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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
In 1882, the Russell School District was formally established in what would later become the town of Russell. The ground floor of the Town Hall was used for classes until a new school building was constructed in 1884, at a cost of $892, opening in early 1885. An addition was made to it in the fall of 1894 but the limitations of the building became increasingly evident so, in the fall of 1897, a two-storey building was constructed on the present site of the Russell post office, and the old school was renovated into residences. A two-storey addition to this building was made in the fall of 1899. A high school was started in 1909 so, to provide the requisite space, a two-storey building was purchased from the Smellie brothers and moved to the school property. By 1913, this space was insufficient so the School Board authorized the construction of a new building designed by Winnipeg architect William Bruce. It was occupied in the spring of 1914 by a staff of seven teachers.
By 1966, there were three school buildings operating in Russell, with a total student enrollment of about 600. They were combined under the umbrella of the Russell Consolidated School No. 2454 but quickly became part of the Pelly Trail School Division, later that year.
Period
Principal
1897-1899
Ralph R. J. Brown BA
1900
Duncan P. Clark (1862-?)
1900-1902
George Henry Blackwell (1864-1941)
1903
John Braithwaite Wallis (1876-1962)
1903-1904
David Bruce Huggins (1879-1955)
1905
James Andrew McKaughan (1877-1968)
1905
David R. Jones
1906-1908
Isobel Disney
1908-1909
Frederick James Ney (1884-1973)
1909-1912
Mr. J. H. Hutchison
1912-1913
Alonzo Cyrus Crosby (1853-1923)
1913
Thomas Irwin Brownlee (1886-1973)
1913-1914
James Miller Wallace (1888-1918)
1914-1915
David Smith Tod (1870-1937)
1915-1916
Victor Wellington Jenkins (1884-1950)
1916-1920
James Humphrey Plewes (1873-1963)
1920-1921
Mr. M. L. Campbell
1921-1932
Albert Maurice Pratt (1889-1972)
1932-1934
Henry Benjamin Bees (c1886-1968)
1934-1941
John Alexius Peterson (1885-1959)
1941-1945
Sidney George Denham (1909-1989)
1945-1948
Robert William “Bob” Dalton (1911-1999)
1948-1955
Cecil Cullen Foster (1911-1998)
1955-1957
Richard R. “Dick” Partridge (1922-1990)
1957-1961
Joseph Edwin Murphy (1897-1973)
1961-1966
Arnold George Minish (1930-2014)
1966-1968
Matthew Kawchuk
Period
Vice-Principal
1930-1931
John Henry “Jack” Doughty (1900-1958)
1931-1932
Archibald James McClacherty Thom (1907-2000)
1932-1936
Hazel Arretta Vandecar Foster (1897-1990)
School Year
Teachers
1930-1931
John Henry Doughty (grades 9-10), Jessie Margaret Kelso (grades 3-4), James Percy Moore (grades 7-8), Isabel McCrindle (grades 5-6), Florence A. McKillop (grade 1), Della Nippan? (grades 2-3), Albert Maurice Pratt (grade 11)
1931-1932
Irene Hazel Coutts (grades 2-3), Edward Eldjarn Johnson (grades 7 -8), Jessie Margaret Kelso (grade 4), Isabel McCrindle (grades 5-6), Florence A. McKillop (grade 1), Albert Maurice Pratt (grade 11), Archibald James McClacherty Thom (grades 9-10)
1932-1933
Thelma Irene Balmer (grade 2), Henry Benjamin Bees (grade 11), Irene Hazel Coutts (grades 5-6), Jessie Margaret Kelso (grades 3-4), Isabel McCrindle (grades 7-8), Florence A. McKillop (grade 1), Hazel Arretta Vandecar (grades 9-10)
1933-1934
Thelma Irene Balmer (grades 2-3), Henry Benjamin Bees (grade 11), Irene Hazel Coutts (grades 5-6), Jessie Margaret Kelso (grades 3-4), Isabel McCrindle (grades 7-8), Florence A. McKillop (grade 1), Hazel Arretta Vandecar (grades 9-10)
1934-1935
Thelma Irene Balmer (grades 2-3), Laurence Samuel Bennett? (grades 3-4), Irene Hazel Coutts (grades 5-6), Sidney George Denham (grade 12), Jessie Margaret Kelso (grades 1-2), Isabel McCrindle (grades 7-8), John Alexius Peterson (grade 11), Hazel Arretta Vandecar (grades 9-10)
1935-1936
Thelma Irene Balmer (grades 2-3), Laurence Samuel Bennett? (grades 4-5), Sidney George Denham (grade 12), Jessie Margaret Kelso (grades 1-2), Isabel McCrindle (grades 7-8), Sarah McGregor (grades 5-6), John Alexius Peterson (grade 11), Hazel Arretta Vandecar (grades 9-10)
Among the other teachers who worked at Russell School were William James Sharman (?-?) and Margaret Fulton (1943-1945).
The original Russell School building (1897)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Russell Schools 1
The original Russell School building at right behind the main street (1913)
Source: Rob McInnesSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.77837, W101.28338
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Russell Teacherage (125 Memorial Avenue South, Russell, Municipality of Russell-Binscarth)
Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.
Banner County: History of Russell and District, 1879-1967 by the Russell Women’s Institute.
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.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Rob McInnes and Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 4 March 2024
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