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Manitoba
History
No. 87


This Old
Elevator


Abandoned
Manitoba


Memorable
Manitobans


Historic Sites
of Manitoba

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Alonsa School No. 1920 / Alex Robertson Museum / Alonsa War Memorial (Alonsa, RM of Alonsa)

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

The Alex Robertson Museum is situated in the village of Alonsa in the Rural Municipality of Alonsa. It is open during the summer, on Sundays, from 1 to 5 PM, or at other times by appointment. On the museum grounds are monuments commemorating local veterans of the First World War and Second World War (erected by the Alonsa Legion Branch No. 151), and the Alonsa Village School.

In 1919, the village of Alonsa was established as railway point, at a site within the Iris School District. Local children attended school three kilometers west of the community until 1925, when the population had grown enough to warrant construction of a school within the town. A high school was established using a one-room schoolhouse brought from the former Reedy Creek School District (situated at 21-20-11W) and two more classrooms were added later. Classes were also held in the community hall, implements dealership, and church basement. By 1967, the elementary and high school had been consolidated into Turtle River School Division. The last classes were held in June 1969 and the former school building was converted into a school bus shop. It became the Alex Robertson Museum in 1985. A monument commemorating the school was erected in July 1998 with financial support from former students and teachers, as well as the provincial government.

Principals

Period

Principal

1928-1929

Florence Mae Shirtliffe (1903-2006)

1929-1930

Margaret M. Street

1930-1933

Frank Benbow Fox (1890-1964)

1933-1934

William Stanley “Bill” Dunlop (1912-1991)

1934-1935

Mary Crain (1906-1997)

1935-1936

Frank Benbow Fox (1890-1964)

1936-1937

George Oswald Hinds (1906-1969)

1937-1939

Frank Benbow Fox (1890-1964)

1940-1941

Cecil Victor Gunn (1894-?)

1941-1942

S. Shewchuk

1942-1943

Lloyd McDermott

1943-1944

?

1944-1945

Maurice Peter Kalushka (1918-2002)

1945-1946

Peter Black

1946-1948

Douglas Alexander Thomson (c1919-1965)

1948

Joseph Charles Flood (1924-2009)

1949-1952

John Norfolk Evans (1912-2008)

1952-1954

H. Kowalchuk

1954-1955

L. A. Gendreau

1955-1957

Maurice Kohut

1957-1959

Miss Lena Braun

1959-1960

J. T. McKenzie

1960-1961

Henry R. Schellenberg

1961-1962

C. J. Bender

1962-1965

R. F. Bishop

1965-1966

C. N. Desrosiers

1966-?

?

?-1998

Steven Ronald Scrupa (1942-2016)

Teachers

School Year

Teachers

1940-1941

Cecil Victor Gunn (grades 7-11)

1941-1942

S. Shewchuk (grades 9-11)

1942-1943

Lloyd McDermott (grades 7-11)

1943-1944

?

1944-1945

Maurice Peter Kalushka (grades 7-11)

1945-1946

Peter Black (grades 7-11)

1946-1947

Douglas Alexander Thomson (grades 7-11)

1947-1948

Margaret M. Adams (grades 1-7, 1948), Dorothy O. Sellman (grades 1-7, 1947), Douglas Alexander Thomson (grades 8-11), E. M. Trotter (grades 1-7, 1948)

1948-1949

William Peter Christie (grades 1-8), John Norfolk Evans (grades 7-11, 1949), Joseph Charles Flood (grades 7-11, 1948)

1949-1950

Irma M. R. Van Achte (grades 1-8), John Norfolk Evans (grades 7-11)

1950-1951

John Norfolk Evans (grades 7-11)

1951-1952

John Norfolk Evans (grades 7-11)

Photos & Maps

Alex Robertson Museum

Alex Robertson Museum (August 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Alonsa War Memorial

Alonsa War Memorial at the Alex Robertson Museum (August 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Alonsa Village School Monument

Alonsa Village School monument at the Alex Robertson Museum (August 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Location (lat/long): N50.80084, W98.97416
denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War Casualties

Name

Occupation

Service

Rank

Birth Date

Death Date

Leslie Alfred Evelyn Botte

Farmer

Canadian Forestry Corps

Sergeant

1887

7 December 1918

Charles Craig

Farmer

8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1898

10 November 1917

Louis Curtis

Farmer

8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1879

11 August 1918

Archibald Edwards

Farmer

44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1886

28 September 1918

Sapper Alexander Thomas James Favelle

Labourer

2nd Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops

Sapper

1892

30 March 1918

Joseph Horsely

Farmer

24th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1897

9 August 1918

Angus Rupert George Moore

Farmer

43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1894

26 August 1917

Charles Moar

Labourer

43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1892

6 March 1918

Walter Moore

Labourer

44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1894

27 April 1918

Ernest Seale

Farmer

44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry

Private

1896

4 November 1917

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Iris School No. 1920 (RM of Alonsa)

Sources:

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.

For the names of First World War casualities from Manitoba who do not appear on any physical monument in the province, see the Manitoba Historical Society War Memorial. If you know of a name that is omitted from this list, please contact the MHS War Memorial Researcher Darryl Toews (darryl@mhs.mb.ca).

Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada.

Financial support for research reported on this page was provided by the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program (2015-2016).

Manitoba School Records Collection, Iris School District No. 1920 - Daily Registers, GR2064, Archives of Manitoba.

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

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Darryl Toews.

Page revised: 30 November 2017

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society.

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Please note that inclusion in this collection does not mean that a particular site has special status or protection. Some sites are on private property and permission must be secured from the owner prior to visiting.

Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.

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