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The first school in this area (at one time in the RM of Assiniboia and today part of Winnipeg) was Sturgeon Creek School No. 30, whose district was established in January 1876. In 1904, a two-storey wood frame schoolhouse, measuring 20 by 30 feet, was constructed on Lot 114 in the Parish of St. Charles, on the north side of Portage Avenue. The building had four classrooms for classes in grades 1 to 9, and it featured oiled wood floors and a wood-fired furnace. The second floor was expanded in 1906 and the basement was enlarged in 1907 on a design by architect Frank R. Evans.
By 1949, the 45-year-old building was showing its age, notably creaking and shaking when buffeted by strong winds. Filled to its 150-pupil capacity, an additional 80 students attended classes in the Assiniboia Municipal Hall. In June 1949, Principal Frances Ateah invited newspaper reporters in to show them the building's unsafe condition. Outraged parents demanded that it be replaced. The school was subsequently replaced by Kirkfield Park School on a site to the west and this building was demolished around 1950.
Period
Principal
1909-1910
Elizabeth “Lisbeth” Robertson (1878-1952)
1910-1923
Catherine Annie Dohaney (1877-1960)
1923
Emma Embree (1884-1972)
1923-1927
Catherine Annie Dohaney (1877-1960)
1928
Rachel Margaret “Rae” Scott (1906-2000)
1928-1930
Catherine Annie Dohaney (1877-1960)
1930-1943
Thomas Wilbert “Wib” Emerson (1888-1969)
1944-1950
Frances Elizabeth Ateah (1910-1990)
After 1950
The early teachers of Sturgeon Creek School included Saul Wilkes (1883), ? (1884), Alex Acheson (Spring 1885 - Spring 1892), Emily Elkin? (Fall 1892), A. Sutherland (Spring-Fall 1983), James S. McIvor (Spring 1894 - Spring 1895), U. R. Tyrmuir? (Fall 1895), Alice Taylor (Spring 1896), K. H. Fesrendur? (Fall 1896), Herbert William Wadge (Spring 1897), C. M. Campbell (Fall 1897 - Spring 1898), Theophilus John “Theo” Watts (Fall 1898 - Spring 1901), Fanny B. Thompson (Spring-Fall 1901), ? (1902-1904, records unavailable), Howard B. Beynaw? (Spring 1905), and William Edgar Pye (Fall 1905).
School Year
Teachers
1906
Minnie A. Cavanagh, Jessie Taylor (Fall, daughter of John Taylor), Grace Thompson
1907
Minnie A. Cavanagh, Jessie Taylor, Grace Thompson
1908
Minnie A. Cavanagh, Frances M. Ness (Fall), Jessie Taylor, Grace H. Thompson (Spring)
1909
Minnie A. Cavanagh (Spring), Elspeth M. Craig (Fall), Agnes McClosky (Spring), Frances M. Ness, Elizabeth “Lisbeth” Robertson (Fall), E? M. Thompson (Fall), Grace Thompson (Spring)
1910
Catherine Annie Dohaney, Joseph MacLennan (Fall), Frances M. Ness, Elizabeth “Lisbeth” Robertson (Spring), Jessie Taylor
1911
Jane W. N. Campbell (Fall), Catherine Annie Dohaney, Joseph MacLennan (Spring), Frances M. Ness, Jessie Taylor
1912
Spring only: Catherine Annie Dohaney, Frances M. Ness, Jessie Taylor
1912-1913
Catherine Annie Dohaney, Frances M. Ness, Jessie Taylor
1913-1914
Catherine Annie Dohaney, E. Drever? (Spring) Frances M. Ness, Jessie Taylor
1914-1915
Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 5-9), Frances M. Ness (grades 1-2), Jessie Taylor (grades 3-4)
1915-1916
E. M. Craig (grade 4, part Fall), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 5-9, September-December; grades 7-9, January-June), Florence Eck (grade 4, part Fall), Mabel Louisa [Inche] Inche (grades 4-6, January-June), Frances M. Ness (grades 1-2), Jessie Taylor (grades 2-3, September-December; grades 3-4, January-June)
1916-1917
Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 6-9), Mabel Louisa [Inche] Inche (grades 4-5), Frances M. Ness (grade 1), Jessie Taylor (grades 2-3)
1917-1918
Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 6-9), Mabel Louisa [Inche] Inch (grades 4-5), Frances M. Ness (grade 1), Jessie Taylor (grades 2-3),
1918-1919
Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 6-9), Mabel Louisa [Inche] Inch (grades 4-5), Frances M. Ness (grade 1, September-December; grades 1-2, January-June), Jessie Taylor (grades 2-3)
1919-1920
Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 6-9), Mabel Louisa [Inche] Inch Hastings (grades 4-5), Isabella Leslie (grade 1, September-December), Frances M. Ness (grades 1-2, January-June), Jessie Taylor (grades 2-3)
1920-1921
Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 6-9), Ella Gill (grades 2-3, January-June), E. Marguerite McFadden (grades 2-3, September-December), Frances M. Ness (grade 1, September-December; grades 1-2, January-June), Jessie Taylor (grades 4-5)
1921-1922
Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grade 1, January-June), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 6-9, September-December; grades 7-9, January-June), Ella Gill (grades 2-3), Frances M. Ness (grade 1, September-December), Jessie Taylor (grades 4-5, September-December; grades 4-6, January-June)
1922-1923
Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grade 1), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 6-9, September-April), Emma Embree (grades 6-9, May-June), Ella Gill (grades 2-3), Jessie Taylor (grades 4-5)
1923-1924
Marjory C. Brown (grades 1-2), Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grades 3-4), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 7-9), Jessie Taylor (grades 5-6)
1924-1925
Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grades 3-4), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 7-9), Elizabeth R. M. Hetherington (grades 1-2), Jessie Taylor (grades 5-6)
1925-1926
Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grades 3-4), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 7-9), Elizabeth R. M. Hetherington (grades 1-2), Jessie Taylor (grades 5-6)
1926-1927
Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grades 3-4), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 7-9), Elizabeth R. M. Hetherington (grades 1-2, September-December & April-June), M. E. Small (grades 1-2, January-March), Jessie Taylor (grades 5-6)
1927-1928
Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grades 3-4), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 7-9, September-December), Rachel Margaret “Rae” Scott (grades 7-9, January-June), Jessie Taylor (grades 5-6)
1928-1929
Dorothy Wentworth Dafoe (grades 5-6, September-November & February-June), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 7-9), Elizabeth R. M. Hetherington (grades 3-4), Lena Goodman (grades 5-6, November-February), Mary Catherine Unger (grades 1-2)
1929-1930
E. M. Bennett (grades 5-6, part Fall), Catherine Annie Dohaney (grades 7-9), Elizabeth R. M. Hetherington (grades 5-6), Alma Merle Rehill (grade 1), Mary Catherine Unger (grades 2-4)
1930-1931
Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Alma Merle Rehill (grades 1-2), Mary Catherine Unger (grades 3-4)
1931-1932
Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Marguerite Grace Ross (grades 3-4, June substitute), Mary Catherine Unger (grades 3-4, Septemer-June), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1932-1933
Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Marguerite Grace Ross (grades 3-4), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1933-1934
Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Marguerite Grace Ross (grades 3-4), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1934-1935
Alma Merle Cox (grades 3-4), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1935-1936
Alma Merle Cox (grades 3-4), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1936-1937
Alma Merle Cox (grades 3-4), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1937-1938
Alma Merle Cox (grades 3-4), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1938-1939
Alma Merle Cox (grades 3-4), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1939-1940
Alma Merle Cox (grades 3-4), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1940-1941
Alma Merle Cox (grades 3-4), Mary Davies (grades 5-6), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 1-2)
1941-1942
Marguerite Hope Bullard (grades 5-6, October-June), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Grace Murley Wadge (grades 5-6, September), Edith Angelina Waterman (grades 3-4), Annie Kathleen Tod (grades 1-2)
1942-1943
Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9), Emily Leonore Gardiner (grades 5-6, January-June), Clifford Delbert Hall (grades 5-6, September-December), Myrtle Geraldine Rusenel (grades 3-4), Annie Kathleen Tod (grades 1-2)
1943-1944
Frances Elizabeth Willard Gray Ateah (grades 7-9, January-June), Thomas Wilbert Emerson (grades 7-9, September-December), Emily Leonore Gardiner (grades 5-6), Verna Florence Taylor (grades 3-4), Annie Kathleen Tod (grades 1-2)
1944-1945
Frances Elizabeth Willard Gray Ateah (grades 7-9), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 3-4, January-June), Gladys Julia Lane (grades 1-2), Winnifred Leese (grades 3-4, September-December), Clara Louise Thornton (grades 5-6)
1945-1946
Frances Elizabeth Willard Gray Ateah (grades 7-9), Bertha May Ellison (grades 1-2), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 5-6), Elsie Kostiuk (grades 3-4)
1946-1947
Frances Elizabeth Willard Gray Ateah (grades 8-9), Violet Perledene Bailie (grade 2), Mary Esther Dempsey (grades 2-3, September-December; grade 3, January-June), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 6-7), Elsie Kostiuk (grades 4-5), Marjorie Helen Steele (grade 1, May-June), Annie Marguerite Thorpe (grade 1, September-April)
1947-1948
Frances Elizabeth Willard Gray Ateah (grades 8-9), Ella Audrey Brown (grades 4-5, January-June), Mary Esther Dempsey (grade 3), Ruth Elizabeth Galbraith (grades 6-7), Raeleen Kulba (grade 1), Lillian Bertha Mazurkiewicz (grade 2), Evelyn Gladys MacKinley (grades 4-5, September-December)
1948-1949
Frances Elizabeth Willard Gray Ateah (grades 7-9), Mary Esther Dempsey (grade 3), Raileen Agnes Kulbra (grade 1), Lillian Bertha Mazurkiewicz (grade 2), Muriel? May Morrow (grade 4, part Spring), Evelyn Podolsky (grades 5-6), Inez Blanche Striemer (grade 4, September - part Spring)
1949-1950
Frances Elizabeth Willard Gray Ateah (grades 7-9), Irene May Fraser (grade 3), Eva Greenburg (grades 5-6), Joyce Lorraine McConnell (grade 2), Hedwig Margaret Strand (grades 4-5), Eleanor M. Zilkie (grade 1)
After 1950
Students at the Sturgeon Creek School deemed by its Principal to be a “death trap” (1949)
Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 15 June 1949, page 1.Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.88076, W97.28400
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Frank Robert Evans (1865-1949)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Kirkfield Park School (615 School Road, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Arthur Oliver School (647 School Road, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Sturgeon Creek Regional Secondary School / Sturgeon Heights Collegiate (2665 Ness Avenue, Winnipeg)
Marriage registrations [Mabel Louisa Inch & William Gordon Hastings], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Notice,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 November 1905, page 2.
“Tenders,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 May 1906, page 2.
“Tenders,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 August 1907, page 2.
“Local notes,” Manitoba Free Press, 14 October 1911, page 34.
“Personal and social,” Manitoba Free Press, 17 July 1917, page 3.
“Social and personal,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 September 1930, page 8.
“School ‘fire death trap,’ claims suburb principal,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 June 1949, page 1.
“Suburban school,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 June 1949, page 2.
“Trustees lack cash to build school,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 June 1949, page 17.
“Tenders,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 March 1950, page 25.
“Sturgeon Creek School construction progress,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 July 1950, page 3.
“Flood and strike,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 September 1950, page 3.
“Heavy construction program is planned,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 March 1953, page 3.
“Sturgeon Creek School vote Friday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 June 1953, page 3.
[Photo caption], Winnipeg Free Press, 22 September 1953, page 11.
“Miller to open Kirkfield Park School,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 November 1953, page 3.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
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.
Manitoba School Records Collection, Sturgeon Creek School District No. 30 / Kirkfield Park School District No. 30 - Daily Registers, GR9926, 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.
Kirkfield Park School History, 1904-1974, St. James Assiniboia School Division, circa 1974.
Obituary [Gladys Jane Bodnarus], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 June 2022.
School division half-yearly attendance reports (E 0757), Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Mari-Jean Nachtigall (St. James Assiniboia School Division) and Robert Harbottle for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 18 April 2026
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