The area around Emberly School (NE 22-7-7w) was unique in that it became the home for a number of Ukrainian families who settled in the area. They held church services in the school until they were able to establish Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church on a nearby property. In 1921, the RM of Dufferin allocated land adjoining the church for two cemeteries; Ukrainian Catholic to the south of the property, Roman Catholic on the north.
Although the church is no longer present, the cemeteries are still in active use. A cairn at the site records the community’s ongoing pride in its identity.
Special thanks to Iona Produnuik and Adeline Cox who assisted us with the inventory and recorded a list of burials in the Sts. Peter and Paul cemeteries.
Emberly School #1979
The School District of Rays was formed in 1919, later renamed “Emberly” after a local family who donated the land.
A wooden, one-room school was built on NE 22-7-7w at the northwestern end of the municipality north of Roseisle. Ukrainian settlers in the area held church services in the school. They later purchased land less than a mile distant where they built St. Peter and Paul church and established a cemetery.
Emberly School closed in 1961 and the school district consolidated with St. Claude. The cairn was unveiled in 1999, and dedicated to the students, parents, and teachers of Emberly School.
See also: Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ecole Emberly No. 1979. Source: Gordon Goldsborough
