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Built within the Fort Garry School District, this school was named for Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander (1891-1969), Governor General of Canada from 1946 to 1952. Designed by the Winnipeg architectural firm of Green, Blankstein, Russell and Associates, the cornerstone of the single-storey, six-classroom structure was laid in October 1948 though, at the time, it had not been determined whether it would serve as an elementary or junior high school.
The brick and concrete building was constructed at a cost of about $106,000 by contractor Gerard Alphonsus “Gerry” Baert. Known informally as Fort Garry High School or Fort Garry Collegiate, it was formally named Viscount Alexander High School to replace the high school capacity at General Byng School. It was opened on 30 August 1949 by Deputy Minister of Education Ronald Oliver MacFarlane. Also present at the opening ceremony were Fort Garry Mayor Leslie Raymond Fennell, School Board Chair Mrs. R. F. Peterson, past School Board Chair G. M. Farwell, Secretary-Treasurer A. P. Cameron, and Reverend D. B. Sparling of the Fort Garry United Church.
The building featured brightly-coloured pink, yellow, green, and white brick classroom walls, with floors of asphalt tiles and terrazzo, large natural lighting features, an airflow and ventilation system that focused on the closet areas within each room, and other modern amenities. Dimensions of the original structure were 140 feet by 70 feet. It hosted grades 7 to 11, initially using only five of the six classrooms, with the last being rented to the Fort Garry Kindergarten Committee. At the school’s unveiling, Mr. G. M. Farwell, a 13-year school trustee, was given an engraved silver trowel with which he had laid the school’s cornerstone the year before.
Built with the anticipation of future expansion, in 1952 the school was enlarged with five more classrooms, secretary’s office, science laboratory, library, and kindergarten room at a cost of $65,000 based on designs by the architectural firm of Prain and Ward. An auditorium was added in 1955, and ten more classrooms were added in 1959. Upper collegiate grades were transferred to the Vincent Massey Collegiate in 1960, with the rest of high school grades following later.
Period
Principal
1949-1951
Sanford Stephen Harvey (1911-1980)
1951-1960
Alfred Leslie Stevens (1920-2004)
1960-1973
James Edward Terris (1924-2002)
c2009
Julien Omer Allard (1957-2023)
School Year
Teachers
1949-1950
Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Sanford Stephen Harvey (grade 9), Janet Catherine McCuaig (grade 7), Edmund McGlenen [McGlenn?] (grade 8), Alfred Leslie Stevens (grade 10)
1950-1951
Vyrna Alice Havard (grade 8), Sanford Stephen Harvey (grade 11), Janet Catherine McCuaig (grade 7), Elizabeth Lois Norquay (grade 9), Irvin Sera (grade 8), Alfred Leslie Stevens (grade 10)
1951-1952
Grace Anderson (grade 1), Letitia Milburn Armitage (grades 2-3), Jacob Bergman (grade 7), Gladys Isabella Burt (grade 1), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Carmen Marie Detemmerman (grade 2), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Netanis Boyd Vaux Dougall (grade 3), Bernice Dorothy Lesy (grade 2), Janet Catherine McCuaig (grade 7), John Robert Main (grade 9), Alfred Leslie Stevens (grade 11) Thomas Frank Tyler (grade 8), John Lorne Wright (grade 10)
1952-1953
Calvin James Alward (grade 9), Elizabeth Mae Ritchot Anderson (grade 1), Grace Anderson (grade 1), Letitia Milburn Armitage (grade 2), Gladys Isabella Burt (grade 1), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Carmen Marie Detemmerman (grade 2), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Netanis Boyd Vaux Dougall (grade 3), Margaret Helen Landon (grade 4), Janet Catherine McCuaig (grade 7), John Robert Main (grade 10, September-February; grade 9, March-June), Margaret Herborg Munson (grades 4-5), Mollie Porter (grade 2), Alice Flore Reid (grade 3), Florence F. Whitaker (grade 8), George Woloshynoski (grade 9, September-February; grade 10, March-June)
1953-1954
Elizabeth Mae Ritchot Anderson (grade 1), Letitia Milburn Armitage (grade 2, September-February), Gladys Isabella Burt (grade 1), Caroline Winifred Calder (grade 2), Carmen Marie Detemmerman (grade 2), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Netanis Boyd Vaux Dougall (grade 3), Maida Louise Evans (grade 1), Anne Harder (grade 4), Marie Elisa Houde (grade 9), Rudolph Ewald “Rudy” Mehmel (grade 9), John Alexius Peterson (grade 10), Alice Flore Reid (grade 3), Grace Evelyn Riddell (grade 2, March-June)
1954-1955
Carmen Marie Detemmerman Allan (grade 2), Letitia Milburn Armitage (grade 2), Gladys Isabella Burt (grade 1), Diane Beverley Combe (grade 1), Frances Lenore Cowie (grade 3), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Netanis Boyd Vaux Dougall (grade 3), Maida Louise Evans (grade 1), Anne Harder (grade 4), Marie Elisa Houde (grade 10), Florence Lipsett (grade 9), Rudolph Ewald “Rudy” Mehmel (grade 10), Margaret Herborg Munson (grade 5), Frederick John “Fred” North (grade 9), Grace Evelyn Riddell (grade 2)
1955-1956
Frances Lenore Cowie (grade 3), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Netanis Boyd Vaux Dougall (grade 3), Anne Harder (grade 4), Marie Elisa Houde (grade 11), Victoria Caroline Hucaluk (grade 1), Florence Lipsett (grade 9), J. I. McIntosh (grade 6, September-November), Rudolph Ewald “Rudy” Mehmel (grade 10), Margaret Herborg Munson (grade 5), Bertha Eliza Nelson (grade 9), Aleck James Robson (grade 9), Opal Mabel Schoales (grade 6), Marion Robina Smith (grade 6, December-June), Diane Beverley Combe Tamre (grade 1), Anne Mary Wild (grade 9)
1956-1957
Carmen Marie Allan (grade 2), Helen Teressa Broughton (grade 4, January-June), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Netanis Boyd Dougall (grade 4), Anne Harder (grade 4, September-December), Marie Elisa Houde (grade 11), Victoria Caroline Hucaluk (grade 1), Philip Robert Jackson (grade 9), Florence Lipsett (grade 10), Cornelius Wilbert Loewen (grade 9), Margaret Herborg Munson (grade 5), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Bertha Eliza Nelson (grade 10), Aleck James Robson (grade 9), Opal Mabel Schoales (grade 6), Diane Beverley Tamre (grade 1), Anne Mary Wild (grade 10)
1957-1958
Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Arlene Ford (grade 2, February-June), Marie Elisa Houde (grade 11), Victoria Caroline Hucaluk (grade 1), Florence Lipsett (grade 11), Cornelius Wilbert Loewen (grade 9), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Bertha Eliza Nelson (grade 10), Helen I. Norrie (grade 9), Janice Ramsay (grade 2, September-January), Grace Evelyn Riddell (grade 3), Aleck James Robson (grade 10), Diane Beverley Tamre (grade 1), Anne Mary Wild (grade 10)
1958-1959
Sheila Combe (grade 1), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Peter Brown (grade 9), Elsie Claire Dewar (grade 11), Marie Elisa Houde (grade 11), Philip Robert Jackson (grade 10), Florence Lipsett (grade 11), Cornelius Wilbert Loewen (grade 9), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Bertha Eliza Nelson (grade 10), Joan O. Parr (grade 9), Grace Evelyn Riddell (grade 2), Aleck James Robson (grade 10), Beverly Ellen Ross (grade 1), Anne Mary Wild (grade 10)
1959-1960
Kelvin Bramadat (grade 11, September-June; grade 9, December), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), James William Downey (grade 11), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), Marie Elisa Houde (grade 12), Philip Robert Jackson (grade 10), Gerhard H. Labies (grade 10), John Latter (grade 11), Florence Lipsett (grade 12), Cornelius Wilbert Loewen (grade 9), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Bertha Eliza Nelson (grade 11), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 9, January-February), Joan O. Parr (grade 9), Grace Evelyn Riddell (grade 2), Aleck James Robson (grade 11), Eldon George Simms (grade 10), Sheila Margaret Simpson (grade 1), Reginald Skene (grade 9), Ralph Sotolov (grade 9, September-October & March-June), John Edwin Wellwood (grade 10), C. C. Whitaker (grade 10), Anne Mary Wild (grade 11), Mary Elizabeth Woronchuk (grade 3)
1960-1961
Jacob Bergman (grade 7), Karen May Casemore (grade 5), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Gail Leota Joy Crawford (grade 7, January-June), Henry Jacob Dick (grade 9), Michael Richard Firman (grade 8), Donna Amy Friesen (grade 7, September-December), Marie Carson Gauer (grade 7), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), June Adele Graham (grade 8), Audrey Huntingford (grade 9), Thomas Walter Kelly (grade 8), Cornelius Wilbert Loewen (grade 9), Olive Elizabeth Morris (grade 3, January-June), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Edith Mary Reid Myles (grade 7), Pete Neufeld (grade 9), Paul Neustaedter (grade 7), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 8), Abe Penner (grade 8), Grace Evelyn Riddell (grade 2), Beverley Ellen Ross (grade 1), Ernest Halhad Shelvey (grade 7), Sheila Margaret Simpson (grade 1), Marion Robina Smith (grade 9), Susan Veronica Teet (grade 8), Helen McRae Waddell (grade 8), Mary Elizabeth Woronchuk (grade 3), Merilynn Mildred Wright (grade 3, September-December)
1961-1962
Jean Edith Allan (grade 9), Robert Jack Boyes (grade 7), Angus Irvin Bramadat (grade 8), John I. Brown (grade 9), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Michael Richard Firman (grade 8), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), June Adele Graham (grade 8), Thomas Walter Kelly (grade 7), Ray Keynes (grade 6), Cornelius Wilbert Loewen (grade 9), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 7), Abe Penner (grade 8), Nydia Sylvia Peterson (grade 9), Joseph John Rebizant (grade 7), Beverley Ellen Ross (grade 1), Olga Alice Rousell (grade 9), Allan Ellis Sheldon (grade 8), Ernest Halhad Shelvey (grade 7), Abe Siemens (grade 7), Marion Robina Smith (grade 9), Antoinette Marie St. Onge (grade 7), Christopher Edwin Thain (grade 7), Helen McRae Waddell (grade 8), Nina Blanche Whalen (grade 5), Mary Elizabeth Woronchuk (grade 3)
1962-1963
Jean Edith Allan (grade 9), Osmond Theodore Anderson (grade 7), George Isaac Block (grade 7), Jeanne Celina “Jean” Bourgouin (grade 5), Angus Irvin Bramadat (grade 8), John I. Brown (grade 9), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Marilyn Bernice Fields (grade 9), Michael Richard Firman (grade 8), Jerome Keith Fischer (grade 6), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), June Adele Graham (grade 8), Douglas Lawrence Honeybunn (grade 9), Thomas Walter Kelly (grade 9), Cornelius Wilbert Loewen (grade 9, September-November & January-June), Howard N. Manz (grade 9, December), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Arthur Reid Nicol (grade 7), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 7), Abe Penner (grade 8), Evelyn Laura Saiko (grade 1), Ernest Halhad Shelvey (grade 7), Marion Robina Smith (grade 9), Antoinette Marie St. Onge (grade 7), Christopher Edwin Thain (grade 8), Helen McRae Waddell (grade 8), Mary Elizabeth Woronchuk (grade 3)
1963-1964
Jean Edith Allan (grade 9), Marion Robina Smith Besker (grade 9), Jeanne Celina “Jean” Bourgouin (grade 5), John I. Brown (grade 9), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Marilyn Bernice Fields (grade 9), Michael Richard Firman (grade 8), Jerome Keith Fischer (grade 6), David Froese (grade 7), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), June Adele Graham (grade 8), Douglas Lawrence Honeybunn (grade 9), Thomas Walter Kelly (grade 9), Marian Elizabeth McSween (grade 5, January-June), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Arthur Reid Nicol (grade 7), George “H” Olfert (grade 9), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 7), Abe Penner (grade 8), Evelyn Laura Saiko (grade 1), George Wesley Semchuk (grade 7), Ernest Halhad Shelvey (grade 7), Abe Siemens (grade 7), Merilynn Mildred Wright Snyder (grade 5, September-December), Antoinette Marie St. Onge (grade 7), Christopher Edwin Thain (grade 8), Helen McRae Waddell (grade 8)
1964-1965
Jean Edith Allan (grade 9), Jacob Bergman (grade 9, December), Marion Robina Smith Besker (grade 9), Jeanne Celina “Jean” Bourgouin (grade 5), John I. Brown (grade 9), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Marilyn Bernice Fields (grade 9, September-December), Jerome Keith Fischer (grade 6), Michael Richard Firman (grade 8), David Froese (grade 7), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), June Adele Graham (grade 8), Douglas Lawrence Honeybunn (grade 9), Thomas Walter Kelly (grade 9), Tony John Kuz (grade 7), Marilyn Mathers (grade 9, February-June), Marian Elizabeth McSween (grade 6), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), Josephine Eugene Nessman (grade 7), Arthur Reid Nicol (grade 7), George “H” Olfert (grade 9), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 8), Abe Penner (grade 8), Alvina Mae Poersch (grade 1), Abe Siemens (grade 7), George Wesley Semchuk (grade 7), Antoinette Marie St. Onge (grade 7), Christopher Edwin Thain (grade 8), M. L. Verstraete (grade 9, January), Helen McRae Waddell (grade 8)
1965-1966
V. Adams (grade 7, April), Jean Edith Allan (grade 9), Marion Robina Smith Besker (grade 9), Jeanne Celina “Jean” Bourgouin (grade 5), Elaine Georgina Brown (grade 8), John I. Brown (grade 9), Murdo William Christie (grade 7, September-April), Jean Geraldine Corrigan (grade 7, September-December), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Michael Richard Firman (grade 8), Jerome Keith Fischer (grade 6), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), Douglas Lawrence Honeybunn (grade 9), Thomas Walter Kelly (grade 8), Linda M. Krentz (grade 7, February-June), Judith Mary Luft (grade 8), Marilyn Mathers (grade 9), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), George “H” Olfert (grade 9), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 8), Thomas Allen Park (grade 7, May-June), Abe Penner (grade 8), Alvina Mae Poersch (grade 1), John Sanders (grade 7), Margot Tass (grade 7), Gene Ross Walker (grade 7), Mrs. G. Welsh (grade 7, January)
1966-1967
Jean Edith Allan (grade 9), Marion Robina Smith Besker (grade 9), Jeanne Celina “Jean” Bourgouin (grade 5), John I. Brown (grade 9), Diane Lois Chiurka (grade 8), Frances Leonore Cowie (grade 3), Michael Richard Firman (grade 8), Jerome Keith Fischer (grade 6), Norman Windsor Fullerton (grade 7), Mildred Violet Glover (grade 4), Douglas Lawrence Honeybunn (grade 9), Thomas Walter Kelly (grade 8), Marilyn Mathers (grade 9), Henricus C. “Hank” Mesman (grade 7), Elizabeth Ruth Murray (grade 2), George “H” Olfert (grade 9), Harry Olfert (grade 7), Agnes Maggie Osterland (grade 8), Abe Penner (grade 8), Alvina Mae Poersch (grade 1), Margot Tass (grade 7), Orville Strand (grade 7), Antoinette Marie St. Onge (grade 7), Wendy Joan Alison Thompson (grade 8)
Viscount Alexander School (no date)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Government Photographs (CH 0267), GR10030, WG-7-9.
Viscount Alexander School (August 2014)
Source: Nathan KramerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.84674, W97.14580
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Gerard Alphonsus “Gerry” Baert (1906-1971)
Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.
“Tenders wanted for general contract for school building, Fort Garry, Manitoba for School District of Fort Garry No. 2047,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 May 1948, page 26.
“School ceremony in Fort Garry,” Winnipeg Free Press, 14 October 1948, page 12.
[Photo caption], Winnipeg Free Press, 18 October 1948, page 11.
“Rhodes Smith to open new Fort Garry school,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 August 1949, page 3.
“Open house set at Fort Garry’s new high school,” Winnipeg Free Press, 24 August 1949, page 3.
“Fort Garry opens Alexander School,” Winnipeg Tribune, 31 August 1949, page 3.
“Light and color to brighten study at new 6-room Fort Garry school,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 August 1949, page 3.
“Tenders [Viscount Alexander],” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 April 1952, page 32.
“Fort Garry notes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 3 October 1952, page 9.
“Tenders,” Winnipeg Free Press, 13 April 1956, page 5.
“Tenders for Viscount Alexander School addition,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 April 1959, page 71.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Fort Garry School District #2047 (Viscount Alexander School) Daily Registers, GR10356, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Fort Garry Municipal School District #2361 (Viscount Alexander School) Daily Registers, GR10356, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Fort Garry School Division #5 (Viscount Alexander School) Daily Registers, GR10356, Archives of Manitoba.
“Students encouraged to discover their passions,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 June 2009, page 14.
MCM Architects Inc. fonds, 1912-1994, Archives of Manitoba.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 May 2023
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