Historic Sites of Manitoba: Darlingford Consolidated School No. 1228 / Darlingford School Heritage Museum (Darlingford, Municipality of Pembina)

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

As early as 1905, the Manitoba Department of Education was experimenting with consolidation to better serve local communities and students. It was thought that a bigger and better equipped school, in a centralized location, provided better education. Darlingford Consolidated School No. 1228, in the village of Darlingford in the Municipality of Pembina, is an example of those developments. Built in 1910 on a design by Winnipeg architect Frank Robert Evans, allegedly used locally-made bricks, the entrance tower is notably off-centre so that, as the school enrollment grew, another wing would be added on the south side of the building. That never happened at Darlingford. The building features a rare fire escape system off the second floor at the rear.

The smaller rural schools consolidated at Darlingford included Lorne School No. 56, Darlington School No. 79, Middleton School No. 404, Calf Mountain School No. 489, Barclay School No. 657, Point Douglas Consolidated School No. 1475, and Rosyth School No. 2030.

Initially, only the two classrooms on the lower floor were fully equipped, with the upper floor classrooms being outfitted as needed, with the third room completed in 1912 and the fourth in 1921. A teacherage was also constructed and utilized until 1963, then being sold to Jerry Baloun in 1968. The school, which became part of the Pembina Valley School Division in 1971, operated continuously until 1984 when, due to low student enrollment, it closed.

The former school building is now home for the Darlingford School Heritage Museum, a municipally-designated heritage site (1987). Open during summer months, tours can be arranged by calling Patrick Thiessen at 204-823-0626 or Betty Hamilton at 204-246-2307.

Principals

Period	Principal
Before 1910	See Darlingford School
1910-1911	Frances Ruth Crosland
1911	H. Gertrude Feindel
1912	Neil Albert McIntyre (1888-1972)
1912-1920	Richard A. Fines (1871-1966)
1920	Mr. J. McCormick
1920	Helena M. Robertson
1921-1923	George Gordon Grigg (1887-1969)
1923-1924	William George Smith (1873-1943)
1924-1927	George Henry Blackwell (1864-1941)
1927-1932	John Bruce Day (1902-1955)
1932-1939	Willard Ervin Rife (1890-1970)
1939-1950	Cecil Harold Barkley (1908-1979)
1950-1957	John Franklin Morrison (1910-1984)
1957-1958	John Henry Doughty (c1900-1958)
1958	Isabel Jeanette Allison
1958	James H. South
1958-1959	Laura May Cooke Gall (1912-2004)
1959-1963	Oliver Glen Olmstead (?-1997)
1963-1967	Allan Thiessen
1967-1968	Douglas Wayne Kroetsch
1968-1969	Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair
1969-1971	Florence Mary Brooks
1971-1981	Jake Bernard Martens
1981-1982	Jake Letkeman

Teachers

Period	Teachers
Before 1910	See Darlingford School
1910	(Fall Term only): Frances Ruth Crosland (grades 1-4, August-December), Rose Crosland (grades 5-8, August-December)
1911	Frances Ruth Crosland (grades 6-8, January-June), Rose Crosland (grades 1-5, January-June), H. Gertrude Feindel (grdaes 6-8, August-December; of Bridgewater, New Brunswick), Myrtle C. Scott (grades 1-5, August-December)
1912	(Spring Term only): Neil A. McIntyre (grades 6-8, January-June), M. C. Scott (grades 1-5)
1912-1913	Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-3, January-June), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Annie F. Hill (grades 4-7), Marie Jackson (grades 1-3, August-December)
1913-1914	Pearl Amy (grades 4-7, January-June), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-3), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-10, August-December; grades 8-11, January-June), Annie F. Hill (grades 4-7, August-December)
1914-1915	Pearl Amy (grades 5-8), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-4), Richard A. Fines (grades 9-11)
1915-1916	Pearl Amy (grades 5-8), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-4), Richard A. Fines (grades 9-11)
1916-1917	Pearl Amy (grades 4-7), Ivy “Iva” Ariel Angers (grades 1-3, August-December), Richard A. Fines (grades 9-11), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3, January-June)
1917-1918	Pearl Amy (grades 4-7), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3)
1918-1919	Pearl Amy (grades 4-7), Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3)
1919-1920	Richard A. Fines (grades 8-11), Muriel I. Irving (grades 1-3), Edna A. Scott (grades 4-7)
1920-1921	Gladys Christie (grades 4-7), George Gordon Grigg (grades 8-11, January-June), Ethel Lowry (grades 1-3, January-June), J. McCormick (grades 8-11, September-October), Helena M. Robertson (grades 8-11, November-December), Eva B. Stevens (grades 1-3, September-December)
1921-1922	Gladys Christie (grades 3-5), George Gordon Grigg (grades 9-11), Kathleen M. Kelly (grades 6-8), Ethel Lowry (grades 1-2)
1922-1923	Gladys Christie (grades 3-5), A. Frances Collins (grades 1-2), George Gordon Grigg (grades 9-11), Kathleen M. Kelly (grades 6-8)
1923-1924	Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2, January-June), A. Frances Collins (grades 1-2, September-December), Ursula Cunningham (grades 6-8, September-December & February-June), Verda L. Denison (grades 3-5, September-December), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5, January-June), C. Johnson (grades 6-8, January), William George Smith (grades 9-11)
1924-1925	George Henry Blackwell (grades 9-11), Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2), Ursula Cunningham (grades 6-8), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5)
1925-1926	George Henry Blackwell (grades 9-11), Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-3), Maude M. Brown (grades 6-8, January-June), Ursula Cunningham (grades 6-8, September-December; wife of Samuel Edward Holmes), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5)
1926-1927	George Henry Blackwell (grades 9-11), Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2, September-April), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), E. Kennedy (grades 1-2, May-June), Ina Lee (grades 6-8)
1927-1928	Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2), John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Ina Lee (grades 6-8)
1928-1929	Lillian Elmire Brown (grades 1-2), John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Ina Lee (grades 6-8)
1929-1930	John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 4-5, August-December; grades 3-5, January-June), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Daisy Gwendoline Montgomery Metcalfe (grades 1-3)
1930-1931	John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 4-5), Daisy Gwendoline Montgomery Metcalfe (grades 6-8), Gladys Mary Mitchell (grades 1-3)
1931-1932	John Bruce Day (grades 9-11), Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 4-5), Daisy Gwendoline Montgomery Metcalfe (grades 6-8), Gladys Mary Mitchell (grades 1-3)
1932-1933	Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1933-1934	Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1934-1935	Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1935-1936	Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1936-1937	Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1937-1938	Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11)
1938-1939	Leona Lynd Duncan (grades 3-5, August-December), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Ina Lee (grades 6-8), Willard Ervin Rife (grades 9-11), Gladys Irene Stevens (grades 3-5, January-June)
1939-1940	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Garnet Robson Harland (grdaes 6-8), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2), Gladys Irene Stevens (grades 3-5)
1940-1941	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Wilbur David Finlay (grades 6-8, September-October & January-June), Mary Asenath Kelly (grades 1-2, September - pt March), Jean Elizabeth Lawson (grades 6-8, November-December), Leona Lynd Nichol (grades 1-2, pt March - June), Gladys Irene Stevens (grades 3-5)
1941-1942	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Lorraine Isabel Cowan (grades 1-2), Jean Elizabeth Lawson (grades 6-8), Leona Lynd Nichol (grades 3-5)
1942-1943	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 6-8), Elsie Morgan (grades 1-3), Leona Lynd Nichol (grades 4-5)
1943-1944	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 7-8), Doris Kathleen Gunness (grades 4-6), Elsie Morgan Kendall (grades 1-3)
1944-1945	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 4-6), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 7-8), Elsie Morgan Kendall (grades 1-3)
1945-1946	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 4-6, September-December; grades 4-6, January-June), Lillian Mildred Cummings (grades 1-3, September-December; grades 1-2, January-June), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 7-8)
1946-1947	Mrs. J. W. Amy (grades 1-2), Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 3-5), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 6-8)
1947-1948	Mrs. J. W. Amy (grades 1-2, September-December), Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Helen Mahala Cliffe (grades 3-5), Lorna Maude Compton (grades 1-2, January-June), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 6-8)
1948-1949	Marjorie Anne Checkley (grades 1-4, September - pt February; grades 3-4, pt February - June), Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Martha Hilda Deason (grades 5-8), Phoebe Marchant (grades 1-2, pt February - June)
1949-1950	Cecil Harold Barkley (grades 9-11), Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), Florence McQuay (grades 3-5), Margaret Hester Potter (grades 1-2)
1950-1951	Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), Florence McQuay (grades 3-5), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Margaret Hester Potter (grades 1-2)
1951-1952	Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Melva Jamesina Skeavington (grades 3-5), Elaine Shirley Wall (grades 1-2)
1952-1953	Charles Raymond “Ray” Linklater (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Melva Jamesina Skeavington (grades 3-5), Elaine Shirley Wall (grades 1-2)
1953-1954	Marion Irene McCutcheon (grades 3-5), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Robert Ray Simms (grades 6-8), Elaine Shirley Wall (grades 1-2)
1954-1955	Marion Irene McCutcheon (grades 3-5), Irene Pearl McFee (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Audrey Myrlene Popkes (grades 1-2)
1955-1956	Gladys May Alsop (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Joyce Fielding Muriel (grades 3-5), Audrey Myrlene Popkes (grades 1-2)
1956-1957	Gladys May Alsop (grades 6-8), John Franklin Morrison (grades 9-11), Audrey Myrlene Popkes (grades 1-2), Elizabeth Anne Robertson (grades 3-5)
1957-1958	Isabel Jeanette Allison (grades 9-11, pt June), John Henry Doughty (grades 9-11, September-May), Edith L. Holm (grades 6-8), Jane Horky (grades 1-2), James H. South (grades 9-11, pt June), Shirley Yvonne Stewart (grades 3-5)
1958-1959	Laura May Cooke Gall (grades 9-11), Edith L. Holm (grades 6-8), Jane Horky (grades 1-2), Shirley Yvonne Stewart (grades 3-5)
1959-1960	Oliver Glen Olmstead (grades 9-10), Mildred Lydia Snarr (grades 3-5), Evelyn Rose Stewart (grades 6-8), Mary Viola Voth (grades 1-2)
1960-1961	Oliver Glen Olmstead (grade 9), Mildred Lydia Snarr (grades 3-5), Evelyn Rose Stewart (grades 6-8), Mary Viola Voth (grades 1-2)
1961-1962	Bernhard Epp (grade 9), Oliver Glen Olmstead (grade 10), Mildred Lydia Snarr (grades 3-5), Evelyn Rose Stewart (grades 6-8), Mary Viola Voth (grades 1-2)
1962-1963	Eleanor Arnason (grades 1-2, August-November), Nora Ada Hunt (grades 1-2, November-June), Oliver Glen Olmstead (grade 9), Carol Fern Regner (grades 5-6), Ronald Terrence Sawiak (grades 7-8), Barbara Jean Vick (grades 3-4)
1963-1964	Leona Elizabeth Ginter (grades 1-2), Jeanette Marie Lob (grades 5-6), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8), Barbara Jean Vick (grades 3-4)
1964-1965	Leona Elizabeth Ginter (grades 1-2), Garth Winston Hay (grades 5-6), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8), Barbara Jean Vick (grades 3-4)
1965-1966	Mary Jean Dressler (grades 3-4), Garth Winston Hay (grades 5-6), Carolyn Anne Soder (grades 1-2), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8)
1966-1967	Edith Myrtle Hokanson (grades 3-4), Douglas Wayne Kroetsch (grades 5-6), Rhoda Myrtle Scharf (grades 1-2), Allan Thiessen (grades 7-8)
1967-1968	Edith Myrtle Hokanson (grades 5-6, September - pt February), Douglas Wayne Kroetsch (grades 7-8), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6, pt February-June), Sheila Anne McGinnis (grades 3-4), Rhoda Myrtle Scharf (grades 1-2)
1968-1969	Karen Georgeen Gebler (grades 5-6), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten, April-June), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 7-8), Sylvia Darlene Rackham (grades 3-4), Maureen Ella Ridley (grades 1-2)
1969-1970	Elva Heather Bowler (grades 3-4, pt May - June), Florence Mary Brooks (grades 7-8), Maureen Ella Ridley Cobb (grades 1-2), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6), Carol Lucille Amy Phillips (grades 3-4, September - pt May)
1970-1971	Elva Heather Bowler (grades 3-4), Florence Mary Brooks (grades 7-8), Lynda Jean Desjardin (grades 1-2), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6)
1971-1972	Elva Heather Bowler (grades 3-4), Deirdre Lee Lyons Lumgair (grades 5-6), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Carol Margaret Ross (grades 1-2)
1972-1973	Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Carol Margaret Ross (grades 1-2), Marion Leigh Smith (grades 3-4)
1973-1974	Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Helen Jean Scharf (grades 1-2), Marion Leigh Smith (grades 3-4)
1974-1975	Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Shirley Lois Findlay (grades 1-2), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Jacqueline Ann “Jackie” Taylor (grades 3-4)
1975-1976	Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Shirley Lois Findlay (grades 1-2), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Jacqueline Ann “Jackie” Taylor (grades 3-4)
1976-1977	Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Donna Louise Burnett (grades 1-2), Nora Ada Hunt (kindergarten), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Elizabeth Ruth Poetker (grades 3-4)
1977-1978	Norma Patricia Bataluk (grades 5-6), Donna Louise Burnett (grades 1-2), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Elizabeth Ruth Poetker (grades 3-4)
1978-1979	Linda Louise Knapp (grades 4-6), Jo-Anne Frances LeRoy (grades 1-3), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8)
1979-1980	Linda Louise Knapp (grades 4-6), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 7-8), Carol Lynn Nuttall (grades 1-3)
1980-1981	Linda Louise Knapp Cowan (grades 1-4), Jake Bernard Martens (grades 5-8)
1981-1982	Linda Louise Knapp Cowan (grades 1-4), Jake Letkeman (grades 5-8)
1982-1983	Ray H. Mutcheson (grades 1-6)
1983-1984	Shayla Levine (grades 1-6)

Photos & Coordinates

Darlingford Consolidated School (circa 1911) Source: Consolidation of Rural Schools in Manitoba, Special Report of the Department of Education for the Year 1912, Manitoba Legislative Library. Darlingford Consolidated School (no date) by G. G. Neufeld Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 81. Students and a pair of transport vans in front of Darlingford Consolidated School (no date) Source: Rob McInnes, MN0591 Darlingford Consolidated School (August 1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey - Darlingford 36. The former Darlingford Consolidated School building (April 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough The rear of the Darlingford Consolidated School building, showing its unique fire escape (April 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.20519, W98.38053 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Darlingford School No. 1228 (Darlingford, Municipality of Pembina)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

MHS Resources: Manitoba Bricks and Blocks: Darlingford Brick and Tile Company

Sources:

Annual Reports of the Manitoba Department of Education, Manitoba Legislative Library.

Darlingford Consolidated School, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch

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.

A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.

The Darlingford Saga II, 1870-1970, 1970-1999 by the Darlingford Centennial Book Committee, 1999.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.

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

Manitoba School Records Collection, Darlingford School District No. 1228 - Daily Registers, GR5330, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Darlingford School District No. 1228 - Daily Registers, GR9650, Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Ken Jacobs, Ed Grassick, Rob McInnes, and Bob Jordan for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 May 2023

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