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This former school on Monterey Road in Winnipeg was commissioned by the St. Boniface School Division in 1968, designed by the architectural firm of Ward and Macdonald, and built at a cost of $475,000. It was named for newly retired Police Chief William Russell.
Classes began in the fall of 1968, in nearby division facilities, before the new school opened to the approximately 350 elementary students in the January 1969. The school was opened officially on 17 March 1969, with a ceremony attended by School Board Chair Paul Marion, Minister of Eduation and Youth Donald William Craik, and former Police Chief Russell.
Built to address a growing demand for classroom space as a result of the Windsor Park development, the structure’s use as a school was short-lived. In the summer of 1974, the school was closed, along with Tache School, with the School Division claiming a total saings of $100,000 per year. Students in this area were transferred to General Vanier School or Prendergast School. Tache School re-opened only two years later. This building was used as office space for the St. Boniface School Board. It later became the Louis Riel School Division Resource Centre.
Period
Principal
1968-1973
Joseph Steven Walecki
1973-1974
John A. Muller
Period
Teachers
1968-1969
Maxine Joyce Ballman (grade 2), Patricia Shirley Beyak (grade 3), Joan Alice Butler (kindergarten), Jocelyn Vivenne Boileau (grade 1, 1968), Judith Ann Gibbs (grade 5), Florence Elizabeth Halderson (grade 3), Linda Joan Mann (grade 2), Mary Elaine Perchaluk (no grade, 1969), Lena Cynthia Poliah (grade 1, 1969), Agnes Therese Proteau (grade 4), Daisy Linea Render (grade 4), Donald James Seaton (grade 5), Linda Mae York (grade 3)
1969-1970
Maxine Joyce Ballman (grade 2), Patricia Shirley Beyak (grade 3), Joan Alice Butler (kindergarten), Yvonne Desrosiers (no grade), Sharon Gail Easton (grade 4), Judith Ann Gibbs (grade 5), Florence Elizabeth Halderson (grade 3), Susan Margaret McKay (grade 1), Linda Joan Mann (grade 2), Agnes Therese Proteau (grade 4), Daisy Linea Render (grade 4), Donald James Seaton (grade 5), Lois Anne Trevers (grade 1), James Arthur York (grade 6)
1970-1971
Mary Baracos (librarian), Joan Alice Butler (kindergarten), Sharon Gail Easton (grade 4), Victoria Feschuk (grade 5), Florence Elizabeth Halderson (no grade), Jeanne Ella Marie LaRiviere (grade 2), Lena Cynthia Poliah (grade 2), Agnes Therese Proteau (grade 5), Daisy Linea Render (grade 3), Donald James Seaton (no grade), Susanne Thiessen (resource), Lois Anne Trevers (grade 1), Linda [Lynda] Wiebe (grade 4), James Arthur York (grade 6), Linda Mae York (grade 3)
1971-1972
Mary Baracos (librarian), Mona Gail Bekiaris? (grade 1), Yvonna Marie Crampton (grade 1), Louisette Colette De Clereq (grade 2), Sharon Gail Easton (grade 4), Sister Estelle Donalda Joyal (kindergarten), Stella Carrol Morris (grade 6), Marlene Agnes Mortimer (resource), Lena Cynthia Poliah (grade 2), Donna Jean Pritchard (grade 3), Agnes Therese Proteau (grade 5), Daisy Linea Render (grade 3), Donald James Seaton (grade 6), Lynda Wiebe (grades 4-5)
1972-1973
Mary Baracos (librarian), Mona Gail Bekiaris? (grade 1, 1972, 1973), Louisette Colette De Clereq (grades 1-2), Julie Bertha Douville (grade 5), Frances Falzarano (grade 4), Sister Estelle Donalda Joyal (kindergarten), Stella Carrol Morris (grade 6), Marlene Agnes Mortimer (resource), Lena Cynthia Poliah (grades 1-2), Donna Jean Pritchard (grade 3), Daisy Linea Render (grade 3), Kenneth John Stobbe (grade 5), Lynda Wiebe (grade 4), Linda Mae York (grade 1, 1973)
1973-1974
Mary Baracos (librarian), Claudia Vider? Buchanan (grades 2-3), Kenneth James Chapman (physical eduction), Louisette Colette De Clereq (grade 2), Frances Falzarano (grades 4-5), Julie Bertha Douville (grade 5), Stella Carrol Morris (grade 6), Lena Cynthia Poliah (grade 1), Daisy Linea Render (grade 3), Kenneth John Stobbe (grade 5), Ethel K. Turner (kindergarten), Lynda Wiebe (grade 4)
The former William Russell School (August 2020)
Source: Nathan Kramer
The former William Russell School (August 2020)
Source: Nathan Kramer
The former William Russell School (August 2020)
Source: Nathan KramerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.85903, W97.07065
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: James Thomas Laurance “Laurie” Ward (1925-1985)
Memorable Manitobans: William Russell (?-1974)
“St. Boniface prepares for the open-area era,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 March 1969, page 6.
“5-year school plan creates fear - parent,” Winnipeg Free Press, 27 February 1973, page 54.
“Two St. B. schools closing,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 March 1974, page 28.
“St. Boniface officials not being frank over school closings, parents charge,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 April 1974, page 3.
“St. Boniface school boycott under way today,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 April 1974, page 3.
“Province is trying to broker school deal,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 May 2004, page B5.
Windsor Park - An Architectural Tour, by Alexander Gowriluk, Winnipeg Architecture Foundation, 2020.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 8 August 2021
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