Historic Sites of Manitoba: Verona School No. 409 (Municipality of Two Borders)

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Photos & Coordinates | Sources

The Verona School District was formed in July 1885. Debentures were issued to finance the construction of a school building on the northeast quarter of 16-2-26 west of the Principal Meridian, in what is now the Municipality of Two Borders. The first classes began in April 1886. In 1897, the school was moved to 15-1-26W. A new building was constructed at the same site in 1918, featuring a full basement, coal room, store room, cistern, and indoor toilet. In addition to supporting the educational activities of the district, the school also served as a community centre for church services, socials, and meetings.

Among the teachers of Verona School were A. F. Higgins (1886-1887), Pennie Veltala (1888-1889), Annie Thompson (1889-1890), Clara White (1890-1891), Terra Veitch (1891), Jeanette Stead (1892), Clara White (1892), Clara Potter (1893), Mary E. Campbell (1893-1894), J. W. Reid (1894-1896), M. Afflec (1896-1897), E. M. McFarlane (1897-1898), Nellie Sutherland (1898-1900), Lizzie B. Craig (1900-1901), Nettie L. Harrison (1901-1902), Jean Robson (1905-1906), Francis K. Purdie (1906-1907), Vera Strange (1907-1908), Sarah Hunter (1908-1909), Lillian Delaware (1909-1910), Margaret Fletcher (1910-1911), C. Strachan (1911-1912), I. G. McDonald (1912-1913), Bessie Branscombe Rutherford (1913-1914), Annie Johnston (1914-1915), A. M. Johnston (1915), Laura M. Robinson (1916), Belle Millar Penson (1916-1907), Helen Sage (1917-1918), Pearl A. Brown Milne (1918-1919), Stenna M. Barnett Holden (191-1921), Sadie Leslie (1921-1922), Dora Finnen Cromme (1922), M. Thompson Phillips (1923), B. M. Maude Taylor (1923-1924), Spencer Percival (1924), Hazel F. Gorham (1925), Bentina Erlandson (1925-1927), Olive Marion Powne Mills (1927-1928), Beatrice Fern Orriss (1928-1930), Hazel Smith Fowler (1930-1932), Ada Thompson Josephson (1932-1934), Margaret A. Thompson Sundal (1934-1942), Marjorie E. Palmer Tooke (1942-1944), Ruth E. Holden Bennie (1944-1946), Lois Holden Kirkwood (1946-1947), Audrey Lowery (1947-1948), William Skiydlowsky (1948-1949), Jeanne G. Colleaqux Usunier (1949-1950), Shirley Culbertson Cameron (1950-1951), Dorothy Trefry Beatty (1951-1952), Shirley Stonehouse Smart (1952-1953), D. Keith Kobbledick (1953), Daphne Pratt (1954), Helen Fisher Howden (1954-1955), E. J. Schapansky Cheyne (1955-1956), Mrs. Gwen Temple (1956-1957), and Mrs. Elsie Maxwell (1957).

Noteworthy students who attended Verona School included municipal official Roger Goethals.

The school closed in January 1958 and became part of Waskada Consolidated School No. 492. In August 1982, a commemorative cairn was erected at the site, near the former school building, which was still standing as of October 2011. It became a municipally designated historic site in August 2000. A list of students killed during military service in the First World War is on display at the Royal Canadian Legion in Waskada.

Photos & Coordinates

The original Verona School (circa 1911) Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspector Photos GR2664, C65. The second Verona School, built in 1918 (no date) by George Hunter Source: Archives of Manitoba, School Inspectors Photographs, GR8461, A0233, C131-1, page 44. The former Verona School building (circa 1986) Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 113. The former Verona School building (circa 1986) Source: Historic Resources Branch, Public School Buildings Inventory, slide 112. The former Verona School building and commemorative monument (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Rear exterior of the former Verona School building (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Interior of the former Verona School building (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Basement of the former Verona School building (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Verona School war memorial in Waskada Legion Hall (no date) Source: Ronda Palmer Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.13201, W100.88705 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Fred East	?	?	?	?	?
Stanley Clarence Elliott [Vimy Ridge]	Farm Labourer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	7 March 1887	16 March 1917
Thomas Veitch Gibson [Melita, Melita School, Waskada]	Hardware Merchant	46th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	12 October 1884	8 April 1917
Ernest Hermon Hawthorne [Agricultural College, Deloraine, Deloraine United]	Civil Servant	Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry	Private	1 August 1884	2 June 1916
Louis Peter Jensen [Waskada]	Moulder	6th Company, Canadian Machine Gun Corps	Private	28 March 1894	10 June 1916
Frank Johnston	?	?	?	?	?
Cyril Osmonde Juniper [St. Philip's Anglican]	Clerk	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	31 July 1894	9 October 1916
George Walter Kemp [Melita, Waskada]	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	22 March 1897	23 August 1917
William James Kidd [Waskada]	Labourer	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	24 September 1889	15 August 1917
James McCombie [Vimy Ridge]	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	3 January 1895	1 March 1917
Harold Ernest Stewart [Waskada]	Farmer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	15 May 1890	5 April 1917

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Sources:

Our First Century, Town of Melita and Municipality of Arthur: 1884-1984 by Melita-Arthur History Committee, 1983, Manitoba Legislative Library F5648.A78, pages 259-262.

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.

Bridging Brenda: The History of Brenda Municipality and Area, Volume 1 by Brenda History Committee, 1990, pages 127-130.

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

Verona School, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

We thank Ronda Palmer and Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 26 November 2023

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