Historic Sites of Manitoba: Blumenort School No. 62 (Blumenort, RM of Hanover)

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Principals | Vice-Principals | Teachers | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Blumenort School District was established formally in November 1878 and a one-room schoolhouse operated near the present-day Blumenort in the Rural Municipality of Hanover. The first teacher was Cornelius P. Friesen, who was paid $50 plus oats and hay for his livestock plus firewood. He was expected to construct the benches and tables for the school. In the spring of 1920, a new school was constructed at NE21-7-6E based upon the architectural drawings of Gilbert C. Parfitt. It served the educational needs of the community until 1935 when the district was subdivided to form the new Twin Creek School District No. 2260. The building was moved to SW21-7-6E where it became Twin Creek School, while a new school was constructed one mile north of the old site, as Blumenort School. This building was expanded in 1940 to a two-room structure, with a third classroom added in 1961. Four years later, a new three-classroom school was built one-half mile north and one-half mile east of the former location.

On 9 January 1967, the Twin Creek School was destroyed by fire so its students were bused to Blumenort School. To accommodate the increased enrollment, a portable hut was attached to the existing school as a fourth classroom. In 1968, administration of the school was taken over by the Hanover School Division. In 2013, a commemorative sign was erected by the EastMenn Historical Society.

Principals (Blumenort School)

Period	Principal
1914-1918	Heinrich R. Reimer
1918-1919	Gerhard Giesbrecht Kornelsen (1878-1958)
1920	Wilhelm “William” Kornelsen
1920	Heinrich R. Reimer
1920-1940	No Principal
1940-1942	Aaron Reimer Wiebe
1942-1943	Gerhard Johann Peter “John” Kliewer (1898-1944)
1944	Margaret M. Toews
1944	Cornelius L. “Neil” Toews
1944-1955	Gerhard K. Reimer
1955-1958	Irvin H. Penner
1958-1964	Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe
1964-1968	Melvin Penner

Principals (Blumenort High School)

Period	Principal
1963-1968	Gerry B. Doerksen

Teachers (Blumenort School)

Period	Teachers
1914-1915	David P. Reimer (junior grades), Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades)
1915-1916	David P. Reimer (junior grades), Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades)
1916-1917	David P. Reimer (junior grades), Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades)
1917-1918	Heinrich R. Reimer (senior grades), Maria R. Unger (junior grades)
1918-1919	Gerhard G. Kornelsen (grades 1-5, 1919), Maria R. Unger (grades 1-5)
1919-1920	Gerhard G. Kornelsen (grades 2-3, 1919), Wilhelm “William” Kornelsen (grades 3-5, 1920), Heinrich R. Reimer (grades 3-5, 1919)
1920-1940	(See below)
1940-1941	Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3), Aaron Reimer Wiebe (grades 4-8)
1941-1942	Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3), Aaron Reimer Wiebe (grades 4-9)
1942-1943	Gerhard Johann Peter “John” Kliewer (grades 4-9), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3)
1943-1944	Cornelius L. “Neil” Toews (grades 4-9, 1944), Gerhard Johann Peter “John” Kliewer (grades 4-9, 1943), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3; grades 1-9, 1944)
1944-1945	Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-9), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3)
1945-1946	Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-8), Margaret M. Toews (grades 1-3)
1946-1947	Helen Pankratz (grades 1-3), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-7)
1947-1948	Helen Pankratz (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-9)
1948-1949	Helen Pankratz (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-7)
1949-1950	Helen Pankratz (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-10)
1950-1951	Betty Koop (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-11)
1951-1952	Betty Koop (grades 1-3), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-8)
1952-1953	Annie Isaac (grades 1-3), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 4-8)
1953-1954	Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-8)
1954-1955	Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Gerhard K. Reimer (grades 5-8)
1955-1956	Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Irvin H. Penner (grades 5-8)
1956-1957	Annie Isaac (grades 1-4), Irvin H. Penner (grades 3 & 5-8)
1957-1958	Annie Isaac (grades 1-3), Irvin H. Penner (grades 4-9)
1958-1959	Lena Schinkel (grades 1-3), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 4-8)
1959-1960	Helen Letkemann (grades 1-3), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 4-9)
1960-1961	Helen Letkemann (grades 1-3), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 4-8)
1961-1962	Helen Letkemann (grades 1-3), Alvina June Wiebe (grades 3-5), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 6-8)
1962-1963	Hilda Siemens Friesen (grades 1-2), Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 6-8)
1963-1964	Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Annie Penner (grades 1-2), Arthur Bernard “Art” Wiebe (grades 6-8)
1964-1965	Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Annie Penner (grades 1-2), Melvin Penner (grades 6-8)
1965-1966	Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Annie Penner (grades 1-2), Melvin Penner (grades 6-8)
1966-1967	Eva Fast (grades 1-2), Helen Letkemann (grades 3-5), Melvin Penner (grades 6-8)
1967-1968	Henry Dueck (grades 5-6), Eva Fast (grades 1-2), Melvin Penner (grades 7-8), Margaret Ruth Toews (grades 3-4)

Teachers (Blumenort High School)

Period	Teachers
1963-1964	Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Peter U. Dueck (grade 10, 1963), Marion Edith Jasper (grade 10, 1964)
1964-1965	Lorene Kiu Chui (grade 9), Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Glenn Rudolph Klassen (grade 10), Theodor Cornelius Martens (grade 9)
1965-1966	Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Glenn Rudolph Klassen (grade 10), Theodor Cornelius Martens (grade 9)
1966-1967	Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 11), Glenn Rudolph Klassen (grade 10), Theodor Cornelius Martens (grade 9)
1967-1968	Murray C. Barkman (grade 9), Gerry B. Doerksen (grade 9), David Friesen (grade 9, 1967)

Among the teachers who worked at Blumenort School through the years were: Cornelius P. Friesen, John B. Toews, Gerhard K. Giesbrecht, Heinrich R. Reimer (1907-1914), Gerhard G. Kornelsen (1920-1921), Frank Wiebe (1921-1923), David P. Reimer (1923-1924), Abraham P. Toews (1924-1927), Wilhelm “William” Kornelsen (1927-1928), John C. Reimer (1928-1939), and Aaron Reimer Wiebe (1939-1940).

Photos & Coordinates

Blumenort School (no date) by A. A. Herriot Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 27. Blumenort School after a second classroom was added in 1940 (no date) by A. A. Herriot Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 27. Blumenort School commemorative sign (July 2019) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.60201, W96.70957 denoted by symbol on the map above

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.

Schools - Our Heritage: From 46 School Districts to Hanover Unitary School Division (1878-1968) by John K. Schellenberg, The Board of The Hanover School Division No. 15, May 1985, ISBN 0-919673-93-7.

Plans and shop drawings (GS 0100), Blumenort School District No. 62, GR3125, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Blumenort School District No. 62 - Daily Registers, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.

School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Glen Klassen, Ernest Braun, and Rose Kuzina for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 January 2022

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