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The Swan River School District was organized formally in February 1900 in what is now the Town of Swan River. The following month, tenders were requested for construction of a two-storey, four-classroom school building designed by architect Joseph Henry Bossons. The building had become inadequate for needs by 1912 so, a two-storey, six-classroom brick school building was built on a design by Winnipeg architect Eldred Dodsworth Tuttle, and the original building was dismantled. In 1953, the building was named Duncan School in commemoration of John Smith Duncan who served as its Principal from 1917 to 1933. The building was destroyed by fire on 29 July 1976, in a suspected case of arson.
The two-storey Taylor Elementary School building was constructed between 1950 and 1951, immediately east of the Swan River School (Duncan School), by Winnipeg contractor Frank Sawatsky at a cost of about $80,000. Its name commemorates early teacher Robert Gardner Taylor. The structure contained nine classrooms and an auditorium, and was designed to accommodate grades 1 to 6. After the Duncan School building was destroyed, an addition was built on Taylor School, containing four classrooms, library, offices, and gymnasium.
A monument, topped by the former school bell, contains three commemorative plaques and the name plate from the building. One recognizes John Smith Duncan. A second, dedicated on 22 July 1983, commemorates Duncan School that stood near here from 1912 to 1976. The third plaque recognizes students and teachers of the school who were killed during military service during the First World War and Second World War.
Period
Principal
1901-1904
Robert Gardner Taylor (1874-1949)
1905-1907
James W. McNab
1907-1913
John Sawford Peach (1881-1968)
1913-1914
P. L. Sanford
1914
Henry Perkins BA BSc
1915-1916
James Miller Wallace (1888-1918)
1916-1917
Solomon Wolfe Kesten [Kestenbaum] (1888-?)
1917-1938
John Smith Duncan (1877-1938)
1938
Johann Edvald Sigurjonsson (1900-1972)
1938-1940
Edwin Frederick “Ned” French (1911-2008)
1940-1943
Sanford Stephen Harvey (1911-1980)
1943-1945
Wilfrid Blair “Wilf” Book (1917-1998)
1945-1946
Henry Hewson “Harry” Guest (1920-1985)
1946-1949
Alexander John Wilson (1913-1991)
1949-1951
Joseph A. McCracken (1911-1991)
1951-1957
William Wallace Cutforth (1910-1996)
1957-1960
John Donovan “Jack” Orchard (1910-1972)
1960-1961
?
1961-1963
William “Bill” Oleksy
1963-1965
John Milne (Supervising Principal)
1965-1966
?
1966-1967
Mr. Cleggett
?-?
Mr. Merrick
Period
Vice-Principal
1963-1965
Steve Andreychuk
School Year
Teachers
1900
Norman Ingham? (Spring), D. C. Doerance? (Fall)
1901
Robert Gardner Taylor, Mina Waddell
1902
Robert Gardner Taylor, ? (other staff unknown, records unavailable)
1903
Robert Gardner Taylor, ? (other staff unknown, records unavailable)
1904
Robert Gardner Taylor, ? (other staff unknown, records unavailable)
1905
Sara Archibald, Jennie E. McGaw, James W. McNab (senior grades), A. L. Murray (Spring)
1906
L. Myrtle Hunt (grades 4-6, Fall), Jennie E. McGaw (grades 1-3), James W. McNab (grades 2-8), Jennie M. Springstein (grades 4-6)
1907
Thomas Walter Halligan (Spring), L. Myrtle Hunt (grades 3-5, married Alfred H. Hanna), Jennie E. McGaw (grades 1-3), James W. McNab (senior grades, Spring), J. W. Mulligan (senior grades), John Sawford Peach (senior grades, Fall), Jennie M. Springstein (grades 6-8)
1908
Jean Brown (grades 6-8), Margaret M. Fraser (grades 1-2), John Sawford Peach (grades 9-11), E. M. Wilson (grades 3-5)
1909
Jean Brown (grades 6-8), Margaret M. Fraser (grades 1-2), John Sawford Peach (grades 9-11), E. M. Wilson (grades 3-5)
1910
Margaret M. Fraser (grades 1-2), Janet E. McGaw (grades 1-2), John Sawford Peach (grades 9-11), Ralph E. Sparkes (grades 6-8), E. M. Wilson (grades 3-5)
1911
Eva M. Armistead (grades 1-2, Fall), Janet E. McGaw (grades 1-2, Spring), E. M. Wilson (grades 3-4), John Sawford Peach (grades 9-11), Ralph E. Sparkes (grades 5-8)
1912
Eva M. Armistead (grades 1-2), John Sawford Peach (grades 9-11), Ralph E. Sparkes (grades 5-8), E. M. Wilson (grades 3-4)
1912-1913
K. M. Anderson (grades 2-4), Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), Frances A. Good (grades 8-9), J. S. Hector (grades 5-7, 1913), Miss B. McKay (grades 5-7), John Sawford Peach (grades 10-11), Ms. Pollock (grades 5-7)
1913-1914
K. M. Anderson (grade 4), Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), Ethel Viola Foxwell (grades 8-9), Helen R. Hayden (grades 2-3), A. L. Ibbetson (grades 6-7, 1914), C. Flora MacPherson (grades 6-7), P. L. Sanford (grades 10-11), ? (grade 5)
1914-1915
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), Hazel Farley (grades 8-9), Helen R. Hayden (grades 2-3, 1914), Gertrude M. Hayes (grades 2-3, 1915), A. L. Ibbetson (grades 6-7), Henry Perkins (grades 10-11, 1914), J. M. Wallace (grades 10-11, 1915), E. Leah Zinger (grades 3-5)
1915-1916
Florence A. Anderson (grades 4-5), Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), M. Winnifred Caldwell (grades 2-3), Hazel Farley (grades 8-9), Bessie G. Johnstone (grades 6-7), J. M. Wallace (grades 10-11)
1916-1917
Florence A. Anderson (grades 4-5), Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), A. L. Ibbetson (grades 2-3), Bessie G. Johnstone (grades 6-7), Solomon Wolfe Kesten (grades 10-11), Beth McKay (grades 4-5, 1917), L. E. Scholes (grades 8-9)
1917-1918
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), J. D. Fyckes (grade 7, 1919), A. L. Ibbetson (grades 2-3), I. S. Latimer (grades 4-5, 1917), Beth McKay (grades 6-7), L. E. Scholes (grades 8-9), I. Steen (grades 4-5)
1918-1919
Eva M. Armistead (grades 1-2), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), J. D. Fyckes (grades 8-9), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grades 4-5), ? (grades 3, 6-7)
1919-1920
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), J. D. Fyckes (grades 8-9), A. L. Ibbetson (grades 2-3), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grades 3-5, 1919; grades 3-4, 1920), G. A. Sinclair (grades 5-7, 1919; grades 5-6, 1920)
1920-1921
Eva M. Armistead (grades 1-2), Norma S. Daynes (grade 2), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 4), Olive McDowell (grade 3), James Robert Reid (grade 9), E. Wheatley (grades 4-5), ? (grades 6-9)
1921-1922
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 4), A. L. Ibbetson (grades 6-7, 1921), Keitha Marion King (grade 9), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), J. McGaw (grades 7-8, 1922), Mabel Minstone (grades 7-8, 1921), Pearl Strong (grades 6-7, 1922), Jeanette Turnbull (grade 3), ? (grade 5)
1922-1923
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), L. Maud Brinkman (grades 7-8), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Pearl Hess (grade 4), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), James Robert Reid (grade 9), Pearl Strong (grade 5), Jeanette Turnbull (grade 3)
1923-1924
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), Gladys Christie (grade 5), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Elsie B. Fisher (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), E. P. McDonald (grade 4), Sophie Moffett (grade 3), James Robert Reid (grade 9)
1924-1925
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Elsie B. Fisher (grades 7-8), Vera M. Fraser (grade 3), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), E. P. McDonald (grade 5), Evelyn V. Mills (grade 9), Sophie Moffett (grade 4)
1925-1926
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 5), C. E. Hinchliffe (grade 4), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), Ida M. Lamb (grade 2, 1926), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), E. P. McDonald (grade 6), Evelyn V. Mills (grade 9)
1926-1927
Eva M. Armistead (grade 1), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Julia Harry (grade 5, 1926), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Mary Isobel Howden (grade 5, 1927), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 4), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Evelyn V. Mills (grade 9), Annie Margaret Wagar (grade 2)
1927-1928
John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Mary Isobel Howden (grade 5), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 4), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Evelyn V. Mills (grade 9), Annie Margaret Wagar (grade 2), ? (grade 1)
1928-1929
John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Mary Isobel Howden (grade 5), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Iola Eleanor Varley (grades 1-2), ? (grade 4, 9)
1929-1930
Lena Chemago (grade 4), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Mary Isobel Howden (grades 1-3, 1929; grades 1-2, 1930), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), R. Phoenix (grade 9)
1930-1931
Lena Chemago (grades 3-4), John Smith Duncan (grade 11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grade 8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grades 4-5), Edith Sarah McCombe (grades 2-3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grades 4-5), Andrea Soffia Sigurjonsson (grades 1-2), Florence Margaret Spencer (grade 1), Elsie Maud Webb (grade 9), ? (grades 6 & 10)
1931-1932
Lena Chemago (grade 4), John Smith Duncan (grade 11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grades 4-5), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Andrea Soffia Sigurjonsson (grade 2), Florence Margaret Spencer (grade 1), Elsie Maud Webb (grade 9), ? (grades 6 & 10)
1932-1933
Lena Chemago (grade 4), John Smith Duncan (grade 11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grades 4-5), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Andrea Soffia Sigurjonsson (grade 2), Florence Margaret Spencer (grade 1), Elsie Maud Webb (grade 9), ? (grades 6 & 10)
1933-1934
Margaret J. Cadwell (grade 9), Lena Chemago (grade 4), John Smith Duncan (grade 10), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grades 6-7), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Andrea Soffia Sigurjonsson (grade 2), Florence Margaret Spencer (grade 1)
1934-1935
Lena Chemago (grade 4), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Joyce Gibbons (grade 12), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), George Boyer Poole (grade 12, 1934), Andrea Soffia Sigurjonsson (grade 2), Florence Margaret Spencer (grade 1), ? (grade 9)
1935-1936
Margaret J. Cadwell (grade 9), Kathleen Ida Phyllis Cates (grade 12), Lena Chemago (grade 4), John Smith Duncan (grades 10-11), Gladys Emily Findlay (grades 7-8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Lucy Janey Kitchen (grade 1), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Andrea Soffia Sigurjonsson (grade 2), Johann Edvald Sigurjonsson (grade 9)
1936-1937
Lena Chemago (grades 1-2), Gladys Emily Findlay (grade 8), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Lucy Janey Kitchen (grade 7), Ida Laura Latimer (grades 2-3), Edith Sarah McCombe (grades 3-4), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Irene Potvin (grade 12), Johann Edvald Sigurjonsson (grade 11), ? (grades 9-10)
1937-1938
Hilton Clarence Harper (grade 11), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Lucy Janey Kitchen (grade 7), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 4), Joyce Doris McNevin (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Irene Potvin (grade 12), ? (grades 1, 8-10)
1938-1939
Lena Chemago (grade 1), Edwin Frederick “Ned” French (grade 9), Hilton Clarence Harper (grade 11), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Lucy Janey Kitchen (grades 7-8), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 4), Joyce Doris McNevin (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Irene Potvin (grade 12), Halldor Jonsson “Dori” Stefansson (grade 10), ? (grades 1, 9)
1939-1940
Lena Chemago (grade 1, 1939), Edwin Frederick “Ned” French (grade 9), Ada May Gill (grade 1, 1940), Muriel Mae Guerney (grade 7), Hilton Clarence Harper (grade 11), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Bessie Edith Kent (grade 8), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 4), Joyce Doris McNevin (grade 3), Ruby Elizabeth McRorie (grade 5), Irene Potvin (grade 12), Mabel Janet Price (grade 3), Halldor Jonsson “Dori” Stefansson (grade 10), ? (grades 8-9)
1940-1941
Hilton Clarence Harper (grade 11), Sanford Stephen Harvey (grade 12), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6),Halldor Jonsson “Dori” Stefansson (grade 10), Alexander Frank Wilson (grade 9), ? (grades 1-5, 7-8)
1941-1942
Sanford Stephen Harvey (grade 12), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Barbara Marion Highfield (grade 5), Gladys M. Johanson (grade 3, 1942), Ida Laura Latimer (grade 2), Mary Effie Frances Mills (grade 10), John Donovan Orchard (grade 8), Mabel Janet Price (grade 3, 1941) John Arvid Strahl (grade 11), Ida May Till (grade 1), Ruth Wilhelmena Voigt (grade 3, 1942), Joyce Doris Walker (grade 9), Edna Mary Wheatland (grade 7)
1942-1943
Mary Fern Bartlett (grade 1), Ruth Wilhelmena Voigt Baudin (grade 3), Barbara Marion Highfield Black (grade 5), Frank Unrau Dyck (grade 11, 1943), Viola May Graham (grade 2), Margaret Lorraine Grundy (grade 7), Sanford Stephen Harvey (grade 12), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 4), Elinor Davis Neelands (grade 11, 1943, substitute), John Donovan Orchard (grade 8), Emily Phyllis Smith (grade 10), John Arvid Strahl (grade 11, 1942), Joyce Doris Walker (grade 9)
1943-1944
Ruth M. H. Anderson (grade 10, 1943), Ruby Valera Arndt (grade 8), Wilfrid Blair Book (grade 12), Gladwys Eva Burke (grade 5), Audrey Margaret Cameron (grade 3), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), William Raymond “Ray” Hooper (grade 7), Edith Sarah McCombe (grade 4), Dorothy May McCullough (grade 1), Elinor Davis Neelands (grade 10, substitute), Emily Phyllis Smith (grade 9), Phyllis Dare Waddess (grade 2), Joyce Doris Walker (grade 9), Elsie Winram (grade 10, 1944)
1944-1945
Ruby Valera Arndt (grade 8), Wilfrid Blair Book (grade 12), Gladwys Eva Burke (grade 5), Audrey Margaret Cameron (grade 3), Winnifred Emily "Winnie" Jacques (grade 2), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), William Raymond “Ray” Hooper (grade 7), Sarah Irene Johnston (grade 10), Ellen Mae Lennox (grade 9), Dorothy May McCullough (grade 1), Virginia E. Shore Sanburn (grade 4), Joyce Doris Walker (grade 11)
1945-1946
Gladwys Eva Burke (grade 5), Muriel Margaret Gill (grade 1), Beatrice Joyce Griffen (grade 7), Elsie Elizabeth Harding (grade 11), Henry Hewson “Harry” Guest (grade 10), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), William Raymond “Ray” Hooper (grade 8), Muriel May Lints (grade 4), Doreen Lois McDougall (grade 7), Don Plummer (grade 1, 1946), Frances Alberta Plummer (grade 3), Alan Douglas Willows (grade 9), ? (grade 2)
1946-1947
Gladwys Eva Burke (grade 5), Muriel Margaret Gill Cottingham (grade 1), Isaac Goldman (grade 10, 1947), Beatrice Joyce Griffen (grade 11), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Harold Armstrong Hill (grade 10, 1946), William Raymond “Ray” Hooper (grade 8), Winnifred Emily Jacques (grade 2), Muriel May Lints (grade 4), Doreen Lois McDougall (grade 7, 1946), Frances Alberta Plummer (grade 3), Bessie E. M. Robinson (grade 1), John Albert Senez (grade 7, 1947), Alan Douglas Willows (grade 9), Alexander John Wilson (grade 12)
1947-1948
Mabel Eliza Ayer (grade 3, 1947), Wilfred Halldor Baldwin (grade 9), Jean Ethel Brandt (grade 7, 1947; grade 3, 1948), Gladwys Eva Burke (grade 5), Guy Chauviere (grade 11), Ellen Jeanette Couch (grades 1-2), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), William Raymond “Ray” Hooper (grade 8), Winnifred Emily "Winnie" Jacques (grade 2), Barbara Dorothea Petheram (grade 4), Emma Serbin (grade 1), Anna Pearl White (grade 10), Alexander John Wilson (grade 12), Laura Annie Wilson (grade 7, 1948)
1948-1949
Jacqueline Patricia Agnew (grade 10), Ruth Elizabeth Belton (grade 3), Guy Chauviere (grade 11), Evelyn Margaret Claretta Clarke (grade 1), Liv Gunwaldsen (grade 2), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Helen Ruth Hooker (grade 9), Gladwys Eva Burke Johnson (grades 1-2, 1948; grade 1, 1949) Theodore Koke (grade 8), Alice Helen Leggitt (grade 7), Brigid Patricia Madden (grade 5), Barbara Dorothea Petheram (grade 4), Alexander John Wilson (grade 12)
1949-1950
Ruth Elizabeth Belton (grade 3), Evelyn Margaret Claretta Clarke (grade 1), Liv Gunwaldsen (grade 2), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Helen Ruth Hooker (grade 9), Gladwys Eva Burke Johnson (grade 1), Dr. Stefan Kossak (grade 11), Christina Ann Lawrenson (grade 2), Alice Helen Leggitt (grade 7), Joseph Alexander McCracken (grade 12), Brigid Patricia Madden (grade 5), Elizabeth Louise Ohlson (grade 10), Della M. Rankin (grade 3), Barbara Dorothea Petheram Schuweiler (grade 4), ? (grade 8)
1950-1951
Ruth Elizabeth Belton Bilowus (grade 3), Nancy Bunting (grade 1), Marie Margaret Campbell (grade 3), Ruth Yvonne Graham (grade 2), Gwennith Margaret Grieve (grade 1), Liv Gunvaldsen (grades 4-5, 1950), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Gladwys Eva Burke Johnson (grade 1), Jean Legassé (grade 11), Alice Helen Leggitt (grade 7), Winnifred Eugena Moore (grades 4-5, 1951), Violet Evelyn Murray (grade 2), Elizabeth Louse Ohlson (grade 10), Waldorf Aston Tomlinson Perrins (grade 9, 1951), Della Marjorie Rankin (grade 5), Barbara Dorothea Petheram Schuweiler (grade 4), Eunice Margaret Jean White (grade 9, 1950), Polly Yanchuk (grade 1), Nicholas Yarish (grade 8)
1951-1952
Ruth Elizabeth Belton Bilowus (grade 3), William P. Christie? (grade 8), Margaret Chrystine Drozd (grade 2), Elsie Genik (grade 12), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Tena Irene Kettles (grade 10), Alice Helen Leggitt (grade 7, 1951), William Oleksy (grade 7, 1952), Waldorf Aston Tomlinson Perrins (grade 9), Marguerite Ellen Reid (grade 3), Verla Gwendolyne Salmon (grade 4), Leonard Edward Schmidt (grade 11), Barbara Dorothea Petheram Schuweiler (grade 4), Gwen Thera (grade 5), Laura Annie Wilson (grade 5), Polly Yanchuk (grade 2)
1952-1953
Helen Roberta Bates (grade 1, 1952), Ruth Elizabeth Belton Bilowus (grade 2), Nancy Bunting (grade 1), William P. Christie? (grade 8), Margaret Chrystine Drozd (grade 2), Elsie Genik (grade 12), Gwennith Margaret Grieve (grade 1), Phyllis Elizabeth Heyes (grade 6), Mrs. Helene Hodgins (grade 1, 1953), Tena Irene Kettles (grade 10), Agnes Lillian Nicholson (grade 9), Florence Bernice Nowak (grade 6), William Oleksy (grade 7), Geraldine Norah Poersch (grade 5), Elizabeth Frances Reece (grade 11), Marguerite Ellen Reid (grade 3), Verla Gwendolyne Salmon (grade 4), Barbara Dorothea Petheram Schuweiler (grade 4), Elizabeth Shabits (grade 2), Melvin “Mel” Solar (grade 7), Laura Annie Wilson (grade 5). Night School: William Wallace Cutforth, Agnes Lillian Nicholson, William Oleksy
1953-1954
Herman Enns (grade 12), Sylvia Lesack (grade 10), John Norman MacKenzie (grade 11), Agnes Lillian Nicholson (grade 9), ? (grades 1-8). Night School: William Wallace Cutforth, Karl Sauerborn, Miss Shalitz, Martin John Charles Streicher
1954-1955
John J. Angus (grade 12), Lillian Ida Bessett (grade 10), Marshall Clayton Effler (grade 9), Norman Charles Hedison (grade 11), Ruth Eleanor King (grade 9), Charles William Sherriff (grade 12), Martin John Charles Streicher (grade 10), ? (grades 1-8). Night School: Mrs. M. Angus, Mr. G. Argue
1955-1956
Walter Eric Clyde (grade 11), Ruth Eleanor King (grade 10), Michael “Mike” Leung (grade 9), John Donovan “Jack” Orchard (grade 9), ? (grades 1-9, 12)
1956-1957
Mavis Leona Archer (grade 11, commercial), Lillian Ida Bessett (grade 11), Walter Eric Clyde (grade 12), Ruth Eleanor King (grade 11), Delmer Wayne Kitch (grade 10), Michael “Mike” Leung (grade 9), John Donovan “Jack” Orchard (grade 9), Henry Wartman Richardson (grade 10), ? (grades 1-8)
1957-1958
Mavis Leona Archer (commercial), Lillian Ida Bessett (English), Mr. D. L. Braddell (French), Mr. D. Clark (grade 9), Michael “Mike” Leung (grade 9), Mr. H. N. Manz (science), Miss M. Middleton (math), Mr. A. Patterson (social studies)
1958-1959
?
1959-1960
?
1960-1961
?
1961-1962
?
1962-1963
?
1963-1964
Mr. S. Andreychuk (grade 8), Mrs. O. Baskier (grade 5), Mrs. R. Bilowus (grade 6), Mrs. H. A. Fullerton (grade 7), Mrs. G. M. Goodman (grade 7), Miss J. Haney (grade 5), Mrs. N. Kychyk (opportunity class), Mr. P. Olinek (grade 7), Miss B. Yanuszewski (grade 6)
Among the other teachers who worked at Swan River School through the years was Margaret Underhill.
Period
Principal
After 1960
School Year
Teachers
1957-1958
Mavis Leona Archer (grades 11-12, commercial), Lillian Ida Bessett (grade 11), David Lorenz D. Braddell (grade 11), Frank Donald Clark (grade 9, 1957; grade 10, 1957-1958), Joseph L. Gieni (grade 9, 1958), Gwen M. Goodman (grade 9, 1957), Michael “Mike” Leung (grade 9), M. K. Corrine Middleton (grade 12), Alexander Patterson (grade 10, 1957)
1958-1959
David Lorenz D. Braddell (grade 11), Mrs. F. D. Clark (grade 12), Lloyd Jersak (grade 9), Miss P. A. Kawalchuk (grade 12), Michael “Mike” Leung (grade 10), Howard N. Manz (grade 10, 1958), M. Eileen Malloy (grades 10-11, 1959), M. K. Corrine Middleton (grade 12)
1959-1960
Katherine E. M. Cox (grade 10), Lillian Ida Bessett Geini (grade 10), Orest Gingera (grade 9), Michael “Mike” Leung (grade 9), Doreen A. Spicer (grades 11-12), Leon Charles Stocki (grade 9)
After 1960
Among the other teachers of Swan River Collegiate was Henriette Nelly Andre.
Period
Principal
1951-?
Bill Christie
?-1959
?
1959-1960
William Oleksy
1960-1963
?
1963-1965
John Milner (Supervising Principal)
School Year
Teachers
1951-1952
Polly Yanchuk (grade 1), Gladwys Johnson (grade 1), Bruce Graham (grade 2), Violet Murray (grade 2), Marie Campbell (grade 3), Ruth Bilowus (grade 3), Barb Schuweiller (grade 4), Winnifred Eugena Moore (grade 4), Nicholas Yarich (grade 8)
1952-1953
?
1953-1954
?
1954-1955
?
1955-1956
?
1956-1957
?
1957-1958
Mrs. G. Alderson (grade 4), Mrs. J. Cotton (grade 1), Miss R. W. Cox (grade 3), Mrs. H. A. Fullerton (grade 6), Miss G. Jones (grade 2), Miss P. Jones (grade 2), Laura Loma Bocock Meiklejohn (grade 7), Mrs. J. Riley (grade 5), Mrs. B. Shaw (grade 1), Miss M. Syrinyk (grade 3), Mrs. L. A. Wilson (grade 5), Mrs. P. Yanchuk (grade 4)
1958-1959
?
1959-1960
?
1960-1961
?
1961-1962
?
1962-1963
?
1963-1964
Miss C. Cornish (grade 3), Miss D. Craig (grade 1), Mrs. D. M. Johnston (grade 1), Mrs. B. Nowak (grade 2), Mrs. B. Schuweiler (grade 4), Mrs. A. Shaw (grade 4), Mrs. C. Sutherland (opportunity class), Mrs. A. Warden (grade 3), Mrs. E. Watson (grade 2)
The first Swan River School (no date)
Source: Swan Valley Historical Museum
The second Swan River School (no date)
Source: Rob McInnes, MN1074
The third Swan River School building (no date) by J. S. Peach
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 46.
Postcard view of the third Swan River School building, renamed Duncan School in 1953 (circa 1937)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2011-0046
Postcard view of the Taylor Elementary School, built in 1950-1951 (no date)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2013-0089
Swan River School commemorative monument (July 2012)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N52.10895, W101.26734
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Eldred Dodsworth Tuttle (1878-1965)
Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Henry Bossons (1859-1938)
Memorable Manitobans: John Smith Duncan (1877-1938)
Memorable Manitobans: Robert Gardner Taylor (1874-1949)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Heyes Elementary School (128 Second Avenue West, Swan River)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Swan River Collegiate Institute / Swan River South School (105 Second Street South, Swan River)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Swan Valley Regional Secondary School (1483 Third Street North, Swan River)
“Tenders wanted,” Swan River Star, 29 March 1900, page 8.
“Swan River School District,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 August 1911, page 3.
Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.
The Development of Education in Swan River Valley by J. N. R. Clark, MEd thesis, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba, 1949.
“Staff of thirty teaching at Swan River,” Swan Valley Star and Times, 12 September 1957, page 1.
“3800 pupils enrolled for 1963-1964 term,” Swan Valley Star and Times, 29 August 1963, page 1.
“School enrollment increases to 1175,” Swan Valley Star and Times, 26 August 1965, page 1.
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.
Boots, Buggies & Buses: Swan Valley Schools in Quest of Education, Swan Valley School Division No. 35, circa 1998.
Manitoba School Records Collection (GR2057), Swan River Union School District No. 1047 Daily Registers, Archives of Manitoba.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Rob McInnes and Nonni Jonsson for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 8 January 2024
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