Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Germain School No. 969 (St. Mary’s Road, Winnipeg)

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

Named for the St. Germain family, this school district was formed by the Rural Municipality of St. Vital in May 1898. Later that year, a one-room schoolhouse was erected on Lot 135, btween St. Mary’s Road and the Red River. In 1909, it was replaced by a wooden frame structure. Until 1917, instruction in the school was only in French.

In 1939, the building was expanded by contractor Gerard Alphonsus “Gerry” Baert at a cost of about $5,000. It added a second classroom made of brick, with hardwood flooring and electric lighting. Its student capacity was 50 with a staff of two teachers, one Catholic and the other Protestant. In April 1959, the district was incorporated into the St. Vital Municipal School District No. 2374 and later the St. Vital School Division.

Scheduled to close in June 1966, the closure was moved forward to 7 April 1966 on account of an impending flood and its location near the Red River. The 43 students in grades 1 to 5 were relocated in the division, most transferring to Windsor School. Initially put up for sale, the school and adjoining property were retained for future consideration until the 1970s. By April 1981, the Division was seeking tenders for the demolition or removal of the school building.

The Winnipeg site now hosts residential development.

Principals

Period	Principal
1939-1941	Margaret Rita Anderson
1941	Phyllis Robson
1941-1942	Hildur Emily [Emelia] Sandberg (1909-1995)
1942-1945	William Horatio Musick (1880-1960)
1945-1946	Yvonne Marie Lussier
1947	Hardense? Marie Jeanson
1947-1948	George William Battershill (1923-2010)
1948-1949	Alexander “Alex” Pelechety
1949-1951	Borislaw Nicholas Bilash (1929-2021)
1951-1952	Yvonne Belliveau
1952-1954	Maurice Leo “Moe” Brabant (1931-2008)
1954-1955	Gisele Pauline Regnier
1956-1965	Hector Bahuaud
1956-1965	Auguste Laroche (1934-2000)
1965-1966	Rosalie Rogers

Teachers

Among the early teachers of St. Germain School during one-room schoolhouse operations were Raoul St. Germain (January-March 1906), Elisa Marion (April-June 1906), Marie-Anne Landry (August-December 1906), Marthe Monchamp (January-June 1910), Flavie Baril (September-December 1910), ? (1911-1913), Antoinette Thibault (1914-1915), Ida Carriere (Fall 1915), Palmyre E. Beauchemin (Spring 1916), Rose Alma Dufault (Fall 1916 - Spring 1917), Corinne Laporte (September-October 1917), Olivine St. Germain (November-December 1917), Anna C. Charette (January-June 1918), Virginia Desjardins (September-December 1918), Ida Carriere (January 1919 - June 1920), Patricia J. MacDermott (September 1920 - January 1921), Sarah C. King (February-June 1921), J. A. Blouin (July 1921 - February 1926), Marie Jeanne “Jean” Moran (March 1926 - June 1930), Blanche Rose Anna Charbonneau (Fall 1930 - Spring 1934), and Marie Blanche Daneault (Fall 1934 - Spring 1939).

School Year	Teachers
1939-1940	Margaret Rita Anderson (grades 4-9), Marie Blanche Daneault (grades 1-3)
1940-1941	Margaret Rita Anderson (grades 4-9), Marie Blanche Daneault (grades 1-3)
1941-1942	Marie Blanche Daneault (grades 1-3, 1941), Juliet Louise Noiseux (grades 1-3, 1942), Phyllis Robson (grades 4-9, September), Hildur Emily Sandberg (grades 4-9, October-June)
1942-1943	William Horatio Musick (grades 4-8), Juliet Louise Noiseux (grades 1-2)
1943-1944	William Horatio Musick (grades 4-8), Juliet Louise Noiseux (grades 1-3)
1944-1945	William Horatio Musick (grades 4-8), Claire Mary Valcourt (grades 1-3)
1945-1946	Mary Louise Flanagan (grades 1-4, October-June), Yvonne Marie Lussier (grades 1-4, August-September; grades 5-8, October-June), William Horatio Musick (grades 5-8, August-September)
1946-1947	H. Annetter? (grade ?, 1946 substitute), Mrs. Bissett (grade ?, 1946 substitute), Margaret S. Falt (grades 1-4, 1947), Mary Louise Flanagan (grades 1-4, 1946), Hardense? Marie Jeanson (grades 5-8, 1947), Yvonne Marie Lussier (grades 5-8, 1946), Mrs. N. Wildgoose (grades 1-4, 1946 substitute)
1947-1948	George William Battershill (grades 3-8), Jeannette Lanthier (grades 1-2)
1948-1949	M. Gaboury (grades 1-2), Alexander “Alex” Pelechety (grades 3-8)
1949-1950	Borislaw Nicholas Bilash (grades 3-8), Dorothy A. Ukena (grades 1-2)
1950-1951	Borislaw Nicholas Bilash (grades 3-8), Florence Marjorie Samborski (grades 1-2)
1951-1952	Yvonne Belliveau (grades 3-7), Florence Marjorie Samborski Kuz (grades 1-2)
1952-1953	Doris Backman (grades 1-3), Maurice Leo “Moe” Brabant (grades 4-8)
1953-1954	Yvonne Belliveau (grades 1-3), Maurice Leo “Moe” Brabant (grades 4-8)
1954-1955	Wilhelmina DeVos (grades 1-3), Gisele Pauline Regnier (grades 4-8)
1955-1956	Hector Bahuaud (grades 5-8), Wilhelmina DeVos (grades 1-3)
1956-1957	Auguste Laroche (grades 4-8), Mona Marie Lavalley (grades 1-3)
1957-1958	Auguste Laroche (grades 4-6), Suzanne Marie Owens (grades 1-3)
1958-1959	Auguste Laroche (grades 4-8), Suzanne Marie Owens (grades 1-3)
1959-1960	Auguste Laroche (grades 4-6), Anne Zamrykut (grades 1-3)
1960-1961	Irma Gobert (grades 1-3), Auguste Laroche (grades 4-6)
1961-1962	Gladys Elenor Finlay (grades 1-3), Auguste Laroche (grades 4-6)
1962-1963	Marjorie Doreen Hotel (grades 1-2), Auguste Laroche (grades 3-4)
1963-1964	Marjorie Doreen Hotel (grades 1-2), Auguste Laroche (grades 3-4)
1964-1965	Auguste Laroche (grades 3-4), Philomena Loretta Mathews (grades 1-2)
1965-1966	Rosalie Rogers (grades 3-4), Sandra Grace Unger (grades 1-2)

Photos & Coordinates

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.80305, W97.11748 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Gerard Alphonsus “Gerry” Baert (1906-1971)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ecole St. Germain (77 John Forsyth Road, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“Tenders,” Manitoba Free Press, 20 March 1909, page 2.

“St. Vital,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 July 1936, page 30.

“Another classroom,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 May 1939, page 28.

“St. Germain School,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 August 1939, page 26.

“St. Germain School District No. 969,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 June 1947, page 21.

“Trailer permit grand may be vetoed,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 December 1960, page 19.

Surveys and Mapping Branch, Department of Mines and Technical Services, 62H/14a (1960) Grande Point, Edition 3, Sheet: 62H/14a.

“An end to an era,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 April 1966, page 3.

“Flood forces closing,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 April 1966, page 3.

“Building for sale by public tender,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 June 1966, page 32.

“Sealed bids marked ”offer to purchase the St. Germain School building and site,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 June 1971, page 32.

“St. Vital Board hits lack of plan,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 June 1975, page 15.

“Tenders wanted for the removal or demolition of St. Germain School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 April 1981, page 87.

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.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

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

Departmentally appointed school trustee files (E 0034), GR1629, St. Germain School District No. 969 - Daily Registers, Archives of Manitoba.

Departmentally appointed school trustee files (E 0034), GR1629, St. Germain School District No. 969 - Miscellaneous, Archives of Manitoba.

Departmentally appointed school trustee files (E 0034), GR1629, St. Germain School District No. 969 - Cash Books, Archives of Manitoba.

Departmentally appointed school trustee files (E 0034), GR1629, St. Germain School District No. 969 - Minute Books, Archives of Manitoba.

School records collection, St. Germain School District No. 969, Le Centre du patrimoine of La Société historique de Saint-Boniface.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 11 March 2023

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