Historic Sites of Manitoba: Justice Consolidated School No. 696 (Justice, RM of Elton)

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

The Justice Consolidated School District, centred in the village of Justice in the Rural Municipality of Elton, became one of the first participants in the consolidation movement of the early 20th century. It brought students from several surrounding rural schools, including Aikenside School No. 157, Nelles School No. 696, and Young School No. 352, to a new building (erected in 1912 on a design by Winnipeg architect William Wallace Blair) to one central location. Through the years, as other rural schools closed, it drew students from Campbell School No. 186, Elton School No. 131, Gourlay School No. 695, Matheson School No. 1062, and Orange Hall School No. 1069. Justice School closed in June 1967 and its area became part of the Elton Municipal School District No. 2360.

Principals

Period	Principal
1923-1924	Henrietta Beveridge Herkes (1899-?)
1924-1926	Mary Marguerite Rodger “Marge” Andrews (1901-1955)
1926-1927	Weston Sweet (1899-1994)
1927-1929	Myrtle Christina Evans Witherspoon (1906-1998)
1929-1930	Willa Griggs
1930-1931	Margaret E. Wheaton
1931-1933	Marie Evans
1933-1934	Helen McLennan
1934-1936	James Edwin Scarrow (1902-1982)
1936-1937	Monica Anderson
1937-1938	Charlotte Finlay
1938-1939	John Archibald “Archie” Carmichael (1916-2001)
1939-1940	Erick Bjarnson
1940-1941	Hugh Arthur Johnson (1910-1967)
1941-1942	Doreen Handel
1942-1943	Ann Belcher
1943-1945	Jonathan Hughes Arnett (1879-1953)
1945-1946	Robert B. Connor
1946-1948	Dorothy Ethelwyn [Ethelwin] Frost Cox (1922-2023)
1948-1949	Marion Terry
1949-1951	Aleck James “Alex” Robson
1951	Sam Sigurdson
1952	Dorothy Ethelwyn [Ethelwin] Frost Cox (1922-2023)
1952-1957	Margaret Amelia Creighton (1911-1979)
1957-1958	Stanley A. Livingston
1958-1960	Allan Harford Badgley
1960-1961	Margaret Amelia Creighton (1911-1979)

Teachers

Among the early teachers of Justice School were Agnes Davidson (1913), Evelyn Pentland (1913-1914), Annie Andrews (1913-1915), Nellie Holden (1914-1916), B. McNevin (1915-1916), J. Duilan (1916-1917), Annie Falconer (1916-1919), Alice Bisset (1917-1918), Gladys Christie (1918-1919), Jean Brown (1919-1920), Gladys Pearson (1919-1920), W. I. Stewart (1919-1921), D. McDonald (1919-1920), Mildred Thornton (1920-1923), Olive Falconer (1921-1922), W. Logan (1922-1923), Marjory Davis (1922-1923), R. Slauson (1922-1923), A. Emerson (1923-1924), Margaret Elliott (1923-1925, 1926-1927), Marjorie Hogarth (1925-1926), Dianne Lucow (1927-1928), Ruby Magee (1928-1929), Kay Kellar (1929-1930), Helen McLennan (1930-1933), Doris Moore (1933-1934), Margaret Sutherland (1934-1935), Ruby Black (1934-1935), Edna Elder (1935-1937), Helen Brownell (1937-1940), Verna Hughes (1940-1941), Gwen Waring (1941-1942), Jean Justice (1942-1943), Phyllis Hill (1943-1945), and Merle Westbrook (1945-1946).

Period	Teachers
1946-1947	Donna Grace Douglas (grades 1-8), Dorothy Ethelwyn Frost (grades 9-11)
1947-1948	Donna Grace Douglas (grades 1-7), Dorothy Ethelwyn Frost (grades 9-11)
1948-1949	Marion Terry (grades 8-11), Eileen May Wray (grades 1-6)
1949-1950	Muriel Isabel Hunter (grades 1-6), Aleck James Robson (grades 7-11)
1950-1951	Muriel Isabel Hunter (grades 1-6), Aleck James “Alex” Robson (grades 7-11)
1951-1952	Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 1-6), Dorothy Ethelwyn Frost Cox (grades 7-11, January-June), Sam Sigurdson (grades 7-11, August-December)
1952-1953	Florence Jessie Chambers (grades 1-6), Margaret Amelia Creighton (grades 7-11)
1953-1954	Margaret Amelia Creighton (senior grades), Elaine Kolke (junior grades)
1954-1955	Margaret Amelia Creighton (senior grades), Elaine Kolke (junior grades)
1955-1956	Margaret Amelia Creighton (senior grades), Elaine Kolke (junior grades)
1956-1957	Hazel Adams (junior grades), Margaret Amelia Creighton (senior grades)
1957-1958	Janie Crossen (junior grades), Stanley A. Livingston (senior grades)
1958-1959	Allan Harford Badgley (grades 10-11), Marion Elsie Badgley (grades 5-9), Elaine Claire Bollman (grades 1-4)
1959-1960	Allan Harford Badgley (grades 9-10), Elaine Claire Bollman (grades 1-6), Dorothy Ethelwyn Frost Cox (grades 11-12), ? (grades 7-8)
1960-1961	Elaine Claire Bollman (grades 1-6), A. W. Parils (grades ?), Margaret Amelia Creighton (grades ?)

Among the other teachers of Justice School were Adelaide Mary Feil (1961-1963, grades 1-8), Jean Witter (1962-1967), Lorna Richardson (1963-1964), Glenda Holmes (1964-1965), and Carol Armstrong (1965-1967).

Photos & Coordinates

The original Justice School (circa 1911) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Department of Education photograph album (A 0278), GR2664, G 11005, page 68. Justice School (no date) by A. J. Hatcher Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A 0233, C131-1, page 110. A homecoming celebration was held when the school closed (July 1967) Source: Homesteaders and Homemakers: A History of Elton Municipality in its First Century by Elton Historical Committee, 1973. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.E48 Hom] The former Justice School building (June 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The former Justice School building and bell (June 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina The former Justice School building (June 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.99748, W99.79699 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

Tenders, Manitoba Free Press, 5 August 1911, page 3.

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

Homesteaders and Homemakers: A History of Elton Municipality in its First Century by Elton Historical Committee, 1973. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.E48 Hom]

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.

A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 10 June 2023

Historic Sites of Manitoba This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only. SEARCH the collection Browse lists of: Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner. Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes. Send corrections and additions to this page to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca. Search Tips | Suggest an Historic Site | FAQ Help us keep history alive!