Historic Sites of Manitoba: Barker School / Sommerfeld School No. 2058 (Sommerfeld, Municipality of Rhineland)

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

Known originally as Barker School when it was organized formally in February 1921, in Sommerfeld in the Municipality of Rhineland, it was renamed Sommerfeld School during the summer of 1923. Until 1940, when a new structure was constructed, the school occupied a private building that had operated in the community. In 1961, another school building was moved to the site from Lowe Farm for use as a second classroom. The two separate buildings were, for a time, identified as No. 1 South School and No. 2 North School. The district was dissolved in 1971 but one of the building continued to be used for elementary classes for another five years. The second building was sold and moved out of the village. The remaining building was sold to the community in 1977 and used as a community centre. It now appears to be unused.

Principals

Period	Principal
1961-1962	Waldemar “Wally” Rempel (1936-2015)
1962-1964	Lawrence Giesbrecht
1964-1966	Susan H. Giesbrecht
1966-1967	Jake Letkeman
1967-1968	John Janzen

Teachers

Period	Teachers
1957-1958	Waldemar Rempel, ?
1958-1959	Waldemar Rempel, ?
1959-1960	Waldemar Rempel, ?
1960-1961	Waldemar Rempel, ?
1961-1962	Patricia June Froese (grades 1-6), Waldemar Rempel (grades 7-10)
1962-1963	Patricia June Froese (grades 1-6, at No. 1 South School), Lawrence Giesbrecht (grades 7-10, at No. 2 North School)
1963-1964	Patricia June Froese (grades 1-4, at No. 1 South School), Lawrence Giesbrecht (grades 5-9, at No. 2 North School)
1964-1965	Susan H. Giesbrecht (grades 5-9, at No. 2 North School), Wilhelmina Alyce Hoeppner (grades 1-4, at No. 1 South School)
1965-1966	Susan H. Giesbrecht (grades 5-8, at No. 2 North School), Marjorie Eileen Janzen (grades 1-4, at No. 1 South School)
1966-1967	Marjorie Eileen Janzen (grades 1-4), Jake Letkeman (grades 5-8)
1967-1968	Susanna “Susie” Heide (grades 1-4), John John Janzen (grades 5-8)

Among the other teachers at Barker School / Sommerfeld School were W. Toews (1922-1923), J. F. Kroeker (1923-1927), J.? P. Zacharias (1927-1829), Abram Daniel Friesen (1928-1929), ? (1929-1930), Jacob J. Enns (1930-1931), Katharina Wiebe “Kath” Peters (1931-1934), Henry Schellenberg (1934-1940), George Schellenberg (1940-1941), William Friesen (1941), Peter J. Peters (1941-1942), Dorothy Janzen (1943), Jacob J. Enns (1943-1946), Peter Bernhard Krahn (1946-1952), Abram P. Hildebrand (1952-1955), and Jacob J. Koop (1955-1957).

Photos & Coordinates

The original Sommerfeld School building (no date) by G. G. Neufeld Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-3, page 86. The former Sommerfeld School building, constructed in 1940 (circa 1986) Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 1093. Exterior of the former Sommerfeld School building (February 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Exterior of the former Sommerfeld School building (November 2020) Source: Rose Kuzina Interior of the former Sommerfeld School building (February 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.07130, W97.44832 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.

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

We thank Al Schmidt (Altona and District Heritage Research Centre) for providing additional information used here.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Barker School District No. 2058 - Daily Register, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.

Manitoba School Records Collection, Sommerfeld School District No. 2058 - Daily Registers, GR2656, Archives of Manitoba.

We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 10 February 2021

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