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The Gruenfeld School District was organized formally in November 1878 by Mennonite pioneers from Russia. A school building was erected on the northeast quarter of 32-6-5 east of the Principal Meridian in what would later become the Rural Municipality of Hanover. Around 1919, the building was moved to NE29-6-5E and operated there for about ten years when a new one-room building replaced it. From 1919-1922, the affairs of the district were administered by John Franklin Greenway, after which control was returned to local trustees. In February 1929, district ratepayers voted 20:0 in favour of securing a $3,000 debenture to finance the building and equipping of a new schoolhouse. The old school was then converted into a teacherage. When a new teacherage was built in 1948, the old one was moved to a location about 1.5 miles northeast of the Tourond post office and renovated into a private residence.
In 1941, a second classroom was built to alleviate overcrowding in the school. A third one was added in 1954 and a fourth in 1957. Five years later, the district merged with Hochstadt School No. 66 to form Cloverfield Consolidated School No. 66, with classes continuing at the two original locations. In 1968, Cloverfield became part of the Hanover School Division. In 1972, with the construction of a new primary school in the village of Kleefeld nearby, Gruenfeld School closed. Its building was sold in June 1973 and renovated into a private residence.
Period
Principal
1940-1942
Gustav Knellers Reimer
1942-1945
Andrew Toews
1945-1964
Richard Lehmann Reimer (1911-1999)
1964-1966
Richard Loeppky
1966-1969
Werner Henry “Vern” Hildebrand
1969-1972
John Lloyd Nikkel
Among the early teachers of Gruenfeld School were Cornelius Toews (1883-1884), W/M? Rodueusell? (Spring-Fall 1885), Julius Radueusell? (Spring 1886), Heinrich “[Henry/Henri]” Rempel (Fall 1886 - Spring 1889, Spring 1891 - Spring 1899), school not operated? (Fall 1889 - Fall 1890), Jacob R. Dueck (Fall 1899 - Spring 1900), Jacob F. Friesen (Fall 1900), John L. Isaac (Spring-Fall 1901), H. S. Rempel (Spring 1905 - Spring 1906), school not operated? (Fall 1906), John D. Goossen (December 1907 - April 1908), John L. Isaac (November 1908 - March 1909), Jacob R. Dueck (November 1909 - April 1910, November 1910 - March 1911), Jakob I. Dueck (November 1911 - March 1912), ? (Fall 1912 - Fall 1914), Frank L. Isaac (January-April 1915, October 1915 - May 1916, November 1916 - April 1917, October 1918 - April 1919), Andrew R. Sobering (October 1917 - April 1918), Aaron Toews (April-June 1919, October 1919 - June 1920, September 1920 - June 1921, Fall 1925 - Spring 1926), Albert L. Reimer (Fall 1921 - Spring 1924), Frank Wiebe (Fall 1924 - Spring 1925), Helen Janz (Fall 1926 - Spring 1928), Gustav Knellers Reimer (Fall 1928 - Spring 1940), and George Fast (?-?).
Period
Teachers
1940-1941
Regina Helen Doerksen (grades 1-4), Gustav Knellers Reimer (grades 5-8)
1941-1942
Regina Helen Doerksen (grades 1-4), Gustav Knellers Reimer (grades 5-8)
1942-1943
Regina Helen Doerksen (grades 1-4), Andrew Toews (grades 5-9)
1943-1944
Lottie Giesbrecht (grades 1-4), Andrew Toews (grades 5-9)
1944-1945
Marie Reimer (grades 1-4, 1944), Andrew Toews (grades 5-10), Cornelius L. Toews (grades 1-4)
1945-1946
Irene M. Loewen (grades 1-4), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-9)
1946-1947
Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10), Sally Elizabeth Schroeder (grades 1-4)
1947-1948
Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10), Sally Elizabeth Schroeder (grades 1-4)
1948-1949
Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10), Sally Elizabeth Schroeder (grades 1-4)
1949-1950
Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10), Lottie J. Neufeld (grades 1-4)
1950-1951
Helen Ruth Klassen (grades 1-4), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10)
1951-1952
Helen Ruth Klassen (grades 1-4), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10)
1952-1953
Helen Ruth Klassen (grades 1-4), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10)
1953-1954
Helen Ruth Klassen (grades 1-4), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 5-10)
1954-1955
Helen Ruth Klassen (grades 1-3), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 7-10), Eileen Margaret Toews (grades 4-6)
1955-1956
Ruby Victoria Braun (grades 1-3), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 8-11), Rosemarie Unger (grades 4-7)
1956-1957
Ruby Victoria Braun (grades 1-3), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 8-11), Rose-Ann Tiede (grades 4-7)
1957-1958
Louise Reimer (grades 1-2), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 9-11), Rose-Ann Tiede (grades 3-5), Marlene E. Unruh (grades 6-8)
1958-1959
Sylvia Rieger (grades 1-2), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 9-11), Marlene E. Unruh (grades 6-8), Annamarie Wiebe (grades 3-5)
1959-1960
Irma Janzen (grades 1-2), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 9-11), Margarita Agnes ”Rita” Schroeder (grades 6-8), Annamarie Wiebe (grades 3-5)
1960-1961
Ernest Dueck (grades 6-8), Irma Janzen (grades 1-2), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 9-11), Annamarie Wiebe (grades 3-5)
1961-1962
Ruby Victoria Braun (grades 1-2), Ernest Dueck (grades 6-8), Elsie Loewen (grades 3-5), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 9-11)
1962-1963
Alice Braun (grades 1-2), Victor Hildebrand (grades 6-8), Elsie Loewen (grades 3-5), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 9-10)
1963-1964
Alice Braun (grades 1-2), Victor Hildebrand (grades 6-8), Mary Kornelsen (grades 3-5), Richard Lehmann Reimer (grades 9-10)
1964-1965
Alice Braun (grade 1), Mary Loeppky (grades 2-3), Richard Loeppky (grades 7-8), Henry Leonard Wedel (grades 4-6)
1965-1966
Richard Loeppky (grades 7-8), Henry Leonard Wedel (grades 4-6), Elizabeth “Betty” Wiens (grades 2-4), ? (grade 1)
1966-1967
Werner Henry “Vern” Hildebrand (grades 7-8), Grace Elizabeth Loewen (grades 1-2), Lloyd Penner (grades 5-6), ? (grades 3-4)
1967-1968
Werner Henry “Vern” Hildebrand (grades 7-8), Grace Elizabeth Loewen (grades 1-2), Lloyd Penner (grades 5-6), Irma Marie Rempel (grades 3-4)
1968-1969
Abram Daniel Friesen (grades 5-6), Werner Henry “Vern” Hildebrand (grades 7-8), Opal A. Kliewer (grades 1-2), Lloyd John Penner (grades 3-4)
1969-1970
Abram Daniel Friesen (grades 5-6), Bonnia Patricia Jorgenson (grades 1-2), John Lloyd Nikkel (grades 7-8), Lloyd John Penner (grades 3-4)
1970-1971
Marie-Luise Fenske (grades 5-6), Bonnia Patricia Jorgenson (grades 1-2), John Lloyd Nikkel (grades 7-8), Lloyd John Penner (grades 3-4)
1971-1972
Marie-Luise Fenske (grades 5-6), Bonnia Patricia Jorgenson (grades 1-2), John Lloyd Nikkel (grades 7-8), Lloyd John Penner (grades 3-4)
After 1972
see Kleefeld School
Gruenfeld School (June 1968)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba School Records Collection, GR2656,
Hanover School Division Collection #39, Series 2, Gruenfeld School District #63.
Gruenfeld School, rear elevation (Dec 1968)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Manitoba School Records Collection, GR2656,
Hanover School Division Collection #21, Series 1, Gruenfeld School District #63.
The former Gruenfeld School building (April 2012)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.51684, W96.87294
denoted by symbol on the map above
Board of Education registers (A 0050), GR7643, Archives of Manitoba.
Summative half-yearly returns for school districts (A 0051), GR0571, Archives of Manitoba.
Corporate Security registered documents (ATG 0089), #42 School District of Gruenfeld, GR12576, Archives of Manitoba.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Gruenfeld School District No. 63 - Daily Registers, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Gruenfeld School District No. 63 - Cash Books, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Gruenfeld School District No. 63 - Miscellaneous, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.
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.
A Study of Public School Buildings in Manitoba by David Butterfield, Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 1994, 230 pages.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 April 2026
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