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 & Coordinates | Sources

The Alex Robertson Museum is situated in 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 (1926-2020)
1957-1959	Miss Lena Braun
1959-1960	J. T. McKenzie
1960-1961	Henry R. Schellenberg
1961-1962	C. J. Bender
1962-1965	Robert F. Bishop
1965-1966	C. N. Desrosiers
1966-1980	?
1980-1984	Steven Ronald Scrupa (1942-2016)
1984-1985	Walter Zukewich

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)
1952-1980	?
1980-1981	Robert F. Bishop, Caroline Cabak, Arva Hryciuk, Dona Krawetz, Ronald Lund, Annette Pulak, Frederick Pulak, John Ukrainec, Patricia Zeglen
1981-1982	?
1982-1983	Robert F. Bishop, Caroline Cabak, Beverly Chuhai, Dona Krawetz, Ronald Lund, Annette Pulak, Frederick Pulak, Jim Rastel, John Ukrainec
1983-1984	?
1984-1985	Robert F. Bishop, Caroline Cabak, Beverly Chuhai, Debra Folwark, Albert Fontaine, Ronald Lund, James Rastel, Tara Ross, Steven R. Scrupa, Janice Ukrainec, John Ukrainec

Among the other teachers of Alonsa School was Harvey L. Walker.

Photos & Coordinates

Alex Robertson Museum (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Alonsa War Memorial at the Alex Robertson Museum (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Alonsa Village School commemorative monument at the Alex Robertson Museum (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (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 [Kinosota]	Farmer	Canadian Forestry Corps	Sergeant	10 August 1887	7 December 1918
Charles Anthony Craig [Gladstone, Kinosota]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	8 July 1898	10 November 1917
Louis Curtis [Alonsa]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	20 December 1879	11 August 1918
Archibald Edwards [Kinosota]	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1 February 1886	28 September 1918
Alexander Thomas James Favelle [Kinosota, Next of Kin]	Labourer	2nd Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops	Sapper	23 July 1892	30 March 1918
Joseph Horsley [Kinosota]	Farmer	24th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	22 October 1897	9 August 1918
Charles Moar [Kinosota]	Labourer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	20 March 1892	6 March 1918
Angus Rupert George Moore [Kinosota]	Farmer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 August 1894	26 August 1917
Walter Moore [Kinosota]	Labourer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	8 August 1894	27 April 1918
Ernest Leslie Seale [Kinosota]	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	30 September 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).

“Teachers begin year in Turtle River S.D.,” Dauphin Herald, 10 September 1980, page 24.

“Teachers ready in Turtle River,” Dauphin Herald, 1 September 1982, page 18.

“Teachers in Turtle River schools,” Dauphin Herald, 9 October 1984, page 30.

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: 26 December 2020

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