Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fork River School / Mossey River Schools Monument (Fork River, RM of Mossey River)

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

A commemorative monument in Fork River, in the Rural Municipality of Mossey River, was erected on 20 July 1996 to the memory of the former schools of the municipality: the pioneers, teachers, students, and trustees. It also has a plaque added in the centennial year of the municipality, 2006.

The schools were: Belle Creek School No. 1827, Bicton Heath School No. 1357, Borden School No. 1266, Cork Cliff School No. 1509, Don School No. 1813, Ferley School No. 1812, Mossey River School No. 999 (Fork River Consolidated School No. 2411), Mowat School No. 1232, Nordheim School No. 2263, North Lake School No. 1431, Odda School No. 1830, Pine View School No. 1225, Rice Lake School No. 2166, Skala School No. 1257, Small Creek School No. 2254, South Bay School No. 1144, Volga School No. 1818, Weiden School No. 1604, Winnipegosis School No. 1020, and Zelena School No. 1816. Most of the schools closed in 1967 and were consolidated into Duck Mountain School Division. Fork River Consolidated School, located at the monument site, remained opened until 1981. The building has since been demolished.

Principals

Period	Principal
1924-1925	Elmenia Alberta Jean Mollard (1901-1991)
1925-1927	Evelyn White
1927-1928	Hilda Effler
1928-1929	Mary Ethel Simms (c1895-1947)
1929-1930	Gretha Stange
1930-1931	Muriel Amelia Robertson Redpath (1906-1984)
1931-1932	Mae Berry
1932-1933	Emily Sumi “Emilie” Denney (1907-1997)
1933-1940	?
1940-1942	John Slobodzian
1942-1953	A. J. Drebinsky
1953-1954	?
1954-1955	T. W. Tischinski
1955-1956	?
1956-1957	Walter Morris Bohonos (1930-2017)
1957-1958	Mrs. Emma E. Dube
1958-1961	Ernie Harrison
1961-1963	Mrs. M. W. Rudkavitch
1963-1978	?
1978-1980	Marie Sedor

Teachers

Among the early teachers of Fork River School were Iva Jettie Stewart (?), Myrtle Patsack (1938), Mildred Watson (1938), Eugene Negrych (1938), J. Slobodzian (1938), and Ernest Hafichuk.

School Year	Teachers
1978-1979	Elizabeth Buller, Marian Kuiper
1979-1980	Elizabeth Buller, Marian Kuiper

Photos & Coordinates

Fork River School (no date) by J. S. Peach Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 37. Fork River Consolidated School (no date) Source: Ed Arndt Former Fork River Consolidated School building (circa 1986) Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 795. Mossey River schools commemorative monument (May 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N51.51156, W100.02341 denoted by symbol on the map above

Sources:

“The local round,” Dauphin Herald, 20 October 1938, page 9.

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

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.

“Camperville students back early,” Dauphin Herald, 6 September 1978, page 2.

“Teachers ready for year at Duck Mountain School Div.,” Dauphin Herald, 12 September 1979, page 19.

Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques and Manitoba Community Commemorative Plaques, Fiscal Year 1995-1996, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Citizenship, page 26.

We thank Ed Arndt and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 31 October 2021

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