In May 1914, Three Sisters School began operation as Fish Lake School, located at NE24-20-1W in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong. In April 1947, the building was moved to its present location, southeast of Narcisse along highway 231, and renamed Three Sisters in commemoration of triplet girls born to local residents, the Marchuk family, that same month. The school closed in 1967 and the building was later purchased by Jeanette Marchuk, one of the triplet sisters. Attendance and other records for the school are held at the Chatfield Park of Souvenirs Museum.
Among the teachers who worked at Three Sisters School were Constance Jean Crowe (1946-1947), Wilma Joreen Gibson (1947-1948), Margaret Natalie Zuk (1948-1949), Savelia Prystupa (1949-1950), Anne Dorothy Kohler (Fall 1950), Dennis Eli Alfred Mayfair (Spring 1951), Bernice Adele Sabanski (Fall 1951), William John Eastrott (Spring 1952), Olivier B. Muloin (1952-1953), Edward Hryciw (1953-1954), Irene Palowich (1954-1955), William Stepaniuk (1957-1958), Joseph Gula (1959-1961), Tony Chikowski (?-?), Edward Firman (?-?), and Mrs. Emil Skrabic (1964-1965).
Fish Lake School, later to become Three Sisters School (no date) by C. K. Rogers
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 28.
The former Three Sisters School building (circa 1990)
Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 83.
The former Three Sisters School building (May 2015)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Three Sisters School building (June 2019)
Source: Rose Kuzina
The former Three Sisters School building (June 2021)
Source: George Penner
The former Three Sisters School building and outhouses (June 2019)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Interior of the former Three Sisters School building (May 2015)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Interior of the former Three Sisters School building (June 2019)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.66893, W97.43906
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fish Lake School No. 1747 (RM of Armstrong)
“Triplets, all girls, born in Teulon,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 May 1947, page 29.
A History of Education in the Evergreen School Division by John C. Gottfried, MA thesis, University of Manitoba, 1965.
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.
Wildnerness to Wildlife: Chatfield and District History, Chatfield Oldtimers Club, Selkirk, 1981, pages 17, 23.
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Three Sisters School District No. 1747 - Daily Register, GR11220 , Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Rose Kuzina and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 8 June 2021
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