Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. James Collegiate (1900 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

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

Before the St. James Collegiate building was constructed, high school students from this area of Winnipeg attended classes at Britannia School or Linwood School. On 24 February 1951, School Inspector Elbridge Doty Parker laid the cornerstone for a new building at this site, along with Education Minister Wallace Conrad Miller, School Board Chairman T. B. Findlay, and St. James Mayor Reginald Frederick Wightman. The initial building was constructed later that year, by the construction firm of Couture and Toupin, at a cost of about $355,000.

An addition to the school constructed in 1959 was designed by the architectural firm of Smith Carter Searle and Associates.

In 1993, the eastern wing of the facility was renamed as George Waters Middle School

Principals

Period	Principal
1917-1918	Janet Gibson Morton (?-1964)
1918-1920	Theophilus [Theopheus] John “Theodore” Watts (1864-1939)
1920-1922	Hugh William Watson (1872-?)
1922-1930	Duncan McDougall (1870-1947)
1930-1947	John Henry Hall (1881-1950)
1948-1965	Victor Glen Clark (1900-1982)
1965-1966	Ronald Andrew MacIntosh (1926-1999)
1966-1975	Laurence Bernhard “Larry” Friesen (1927-2024)
1975-1978	Dennis Neil Stefanson (1939-2010)
1978-1981	Laurence Bernhard “Larry” Friesen (1927-2024)
1981-1985	John Charles Proudfoot (?-2013)
1985-1987	Roger E. Cathcart
1987-1990	Christopher Shaughnessy O’Grady (1939-2017)
1990-1991	Wallace Brian “Wally” Linton (1935-2024)
1991-1995	Gordon Charles “Gord” Tovell (1939-2021)
1995-1998	L. Glen Bennett
1998-2005	Gregory Mutter
2005-2007	Dawn Hicks
2007-2015	?
2015-2016	Lorelei Steffler

Vice-Principals

Period	Vice-Principal
1951-1952	Blanche Isabel Megaffin (1894-1975)
1952-1956	Blanche Isabel Megaffin (1894-1975) Christiana Elizabeth “Chris/Christine” Carson (1906-1988)
1956-1959	Christiana Elizabeth “Chris/Christine” Carson (1906-1988)
1959-1963	?
1963-1964	Laurence Bernhard “Larry” Friesen (1927-2024) Hazel Mathieson
1964-1967	?
1967-1969	Gary Edward Jones Hazel McNab Mathieson
1969-1970	Wallace Brian “Wally” Linton (1935-2024) Hazel Matheson
1970-1972	George Derenchuk Hazel McNab Matheson
1972	George Derenchuk Victor Edwin Wieler
1972-1973	Karl Bachmann George Derenchuk George Dyker
1973-1974	Karl Bachmann
1974-1975	Karl Bachmann Noel Maxwell
1975-1980	Noel Maxwell
1980-1981	Roseanne Keyes
1981-1982	Arnold Reimer
1982-1983	Arnold Reimer Hardy Enns
1983-1986	Dorothy Y. Young Hardy Enns
1986-1989	Glen Bennett Richard “Dick” Monk
1989-1990	Len Harris Richard “Dick” Monk
1990-1991	Richard “Dick” Monk
1991-1992	George Dyker
1992-1994	Gregory Mutter
1994-1995	?
1995-1996	Brett Lough
1996-1997	Donna Nentwig
1997-1999	Dawn Hicks
1999-2005	?
2005-2006	Michael Wake

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1955-1956	Margaret M. Bell, Edgar P. Brister, Miss Christine E. Carson, Laurence Bernhard “Larry” Friesen, Alfred G. Goebel, Mrs. Ruth E. Gordon, Charles Kenneth “Ken” Gorrie, Mrs. Margaret Hill, Miss Esther M. Jeffrey, Mrs. J. Kenney, Mrs. Lily Karlowsky, Marianne Lewy-Lingen, Peter E. Lewis, Ronald MacIntosh, Hazel Mathieson, Mr. H. R. McAllister, Mrs. J. McNamara, Miss J. Merlevede, Victor Peters, Miss Phyllis E. Rankin, Kristjan B. Sigurdsson, Eldon G. Simms, Eric Sozansky, Fabien J. Tremblay
1956-1957	?
1957-1958	?
1958-1959	?
1959-1960	?
1960-1961	?
1961-1962	?
1962-1963	Norm Larsen, ?
1963-1964	Mrs. M. Doris Alexander, Mrs. Alford, Ms. Ashmore, Mr. Bachman, Mr. Barber, Mr. Barne, Miss Bell, Mr. Blue, Mr. Bobbie, Miss Cooper, Mr. Dyker, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Gibson, Mr. Goodridge, Miss Grobb, Mr. Horodyski, Mrs. Ivanoff, Miss Jarvis, Miss Jeffery, Mr. Jersak, Mrs. Kennedy, Mr. Lahaie, Mrs. Lamont, Mrs. Levine, Norm Larsen, Lincoln Leslie Lautermilch, Mr. Lockhart, Mrs. Mackenzie, Mr. McAllister, Mr. McLachlan, Miss Merlevede, Mr. Murray, Miss Nicholson, Miss Park, Mr. Penner, Miss Rankin, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Rose, Mr. Sozansky, Mrs. Stevenson, Miss Wood, Mrs. Yarwood
1964-1965	Norm Larsen, ?
1965-1966	Norm Larsen, ?
1966-1967	?
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	?
1983-1984	Mrs. Yvonne Albrecht, Brian Armstrong, Gary Arnason, Karl Bachman, Miss Lori Bachewich, Ed Bailey, Mrs. Marg Banasiak, Mrs. Ollie Bate, Mrs. Dorothy Blackwell, Mrs. Peggy Blake, Mrs. Judy Bradley, Mrs. Kristin Butcher, Mark Carlow, Tom Cherveny, Ms. Margaret Crowe, Mrs. Joan Dary, Ed Davis, Tom Dercola, Mr. Dorge, Al Dueck, Ken Ferg, William “Bill” Fisher, Ron Gushuliak, Gary Gutoski, Mrs. Jean Hall-Jensen, Mrs. Patricia Hamilton, Miss Bernice Hart, Dr. Lorne Hoag, Steve Hyrich, Mike James, Brian Kaleta, William “Bill” Kearns, Roman Kopchuk, Donald Krampetz, Willie Kutcher, Mrs. Linda Liberta, Gordon McLeod, Ms. Barbara Melnychuk, George Merrick, Ron Mousseau, Robert Orr, Ms. Jane Paulson, Mrs. Bernadette Phillips, Miss Susan Picard, Jim Preston, Robert Rummery, Ken Skryba, Tom Tylka, Ernie Warkentin, Jim White, George Zacharias
1984-1985	Mrs. Yvonne Albrecht, Miss Lori Bachewich, Ed Bailey, Donald Barton, Mrs. Ollie Bate, Mrs. Peggy Blake, Mark Carlow, Tom Cherveny, John Cooke, Ms. Margaret Crowe, Ed Davis, Tom Dercola, Al Dueck, Leslie Ewacha, Jim Feasby, Ken Ferg, William “Bill” Fisher, Mrs. Gerishipam, Gary Gutoski, Mrs. Jean Hall-Jensen, Miss Bernice Hart, Ms. Dawn Hicks, Ms. Marj Hignett, Vic Hooper, Steve Hyrich, Mike James, Brian Kaleta, Roman Kopchuk, Donald Krampetz, Mrs. Linda Liberta, Gordon McLeod, Robert Orr, Ms. Jane Paulson, Mrs. Bernadette Phillips, Jim Preston, Laurie Shier, Paul Stein, Robert Rummery, Ken Skryba, Tom Tylka, Ernie Warkentin, Ms. Shirley Weinstein, Ms. May White, Jim White, Mrs. Alene Whitlaw, George Zacharias
1985-1986	Mrs. Yvonne Albrecht, Brian Armstrong, Miss Lori Bachewich, Ed Bailey, Donald Barton, Mrs. Dorothy Blackwell, Mrs. Peggy Blake, Mark Carlow, Tom Cherveny, John Cooke, Ms. Margaret Crowe, Ed Davis, Tom Dercola, Al Dueck, Leslie Ewacha, Jim Feasby, Ken Ferg, Mrs. Jean Hall-Jensen, Miss Bernice Hart, Paul Havixbeck, Ms. Dawn Hicks, Ms. Marj Hignett, Steve Hyrich, Mike James, Brian Kaleta, Roman Kopchuk, Donald Krampetz, Willie Kutcher, Mrs. Linda Liberta, Mrs. Debbie McLeod, Gordon McLeod, Don Mochnacz, Robert Orr, Mrs. Bernadette Phillips, Ron Phillips, Miss Susan Pickard, Jim Preston, Mrs. Frieda Psooy, David Schioler, Laurie Shier, Mrs. Shirley Stefanson, Paul Stein, Ken Skryba, Tom Tylka, Ernie Warkentin, Ms. Shirley Weinstein, Jim White, Mrs. Alene Whitlaw, Blaine Workman, George Zacharias
1986-1987	?
1987-1988	?
1988-1989	?
1989-1990	?
1990-1991	?
1991-1992	?
1992-1993	?
1993-1994	?
1994-1995	?
1995-1996	Jan Aarnio, Stephen Atamanchuk, Lori Bachewich, Dale Baydock, Peggy Blake, Don Bradford, Tom Dercola, Al Dueck, Jim Feasby, Nick Hanuschuk, Bernice Hart, Paul Havixbeck, Dawn Hicks, Michael James, Brian Kaleta, Don Krampetz, Patty Lohr, Rick McKay, Gordon McLeod, Kathy Melnyk, Paula Olko, Robert Orr, Linda Scott, Laurie Shier, ken Skryba, Steve Skrynyk, Wendy Tapping, Derek Thorsteinson, Maria Triolo, Debbie Webb, Anne Williams
1996-1997	Stephen Atamanchuk, Dale Baydock, Peggy Blake, Paul Cerilli, Lori (Currie) Edwards, Tom Dercola, Al Dueck, Les Ewacha, Jim Feasby, Nick Hanuschuk, Bernice Hart, Paul Havixbeck, Dawn Hicks, David Ingram, Michael James, Brian Kaleta, Don Krampetz, Rick McKay, Gordon McLeod, Kathy Melnyk, Paula Olko, Robert Orr, Bob Patterson, Michael Reimer, Linda Scott, Laurie Shier, Ken Skryba, Steve Skrynyk, Wendy Tapping, Derek Thorsteinson, Maria Triolo, Debbie Webb, Anne Williams
1997-1998	Linda Allan, Gita Allen, Alison Atamanchuk, Lori Bachewich, Dale Baydock, Paul Cerilli, Karen Curtis, Tom Dercola, Lori (Currie) Edwards, Jim Feasby, Tim Francis, Sherri Gregorash, Nick Hanuschuk, Bernice Hart, Ron Henderson, Tammy Hogue, David Ingram, Leah Jones, Brian Kaleta, Ryan Kangas, Don Krampetz, Jeff Laping, Rick McKay, Gordon McLeod, Lindsey May, Kathy Melnyk, Paula Olko, Robert Orr, Bob Patterson, Will Peters, Tim Rafter, Michael Reimer, Cathy Risk, Tony Scarpino, Linda Scott, Laurie Shier, Ken Skryba, Derek Thorsteinson, Maria Triolo, Debbie Webb, Anne Williams, Ian Willows, Glynis (Gordon) Zubec
1998-1999	Linda Allan, Gita Allen, Lori Bachewich, Dale Baydock, Paul Cerilli, Karen Curtis, Tom Dercola, Darren Deserrano, Lori (Currie) Edwards, Tim Francis, Sherri Gregorash, Nick Hanuschuk, Bernice Hart, Ron Henderson, Tammy Hogue, David Ingram, Leah Jones, Brian Kaleta, Ryan Kangas, Don Krampetz, Jeff Laping, Tammy MacLeod, Rick McKay, Gordon McLeod, Lindsey May, Kathy Melnyk, Robert Orr, Cathy Risk, Tony Scarpino, Laurie Shier, Ken Skryba, Kristy Stefanson, Derek Thorsteinson, Anne Williams, Alison (Atamanchuk) Wong, Glynis (Gordon) Zubec
1999-2000	?
2000-2001	?
2001-2002	?
2002-2003	?
2003-2004	?
2004-2005	?
2005-2006	Lori Bachewich, Susan Barron, Dale Baydock, Kari Bergmuller, Candace Block, Debra Bohonos, Lorne Carson, Paul Cerilli, Patrick Connolly, Thomas Dercola, Lori Edwards, Dwayne Green, Bernice Hart, Brian Hayward, David Ingram, Ryan Kangas, Lauree Kopetsky, Heidi Letkeman, Adam Lister, Potoula Locken, Marcella Mansaray, Lindsey May, Gordon McLeod, Jeffrey Memka, Cynthia Mitchell, Jorge Rivero-Vallada, Tony Scarpino, Christopher Sculthorp, Kenneth Skryba, Douglas Still, Derek Thorsteinson, Candace Yaholkoski

Teachers listed for the period from 1995 to 1999 may include ones for grades 7 and 8 teaching at George Waters Middle School.

Among the other teachers of St. James Collegiate were Chester M. Fraser, John Francis Goodwin, Raymond Labelle, and George Florence.

Photos & Coordinates

St. James Collegiate, north (Portage Avenue) elevation (no date) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Government Photographs (CH 0267), GR10030, WG-7-5. St. James Collegiate, north (Portage Avenue) elevation (no date) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Government Photographs (CH 0267), GR10030, WG-7-5B St. James Collegiate (May 2022) Source: George Penner St. James Collegiate (May 2022) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.87817, W97.22072 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Manitoba Business: Couture and Toupin

Memorable Manitobans: Hubert A. Garnier (1903-1987)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. James School No. 7 / Linwood School (266 Linwood Street, Winnipeg)

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

Sources:

Rural Municipality of St. James Building Permit 3935/1950, Box A1261, City of Winnipeg Archives.

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

Photo caption, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 February 1951, page 3.

“School tender notice,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 December 1958, page 38.

“Address List, Municipal School District of St. James No. 7,” St. James Assiniboia School Division.

St. James Collegiate, 25th Anniversary, 1951-1976. [St James Assiniboia School Division]

We thank George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough, Nathan Kramer, and Dorothy Young.

Page revised: 9 November 2024

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