By Christian Cassidy
Chief Peguis School at 1400 Rothesay Street in North Kildonan is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The planning for a new junior high school at this site began in February 1967 after the Rural Municipality of North Kildonan expropriated a large parcel of land east of River East Collegiate on behalf of the River East School Division. Tenders for the building’s construction closed in November 1968 with B. F. Klassen Construction Ltd. awarded the contract.
The school was designed by Ward, Macdonald and Partners. The firm was established in 1912 and in the late 1950s turned its attention to designing school buildings. Some of its projects leading up to the Chief Peguis commission included River East Collegiate (1961), Maple Leaf School (1961); W. C. Miller Collegiate in Altona (1964); and Robson Hall Faculty of Law building at the University of Manitoba (1969).
It was announced by the school division during the construction phase that the school would be named in honour of Chief Peguis. The Salteaux chief who lived from ca. 1774 to 1864 brought his people to Manitoba in the 1790s. The Selkirk Settlers were able to survive their initial years here thanks in large part to his friendship and cooperation.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the $1.8 million school took place in December 1968 and was to be ready in time for the start of the 1969 school year. Like many other projects in the busy construction year leading up to Manitoba’s Centennial, it fell weeks behind schedule. Students began attending classes in the new building in early 1970 and the official opening took place on April 23.
The official opening consisted of a day-long open house with a cornerstone laying ceremony by James Smith, chair of the River East School Division, at 4:00 pm. This was followed by a traditional dance by the Peguis Pow Wow and Cultural Group from Peguis First Nation.
The formal program began at 7:30 p.m. with an evening of entertainment and speeches. Premier Ed Schreyer had the honour of officially opening the school after which ceremonial keys were presented to the architect, builder, school board chair, the province’s superintendent of schools, and Chief Peguis School’s first principal, Harry Schmidt.
There were two special guests in the audience that night. Chief Albert Edward Thompson, Peguis’ great-great-grandson and chief of Peguis First Nation, and Amy Louise Clemons, his great-
great-granddaughter and the executive director of the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre in Selkirk. They both received special presentations. Several artifacts once belonging to Chief Peguis were also on display.
Chief Peguis School featured 36 classrooms, a gymnasium, shops, home economics and arts spaces all radiating around a central library. The walls between the classrooms and other study spaces were moveable so that they could accommodate different class sizes and study needs. Its most impressive feature was, and is, the 320-seat theatre with a full stage that an opening night visitor described as one “like any downtown.”
The school was built to accommodate 900 students from grades seven to nine and attendance was near capacity when it opened. As other area schools expanded, and the average size of families decreased, the student population dropped to 700 or less through the 1990s. Chief Peguis became a Middle School at the start of the 2014–15 school year and now has 457 students from grades six to eight.
Chief Peguis School underwent a large expansion in the 1990s, but you can’t see it from above ground!
The school was constructed with an unfinished basement that could one day be used as community space. It was all but forgotten for more than two decades. In 1991, Laurence Bertram and
Bob Garnett created a community organization to explore turning it into a 23,000 square foot fitness centre with a weight room, indoor track and aerobics studio.
After years of private fundraising and a $100,000 infrastructure grant, the ground was broken on the project in the summer of 1996. The $500,000 Peguis Trail Health & Fitness Centre officially opened on October 1. The following year, the city took over the management of the complex.
Famous Chief Peguis School alumni include Olympic gold medal curler Jill Officer, Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth, escape artist Dean Gunnarson, and CKY TV personality Sylvia Kuzyk.
Anniversary festivities take place on April 24, 2020 with an afternoon assembly that is open to the public and an evening social event at the CanadInns Destination Centre on Regent Avenue West. For more information about the events, or to share historical photos or other items of interest, contact the school at cp@retsd.mb.ca or 204-668-9442.
Christian writes about local history on his blog, West End Dumplings.