquhar Nicolson (1898-1979)
1956	Marjorie Ellen Geddes
1956-1967	Peter Slonowski [Sloan] (c1927-2015)
1967-1968	Thaddeus Edward “Ted” Witoski (1932-2014)
1968-1970	Ron Sigurdson
1970-1973	Lyall Evert Sims (1930-1996)
1973-1977	?
1977-1983	Nell Angela Ruchkall Ramsay (1925-2016)

Vice-Principals

Period	Vice-Principal
1963-1965	Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (1939-2017)

Teachers

Period	Teachers
1921-1922	Annie Cameron (grades 5-10), Regina Champagne (grades 1-4)
1922-1923	Annie Cameron (grades 5-10), Regina Champagne (grades 1-4)
1923-1924	Annie Cameron (grades 5-9), Flora Isabell Pollock (grades 1-4)
1924-1925	C. L. Fleche (grades 5-9, September-?), Gladys Georgina Griffith (grades 1-4, Spring), Kathleen Isobelle Milligan (grades 1-4, pt. Fall), Flora Isabell Pollock (grades 1-4, September-?; grades 5-9, ?-December & January-June)
1925-1926	Gladys Georgina Griffith (grades 1-3), Flora Isabell Pollock (grades 4-9)
1926-1927	Grace Ida McNicholl (grades 1-4), Flora Isabell Pollock (grades 5-9)
1927-1928	Grace Ida McNicholl (grades 5-8), Ruth Robson Mitchell (grades 1-4)
1928-1929	Grace Ida McNicholl (grades 5-8), Ruth Robson Mitchell (grades 1-4)
1929-1930	Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4, Spring), Jean Winnifred Gower Livingstone (grades 5-10), Ruth Robson Mitchell (grades 1-4, Fall)
1930-1931	Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4), Jean Winnifred Gower Livingstone (grades 5-10)
1931-1932	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1932-1933	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 1-9, Fall; grades 5-9, Spring), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4, Spring)
1933-1934	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1934-1935	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1935-1936	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1936-1937	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1937-1938	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1938-1939	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1939-1940	Ruby Marian Douglas (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1940-1941	Jemima Isabelle MacLean (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1941-1942	Violet Mary Foot (grades 5-9), Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4)
1942-1943	Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4), Bernice May McClelland (grades 5-9)
1943-1944	Mary Helen Hollingshead (grades 1-4), Bernice May McClelland (grades 5-9)
1944-1945	Olga Ciotka? (grades 5-8), Edna Marion Dack (grades 1-4, September-December; wife of John Edward Dack), Gudbjorg Eggertson (grades 1-4, January-June)
1945-1946	Hilda Johanna Arnason (grades 4-6, August-? pt. Fall), Miss James (grades 4-6, pt. Fall), Elsie Margueritte Paxton (grades 4-6, pt. Fall - June), Julia Rich (grades 7-11, January-June), Julie S. Ryck (grades 7-11, September-December), Claire Valcourt (grades 1-3)
1946-1947	William Connell Murray (grades 7-9), Alice O’Kane (grades 1-3), Elsie Margueritte Paxton (grades 4-6)
1947-1948	Muriel Jean Alexander (grades 1-3, January-June), William Connell Murray (grades 7-9), Alice O’Kane (grades 1-3, September-December), Elsie Margueritte Paxton (grades 4-6)
1948-1949	William Connell Murray (grades 7-9), Bernice Stober (grades 1-3), Eleanor M. Zilke (grades 4-6)
1949-1950	Christina Fraser (grades 1-3), Boris Shewchuk (grades 7-9), Bernice Stober (grades 1-3)
1950-1951	Anne K. Lentourch (grades 1-3), Mrs. Fred Pawluk (graeds 4-6), Boris Shewchuk (grades 6-9)
1951-1952	Matthew Samuel Pritchard Glowe (grades 6-9, September-December), Olga Kiedyk (grades 4-6), Anne K. Lentourch (grades 1-3), Mary Emma Watson (grades 6-9, January-June)
1952-1953	Anne K. Lentourch (grades 1-2), Susan Letandre (grades 3-5), Mary Emma Watson (grades 6-9)
1953-1954	Anne K. Lentourch (grades 1-2), Muriel Philippe (grades 6-9), Jemima Florence Webster (grades 3-5)
1954-1955	Anne K. Lentourch (grades 1-2), Mary Samborski [Samboyka?] (grades 6-9), Jemima Florence Webster (grades 3-5)
1955-1956	Enid E. Clarke (grades 5-6, January-June), Marjorie Ellen Geddes (grades 7-9, January-June), Olga Jean Goytan? (grade 1), Anne K. Lentourch (grades 2-3), Farquhar Nicolson? (grades 7-9, September-December), Helen G. Pashnitski (grades 3-4), Vera I. Orrell Stephens (grades 5-6, September-December)
1956-1957	Marion Ann Danko (grade 2, September-December & January-?), Marjorie Ellen Gedes (grade 2, ?-June), Irene Korny (grade 1), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grades 3-4), Gisele Pauline Regina (grades 5-6), Peter Slonowski (grades 7-9)
1957-1958	Val Kovachik (grades 7-8), Odette M. Lachance (grades 5-6), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grades 2-3), Lorraine Murray (grade 1), Yvette Alice Perrault (grades 3-4), Peter Slonowski (grades 9-10)
1958-1959	Paula Ruth Blant (grade 1), Odette M. Lachance (grades 5-6), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), Yvette Alice Perrault (grade 4), Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (grades 7-8), Peter Slonowski (grades 9-11), Margaret Shirley Yaskiw (grade 3)
1959-1960	Edith Helen Johnson (grades 5-6, January-June), Odette M. Lachance (grades 5-6, September-December), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), Marie Charlotte McLachlan (grade 1), Grace Millar (grade 1), Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (grade 7), Yvette Alice Perrault (grades 4-5), Peter Slonowski(grade 8), Margaret Shirley Yaskiw (grade 3)
1960-1961	Edith Helen Johnson (grade 5), Yvette Alice Perrault La Fleche (grade 4), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), Marie Charlotte McLachlan (grades 1-2), Grace Millar (grade 1), Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (grade 6), Peter Slonowski (grades 7-8), Margaret Shirley Yaskiw (grade 3)
1961-1962	Joan Elaine Cameron (grade 1, January-June), Eileen Marie Fizer (grades 2-3, January-June), Edith Helen Johnson (grade 5), Stephanie Karalash (grades 1-2, September-December), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), Grace Millar (grade 3), Mary Charlotte McLachlan (grade 4), Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (grade 7), Oliver Lawrence Overby (grade 6), Joan Monsina Sandven (grade 1), Peter Slonowski (grade 8)
1962-1963	Ethel Lylle Finnboganson (grade 1), Eileen Marie Fizer (grade 2), Edith Helen Johnson (grade 5), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), Mary Charlotte McLachlan (grade 4), Grace Millar (grade 3), Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (grade 7), Oliver Lawrence Overby (grade 6), Joan Monsina Sandven (grade 1), James W. Sharkey (graeds 3-4), Peter Slonowski (grade 8)
1963-1964	Harold Leonard Driedger (grades 6-7), Edith Helen Johnson (grade 5), Helen Kelbert (grades 5-6), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), Mary Charlotte McLachlan (grade 4), Grace Millar (grade 3), Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (grade 8), Oliver Lawrence Overby (grade 7), Joan Monsina Sandven (grade 1)
1964-1965	Harold Leonard Driedger (grade 6), Mary Lou Frances Gaskin (kindergarten), Leonard Alfred Gellert (grade 8), Aaron Hildebrand (grade 6), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), James Alexander Logan (grade 8), Mary Charlotte McLachlan (grade 4), Grace C. Millar (grade 3), Lesia Minarik (grade 1), Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (grade 7), Jean Yvonne Peters (grade 5), Mary Zamuda (grade 5)
1965-1966	Harold Leonard Driedger (grade 6), Mary Lou Frances Gaskin (kindergarten), Leonard Alfred Gellert (grade 8), Constance Gertrude Guthrie (grade 7), Aaron Hildebrand (grade 6), James Alexander Logan (grade 6), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), Mary Charlotte McLachlan (grade 4), Grace Millar (grade 3), Jean Yvonne Peters (grade 5), Valery Beverley Pokrant (grade 1)
1966-1967	Leanore Ann Beaman (grade 8), Ruth Estelle Carruthers (AM kindergarten; pt Fall - February), Mary Lou Frances Gaskin (AM kindergarten; pt Fall & February-June; PM kindergarten; September-June), Dora Kremer (grade 8), Mary Olive Ellen Lewis (grade 2), James Alexander Logan (grade 7), Mary Charlotte McLachlan (grade 4), Grace Millar (grade 3), Fernand Joseph Normandin (grade 7), Jean Yvonne Peters (grade 5), Valery Beverley Pokrant (grade 1), Jane McKenzie Seal (French), Sylvia Jean Twerdochlib (grade 6)
1967-1968	?
1968-1969	?
1969-1970	?
1970-1971	?
1971-1972	?
1972-1973	?
1973-1974	?
1974-1975	?
1975-1976	?
1976-1977	?
1977-1978	?
1978-1979	?
1979-1980	?
1980-1981	?
1981-1982	?
1982-1983	?

Photos & Coordinates

St. Charles School (circa 1930) by E. D. Parker Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 88. Students in grades 4-6 at St. Charles School (1945-1946) Source: Brenda Beck Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88275, W97.32284 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Manitoba Business: Smith Carter and Katelnikoff / Smith Carter Architects and Engineers / Architecture49

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Charles Convent / St. Charles Catholic School (331 St. Charles Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Charles School No. 826 / Beauchemin School / Charleswood School No. 826 (Roblin Boulevard, Winnipeg)

Sources:

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

“Tender notice [Four-classroom addition to St. Charles School],” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 June 1955, page 28.

A Brief History of Buchanan Elementary School, St. James Assiniboia School Division.

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.

Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.

Corporate Security registered documents (ATG 0089), #10 School District of St. Charles, GR12576, Archives of Manitoba.

Corporate Security registered documents (ATG 0089), #1 School District of St. Charles, GR12576, Archives of Manitoba.

Corporate Security registered documents (ATG 0089), #45 School District of St. Charles, GR12576, Archives of Manitoba.

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

We thank the St. James - Assiniboia School Division and Brenda Beck for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 11 November 2023

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