Historic Sites of Manitoba: Assiniboine School (175 Winston Road, Winnipeg)

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

Designed by the architectural firm of Pratt and Ross and constructed by the firm of Hazelton & Walin, Assiniboine School was completed in October 1922. Brick, wood and stucco infilling combine with ubiquitous limestone trim to offer visual interest and a lively optimistic feeling around the exterior. Contrasting red brick accentuates corner and window trim details. Large brackets and exposed rafter tails add horizontal emphasis.

The entry hall features a large striking mural depicting an aboriginal campsite, one of two stylized murals installed in 1930. Both murals were painted in the 1920s by students from the School of Art at the University of Manitoba. One of the murals disappeared in the 1960s and its whereabouts remains a mystery. It is believed the remaining painting is by student artist Lulu Bingham.

Principals

Period	Principal
1922-1926	Earl Augustus Ross (1890-?) - co-administrator with Britannia School
1926-1928	Fred E. Tinker
1929-1930	Robert Cecil Paris (1885-1964)
1930-1936	William John “Bill” Wallace (1900-1988)
1936-1952	James F. Holmes
1952-1959	Ervyn Milne Houck (1905-1993)
1959-1964	Kristjan Bergthor Sigurdsson (1899-?)
1964-1966	Paul Pura (1914-1999)
1966-1969	Donald Taylor McKinnon (1926-2012)
1969-1970	Lincoln Lautermilch
1970-1974	Conrad Sigurdson
1974-1977	William Theodore “Bill” Betz (1936-2022)
1977-1978	Mr. P. Lewis
1978-1981	Gordon Charles “Gord” Tovell (1939-2021)
1981-1989	Peter D. Carney
1989-1990	Sharon Smith
1990-1994	Maureen Monk Irvine
1994-1996	?
1996-2000	Roger Lacroix
2000-2015	Stella Hussey
2015-2016	Sandra Melo

Vice-Principals

Period	Vice-Principal
1954-1956	Norah Winnifred Maude Thompson (1899-1992)
1956-1958	?
1958-1963	Sophia Moffett
1963-1964	George Peter Krahn (c1933-2012)
1964-1968	Bertha May Blackburn “Birdie” Ellison (1921-2012)
1968-1969	Conrad Sigurdson
1969-1973	Glen Harper
1973-1974	Gail Marriott
1974-1983	?
1983-1984	Daniel Maharaj
1984-1985	Lucille Mollot
1985-1986	Peter Mingo
1986-1988	Maureen Monk Irvine
1988-1989	L. Harris
1989-1990	P. Thibodeau

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1922-1923	?
1923-1924	?
1924-1925	?
1925-1926	?
1926-1927	?
1927-1928	?
1928-1929	?
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1930-1931	?
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1936-1937	?
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1938-1939	?
1939-1940	?
1940-1941	?
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1942-1943	?
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1944-1945	?
1945-1946	?
1946-1947	?
1947-1948	?
1948-1949	?
1949-1950	?
1950-1951	Mabel Morrow, ?
1951-1952	?
1952-1953	M. Steve Gerelus, ?
1953-1954	Borislaw Nicholas Bilash, ?
1954-1955	?
1955-1956	Mrs. Pearl Aconley, Miss Irene Catellier, Keith Chorneyko, Miss Emily Ferguson, Miss Elizabeth Joan Freeberg, Miss Catherine J. Grahame, Donald Hall, John E. Laxdal, Mrs. Dorothy M. McDonald, Mrs. Ruby McDonald, Miss Margaret E. Moore, Flora Isabell Pollock, Miss D. H. Richardson, Mrs. I. Strilkiwski, Mrs. S. B. Thorsteinson, Miss Joan B. Westberg, Mrs. Nancy E. Woodrow
1956-1957	?
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2004-2005	?
2005-2006	Renee Allard, Suzanne Desousa, Marguerite Godin, Jennifer Hernandez, Carmen Lachance, Jacqueline Legay, Allison Menec, Lindsey Noel, Yvonne Perry, Daryl Reimer, Robert Senecal, Lysanne Vanderwey

Photos & Coordinates

Assiniboine School (1939) Source: Archives of Manitoba, George Harris Fonds, Acc. 1979-141, P7451, Album 14, Page 31. Assiniboine School (June 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Assiniboine School (May 2022) Source: George Penner Assiniboine School (May 2022) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.87774, W97.21065 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Manitoba Business: Pratt and Ross

Manitoba Business: Hazelton & Walin

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Assiniboine School (Aspen Street, Oak Lake, RM of Sifton)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Assiniboine School No. 148 (RM of Whitehead)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Assiniboine School / David Livingstone School (1303 Assiniboine Avenue, Brandon)

Sources:

“Wallace named as Principal of St. James School,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 May 1936, page 5.

“Assiniboine students honor retiring principal,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 June 1952, page 3.

“Address List, Municipal School District of St. James No. 7,” St. James Assiniboia School Division.

Assiniboine School History, St. James Assiniboia School Division, 1974.

The Winnipeg School of Art: The Early Years by Marilyn Baker, University of Manitoba, 1984.

We thank Mari-Jean Nachtigall, Christopher Pate, Nathan Kramer, Maureen Monk Irvine, Dorothy Young, Stella Hussey, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Reid Dickie.

Page revised: 11 June 2022

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