Aileen Garland (1892-1985)

Teacher, historian.

Born on 5 November 1892, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Garland, early pioneers of Portage la Prairie. At the age of 17 in 1909, she was granted a permit to teach in a one-room school near Kelso, BC, where she had lived since 1900. That was the start of a long teaching career that terminated in 1966. After receiving a BA degree from the University of Toronto in 1914 (she later received BEd and MEd degrees from the University of Manitoba), Aileen taught in Treherne, Minnedosa and from 1919 to 1938, at Kelvin High School in Winnipeg where she taught Latin and History. In 1939, she became the Principal of the William Whyte Elementary and Junior High School. After retirement in 1953, she taught at the Manitoba Teachers’ College from 1954 to 1966. She was the author of eight books, mainly history, including Adventures of England on Hudson Bay, Canada Then and Now, and Canada Our Country. She participated in educational radio and television programs.

She was Past President of the Winnipeg Little Theatre, a founding member and Past President of the Manitoba Drama League, life member of the Manitoba Teachers Society, Past President of the Winnipeg Teachers Society, and First Chairman of the Women’s Committee of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. She was also active in the Family Bureau, United Way, Age and Opportunity Bureau, the Children’s Aid, the Manitoba Historical Society, and the Canadian Institute of International Relations.

Miss Garland received many honours. In 1964, she received an Honourary Doctorate from the University of Manitoba. Others included the Good Citizenship Award (1973), a Manitoba Centennial Medal from the Manitoba Historical Society, awards from the Red River Historical Society and from the American Association for State and Local History, the Margaret McWilliams Medal and was one of the Women of the Year in 1954, selected by the Winnipeg Free Press.

Miss Garland died in Winnipeg on 13 February 1985 at the age of 92 years.

Herarticles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

He Was There
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 3, Number 2, January 1958

Our First Newspaper
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 3, Number 2, January 1958

Honorary Secretary’s Report, Annual Meeting, 9 June 1958
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1957-58 Season

Honorary Secretary’s Report, Annual Meeting, 10 June 1959
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1958-59 Season

Honorary Secretary’s Report, Annual Meeting,14 June 1960
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1959-60 Season

The Nor’Wester and the Men Who Established It
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1959-60 Season

Gardens Along the Right of Way
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 22, Number 2, Winter 1977

Some Manitoba Place Names
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 24, Number 4, Summer 1979

Profile revised: 19 October 2009

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