© 2025, Christian Cassidy
Winnipeg School Division
Place: General Wolfe School
Address: 661 Banning Street
Opened: 1920, extension 1929, new building 1977
Daniel McIntyre, the superintendent of the Winnipeg School Board, told the Winnipeg Tribune in an April 1920 interview that the city's schools were overcrowded by around 4,000 pupils and that at least 90 new elementary school classrooms were needed to prevent that number from getting worse. This demand was a combination of population increase and the slowdown in school construction during the war years.
That same month, the school board applied for building permits for three new schools. One of them was a 16-classroom structure on the north side of Ellice Avenue between Banning and Burnell streets. The $125,000 brick building would measure 62 feet x 313 feet and be a single storey except for a small section around the front entrance. It would have a capacity for 700 students.
The architect was John N Semmens, who designed more than ten schools for the school board in a building spree between 1920 and 1922.
August 28, 1928, Winnipeg Tribune
Construction began in May 1920, and the school was ready in time for the start of the school year on September 1.
It opened along with two other new schools, the 700-student Margaret Scott School (now demolished) on Arlington Street, and the 270-student Montcalm School (now demolished) on Tecumseh Street. Three other schools reopened with expanded buildings that fall.
During the construction phase, the school was named General Wolfe to commemorate James Wolfe, the British soldier best known for leading the defeat of Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm at the Plains of Abraham. (Presumably, naming schools for both Wolfe and Montcalm in the same year cancelled each other out.)
General Wolfe School was intended to be a junior high, but due to school overcrowding in the rapidly expanding West End, it had to host several other grades in its early years.
When Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute opened in 1923, 561 students from grades 9 and 10 were transferred there from General Wolfe. Much of this freed-up space was filled by the growing number of area elementary school children. It wasn't until 1927 that these younger grades were transferred to Greenway and Wellington schools, which made General Wolfe exclusively a junior high school.
Dewart was a busy man at the time. Also in 1920, he was elected president of the Manitoba Teachers' Association by acclamation after serving as its secretary for nine years. He was also secretary of the Manitoba Educational Association.
Dewart retired in 1938 after serving as principal of Isaac Brock School for 13 years.
As soon as General Wolfe School opened, the school board was already thinking about its expansion. In 1921, it bought the Skjaldborg Lutheran Church on Burnell Street and disposed of the building to create a larger sports field to the rear of the school.
In May 1929, a tender was issued for a $68,000, 61-foot x 88-foot expansion immediately west of the existing school building. It stood three storeys tall with a basement assembly hall. The firm of Hazelton and Wallin was the builder.
The school participated in many school sports leagues. At a 1937 speed skating meet, its boys and girls teams won six first-place medals and three second-place medals, which was thought to be a school league record at the time. It also excelled at track and field in the summer, and even formed a football team in 1932.
Off the field, it was known for its choir and music programs, despite the school not having a dedicated music room.
By the early 1970s, despite being just 50 years old, the building was outdated and crumbling. The school board made its first official request to Ben Hanuschak, the provincial education minister, for funds to replace it in November 1971. The request was rejected, but money was set aside for some renovation work.
School trustees met directly with the minister in October 1973 to make their case that renovations would not suffice. They told him, as the Free Press put it, that the school was "severely out of date, structurally unsound, and smells." Two days later, he was taken on a tour to see the buckling floors, crumbling walls, and lack of ventilation system for himself.
The process to build a new school finally got underway in January 1975. Architectural firm Smith Carter Partners was hired to draw up the plans and a tender for its construction was issued over the summer to W. W. Construction (1972) Ltd..
The education department and city squabbled over a $300,000 civic contribution to the project to make the gymnasium a community-use facility. The final approval for the $2.1 million building project came in late September 1975.
Construction on the foundation of the new school got underway in October 1975 and was not without tragedy.
On Friday, November 21, 1975, Leslie James Goertzen, 28, was inside an 11-foot deep trench to shore it up with wooden planks when the ground caved in on him. It took fellow construction workers about 45 minutes to dig him out, but he had died of suffocation.
Goertzen lived at Killarney Place Apartments, 66 Killarney Street, in Fort Garry and left a wife.
Work continued throughout the winter, and on Monday, June 14, 1976, the building was well above ground and a cornerstone laying ceremony was held.
One of the people in attendance was school trustee Inez Stevenson. She joined parents in their first calls for a new school back in 1971, as she had four sons who lived in the area. Her sons would have graduated by the time the new school opened, but she told the Winnipeg Tribune, "I just wanted the next group of students to have something better."
The old school remained open during the construction of the new one, which was the normal practice of the Winnipeg School Division.
Off the field, it was known for its choir and music programs, despite the school not having a dedicated music room.
October 24, 1973, Winnipeg Free Press
By the early 1970s, despite being just 50 years old, the building was outdated and crumbling. The school board made its first official request to Ben Hanuschak, the provincial education minister, for funds to replace it in November 1971. The request was rejected, but money was set aside for some renovation work.
School trustees met directly with the minister in October 1973 to make their case that renovations would not suffice. They told him, as the Free Press put it, that the school was "severely out of date, structurally unsound, and smells." Two days later, he was taken on a tour to see the buckling floors, crumbling walls, and lack of ventilation system for himself.
The process to build a new school finally got underway in January 1975. Architectural firm Smith Carter Partners was hired to draw up the plans and a tender for its construction was issued over the summer to W. W. Construction (1972) Ltd..
The education department and city squabbled over a $300,000 civic contribution to the project to make the gymnasium a community-use facility. The final approval for the $2.1 million building project came in late September 1975.
November 22, 1975, Winnipeg Free Press
Construction on the foundation of the new school got underway in October 1975 and was not without tragedy.
On Friday, November 21, 1975, Leslie James Goertzen, 28, was inside an 11-foot deep trench to shore it up with wooden planks when the ground caved in on him. It took fellow construction workers about 45 minutes to dig him out, but he had died of suffocation.
Goertzen lived at Killarney Place Apartments, 66 Killarney Street, in Fort Garry and left a wife.
Stevenson outside the school, June 14, 1976.
Winnipeg Tribune Photo Collection, U of M Digital Archives
Winnipeg Tribune Photo Collection, U of M Digital Archives
Work continued throughout the winter, and on Monday, June 14, 1976, the building was well above ground and a cornerstone laying ceremony was held.
One of the people in attendance was school trustee Inez Stevenson. She joined parents in their first calls for a new school back in 1971, as she had four sons who lived in the area. Her sons would have graduated by the time the new school opened, but she told the Winnipeg Tribune, "I just wanted the next group of students to have something better."
The old school remained open during the construction of the new one, which was the normal practice of the Winnipeg School Division.
A short item in the Free Press of November 27, 1976 noted that a farewell tea had taken place at the old school for former teachers, students and friends before it closed forever early the following year.
The new General Wolfe School welcomed students in late January 1977 but the opening ceremony was not held until Wednesday, March 9, 1977.
It was a day of problems for principal Charles Martin, who was expecting the education minister and other VIPs for a 2 pm start. The power cut out at the school at 8:45 a.m and took two hours to restore. Then, at about 11:00 am, a crane involved in the demolition of the old school tipped and crashed down onto the new one. It buckled a ceiling truss and punctured a hole in the roof.
By the afternoon, the mayhem had ended and the ceremony proceeded as scheduled in the gymnasium.
Unlike old school, this one had a music room and a multi-purpose space to eat lunch in. (Its public spaces were large enough that it hosted the Cathay - China Folklorama pavilion in 1979 through the early 1980s.)
A 1976 Tribune article about the ribbon cutting stated that the new school would have the capacity for 750 students, though the school's 2024 - 2025 annual report says there were 390 students.
Some Past Students
The new General Wolfe School welcomed students in late January 1977 but the opening ceremony was not held until Wednesday, March 9, 1977.
It was a day of problems for principal Charles Martin, who was expecting the education minister and other VIPs for a 2 pm start. The power cut out at the school at 8:45 a.m and took two hours to restore. Then, at about 11:00 am, a crane involved in the demolition of the old school tipped and crashed down onto the new one. It buckled a ceiling truss and punctured a hole in the roof.
By the afternoon, the mayhem had ended and the ceremony proceeded as scheduled in the gymnasium.
Unlike old school, this one had a music room and a multi-purpose space to eat lunch in. (Its public spaces were large enough that it hosted the Cathay - China Folklorama pavilion in 1979 through the early 1980s.)
A 1976 Tribune article about the ribbon cutting stated that the new school would have the capacity for 750 students, though the school's 2024 - 2025 annual report says there were 390 students.
Some Past Students
June 28, 1932, Winnipeg Tribune
One exceptional student in the early 1930s was Elizabeth "Bessie" Gold.
Gold was born blind and grew up in Ontario, attending the Ontario School for the Blind in Brantford. Her step-parents, Peter and Elizabeth Wilson, moved to 325 Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg around 1928 when she was 14 years old and wanted her to continue her education at a public school.
As the Brantford school didn't teach certain courses, Gold had to cram three years of of French and two years of math lessons into one year. A 1932 Tribune story noted that because there were no braille signs for algebraic symbols, she made up her own.
With her math and French out of the way, she was enrolled in grade 9 at General Wolfe School for the 1931 school year and graduated with a 78% average.
Gold's first love was music, and she was a student of noted local pianist Edward Heaton. Gold also took the Toronto Conservatory of Music's ACTM - performers piano exam and passed with honours - the first blind person in Manitoba to achieve such an accolade.
Gold may have gone on to Daniel McIntyre Collegiate, as there was a student the following year on the honour roll with the same name. Between 1928 and 1934, Gold's name is mentioned as part of many local concerts and recitals, then it abruptly ends in mid-1934.
It could be that Gold, then 22-years-old, moved again.
Wartime
Gold was born blind and grew up in Ontario, attending the Ontario School for the Blind in Brantford. Her step-parents, Peter and Elizabeth Wilson, moved to 325 Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg around 1928 when she was 14 years old and wanted her to continue her education at a public school.
As the Brantford school didn't teach certain courses, Gold had to cram three years of of French and two years of math lessons into one year. A 1932 Tribune story noted that because there were no braille signs for algebraic symbols, she made up her own.
With her math and French out of the way, she was enrolled in grade 9 at General Wolfe School for the 1931 school year and graduated with a 78% average.
Gold's first love was music, and she was a student of noted local pianist Edward Heaton. Gold also took the Toronto Conservatory of Music's ACTM - performers piano exam and passed with honours - the first blind person in Manitoba to achieve such an accolade.
Gold may have gone on to Daniel McIntyre Collegiate, as there was a student the following year on the honour roll with the same name. Between 1928 and 1934, Gold's name is mentioned as part of many local concerts and recitals, then it abruptly ends in mid-1934.
It could be that Gold, then 22-years-old, moved again.
Wartime
A 1944 newspaper article noted that around 150 former General Wolfe students were involved in the war. it was likely much greater than that before the war ended. Sadly, not all of them made it home.
Most former students found in newspaper stories were members of the RCAF. It is unclear why. Perhaps Daniel McIntyre Collegiate, where most of the students would have gone on to,had an association with the air cadets.
Here are the stories of three former students who were killed in action and one recognised for heroism.
Operation Picture me, Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Orville Wilbert McKenzie was born in November 1916, at St. Paul, Minnesota, and his family came to Winnipeg when he was 11 years old. He attended General Wolfe School from 1930 - 1932 and grade 10 at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate before leaving to work.
When McKenzie enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force in November 1940, he had worked for four years as a shipper at Mid West Storage and Distributors on Westbrook Street. His parents had retired to British Columbia, and he lived in an apartment at 560 Sherbrook Street, a block away from his brother.
On June 3, 1942, he was the air gunner on a flight that left on a bombing raid over Germany. The plane never returned and he was declared "missing in action". A few months later, he was declared "missing - presumed dead".
Phillip Grimshaw Barclay was the only son of Philip and Mary Barclay of 418 Toronto Street. The family had come to Canada from Scotland in 1925.
Barclay attended General Wolfe School and Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. He was also active in the YMCA where he played rugby and basketball. At the time of his enlistment, he worked for the Hudson's Bay Company.
Barclay's plane was shot down by German forces on May 31, 1942 and all five crew members were killed. He was 21 years old.
William Peter Duthie was born in 1921 and grew up at 401 Lipton Street and attended General Wolfe School before graduating from Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. He played baseball and rugby and was a member of the West End Orioles Athletic Club on Burnell Street.Greenway School from 1928 - 1934, General Wolfe School from 1934 to 1936 and graduated rom Daniel mcIntyre Collegiate in 1939.
He was working as an apprentice in a cheese factory but was laid off due to poor business conditions. he then enlisted in the army.
WE Orioles Athletics Club and the St, Margaret's Anglican Church choir. left parents and two borthers. Duthie was reported missing in April 1943 and few weeks alter "believed killed"
He was working as an apprentice in a cheese factory but was laid off due to poor business conditions. he then enlisted in the army.
WE Orioles Athletics Club and the St, Margaret's Anglican Church choir. left parents and two borthers. Duthie was reported missing in April 1943 and few weeks alter "believed killed"
September 14, 1942, Winnipeg Tribune
Warrant Officer W. M. "Bill" Jackson survived the war and was mentioned in dispatches, a commendation awarded for "valiant conduct, devotion to duty or other distinguished service", in January 1942.
Jackson's squadron of spitfire planes were flying over the English channel when they encountered German forces. He "outmaneuvered a German Messerschmitt 109", but some of his comrades were not so lucky. One was shot down and Jackson could see the pilot bobbing in the water.
Rather than leave him to die, Jackson flew his Spitfire slow enough and close enough to the water to drop his plane's lifesaving dinghy to the man. As his commendation notes, “Jackson would have to raise himself off his seat, twist to one side and as he flew the speedy machine with one hand and foot, fumble with the clasps of his dinghy with his free hand. Then he would have to stand on his seat to throw the dinghy through the cockpit cover which he would have to shove back before releasing the inflation apparatus.”
Jackson received a promotion to Warrant Officer, participated in the Dieppe Raid in August 1942, and returned home to Winnipeg in September.
