Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fisher Branch School No. 1543 / Fisher Branch Collegiate / Fisher Branch Elementary School (Fisher Branch, RM of Fisher)

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

Formerly established as the Broad Valley School District No. 1543, it was renamed the Fisher Branch School District in 1912 when a new school was built at this site in Fisher Branch. The school opened in May 1912 and as the local school-age population increased, other quarters also served as additional temporary classroom space, including the nearby Presbyterian Church. In September 1925, two new classrooms added on Mr. K. Marykuca were opened. The three-room school served until June 1954, when it was replaced with the construction of a new two-storey building. The old building was then split into three and sold, with one room to become a local residence, and another to the Ukrainian National Hall.

The two-storey facility was built in SW-24-24-2W and opened in November 1954. It also hosted the Fisher Branch Collegiate, with high school students from the surrounding area transferred here beginning in 1959. Collegiate grades were relocated to the Fisher Branch Collegiate Institute in 1961. It then became an elementary school and the former Ringrose School and McMaster School buildings were brought to this site as additional classroom capacity. In 1967, it became part of the Lakeshore School Division in 1967. The two-storey school was renovated and expanded in 1979. As of 2019, it remains in use as the Fisher Branch Early Years School.

Principals (Fisher Branch School)

Period	Principal
1919-1923	Archibald Dawson McInnis (1864-?)
1923-1924	George Patrick Stevens (c1888-1988)
1924-1926	Archibald Dawson McInnis (1864-?)
1926-1930	Stephen Nykyforuk (1892-1974)
1930-1931	Nicholas Boychuk
1931-1934	Maxim George Wawrykow (1902-1977)
1934-1936	Joseph Wawrykow (1908-1979)
1936-1941	John Kereluk
1941-1945	Felix Joseph Kulyk [Kulick] (1911-1995)
1945-1952	William John Prochuk (1909-1983)
1952-1957	William Andrew “Bill” Kachur (1903-1983)
1957-1958	Ben Hanuschak
1958-1959	Maurice Wesley “Moe” Cryderman (1909-1991)

Principals (Fisher Branch Collegiate)

Period	Principal
1959-1961	Teresa Moloney (1899-1983)
After 1961	See Fisher Branch Collegiate Institute

Principals (Fisher Branch Elementary / Fisher Branch Early Years School)

Period	Principal
1959-1976	Myrslaw “Myrs” Kubas (1926-2012)
1976-2019	?

Teachers (Fisher Branch School)

Period	Teachers
1912	?
1913	Alexine Bourier
1914	Mrs. E. E. St. Peter (Spring), Miss M. Claire Couture (Fall)
1915	Miss M. C. Couture (grades 1-5, Spring), Charles D. Smith (grades 1-5, Fall)
1916	Charles D. Smith (grades 1-5, Spring), Aurelius Celestin Joyal (grades 1-5, Fall)
1917	(Spring only) Aurelius Celestin Joyal (grades 1-5, Spring)
1917-1918	St. George E. Jeffrey (grades 1-5, October-March & June), Wilfred C. Murray (grades 1-5, April-May)
1918-1919	St. George E. Jeffrey (grades 1-5, October-December), Freda McInnis (grades 1-2, March-June, daughter of Archibald Dawson McInnis)
1919-1920	W. F. Billyard (grades 1-4, October-December), Archibald Dawson McInnis (grades 1-2, July-September; grades 3-7, January-June), Freda McInnis (grades 1-2, January-June)
1920-1921	Roy W. Gillespie (grades 1-2 & 4, at Old School), Archibald Dawson McInnis (grades 3-6, 1920; grades 4-8, 1921), Freda McInnis (grades 1-2, 1920; grades 1-3, 1921)
1921-1922	Miss E. Butters (grades 1-2, September-October), Emma Connell (grades 1-2, November-December; grades 1-3, January-June), Freda McInnis (grades 1-2, September; grades 1-4 at Old School, September-June), Miss C. D. MacQuarrie (grades 1-2, November), Archibald Dawson McInnis (grades 3-8)
1922-1923	Archibald Dawson McInnis (grades 4-9), Miss C. D. MacQuarrie (grades 1-3)
1923-1924	J. Auguste Dansereau (grade 1), Archibald Dawson McInnis (grades 4-10, March-June), George Stevens (grades 1-10, October-December; grades 4-10, December-March), Ruby McNeill (grades 1-3, January-June)
1924-1925	Archibald Dawson McInnis (grades 4-11), Germain Roy (grades 1-4, January-June), Julia M. Wysocki (grades 1-3)
1925-1926	Archibald Dawson McInnis (grades 4-10), Freda McInnis (grades 1-3)
1926-1927	Laura Josephine Longpre (grades 1-2), Stephen Nykyforuk (grades 5-11), Julia M. Wysocki (grades 3-4)
1927-1928	Regina Champagne (grades 3-5), Mary L. Chimchak (grades 1-2), Stephen Nykyforuk (grades 6-11)
1928-1929	Mary L. Chimchak (grades 1-2), Leonie Guyot (grades 3-6), Stephen Nykyforuk (grades 7-11)
1929-1930	Mary L. Chimchak (grades 1-2), Alice Desautels (grades 3-5), Stephen Nykyforuk (grades 6-9)
1930-1931	Nicholas Boychuk (grades 6-10), Theresa [Teresa] Demchuk (grades 1-3), Alice Desautels (grades 3-5)
1931-1932	Juliet L. Desmarais (grades 3-5), Nellie Medel (grades 1-2), Maxim George Wawrykow (grades 6-10)
1932-1933	Juliet L. Desmarais (grades 4-6), Nellie Medel (grades 1-3), Maxim George Wawrykow (grades 7-11)
1933-1934	Juliet L. Desmarais (grades 4-6), Bohdan Prygrocki (grades 1-3), Maxim George Wawrykow (grades 9-11)
1934-1935	Juliet L. Desmarais (grades 5-8), Bohdan Prygrocki (grades 1-4), Joseph Wawrykow (grades 9-11)
1935-1936	Jane Andrieshyn (grades 1-4), Juliet L. Desmarais (grades 5-8), Joseph Wawrykow (grades 9-11)
1936-1937	Jane Andrieshyn (grades 1-4), Juliet L. Desmarais (grades 5-8), John Kereluk (grades 9-12)
1937-1938	Jane Andrieshyn (grades 1-4), Clara E. Ayette (grades 5-8, September), Ann Florence “Annie” Fraser (grades 5-8, February-June), John Kereluk (grades 9-11), W. J. Paul (grades 5-8, October-January),
1938-1939	Ann Florence “Annie” Fraser (grades 4-8, 1938), John Kereluk (grades 9-11), Mary Kereluk (grades 1-5, September; grades 1-3, October-June), Lorraine A. Bourbonnais (grades 4-8, 1939)
1939-1940	Lorraine A. Bourbonnais (grades 4-8), John Kereluk (grades 9-11), Mary Kereluk (grades 1-4)
1940-1941	Anne E. Chimchak (grades 1-4), John Kereluk (grades 9-11), Yvonne Peres (grades 4-8)
1941-1942	Anne E. Chimchak (grades 1-4), Aline Hiebert (grades 4-8), Felix Joseph Kulyk (grades 9-11)
1942-1943	Florette M. Giasson (grades 1-3), Jane Grushka (grades 4-8), Felix Joseph Kulyk (grades 9-11)
1943-1944	Florette M. Giasson (grades 1-4), Felix Joseph Kulyk (grades 9-11), Helen Elsie Kulyk (grades 5-8)
1944-1945	Florette M. Giasson (grades 1-4), Felix Joseph Kulyk (grades 9-11), Helen Elsie Kulyk (grades 5-8)
1945-1946	Ben Klowak (grades 4-8, October), Stephanie Winifred Malkowich (grades 1-3), William John Prochuk (grades 9-11), Denyse Olivier (grades 4-8, August-September), Georgette Vouriot (grades 4-8, November-June)
1946-1947	Louise L. Gauthier (grades 4-8), Sonia Lisowecki (grades 1-4), William John Prochuk (grades 9-11)
1947-1948	Louise L. Gauthier (grades 5-8), Stephanie Winifred Malkowich (grades 1-4), William John Prochuk (grades 9-11)
1948-1949	Louise L. Gauthier (grades 5-8), Irene Marie Therese Ponchon (grades 1-4), William John Prochuk (grades 9-11)
1949-1950	Irene Marie Therese Ponchon (grades 5-8), William John Prochuk (grades 9-11), Victoria Yaremkewich (grades 1-4)
1950-1951	Irene Marie Therese Ponchon (grades 5-8), William John Prochuk (grades 9-11), Victoria Yaremkewich (grades 1-4)
1951-1952	Irene Marie Therese Ponchon (grades 5-8), William John Prochuk (grades 9-12), Victoria Yaremkewich (grades 1-4)
1952-1953	William Andrew Kachur (grades 9-11), Irene Marie Therese Ponchon (grades 5-8), Rilla Marion Wright (grades 1-4)
1953-1954	William Andrew Kachur (grades 9-11), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grades 1-4, August-November; grades 3-4, November-April), Roseanita “Rose” Schmidt (grades 3-4, May-June), Michael Sitko (grades 5-8), Mary M. Uhryniuk (grades 1-2, November-June)
1954-1955	Anne Antonchuk (grades 3-5), Denyse Esther Goulet (grades 1-2), Mary Halowka (grades 6-8), William Andrew Kachur (grades 9-11)
1955-1956	Anne Antonchuk (grades 3-5), Mary Halowka (grades 9-10), William Andrew Kachur (grades 11-12), Denyse Esther Goulet Obelnicki (grades 1-2), Peter Eugene Torbiak (grades 6-8)
1956-1957	Anne Buchko (grades 5-6), Mary Halowka (grades 9-10), William Andrew Kachur (grades 11-12), Eugenie McIvor (grades 7-8), Edith Jean Miller (grades 3-4), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grades 1-2)
1957-1958	Emelie Dmyterko (grades 1-2), Mary Halowka (grades 9-10), Ben Hanuschak (grades 11-12), Pauline Labchuk (grades 3-5), Eugenie McIvor (grades 6-8)
1958-1959	Georges A. Beauregard (grade 9), Dorcas Mae Cryderman (grade 10), Maurice Wesley Cryderman (grade 12, October-June), Emelie Dmyterko (grades 1-2), Jonathan A. Greenhalgh (grades 11-12, September; grade 11, October-June), Pauline Labchuk (grades 3-5), Eugenie McIvor (grades 6-8)

Among the other teachers of Fisher Branch School was Ethel Anna Sankey (?-?).

Teachers (Fisher Branch Collegiate)

Period	Teachers
1959-1960	James Bartram Fergusson (grade 10), Jonathan A. Greenhalgh (grade 11), Eugenie McIvor (grade 9, August-September), Teresa Moloney (grade 12), Arthur Richard Myers (grade 9), J. F. Trevenen (grade 9, October-June)
1960-1961	Andrew Glen Conly (grade 9), Nicholas Constantinesco (grade 11), Teresa Moloney (grade 12), George J. Morrissette (grade 9), Arthur Richard Myers (grade 10), ’Asta Oddson (grade 11)
After 1961	See Fisher Branch Collegiate Institute

Teachers (Fisher Branch Elementary / Fisher Branch Early Years School)

Period	Teachers
1959-1960	Anne Buchko (grades 1-2), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grades 3-5), Myrslaw Kubas (grades 6-8)
1960-1961	Anne Buchko (grades 1-2), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grades 3-4), Myrslaw Kubas (grades 7-8), Verna Jane Syranyk (grades 5-6)
1961-1962	Mary Eleanor Dion (grades 5-6), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grades 3-4), Myrslaw Kubas (grades 7-8), Zennovia Daria Pawlik (grades 1-2)
1962-1963	Anne Buchko (grades 1-2), Mary Eleanor Dion (grades 5-6), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grades 3-4), Myrslaw Kubas (grades 7-8)
1963-1964	Anne Buchko (grades 1-2), Mary Eleanor Dion (grades 5-6), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grades 3-4), Myrslaw Kubas (grades 7-8)
1964-1965	Anne Buchko (grades 1-2), Mary Eleanor Dion (grades 5-6), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grades 2-3), Florence Dora Lisowik (grades 4-5, November-June), Myrslaw Kubas (grades 7-8), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grades 4-5, August-October)
1965-1966	Anne Buchko (grades 1-2), Mary Eleanor Dion (grade 7), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grade 3), Myrslaw Kubas (grade 8), Peter Kubas (grade 5), Mary Neighbour (grades 4 & 6), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grades 2 & 4)
1966-1967	Anne Buchko (grade 1), Mary Eleanor Dion (grade 7), Marilyn Giasson (grade 4), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grade 3), Myrslaw Kubas (grade 8), Peter Kubas (grade 6), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grade 2)
1967-1968	John J. Bliss (grade 5, 1967), Anne Buchko (grade 1), Mary Eleanor Dion (grade 4), Olga Grouch (grade 5, 1968), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grade 3), Betty Jean Kubas (grade 1), Myrslaw Kubas (grade 8), Peter Kubas (grade 7), Leontine Marie Meilleur (kindergarten & grades 1-2), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grade 2), Adeline Helen Popowich (grade 6), Anne Alice Boulianne Smallian (grade 7)
1968-1969	Nora June Davidson (grades 2-3), Mary Eleanor Dion (grade 4), Marilyn Giasson (kindergarten, 1969), Olga Grouch (grade 7), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grade 3), Leontine Marie Meilleur (ungraded special education), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Edith Monelle Oman (kindergarten, 1968 substitute), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 5), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grade 2), Barbara Lillian Payment (grades 3-4), Walter Reimer (grade 8), Rosemary Irene Sanduliak (grade 1), Anne Alice Boulianne Smallian (grade 7, 1968), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grade 6), Dennis B. Wishnowski (grade 8), Leon Wishnowski (grade 7, 1969), Patricia Marie Yaciuk (grade 6)
1969-1970	Anne Buchko (grade 2), Peter Deczycia (grade 8), Mary Eleanor Dion (grade 4), Hilda Dyck (grade 1), Vernon Kenneth Eger (grade 7), Clayton Haraldur Johnson (grade 8), Gail Anne Lefebure (grades 3-4), Eugenie McIvor (grade 6), Leontine Marie Meilleur (ungraded special education), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Edith Monelle Oman (kindergarten), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 5), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grade 2), Rosemary Irene Sanduliak (grade 1), Janet Edith Abel Stocki (grade 3), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grade 6), Dennis B. Wishnowski (grade 7)
1970-1971	Anne Buchko (grade 2), Hilda Dyck (grade 1), Vernon Kenneth Eger (grade 7), Virginia Gail Fuz (grades 2-3), Gregoria Gobenciong (grade 1), Annette June Holowka (kindergarten), Clayton Haraldur Johnson (grade 8), Anne Lefebure (grades 3-4, 1970; grade 4, 1971), Eugenie McIvor (grade 6), Leontine Marie Meilleur (ungraded special education), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 5), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grade 2), Sophie-Ann Persoage (grade 7), Grant Herman Plohman (grade 7), Janet Edith Abel Stocki (grades 3-4), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grade 6),
1971-1972	Anne Buchko (grade 2), Hilda Dyck (grade 1, 1971; grades 1-2, 1972), Virginia Gail Fuz (grade 3), Gregoria Gobenciong (grade 1), Audrey Laneanne Johnson (grade 4), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grade 3), Patricia Marie Marchuk (grade 4, 1971), Leontine Marie Meilleur (ungraded special education), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 6), Emily Domia Pawlyk (grades 2-3, 1971; grades 4-5, 1972), Elaine Alice Robak (grades 2-3, 1972), Janet Edith Abel Stocki (grade 4), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grade 6)
1972-1973	Anne Buchko (grades 1-2), Hilda Dyck (ungraded special education), Gregoria Gobenciong (grades 1-2), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (kindergarten), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 6), Domia Pawlyk (grade 4), Elaine Alice Robak (grade 1), Janet Edith Abel Stocki (grade 3, 1972; grades 3-4, 1973), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grade 5, 1972; grades 5-6, 1973), Virginia Gail Fuz Zembik (grade 3)
1973-1974	Anne Buchko (grades 2-3), Hilda Dyck (ungraded special education & resource), Gregoria Gobenciong (grades 2-3), Annette June Holowka (grade 1), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (kindergarten), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 6), Barbara Lillian Payment (grade 4), Elaine Alice Robak (grade 2), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grade 6), Virginia Gail Fuz Zembik (grade 4)
1974-1975	Anne Buchko (grade 2), Hilda Dyck (kindergarten), Gregoria Gobenciong (grade 3), Annette June Holowka (grade 1, September-December & May-June), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grade 1), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 6), Barbara Lillian Payment (grades 3-4), Elaine Alice Robak (grade 2), Verna May Sobkowich (grade 1, January-April), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grades 5-6), Virginia Gail Fuz Zembik (grade 4)
1975-1976	Anne Buchko (grade 3), Gregoria Gobenciong (grade 4), Annette June Holowka (grade 2), Augustine Stephanie Konopetcki (grade 1), Mary Neighbour (grade 5), Frank Murray Packulak (grade 6), Barbara Lillian Payment (kindergarten), Elaine Alice Robak (grade 2), Verna May Sobkowich (grade 5), Elizabeth Eve Tanchak (grade 6), Virginia Gail Fuz Zembik (grade 4)

Photos & Coordinates

Fisher Branch School (no date) by M. Hall-Jones Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 137. Fisher Branch School (no date) by M. Hall-Jones Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-2, page 137. Fisher Branch Elementary - southeast elevation (June 1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission - Volume 1, File 42a Fisher Branch. Fisher Branch Elementary - northwest elevation (June 1967) Source: Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission - Volume 1, File 42a Fisher Branch. Site Coordinates (lat/long): N51.08315, W97.62051 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Broad Valley School No. 1543 / Red School (RM of Fisher)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fisher Branch Collegiate Institute (Fisher Branch, RM of Fisher)

Sources:

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

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 Place of Our Own - A History of No Ordinary People, 1982, Fisher Branch Historical Society.

Manitoba Local Government Boundaries Commission, Schools in the Interlake - Manitoba - Volume 1, Fisher Branch Elementary - File 42a, March 1968, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Fisher Branch School District No. 1378 - Daily Registers, GR11220 , Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Lakeshore School Division No. 23 (Fisher Branch Elementary) - Daily Registers, GR11220 , Archives of Manitoba.

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

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

We thank Ada Wiebe for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 23 March 2023

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