Historic Sites of Manitoba: Bristol School No. 1977 (RM of Hanover)

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

The Bristol School District was established in June 1919 and a one-room schoolhouse operated at NE8-6-6E in the Rural Municipality of Hanover. In 1938, the original building was enlarged by the addition of a second classroom, and a second teacher was hired. In 1968, the district was dissolved and its area became part of the Hanover School Division. The school continued operating until 1971, after which students were bused to Steinbach. The two-room school and its teacherage, a barn, and the land were sold for $5,000. In 2013, a commemorative sign was erected at the site by the EastMenn Historical Society.

Principals

Period	Principal
1938-1941	Gerhard Johann Peter “John” Kliewer (1898-1944)
1941-1947	Peter Thomas Wiebe
1947-1948	Angelina Wiebe Kroeker
1948-1953	Peter Thomas Wiebe
1953-1958	Lawrence Wilbert Guenther
1958-1960	Peter Sawatsky
1960-1961	Gerhard Solomon Rempel (c1896-1969)
1961-1964	Joseph Goertzen Plett
1964-1965	Walter A. Foth
1965-1968	Theodore Wilbur “Ted” Wiens

Teachers

School Year	Teachers
1938-1939	Gerhard J. P. Kliewer (grades 5-9), Elfrieda Vogt (grades 1-4)
1939-1940	Gerhard J. P. Kliewer (grades 5-9), Elfrieda Vogt (grades 1-4)
1940-1941	Gerhard J. P. Kliewer (grades 5-8), Elfrieda Vogt (grades 1-4)
1941-1942	Elfrieda Vogt (grades 1-4), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-10)
1942-1943	Gertrude Fast (grades 1-4), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-8)
1943-1944	Irene Loewen (grades 1-4), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-9)
1944-1945	Ellen Schellenberg (grades 1-4), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-10)
1945-1946	Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-8), Evangeline Willms (grades kindergarten-4)
1946-1947	Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-9), Helen Willms (grades kindergarten-4)
1947-1948	Angelina Wiebe Kroeker (grades 5-8), Ellen Schellenberg (grades kindergarten-4)
1948-1949	Mary Elizabeth Warkentin (grades kindergarten-3), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-8)
1949-1950	Violet S. Friesen (grades kindergarten-4), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-8)
1950-1951	Violet S. Friesen (grades 1-3), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 4-8)
1951-1952	Gerhard T. “George” Reimer (grades 1-4), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-9)
1952-1953	Gerhard T. “George” Reimer (grades 1-4), Peter Thomas Wiebe (grades 5-10)
1953-1954	Lawrence Wilbert Guenther (grades 5-9), Gerhard T. “George” Reimer (grades 1-4)
1954-1955	Lawrence Wilbert Guenther (grades 5-9), Melvin Clifford Toews (grades 1-4)
1955-1956	Lawrence Wilbert Guenther (grades 5-9), Melvin Clifford Toews (grades 1-4)
1956-1957	Lawrence Wilbert Guenther (grades 5-9), Lillian Unger (grades 1-4)
1957-1958	Lawrence Wilbert Guenther (grades 5-9), Lillian Unger (grades 1-4)
1958-1959	Susan Krahn (grades 1-4), Peter Sawatsky (grades 5-9)
1959-1960	Elva S. Born (grades 1-6), Peter Sawatsky (grades 7-10)
1960-1961	Elsie Margaret Krahn (grades 1-4), Gerhard Solomon Rempel (grades 5-8)
1961-1962	Elsie Margaret Krahn (grades 1-4), Joseph Goertzen “Joe” Plett (grades 5-8)
1962-1963	Elsie Margaret Krahn (grades 1-4), Joseph Goertzen “Joe” Plett (grades 5-8)
1963-1964	Elsie Margaret Krahn (grades 1-4), Joseph Goertzen “Joe” Plett (grades 5-8)
1964-1965	Walter A. Foth (grades 5-8), Elsie Margaret Krahn Harms (grades 1-4), Hilda Janzen (grades 1-4, 1965)
1965-1966	Dorothy Arlene Fender (grades 1-4), Theodore Wilbur “Ted” Wiens (grades 5-8)
1966-1967	Lena St. Vincent (grades 1-4), Theodore Wilbur “Ted” Wiens (grades 5-8)
1967-1968	Mrs. Emma Wiens (grades 1-4), Theodore Wilbur “Ted” Wiens (grades 5-8)

Among the other teachers were Ben S. Rempel (1919-1920), George K. Reimer (1920-1922), Gerhard J. P. Kliewer (1922-1938), and Henry Rosner (1941).

Photos & Coordinates

Bristol School (no date) by A. A. Herriot Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 70. Bristol School commemorative sign (November 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.47291, W96.73695 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.

Manitoba School Records Collection, GR2656, Bristol School District No. 1977 Daily Registers, Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Glen Klassen and Ernest Braun (EastMenn Historical Society), Fred Dalkeith, and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 22 November 2020

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