The early schools were conducted in private homes large enough to accommodate students and benches. Following a petition by KG Aeltester Peter P. Toews, Rosenort and Rosenhoff became district public schools Rosenort #60, Rosenhoff #61 in 1878. The agreement was that the communities could run and teach their own schools, however the government would supervise education by appointing school inspectors to monitor progress. The schools would receive a $100.00 grant for the school year.
The first licenced teacher for the area was a woman, Miss Maria R. Friesen (1844-1925) later Mrs. Radinzel. She taught Rosenort children for the 1879-1800 year and a few years previous. For the 1880 year she moved to Blumenhof. Oral history suggests David B. Klassen taught in Rosenhoff at the same time. The following school year Johann K. Friesen took the position in Rosenhoff and David Hiebert in Rosenort. At the time of the 1881 census there were approximately 20 students combined.
The reading program consisted of the Fibler for the primary class, Catechism, New Testament and the Old Testament as well as the Gesangbuch and the Choralbuch. All teaching was in German.
Both Rosenhoff and Rosenort built new church-schools in 1889. It is believed that JW Dueck conducted school in the newly built
Rosenort church school. He describes the situation as follows ”...in the
winter of 1893-94 , my wife and I, lived there in the north end of the building,
all by ourselves. There were many people lying outside there, only a few steps
away; these, however, did very little to take away the feelings of loneliness,
for they were lying in the ground an dead. On the contrary one would have to
steel himself, whenever someone had just been laid to rest, and we would return
home from our parents.” In 94-95 they lived in a “small one-roomed teacherage.” Some Rosenorters used the old Froese house as a private school for a number of years (approx.
1907-1924?). “John Thiessen, Abram F. Friesens, and the Jacob Klassens
children attended the private school."Mrs. Dave K. Dueck remembers playing
with dolls and playing German games like: "Eck vell nem vaste fohre-vest
met?", Luttschen and Duttschen", Adam has seven sons...Other
entertainment included Knipsbrat and catch. The Froese house was a large 2
story. The main floor was gutted to make one large room.
The Rosenort Public school #
60 served both the KG and Holdeman people during the week. On weekends the
Holdemans and KG’s alternated using the school for services. This meant that
when the KG church met in Rosenhoff, the Holdeman’s met in Rosenort. When the
KG met in Rosenort, the Holdemans had their service in Rosenhoff. The north end
of the school was the sanctuary while the south was the school. The blackboards
that divided it were raised up to the roof during services. Games played during
recess include pom-pom-pollaway, anti-over and hide and go seek. Typically the
school year was 2 terms of 22 weeks: mid-Oct to December and then January to
mid-April.
In 1907 the government
passed a decree forcing district schools to fly the Union Jack. Immediately the
Mennonite schools were privatized. No difference in curriculum -only the absence
of the Union Jack.
The Holdemans initiated the
change to fully English school in Rosenort #60 in 1914, hiring Peter T. Kroeker
as a teacher for that first year. The private German school continued til about
1924 with many of the KG’s electing to send their children there instead. In 1916 the government
passed the Compulsory Schools Act. All schools were to be conducted in English
and with certified teachers.The schoolteachers then
taught Catechism and German in the last 1/2 hour of the school day and added on
another 1/2 hour of instruction.
In 1919 the Holdeman people built their
own church building and in 1920 the Kleine Gemeinde followed suit. School and
church were separated.
Two Schools Rosenhoff North and Rosenhoff South began in 1926. More information on these school in the community
history book Furrows in the Valley. It will be added to this site eventually. In 1933 two schools were serving the community: Rosenort West (original) and Rosenort East (2 miles east
of the school). In 1939 Rosenort East became Clover Plains and Rosenort West
became just Rosenort. In 1947 the two schools amalgamated and the Rosenort
school was sold by auction. A new two-room school was built one mile west of the
original site. By 1957 another classroom was added and 10 years later 1967 a new
school built and it became a consolidated school.
Surname
Name
School
Year
Year
Klassen
David B.
Rosenhoff
1879
1880
Friesen
John K.
Rosenhoff
1880
1883
Klassen
David B.
Rosenhoff
1884
?
Enns
Heinrich
Rosenhoff
1890
1898
Dueck
John W.
Rosenhoff Village School
1898
1905
Vogt
H.
Rosenhoff Village School
1906
1907
Friesen
John K.
Rosenhoff
1907
1909
Dueck
John W.
Rosenhoff Village School
1909
1914
Kroeker
Peter T.
Rosenhoff Village School
1915
1916
Friesen
Jacob H.
Rosenhoff Village School
1916
1918
Friesen
Jacob H.
Rosenhoff Village School
1918
1919
Wohlgemuth
Peter
Rosenhoff Village School
align="right" x:num>1922
1924
Dueck
Peter K.
Rosenhoff Village School
1924
1927
Suderman
Abram J.
Rosenhoff South
1926
1932
Suderman
Abram J.
Rosenhoff South
1927
1933
Rieger
Sebastian
Rosenhoff South
1933
1933
Goossen
George P.
Rosenhoff South
1933
1953
Dyck
Martha
Rosenhoff South
1953
1955
Sawatsky
Frank
Rosenhoff South
1955
1962
Rempel
Margaret
R North
1927
1928
Willems
Frank
R North
1928
1929
Toews
C. L.
R North
1929
1930
Wiebe
Peter T.
R North
1930
1931
Toews
Cornelius
R North
1931
1934
Rieger
Sebastian
R North
1934
1942
Janzen
Jacob
R North
1942
1945
Neufeld
Eleanor
R North
1945
1948
Neufeld
Cornelia
R North
1945
1948
Rempel
Peter J.
R North
1948
1964
Rempel
Elfrieda
R North
1948
1953
Rempel
Elaine
R North
1953
1955
Cornelsen
Nettie
R North
1956
1961
Friesen
Maria
Rosenort
1879
1880
Hiebert
David
Rosenort
1880
?
Enns
Heinrich
Rosenort
?
1889
Toews
Peter
Rosenort
1889
1891
Dueck
John W.
Rosenort
1891
1898
Enns
Heinrich
Rosenort
1898
1903
Dueck
John R.
Rosenort
1903
1904
Froese
Henry
Rosenort
1907
1908
Enns
Abram
Rosenort
1910
1911
Enns
David
Rosenort
Froese
Heinrich
R
1912
Kornelsen
GB
Rosenort
1911
1916
Neufeld
Jacob
Rosenort
1916
1917
Toews
Cornelius
Rosenort
Kornelsen
GB
Rosenort
1924
1926
Goossen
George P.
Rosenort
1927
1930?
Kroeker
Peter T,
RE
1914
1915
Kornelsen
Wilhelm
RE
1916
1917
Friesen
John R.
RE
1917
1918
Ferguson
Mrs. Susie
RE
1918
1919
Toews
Aaron L.
RE
1919
1923
Toews
Aaron L0
RRE
1924
1925
Toews
Cornelius
RE
1925
1926
Goossen
Gerhard
RE
1926
1927
Copyright © 2001 Lorilee Scharfenberg.
