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The Wingham Consolidated School District in the Rural Municipality of Grey resulted from the amalgamation of Wingham School No. 1061, Sunnydale School No. 1389, and New Sydenham School No. 1380. Construction of a new school building, designed by Winnipeg architect Eldred Dodsworth Tuttle, began in 1920. Built on a 12-acre lot (SE27-9-5W) at a cost of $60,000, the one-storey brick structure measured 63 feet by 64 feet and featured a full-height basement with a gymnasium, manual training room and auditorium; four classrooms on the main floor; and a principal’s office, library, and science laboratory on the second floor. Nearby was a two-storey duplex that contained residential space for the principal and his family, and the school caretaker. A barn contained stalls for 14 horses, two garages, and a shed for storing the vans used to transport students to and from school. The school was unique in being the only large, consolidated district outside a town in rural Manitoba. It was opened at a ceremony on 14 October 1921 attended by provincial Education Minister Robert Stirton Thornton. It was destroyed by fire on 9 January 1929.
During the summer of 1929, the original school building was replaced by the present three-classroom, one-storey structure designed by architect Edgar Prain. Two more classrooms and a laboratory were added to the rear in 1951. It came under jurisdiction of the Midland School Division before closing in 1973, after which the building was sold. For a brief period in 1974-1975, the facility was used as an outdoor retreat by students and staff of the St. James Assiniboia School Division but the program ended when school officials asked for costly renovations so the building would meet modern health and safety regulations.
In 1992, a monument was erected along the road allowance, for the Elm Creek centennial year, and dedicated to the pioneers, teachers, and students of Wingham School. The original duplex teacherage remained in use as a private residence at the time of a 2019 site visit.
Period
Principal
1921-1922
Wilfred Almon Rideout (1878-1949)
1922-1925
Eleanor Boyce (1898-1997)
1925-1926
George William Leonard (1880-1959)
1926-1929
John Alexander Jewkes (1901-1971)
1929-1931
Vivian Clarkson “Clark” Hardy (1897-1982)
1931-1935
Benjamin “Ben” Foreman (c1898-1981)
1935-1938
Phyllis Mary Ella Archibald Buckler (1911-2002)
1938-1939
Alice Isabel Ewen
1939-1940
Wendell Herbert Arthur Franklin White (1914-2009)
1940-1941
William Malcolm “Bill” McMillan (1914-2004)
1941
Maurice [Karal] Karalnick (c1913-1990)
1942-1944
Mary Ann Watson
1944-1946
Peter Patrick George Calancie (1920-1994)
1946-1947
Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (1912-1991)
1947-1948
Annie Florence “Ann” Fraser
1948-1949
Delorie Wessels “Del” Howell (1925-2008)
1949-1950
Frank Unrau Dyck (1893-1982)
1950-1951
Robert Roger Roy (1926-1990)
1951-1953
Teresa Moloney (1899-1983)
1953-1955
David D. Duerksen (1923-2006)
1955-1957
John S. Schellenberg (?-?)
1957-1959
Ernest Pankratz (1928-2015)
1959-1960
Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (1912-1991)
1960-1961
Hidewo Harry Yoshida
1961-1962
Walter Abram Toews (1923-2006)
1962-1963
Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (1912-1991)
1963-1967
Clifford Albert Kutzan
1967-1968
Beryl Iris Copping Gibson (c1932-2010)
1968-1970
Beryl Iris Copping Gibson (c1932-2010)
Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (1912-1991)1970-1973
Beryl Iris Copping Gibson (c1932-2010)
School Year
Teachers
1921-1922
Hazel Ferne [Fern] Peacock (grades 1-3), Wilfred Almon Rideout (grades 7-10), Doris B. Saunders (grades 4-6)
1922-1923
Eleanor Boyce (grades 7-11), Esther Emery (grades 4-6), Hazel Fern [Ferne] Peacock (grades 1-3)
1923-1924
Eleanor Boyce (grades 7-11), Laura Chamberlain (grades 1-3), Esther Emery (grades 4-6)
1924-1925
Eleanor Boyce (grades 7-11), Miss Evelyn M. Rogers (grades 1-3), Miss Kate A. Smith (grades 4-6)
1925-1926
George William Leonard (grades 7-11), Miss Evelyn M. Rogers (grades 1-3, 1925, grades 1-4, 1926), Miss Kate A. Smith (grades 4-6)
1926-1927
John Alexander Jewkes (grades 9-11), Jessie Margaret Laing (grades 4-8), Ella Mary Hedden (grades 1-3)
1927-1928
John Alexander Jewkes (grades 9-11), Jessie Margaret Laing (grades 4-8), Ella Mary Hedden (grades 1-3)
1928-1929
Nellie May Fleming (grades 4-8), John Alexander Jewkes (grades 9-11), Mabel Grace McGill (grades 1-3)
1929-1930
Vivian Clarkson “Clark” Hardy (grades 9-11), Charlotta Eunice Troughton (grades 4-8), Kathleen Margaret Turfs (grades 1-3)
1930-1931
Vivian Clarkson “Clark” Hardy (grades 9-11), Charlotta Eunice Troughton (grades 4-8), Kathleen Margaret Tufts (grades 1-3)
1931-1932
Benjamin “Ben” Foreman (grades 9-11), Kathleen “Kay” Goodchild (grades 5-8), Laura Ellen North (grades 1-4)
1932-1933
Benjamin “Ben” Foreman (grades 9-11), Kathleen “Kay” Goodchild (grades 5-8), Laura Ellen North (grades 1-4)
1933-1934
Benjamin “Ben” Foreman (grades 9-11), Kathleen “Kay” Goodchild (grades 5-8), Laura Ellen North (grades 1-4)
1934-1935
Benjamin “Ben” Foreman (grades 9-11), Kathleen “Kay” Goodchild (grades 5-8), Myrtle Geraldine Rusenel (grades 1-4)
1935-1936
Phyllis Mary Archibald (grades 9-11), Kathleen Mabel “Kay” Goodchild (grades 5-8), Myrtle Geraldine Rusenel (grades 1-4)
1936-1937
Phyllis Mary Archibald (grades 9-12), Kathleen Mabel “Kay” Goodchild (grades 5-8), Myrtle Geraldine Rusenel (grades 1-4)
1937-1938
Phyllis Mary Archibald (grades 9-12), Margaret Mabel Denton (grades 5-8), Norma Kathleen Gordon (grades 1-4)
1938-1939
Alice Isabel Ewen (grades 7-12), Margaret Mabel Denton (grades 4-6), Norma Kathleen Gordon (grades 1-3), E. Hopkins (grades 4-6, 1939 substitute)
1939-1940
Jean Helen Caldwell (grades 3-6), June Doraine McKnight (grades 1-2), Wendell Herbert White (grades 7-12)
1940-1941
Agnes Louisa Florence (grades 3-6), June Doraine McKnight (grades 1-2), William Malcolm McMillan (grades 7-11)
1941-1942
Ellen Jeannette Davis (grades 3-6, 1942), Agnes Louisa Florence (grades 3-6, 1941), Evelyn Mae Hopkins (grades 1-2, 1942), Maurice [Karal] Karalnick (grades 7-11, 1941), Gertrude L. Lawrie (grades 5-8), Ellen Mae Lennox (grades 5-8, 1942), Mary Ann Watson (grades 1-2, 1941; grades 9-11, 1942)
1942-1943
Ellen Jeannette Davis (grades 3-4), Evelyn Mae Hopkins (grades 1-2), Olive May Reid (grades 5-8), Mary Ann Watson (grades 9-11)
1943-1944
Ellen Jeannette Davis (grades 3-4), Evelyn Mae Hopkins (grades 1-2), Olive May Reid (grades 5-8), Mary Ann Watson (grades 9-11)
1944-1945
Peter Patrick George Calancie (grades 9-11), Evelyn Mae Hopkins (grades 1-2), Mary Lawrence (grades 3-5), Beth Sisson (grades 3-5, 1945), Edith Bernice Wilkins (grades 5-8)
1945-1946
Peter Patrick George Calancie (grades 9-11), Florette Giasson (grades 4-5), Evelyn Mae Hopkins (grades 1-3), Edith Bernice Wilkins (grades 5-8)
1946-1947
Lorna Colwell Couch (grades 1-2), Minnie Maude Shewfelt (grades 9-11), Marguerite Marie Stocks (grades 3-5), Frederich Wilmot Sutton (grades 6-8)
1947-1948
Lorna Colwell Couch (grades 1-2), Dorothy Myrtle Boyd (grades 6-8), Hazel May Earl (grade 11), Annie Florence “Ann” Fraser (grades 9-10), Margaret Marie Stocks (grades 3-5)
1948-1949
Annie Florence “Ann” Fraser (grades 9-10), Erma Betty Giesbrecht (grades 3-5), Robinson Erle Hamilton (grades 6-8), Delorie Wessels Howell (grade 11)
1949-1950
Frank Unrau Dyck (grades 11-12), Constance Grace Franzmann (grades 3-5, 1950), Annie Florence “Ann” Fraser (grades 9-10), Erma Betty Giesbrecht Howell (grades 3-5), Elsie Mary Paetkau (grades 6-8)
1950-1951
Hazel May Holmes (grades 1-2), Ann “Annie” Janzen (grades 3-5), Elsie Mary Paetkau (grades 6-8), Robert Roger Roy (grade 11), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10)
1951-1952
David D. Duerksen (grades 9-10), Donalda Marion English (grades 2-3), Grace Eleene Gorrie (grades 1-2), Jake Loewen (grades 6-8), Teresa Moloney (grades 11-12), Margaret Reimer (grades 4-5)
1952-1953
David D. Duerksen (grades 9-10), Donalda Marion English (grades 2-3), Grace Eleene Gorrie (grades 1-2), Jake Loewen (grades 6-8), Teresa Moloney (grades 11-12), Margaret Reimer (grades 4-5)
1953-1954
Beryl Copping (grades 1-2), David D. Duerksen (grades 11-12), Jake Loewen (grades 6-8), Agatha Esther Paetkau (grades 3-4), Henry H. Paetkau (grades 9-10), Anne Skrabek (grades 4-5)
1954-1955
Beryl Copping (grades 1-2), Abram Friesen (grades 7-8), Ilse Susie Funk (grades 3-4), David D. Duerksen (grades 11-12), Henry H. Paetkau (grades 9-10), Anne Skrabek (grades 5-6)
1955-1956
Beryl Copping (grades 1-2), Abram Friesen (grades 7-8), Ilse Susie Funk (grades 3-4), John S. Schellenberg (grades 11-12), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10), Anne Skrabek (grades 5-6)
1956-1957
Beryl Copping (grades 1-2), Viola Kathleen McDougall (grades 7-8), Marie Peters (grades 5-6), John S. Schellenberg (grades 11-12), Sarah Susan Schroeder (grades 3-4), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10)
1957-1958
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Viola Kathleeen McDougall (grades 7-8), Ernest Pankratz (grades 11-12), Marie Peters (grades 5-6), Sarah Susan Schroeder (grades 3-4), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10)
1958-1959
Abe Bestvater (grades 7-8), Katie Helen Enns (grades 3-4), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Ernest Pankratz (grades 11-12), Marie Peters (grades 5-6), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10)
1959-1960
Mary Jean Bell (grades 7-8), Arthur Froese (grades 9-10), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), M. Nikkel (grades 3-4), Marie Peters (grades 5-6), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10)
1960-1961
David Wayne Basso (grades 7-8), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Gail Elizabeth Rhynard (grades 3-4), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10), Donalda Marion English Tibbett (grades 5-6), Hidewo Harry Yoshida (grades 11-12)
1961-1962
David Wayne Basso (grades 7-8), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Gail Elizabeth Rhynard (grades 3-4), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10), Donalda Marion English Tibbett (grades 5-6), Walter Abram Toews (grade 11)
1962-1963
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Gail Elizabeth Rhynard (grades 3-4), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grades 9-10), Donalda Marion English Tibbett (grades 5-6), Henry Alan Wiebe (grades 7-8)
1963-1964
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Clifford Albert Kutzan (grades 7-8), Irene Elsie Kutzan (grades 3-4), Donalda Marion English Tibbett (grades 5-6)
1964-1965
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Clifford Albert Kutzan (grades 7-8), Irene Elsie Kutzan (grades 3-4), Donalda Marion English Tibbett (grades 5-6)
1965-1966
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Clifford Albert Kutzan (grades 7-8), Donalda Marion English Tibbett (grades 5-6), Sharon Natalie Watt (grades 3-4)
1966-1967
Sylvia Elsie Desiatnyk (grades 3-4), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Viola May Maloney (grade 7), Helen Rempel (grade 8), Joan Charlotte Sutherland (grades 5-6)
1967-1968
Sylvia Elsie Desiatnyk (grades 3-4), Robert Lucien Devos (grade 7), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Helen Rempel (grade 8), Joan Charlotte Sutherland (grades 5-6)
1968-1969
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Grace Eleene Gorrie Neufeld (grades 3-4), Helen Rempel (grade 8), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grade 7), Joan Charlotte Sutherland Wood (grades 5-6)
1969-1970
Nettalie Ruth Dueck (grades 5-6), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Dan J. Giesbrecht (grade 8), Grace Eleene Gorrie Neufeld (grades 3-4), Minnie Maude Shewfelt Sisson (grade 7)
1970-1971
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Grace Eleene Gorrie Neufeld (grades 3-4), Matilda Roth (grades 5-6), William Keith Roth (grades 7-8)
1971-1972
Rita Helen Dick (grades 5-6), Beryl Gibson (grades 1-2), Ian Crawford Kellet (grades 7-8), Grace Eleene Gorrie Neufeld (grades 3-4)
1972-1973
Beryl Gibson (grades 1-3), Grace Eleene Gorrie Neufeld (grades 4-6), Frances William Clinton North (grades 7-8)
Original Wingham Consolidated School, barn, and duplex teacherage (circa 1921)
Source: Education Department Report, 1921, Manitoba Legislative Library.
Second Wingham Consolidated School (no date)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs,
GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 60.
Former Wingham Consolidated School building (August 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Former Wingham Consolidated School duplex teacherage (April 2019)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Wingham School commemorative monument (August 2010)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.76888, W98.05175
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Eldred Dodsworth Tuttle (1878-1965)
Memorable Manitobans: Edgar Prain (1881-1958)
“Tenders for Wingham Consolidated School,” Manitoba Free Press, 1 March 1920, page 5.
Western Canada Contractor, June 1920, page 36.
“The best rural school,” Manitoba Free Press, 21 October 1921, page 15.
“Tenders for school,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 April 1929, page 20.
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.
Tales of a Trustee (Aidan H. Conklin) by Anita E. Schmidt, 1985, Winnipeg: The Christian Press, page 75.
A Century of Memories: Elm Creek Centennial History Book, 1892-1992 edited by Doug and Hazel Frost. [Legislative Library of Manitoba, F5649.E46 Cen]
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
“Celebrating the contributions of rural permit teachers,” The Valley Leader, 3 June 2009.
Obituary [Viola Kathaleene Beach], Winnipeg Free Press, 2 January 2016.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Wingham School District No. 1921 Daily Registers, GR2085, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Wingham School District No. 1061 Minute & Cash Book, GR6909, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Ripples from the Creek by Edith Anne Baragar, 1969, pages 94-98.
We thank Randy Rostecki, Len Goldsborough, and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 6 March 2024
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