WELCOME TO GEORGE SIAMANDAS' WINNIPEG TIME MACHINE

WELCOME TO
THE WINNIPEG TIME MACHINE
This site features a collection of historical articles on Winnipeg and Manitoba History. Stories about people, places, events and institutions that have shaped Winnipeg's and Manitoba's history.  

Many of these stories were presented on CBC Information Radio 1995-2000. Private individuals may use any of the written material on this site but must credit George Siamandas as the original author and source of the material. Others must obtain written permission.

Copyright Notice

Please note that all photos marked with a copyright may not be used in whole or in part without the express permission of George Siamandas.

THE WINNIPEG FOUNDATION

THE WINNIPEG FOUNDATION

BUILDING THE CITY'S SOCIAL HEART

by George Siamandas

William Alloway came to Red River in 1870 at age 18. Winnipeg was not yet a city with about 12,000 people. Alloway worked his way up starting as a tobacconist, veterinarian and shipper. Within 9 years he founded Alloway and Champion which became one of the west's largest private banks. Alloway's fortunes grew with Winnipeg and he wanted to give something back. He felt he owed everything to Winnipeg and in 1921 he wrote a $100,000 cheque establishing the Winnipeg Foundation. Later, in 1930, Mrs. Elizabeth Alloway left an additional $2.5 million.

Kathleen Lightcap who was a founding member of the Junior League and a volunteer driver for the Meals on Wheels left $6.5 million in 1986-7. In the 1970s the James and Muriel Richardson Fund gave $1M and the George Hammill McKeag fund gave $1.2M. About 20 people have left more than $500,000. But much of the money is given by people from all walks of life who also want to give something back to their community. For example Joe McCann Transit Supervisor donated $200,000. Others like Janet Boucher who worked in the Holt Renfrew hat department gave $10,000.

In 1922 the first recipients were the Margaret Scott Nursing home set up by Miss Scott who was interested in providing the poor, the Knowles School for Boys, the VON, the Children's Hospital and the Children's Aid Society. They shared $6,000.

The Winnipeg Foundation helps a good idea get started and are willing to front end projects. In the Great Depression they helped out the Community Chest predecessor to the United Way. In 1935 they gave a grant to help set up the School for Social Work at the U of M. In 1953 they helped fight polio. In 1955 they helped establish the Age and Opportunity centre.

In 1958 they paid for the first computer that was installed at the Winnipeg General Hospital. In 1964 they helped Meals on Wheels and the VON's Home Help program. In 1974 as part of centennial year they gave $100,00 for the Museum's Urban Gallery. In 1976 they helped set up the Manitoba League for the With Disabilities. And in 1977 their annual grants exceeded $1,000,000.

Since then they have helped with Lion's Manor senior's housing, Fort Whyte Nature centre, and the Manitoba Childrens' Museum. In 1994 they gave the largest grant ever, $750,000 to the Health Sciences and Children's Research Centre.

It has about $92 million invested and has given $62 million to date. It gave out $4.25 Million in 1995. Last year they took in another 2.8 million in new donations. The principal is never touched.

People die leaving part or all of their estate to the Winnipeg Foundation.
Some of it is planned in advance and about half, the time people's donation to the Winnipeg Foundation is a complete surprise. At least half the donors have no families to leave their estates to.

There is no set budget and the Foundation is able to react to issues and projects as they arise: it can be health, education, and family depending on the time. At times it has been proactive inner city and arts issues. They helped create Winnipeg Harvest. They like to help with projects or capital works.

There are about 60 across Canada, 14 in Manitoba. Some are general, while others are private one donor funds. For example the Thomas Sill Foundation was established by a Winnipeg accountant who was a partner in the firm Sill Streuber Fiske, a firm which exists today. He gave the largest single donation to charity ever in Manitoba leaving $19.2 million when he died in 1986.

Fort Garry's Park-Like Wildewood Subdivision

Fort Garry's

Park-Like Wildewood Subdivision

by George Siamandas

The Fort Garry area which was incorporated as a municipality on April 16, 1912 and the Wildewood area is one of its distinctive residential areas. Fort Garry was initially part of St. Vital and was settled by Metis and Quebecois farmers. These early settlers were Metis boatmen who build their homes close to the river's edge as it was their best choice in transportation. One of the most famous landowners in the area that later became Wildewood was Ambroise Lepine. But after the Riel incident, many French people left the area and were replaced by Anglophones. Over the years it has completely lost its French origins. Only in the south end at St. Norbert will you see what the early Fort Garry was like.

COLONEL THOMPSON'S PLAN FOR WILDEWOOD

But by 1900 virtually all traces of the Metis heritage of the area was gone. One developer after another tried to develop the land starting with Colonel RM Thompson who in 1908 first introduced the name Wildewood. Thompson's plan was for a very exclusive area just like was developing then on Wellington Cres. They built roads and Col Thompson had a huge Victorian mansion built at the point of the Red River. Col Thompson went to fight in WW1 and never returned. His house was not fully completed and was not occupied for 17 years and was to be demolished in 1933 after suffering years of vandalism. Finally in 1934, it was bought by Ravenscourt School and renovated to become a boy's school. But the land continued to bounce back and forth between the City of Winnipeg and the Fort Garry municipality. At one time during the 1930s the city was contemplating making it into a park just like Assiniboine Park. But lack of money saw the city give it back to Fort Garry.

HOW WILDEWOOD PARK CAME ABOUT

Enter Hubert Bird. Bird was the owner of Bird construction. Bird had built aerodromes during WW1 and after the war he started the Bird construction company and built Union Station in Regina, and the Swifts plant in Winnipeg during the 1930s. During WW2 he built half the airfields and barracks in western Canada. During WW2 while flying over Radburn New Jersey, Bird saw an example of a new garden suburb with cul de sacs all built around a central shared park. Bird had seen his model for Wildewood and purchased the land comprising Wildewood.

WW2 had given Bird experience in mass production techniques and he had seen the potential of applying these techniques to reduce housing costs in Wildewood. It had never been done before with housing.

The returning WW2 vets needed affordable housing and Bird gave them 5 house plans to choose from. Bird hired the firm GBR (Still active and building the Jewish Community campus) to design the project. They did market research to find preferences for house features like the preferred number of bedrooms. Almost half wanted storey and a half and most wanted forced air heating. Great West Life agreed to finance the project and scale model for the area was placed at Eatons, the hub of the city at the time.

MASS PRODUCTION OF HOUSING PIONEERED IN WILDEWOOD

Then construction began using assembly line techniques after materials had been procured en masse and brought to the site. Lumber had even been salvaged from grain bins. Panel forms were used for pouring basements, and the exterior walls were prefabed. Specialty crews worked on flooring, shingling, and insulation. A US newspaper featured a bungalow and a storey and a half built in just 58 minutes. The realty firm SS Stevensen handled the sales, and it took only 2 years to sell out. Mature trees were spared preserving the area's main amenity: its heavily wooded quality. The neighbourhood had to do their own snow removal buy hiring a man and buying a horse drawn plough. Cost per resident was $.50 annually. They also bought their own mosquito fogger.

The area had one of the highest birth rates in the country and some dubbed it Childwood and Fertile Valley. Doug Henning the magician is one.

THE TALE OF THE WOLSELEY ELM

THE TALE OF THE WOLSELEY ELM

Just Elected Mayor Juba Does the Right Thing

by George Siamandas

In 1957, a giant triple-trunked elm stood in the centre of Wolseley Avenue and Greenwood St in Winnipeg. It had been planted by a woman resident a hundred years earlier, and as early as the turn of the century, it was considered a traffic hazard. The area's residents had fought many battles to preserve it even though traffic planners had long wanted to cut it down. In the summer of 1957 the traffic department decided that the Wolseley Elm finally had to go. It was a traffic hazard. The residents thought that on the contrary it was a safety feature as it required traffic to slow down to go around it.

THE BATTLE TO SAVE THE ELM

The issue immediately became contentious. The Free Press wrote in an editorial titled "Lay That Buzz Saw Down," that the "aldermen are asking for trouble, when they chop down city trees, and they invite a torrent of criticism when they eye the one that grows on Wolseley. They really should know better. They say it is a nuisance. The truth is the tree bothers some strange civic clique which abhors individuality and has a passion for unrelenting conformity." Alderman Crawford retorted "Lets grow a big fat tree right in the middle of Portage and Main." In response Wolseley residents Mrs Wolfram and Mrs McCord began a fight to save the tree.

Mayor Juba who had just been elected mayor responded to the people's wishes. On September 19, 1957 the Free Press front page headline read "Wild Women Win-Juba Breaks Law to Save Tree" At nine that morning a convoy of civic vehicles arrived to cut it down. A group of women gathered around the tree with their arms folded in defiance. They are going to have to chop us down too if they want to chop our tree said the women. As the city employee approached the tree with his buzz saw, an old grandmother with an axe shouted out "We don't think you should do this." A crowd of three hundred had gathered to support the 12 women that were now guarding the tree. Juba then emerged from the crowd and was convinced by the women to find a way out of it. On the premise of public safety, Juba put an end to that day. Mrs Borrowman kissed the mayor on the cheek and invited him to her place for tea.

The issue immediately captured national TV coverage and McLeans magazine did a big feature on the Wolseley Elm and Mayor Juba. But a few days later vandals poured gasoline on the tree and set it ablaze. Grafts were performed by a University tree expert and the tree revived the following spring. But in June 1958 three university students attacked the tree with saws and a crowbar. They were caught and fined $150 each.

Finally on Halloween October 31, 1958 the Wolseley Elm has seen its last season. At three in the morning residents awakened to two loud explosions. It was like two canon blast said a resident. The street lights were blown out and the tree had been blown up. Police suspected dynamite, but despite an enquiry, the culprits were never found. It was thought to be a KKK like warning, because two months earlier the residents had found a rooster on the tree. A psychiatrist said that people who blow up trees a are not mad at trees but at society. By June of 1960 no signs of life were evident. A kind of death certificate was issued and even Mrs Borrowman agreed that the tree should now come down. She asked for a piece of the tree so that she could have an electric lamp made.

Mayor Juba had emerged a hero in the way he had handled his first controversial issue. He had gone with his instincts. It was the first of many public victories.

TUXEDO The Suburb Beautiful

TUXEDO

The Suburb Beautiful

by George Siamandas

DEVELOPER FREDERICK WILLIAM HEUBACH

In 1905 Heubach set up the Tuxedo Park Land Co. He found a collection of Minneapolis based investors who had built great wealth in the grain industry. Over the next year the Tuxedo Park Company bought 3,000 acres from Mary and Archibald Wright and other owners for $450,000. The first home in the area an old farmhouse still stands at the south-east corner of Academy and Wellington Cresc.

On January 24 1913 the town of Tuxedo was incorporated with FW Heubach its original developer becoming its first Mayor. But his plan did not immediately succeed due to competition from the Crescentwood development which was much closer to the city. The Minneapolis investors of the Tuxedo Park Co lost their money. Heubach died before any houses were built. Tuxedo was named after the famous New York suburb called Tuxedo. It had previously been the hunting grounds of the Algonquin Indians and was called Taugh Seeder or Duck Seeder which meant "Place of the Bear."

MAYOR FINKELSTEIN

Heubach died the following year and was succeeded by FL Finkelstein as mayor. from 1911 Finkelstein with an accounting background became a partner with Heubach and Heubach's son Claude. Finkelstein would serve as mayor and would go on to run the company successfully into the 1950s. The plan for the town had been designed by the famous Frederick Law Olmstead firm, and it became the city plan in 1911. It had combined residential areas, areas of work in the south including the Canada Cement Plant.

THE FIRST HOMES

The first house was built in 1915 by Raymond Carey on the north corner of Nanton and Park. The area was connected by a mud road that became Nanton Blvd. Carey was fairly isolated and had to get the plows out before he could traverse the mud road through the as yet undeveloped aspen wooded area east of his home. Carey married Heubach's daughter Claire, Carey, a british architect, had come to Winnipeg in 1909 from Detroit and was well known for his Georgian style homes.

In 1923, Frederick Heubach's son Claude, built a home at the south corner. Designed and built buy Northwood and Carey. Later Claude Heubach moved to Hosmer to one of the first homes south of Corydon Ave. In the 1920s a series of homes sprung up along the east side of Park Boulevard facing Assiniboine Park.

Many homes were owned by grain industry businessmen. In 1925 the first house was built on Lamont. The site originally reserved for the University became Tuxedo Golf Course. The four room Tuxedo Schoolhouse was built in 1926. Many area street names have changed since the original plan. Tuxedo Blvd was originally called Van Horne.

The plan reserved a strip of land just south of the Agricultural College. It eventually became the Youth centre, commercial and public housing and military land. By 1911 the new plan for Tuxedo was complete. It was anticipated that in time the University of Manitoba would be located at Tuxedo but after 1926 when it located in Fort Garry. There are many famous builders like Frank Lount and the Sparrow Brothers that built the area's homes.

Winnipeg Planning Commission Announces New Plan for 1912

Winnipeg Planning Commission

Announces New Plan for 1912

by George Siamandas

Winnipeg's Planning Commission had big plans for Winnipeg in 1912. The report of the planning commission recommended moving city hall to Broadway and creating a Mall along Osborne St. Winnipeg was the third largest city. And its leading citizens thought it would still become the biggest in the country.

There was concern that Winnipeg grow in the proper way and provide health, convenience and beauty for its citizens. Winnipeg saw itself as one of the leading cities in North America and wanted to do the right things with its future growth. The committee had some of the city's leading citizens including distinguished architect John Atchison, the heads of civic departments representatives from the real estate industry, the builders, unions, and academics.

WINNIPEG'S PROBLEMS IN 1912

There was a lot of overcrowding. Very high cases of typhoid. Their 1912 studies showed it was twice as high in Winnipeg's poor areas. There were not enough parks. Houses were being built on 25 foot lots. And what were once nice apartments were degenerating into tenements rapidly. There was concern that congestion near Portage and Notre Dame would get worse and that the system of roads, bridges and subways had to be improved. They also saw this as the last chance to acquire some riverbank land for public drives before it was all privatized. There was also concern that the health and building inspection department could not do their jobs because they were understaffed.

THE GRAND PROPOSAL OF RELOCATING CITY HALL TO MEMORIAL BOULEVARD AND CREATING A GRAND MALL

The new Manitoba legislature was about to be started on Broadway and would form the south end of a new mall. City hall was to go near Portage Ave. And between them was to be a new mall featuring a town square providing a place for a future art gallery, public library, post office, auditorium, exposition (convention centre) and other such structures such as a new Hudson Bay store. Running through the middle would be a roadway 160 feet across becoming a new north south highway.

NEW BUILDING CODES

To overcome slums they introduced new building standards. Houses were required to have one bedroom with at least 800 cubic feet of space and a window. No more 25 foot lots. At least one room would have to be 150 sq ft. They wanted to see the establishment of a Child Welfare Bureau and education about domestic hygiene and proper child care.

The legislature was built as planned but everything else had to wait for many decades. Of course city hall was not moved or rebuilt for another fifty years. The Bay built their store in 1926. During the depression they did build the auditorium as a relief project, and in the mid 1960s they built the art gallery. By 1962 city planners felt that city hall should stay put to help prevent further deterioration in the Main St. area.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE WELL LAID PLANS?

The voters turned a funding by-law for a new city hall shortly after 1912. The economy just did not support the grand vision that the planners had at the time. World War 1, then the doldrums of the 1920s when Winnipeg's gateway role was supplanted by the new Panama Canal, then the doldrums of the 1930s and then WW2.

The problems of slums, and housing conditions and more recently of the erosion of the commercial base. But what seems to have changed dramatically is the level of optimism. In 1912 Winnipeg was coming off decades of unprecedented growth and progress. They dreamt big with full confidence their plans would be realized. Today we see continuing challenges to the future viability of downtown both in economic and social terms. The original vision of a health, convenience and beauty seems even more elusive in 1997 than it did 85 years ago.

WINNIPEG'S GARMENT INDUSTRY

WINNIPEG'S GARMENT INDUSTRY

Rag Trade Boomed Despite the Depression

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

Winnipeg's garment trade was taking off in 1930 when a garment worker's strike brought production to a halt on Feb 25 1931. Winnipeg's Rag Trade boomed, while warehousing declined in Winnipeg's 1930s. Starting as small family enterprises run by Jewish tailors, by 1970 the garment trade had become Manitoba's second largest industry.

THE GARMENT WORKERS' UNIONS

In 1935 Sam Herbst succeeded in establishing smoother labour relations in the trade. For the next 25 years there would not be a single strike in the trade. Before the union, ladies could be fired for talking or for taking too long in the bathroom. Wages were poor at 18 cents per hour. One worker recalled receiving one penny for every 12 buttons she sewed to each army shirt. Some had to work 60 hours a week for part the year and were laid off for several months. Wages went up to 25 cents per hour after the WW2. Today most of it is on piecework, and the going rate is 12 cents per minute reflecting about $7 per hour.

THE GARMENT INDUSTRY ESTABLISHES IN WINNIPEG

How did Winnipeg, originally an agricultural area, grow such an industry? By 1874, a year after incorporation as a city, Winnipeg had two men's tailors and one woman's dressmaker. But during the 1880s, 20 new businesses would thrive. They made what prairie people needed, by hand, in small operations. In 1899, Moses Haid, established the first mass production apparel manufacturer "Winnipeg Shirt and Overall Company." By 1906, 19 firms had been founded by families like Berkowitz, Crowley, Freed, Kennedy, Jacob, Neiman, Nitikman, Shore, Stall, Steinberg, and Waldman.

In the early 20^th century, Jewish people fleeing European persecution began to arrive in Winnipeg. The tailoring skills that had been passed down from generation to generation were activated in the cheap warehouse space sitting vacant in Winnipeg's warehouse district. The building of the Panama Canal in 1914 sharply cut into Winnipeg's growth. Now it became cheaper to ship goods west by the canal instead of through Winnipeg, leaving many warehouses empty and abandoned in the 1920s. For the needle trade this setback for Winnipeg marked its opportunity. Apparel manufacturers now had prime space available at bargain prices. And grow they did.

In 1918 Benjamin Jacob and John Crowley were the first to move away from work clothes to producing ladies clothing. And to promote their rapid success, Winnipeg garment manufacturers got together in 1925 to put on Manitoba's first fashion show. By the 1930s 3,000 people had work in trade. Between 1941 and 1951 the industry grew 213%. In the peak year 1946, 14 new firms were established.

INTERNATIONAL BRANDS

Today the rag trade employs 8,000 people in over 115 factories. And it supplies many famous brands. Names like Calvin Klein jeans, Gap, Northern Reflections, OshKosh B'Gosh, Eddie Bauer outerwear, London Fog, are all manufactured in Winnipeg's garment industry, and help it gross $700 million in annual sales. Uniforms for everyone in the Canadian Armed forces, specialised sportswear for curling, warm durable outerwear tested in Canada's north or "Tundra" sweaters for Ronald Reagan. All made in Winnipeg.

THE WADDEL FOUNTAIN

THE WADDEL FOUNTAIN

By George Siamandas

You will find the Waddell Fountain in the north east corner of Central Park. It is a Gothic style fountain that has drawn Winnipeg visitors for 82 hot Winnipeg summers.

Murray Peterson's book on Winnipeg Landmarks describes it as an example of "high Victorian architecture" .... a "collection of flying buttresses and pinnacles" with water flowing out of lion's heads. It's based on a design of a monument to Sir Walter Scott located in Edinburgh.

The Waddells had come to Winnipeg in the 1880s. Mr. Waddell was a local leader of the Temperance movement. The Waddells were married for 25 years but had no children. They lived around the corner from Central Park at 457 Sargent and would go for frequent walks into the new Central Park. It was a very fashionable neighbourhood then. The Park was ringed with fine homes, and it had tennis courts and a bandstand as well as winding paths and gardens. Mrs. Waddell's gift would complete the park which had once been undesirable low lying land that had required thousands of truckloads of fill.

MRS WADDELL'S DEATH RESULTS IN THIS FOUNTAIN

Eighty-eight years ago on January 23, 1908, Mrs. Emily Margaret Waddell passed away. Her will contained an unusual provision. Should her husband remarry, $10,000 from her $56,000 estate was to be used to build a public fountain in Central Park. The will was dated 1904. It is not even clear Thomas knew of the provision.

It does not look like Mr WAddell complied right away. Maybe he was just a procrastinator. Her will did not come to light till 1911. The will compelled the city to follow up on the provision of a fountain. By this time husband Thomas Waddell was engaged to be married. He just could not perform. He claimed he was desperately in debt due to some real estate investments that went belly up.

It took two years for Waddell to find the money, and finally the Parks Board approved a design by Winnipeg architect John Manuel. It was completed in 1914 and cost $9,722. Ten thousand dollars was a huge amount of money then. It would have built one of the finest houses in Crescentwood. A reporter is noted to have said "A truly remarkable fountain could be erected for this sum." In fact the Conservatory at Assiniboine Park was built around the same time for $15,000.

A WIFE'S REVENGE OR A TRIBUTE TO THEIR LOVE

Mrs Waddell loved the park. But building the fountain was required only if her husband remarried. Assuming she suspected her "beloved husband" would remarry as most husbands did, it suggests a wish to see a monument to their life together in the place she seemed to love. I guess it depends on how you see human nature. It might be interesting to invite your listeners to answer the question. I wonder if any of your listeners know more.

Parks seem to hold appeal for gifts even today. For example Leo Mol donated 200 sculptures in 1991 for the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden. (June 1991) The other major gift is probably Kathleen Richardson's donation of the old Richardson property which is now passive park along Wellington crescent. (Jan 19th 1977)

THE SALVATION ARMY'S WORK IN WINNIPEG

THE SALVATION ARMY'S

WORK IN WINNIPEG

By George Siamandas

The Salvation Army was started in London England in 1865 by William Booth who wanted to do something to improve the lives of poor people. "General" Booth as he is described in the literature literally created an army to attack poverty and to bring religion to the needy. The Salvation Army still remains very much a religious organization.

They first came to Winnipeg in early 1883. The Frank Vinall family came from Brighton England. They had already been active in a Salvation Army corps in Sussex. The Vinalls were able to persuade Canadian Salvation Army headquarters to establish an office in Winnipeg. And the first Winnipeg corps comprising a 3 man, 3 woman unit arrived in Winnipeg on December 10, 1886 and began to work from a building on Princess Ave.

There was a lot of work to be done in Winnipeg. Red River seemed ripe for salvation and was described by some as a very wicked place. Winnipeg was still a pioneer community. There had been the economic collapse in 1883 after the 1881-1882 land boom. Winnipeg was still very much a place of tents. There were many bush workers, railway men and other tramps as they were called then.

The Vinall's initial efforts of songs and prayer in front of the post office were not well received. The May 1883 paper noted that "if the morals of the community need correction it will have to be done through some other means." But the public soon came to appreciate what the Salvation Army did for man's daily needs. And by 1888, the Salvation Army was also set up in Brandon, Neepawa, Morden, Minnedossa, and Carberry.

The Salvation Army along with other private groups and churches seemed to be working well ahead of government by innovating most social services.
They pioneered outreach work visiting people in their own homes.

In 1890 they founded the Children's Shelter on Ross Avenue to house destitute mothers and homeless children. In 1906 they established Grace Hospital which became their first incorporated hospital in Canada. It was the idea of Evangeline Booth the founder Booth's daughter. In 1906 they started the first used clothing depot at Logan and King St.

The SA led the way with by helping house hundreds of returning soldiers from WW1 in two hotels they bought for the purpose. And later during the depression, in a 3 month period in 1931, they gave out 18,000 parcels of clothing, 8,500 meals, and beds to thousands of needy migrant men.

In 1918 Grace hospital's finances became very strained. Grace refused no one and ran into serious debt. To deal with the financial shortfall they made their first Red Shield Appeal. It raised $60,000 that spring of which $25,000 helped save the hospital.

As well as their good works, the SA has also left us some architecture like the Citadel located at 221 Rupert Ave. This three story brick structure was built in 1900 by J. Wilson Gray who also designed the much more ornate Confederation Life Building.

This building is still standing a block north of city hall in the middle of Winnipeg's Chinatown, and badly in need of renewal. It once contained a 1200 seat hall and became focus of their spiritual and administrative work in Winnipeg.

1919 Winnipeg Police Strike

The tale of two Winnipeg Police Chiefs

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

It has only happened once in Winnipeg's history, a Police Strike, and when it happened 81 years ago June 9, during the six week 1919 general strike, it resulted in the firing of all but 23 members of the police and major changes in the careers of two police chiefs. Despite warnings by the Police Commission in 1917, Winnipeg policemen had formed their own union in July 1918. At a meeting of the trades and labour Council the newly formed union voted in support of the general Strike. Yet they stayed on the job at the request of the strike committee. In effect it replaced the city as their control.

It is thought the policemen having just returned from WW1, where they fought side by side with workers were sympathetic to the aims of the workers. On May 19 Mayor Charles Gray, asked the policemen to sign an agreement not to participate in a sympathy strike. Two hundred and twenty-eight refused and on June 9 all but the 23 who signed loyalty oaths were dismissed from the force. To keep order, a special police force was set up under Major Lyall with members of the Army and the North West Mounted Police. Three thousand "specials' were hired.

FIRING OF CHIEF MACPHERSON

On June 11, Chief McPherson took the fall for the policemen's actions and was dismissed. McPherson had been chief from 1911 and a cop since 1903. McPherson had a good record and had been prominent in the successful firebug investigations of 1913. Deputy Chief Chris Newton who had been one of the 23 to sign the loyalty oath replaced the disgraced Chief MacPherson who was never given a satisfactory answer for his dismissal.

Hugh John Macdonald a member of the Police Commission fought against MacPherson's dismissal. A year later MacPherson was still fighting for compensation and finally received $5,000, a year's salary and a letter of recommendation. On June 21 the strike got ugly as two strikers were killed by Mounted Specials. By June 26 the strike was over and on June 27 the original policemen began to return to their jobs. Newton noted that 39 men several of whom had been active in the union should not be allowed to return to the force. Those that had stayed on during the strike received bonuses.

CHIEF NEWTON

Chief Newton helped build morale within the dept. He helped organize the Winnipeg City Police Athletic Assoc and later the Police Pipe Band. Twenty five years later, at age 63 after a distinguished 33 year career, Newton would face his own crisis of confidence.

It started with a fight after a traffic incident at the corner of Broadway and Balmoral St.

In June 27 1934 300 pound Winnipeg Police Chief Christopher H Neuton was charged with beating up 145 pound Joe Erlicky closing his eyes shut. The Free Press showed the diminutive Erlicky with his eye closed shut. Neuton had the class to resign. After a circus of a trial Neuton was found guilty of common assault and had to pay a $20 fine.

WINNIPEG'S FIRST POLICE CHIEF

WINNIPEG'S FIRST POLICE CHIEF

The Canadian West's Itinerant Chief of Police

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

JC INGRAM

Winnipeg's first chief of police JC Ingram was hired onFebruary 19, 1874. Ingram had come to Manitoba before 1870 and had worked for the provincial police. He was well known as the man that had arrested Ambroise Lepine (Riel's adjutant general) after the Riel Rebellion. Ingram was 23 years old and was known to be "a good man with his fists."

He had been one of four applicants. Perhaps the most deciding factor was that Ingram was a good friend of Mayor Francis Cornish. On Feb 24, 1874 a fourth by-law of the city established the Winnipeg Police Dept. Ingram would receive a salary of $750 per year, and a staff of two constables earning $500 per year. By summer the police force had shirts, whistles, batons, and police badges. But curiously, their engraver got the badge insignia all wrong. Instead of a beaver he had drawn a gopher. (For go for people)

But it soon became apparent that moral was not good. Ingram did not get along with his men. In particular they did not like his habit of associating with the ladies of the night. Despite this and conflicts with several aldermen, with Cornish's support he kept his job. Ingram's association with prostitutes continued as Winnipeg's stock of saloons, hotels and red light districts grew. Winnipeg and Barrie Ontario were known as the two wickedest places in Canada.

On June 7, Ingram's constables conducted a raid on a Sherbrook St brothel. They were barred entry to a second floor room. When they pushed past and gained entry, they found an unclothed Chief Ingram in the company of harlot Ella Lewis. Cornish had lost the 1875 mayoralty and in his place now was William Kennedy. The next day Ingram appeared before Mayor and Magistrate William Kennedy and was fined $8 and suspended. On the 14^th Ingram tendered his resignation.

WHAT HAPPENED TO INGRAM

Ingram travelled the west and eventually moved to Calgary where he opened up a hotel and bar. When Calgary set up a police Force in 1885, Ingram became Calgary's first Chief of Police. But he continued to battle with local authorities and in 1888, left for Rossland BC where once again, he became their first chief of police. After a short stint there, he left to work in a mine were he was blown up in a dynamite explosion in 1905.

2^ND CHIEF DAVID MURRAY

On July 1, 1875, David Murray became Winnipeg's next chief. Murray was a schoolteacher from Nova Scotia. He was a popular handsome man, known for his fine singing voice, which was in high demand at local concerts. Murray now had 5 constables. They worked 11-hour shifts 7 days a week. By November Murray had purchased the famous buffalo coats for $17 a piece, and more equipment including four "wrist snappers," 3 pistols as well as uniforms for the men.

CRIME REVIEW 1880

Murray would report 749 cases in 1880: 303 were for drunk and disorderly conduct, 212 were for inhabiting, frequenting, or maintaining a house of ill fame, 13 were charged with theft, 14 with assault, and 1 for gambling. In the 212 cases, 177 women listed their occupation as prostitute. While Murray was not accused of associating with prostitutes, future police chief McRae would face the same difficulties as Ingram. Vice was a problem and in 1910 Ingram faced a Royal Commission investigating police toleration of prostitution.

WINNIPEG'S FIRST FIRE DEPT

WINNIPEG'S FIRST FIRE DEPT

The trials and tribulations of the fire dept

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

Winnipeg dedicated its first fire hall Feb 7, 1875. But for the next 7 years till a permanent professional fire dept was organised, volunteers did the job. There was a time when the new city of Winnipeg had no fire protection. When fire broke out, a chemical pumper would be borrowed from the Hudson Bay Co. In 1875, a by-law establishing a fire dept was passed, with a volunteer brigade providing the labour. Prominent early citizens became members of the volunteer dept: James Ashdown, Thomas Ryan, Stewart Mulvey and Daniel McMillan.

Six fire tanks were built and sunk into the ground along Main St. Water came from an artesian well at the corner of Logan and Main. Labour for digging the trenches was supplied involuntarily by drunks reporting to magistrate's court. Alderman Archibald Wright telegraphed an order to Silsby Manufacturing Co for Winnipeg's first Steam Pumper. He was quoted 6 months delivery. But the next day Silsby offered a much better model for another $500 with delivery within 10 days. The engine arrived promptly by the Steamer Dakota but federal customs charges and doubled shipping costs saw the engine under wraps till the extra costs were resolved. The pool of 40 volunteer firemen received $1 per fire and 50 cents for false alarms. If they failed to report at the call of the Grace St Church bell they were each fined $1.

THE FIRST FIRE

The new pumper's first job was to fill the tanks with water. By early Dec 1874 the brigade was spoiling for its first challenge. It came a month later on Jan 11 1875: fire broke out in the McDermot Block. It was -31 F as the Grace Church bells called the volunteers from their beds. Within 12 minutes water was flowing and within 21 minutes of the alarm the fire was all under control. Surrounding buildings were saved, but the McDermot Block housing the St James Restaurant formerly Red River Hall burned to the ground.

The firemen had to pull the pumper by hand, as horses were not available nearby. Council soon remedied this by having horses stabled nearby. Lombard Ave was the site for the first fire station that stored the steam pumper, 2,000 feet of hose and four hand hose reels. On Christmas Day 1875, the fire hall burned to the ground destroying all the new equipment the dept had proudly assembled over its first year. By February, a new fire engine had been delivered. Local insurers had agreed not to cancel policies. In 1878 a new fire hall opened. At a cost of $7,000 this one was built to be fireproof.

A PROFESSIONAL FIRE DEPT

In 1882 the volunteers decided to disband and to form a full time fire dept. Winnipeg was booming with hundreds of new buildings. And the population was now 30,000. The newly created jobs were highly coveted. One hundred and fifty people applied to be firemen. The first chief was WO McRobbie who served from 1882 to 1889. McRobbie with 25 years experience in the Montreal fire brigade agreed to be chief for $1,800 per year. On start-up the dept hired 36 full time men and bought 17 horses. The force would spend $150,000 over the next 20 years. But it was not until Winnipeg built the high-pressure station on James Ave in 1907 that fire insurance rates dropped.

THE BUREAU OF CHILD HEALTH

THE BUREAU OF CHILD HEALTH

Early Efforts to Help Winnipeg Children

By George Siamandas

On Mar 1, 1916, the City of Winnipeg established the Bureau of Child Health. It marked a big step forward. For years councillors and the general public had avoided grappling with the reality of Winnipeg's alarmingly high child mortality rates. In the early 1900s it was typhoid that ran rampant revealing Winnipeg as the sickest city in North America or Europe: 23 deaths per thousand in 1904, 138 deaths in 1905. An investigation revealed most deaths in the areas without sewers: the north end around the CPR tracks. Winnipeg medical health Officer Dr Douglas likened conditions in Winnipeg's north end to those of a medieval European city. He noted the squalor in the north end was beyond the powers of description. Also in 1904, untreated water had been pulled into the water supply system to fight a rash of fires.

WHAT MADE PEOPLE SICK?

A combination of ignorance and poverty was making people and especially children sick leading to the highest mortality rates in North America and Europe. Far too many people were living in slum housing conditions. Parents were ignorant of hygienic practices. Children were malnourished. The water was neither safe nor abundant. The 1912-year saw infant death rates soar again: 126 per thousand in 1912 and 199 per thousand in 1914. Clearly it was time for action.

DR AJ DOUGLAS

Leading the effort was Dr AJ Douglas, Chief Medical Officer from 1900 to 1940. Douglas would face numerous epidemics including typhus, smallpox and influenza. Winnipeg was lucky to have an advocate at the job. Year after year his reports to council recommended action to hire more inspectors, ensure all houses were connected to sewers, and to reduce overcrowding. Douglas was particularly forceful in 1914 recommending that if necessary the city should get into the housing business. He urged that the city do more about the health of less fortunate Winnipeggers and in particular to put a special focus on child health. He got results. In 1913 working out of a house at 31 Martha St, Health Officer Tustin began to report on Child Hygiene.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Three years later the new Bureau of Child Health began to operate from a modern building at the corner of Main and Aberdeen. Nurses provided infant examinations and two doctors were available mornings 6 days a week. Volunteering their time to help the sick were Drs RF Rorke and E Richardson.

One major service was the dispensing of baby's milk feedings. Over 350,000 bottles were delivered in 1916. The bulk of it given free. That year Douglas requested an automobile to help deliver the milk before it spoiled on hot days. They made 119,730 nurse visits in 1916. Each nurse cared for over 400 infants. They encountered many young unwed mothers who knew nothing about childcare. Child health improved as more and more information was dispensed. The health dept issued Monthly bulletins: simple things about hygiene, yet things mothers did not know.

Working with other agencies like the Margaret Scott Nursing Mission and the All People's Mission, help arrived for Winnipeg's immigrant poor. Finally a tradition for social justice was emerging in Winnipeg's early days.

PRITCHARD AVE PUBLIC BATHS

PRITCHARD AVE PUBLIC BATHS

Children Never Swim on Sunday

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

THE GRAND OPENING

Fifteen hundred people attended the opening ceremonies May 6, 1912,opened by Mayor RD Waugh. Waugh a big recreation advocate in Winnipeg had been trying to get the Pritchard Pool built for years. Finally in 1909 ratepayers approved the $50,000 budget. Located at the corner of Charles St and Pritchard Ave, and costing $50,000, the Pritchard Baths tank measured 79 by 68 feet and was 2.5 to 7 feet deep. It had 38 dressing rooms, 72 lockers and 17 individual shower stalls plus 31 children's showers.

Everyone had to shower going in. A sterilizing machine guaranteed healthy supplies of bathing suits and towels which rented for a nominal 10 cents. Civic planners wanted a modest charge so that the pool would not be seen as a charity. While an orchestra played, a swimming show was given by Mrs Harrison and R Ernest Collins, a man with only one leg. Percy Cox officiated at the first water polo game ever held in Winnipeg. And the Manitoba Swim Club demonstrated scientific swimming. Staff had been hired to teach swimming. Mr J Harris would be teaching swimming to men, while Mrs Harris a bronze medal winner from the Royal Life Saving Society would instruct women.

EARLY SWIMMING SPOTS

There were only two places to swim in Winnipeg at the turn of the century. The only indoor pool was at the YMCA. The city operated an outdoor area with poolhouse along the Red River 200 yards east of the Louise Bridge. Elm Park a peninsula surrounded by the Red was another popular spot. The first indoor pool was the Cornish Baths built in 1909, followed by the Pritchard Baths in 1912. The plan was to set up pools in every district.

PUBLIC HOURS

The sexes were not allowed to swim together. Men had the pool on Mondays. Thursdays were women only days. Strangely children were not permitted to use the pool on Sunday. During the rest of the week men had the pool from 10-12 while women had it from 1-10pm.

INDOOR POOLS WERE NOT AN EARLY SUCESS

Indoor pools proved to be a shallow success. Expensive to operate, they received less use than expected. The Cornish Baths lasted 20 years and were closed in 1930. The Sherbrook Pool was built to take over this function in 1931. In the same year an outdoor pool opened at Sargent Park: the biggest in western Canada.

The Pritchard baths closed down in 1948 and were replaced by an outdoor pool. Never a success the outdoor pool was closed down and the new Kildonan Park pool opened in 1966 as a replacement for the Pritchard Pool. In 1970 a new indoor pool was built on the Old Exhibition grounds as a centennial project. Finally the north end had an indoor pool again.

MAYOR R. D. WAUGH The Mayor That Introduced Playgrounds to Winnipeg

MAYOR R. D. WAUGH

The Mayor That Introduced

Playgrounds to Winnipeg

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

Mayor Richard Dean Waugh noted for introducing playgrounds to Winnipeg. Waugh's efforts resulted in a mass public meeting on May 28, 1908, which led to the opening of Winnipeg's first playground. Waugh was born in 1868 in Melrose Scotland. He came to Winnipeg in 1883 with his parents after living in Kincardine Ont. for a few years. In Ontario he got an early start working as a purser on steamboat lines.

In 1905 Waugh became a member of the city's parks Board and its chair in 1907. He worked on a committee that developed cycle paths. Waugh would be a sportsman his entire life and was interested in improving the city's amenities. He was for good roads and for city beautification. He wanted Winnipeg to become one of the beauty spots of Canada. He was active in curling and head of the Real Estate Exchange.

PLAYGROUNDS

In 1907 as chair of the Parks Board, Waugh tried to convince council to begin to develop playgrounds as existed in the United States. "Small areas of land fitted with amusement paraphernalia. Skilled instructors with the highest moral training." City Council refused. In May 1908 a meeting of playground enthusiasts met with Mayor James Ashdown. With Ashdown as the group's chairman he reviewed how best to reach their goal. Ashdown discouraged them from asking the city once again and instead suggested a voluntary association. During the summer of 1908 a model playground was set up at Central School funded by an $800 grant from the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Council of women. It proved a big success. Seven playgrounds were set up in Winnipeg's north end in 1909 and by 1920, 20 playgrounds were operating. And for winter play, by 1912, skating rinks were being set up.

MAYOR RD WAUGH

Waugh had served several terms on the Board of Control and in 1912 was elected mayor. These were Winnipeg's glory days with civic growth and prosperity at an unparalleled rate. Waugh proved a popular mayor, but Waugh found that his stint as mayor became an intolerable burden on his private business life. His partner Thompson Beattie who had run the business had perished on the Titanic and now Waugh had to return to private life to rescue his real estate and law business.

Waugh recommended several civic reforms upon leaving. He had seen how being mayor was a full time job. He recommended a 2-year term for mayor and the abolition of a property qualification for those seeking public office. Waugh went to England to help negotiate a loan for Winnipeg, which he discovered, had the best financial reputation of any Canadian City. He also visited his hometown Melrose where he found the towns depleted of young people who had emigrated to Canada. In 1915 Waugh became mayor once again and served till 1916. He left to become head of the new Water District Board. By now Winnipeg's glory days were nearing an end.

Winnipeg's Carnegie Libraries

Winnipeg's Carnegie Libraries

By George Siamandas

WINNIPEG'S FIRST LIBRARY

Selkirk Settlers and Hudson Bay men like Peter Fiddler were the first contributors to Winnipeg's libraries. Fidler donated 500 books upon his death in 1822. The Manitoba Scientific and Historical Society was the founder of what later became the Winnipeg Public Library. In 1881 2,500 books were borrowed in Winnipeg. In 1905 the Carnegie Library was built at 380 William Ave at a cost of $100,000. It was opened by Earl Grey on Oct 11, 1905. Built of native Manitoba limestone, the William Ave library was designed by Samuel Hooper. The man that made this and two other branches possible was Andrew Carnegie, the noted philanthropist who donated $75,000 towards construction of the William Library. Carnegie helped with another $39,00 for an addition, and in 1915 paid the total cost of the Cornish and St. John's Libraries. The new libraries were the result of the initiative of provincial Librarian J. P. Robertson who wrote to Carnegie pleading for the same kind of assistance that had made the Ottawa library possible.

ANDREW CARNEGIE

Carnegie was Scottish born and lived between 1835 and 1919. In a classic rags to riches story, he made his fortune in railroads and oil and steel enterprises. His philosophy was that the best kind of assistance one could offer was to help people help themselves. Of the $330 million that Carnegie donated, more than $56 million went to the establishment of 2,507 libraries around the world. One hundred and Twenty-five were built in Canada at a cost of $2,556,660. He also helped colleges, and supported cultural and research grants. His designs were different from the private libraries in that they were open and accessible. The William Street Library proclaims above its doorway "Free to All." In Carnegie's libraries, children were encouraged to attend and you could look through the shelves and find your own books.

STAGNANT DECADES

There was a boom in demand in the 1920s and branch stations were being set up in grocery stores, drug stores and fire halls. Bookmobiles were started in 1953. But in the late fifties money by-laws for the establishment of branch libraries were defeated one after the other. The city instead decided to create four modest branches in the 1960s which cost under $75,000 each: the River Heights, Downtown, McPhillips and the West End. In 1972 the City built the new Central Library on Graham Ave at a cost of $10 million.

IMPORTANTANCE OF LIBRARIES

For both rich or poor, libraries have always played an important community building role in Winnipeg. Libraries have served as neighbourhood information centres. They help create an atmosphere for learning. They are places children can explore their interests, study and be exposed to a wealth of information. As a teenager I can remember many a winter day studying at the William Street Library while the steam heat radiators hissed and popped in the background.

TODAY'S LIBRARY

Today there are 21 branches which last year circulated 5.6 million materials from a collection of 1.6 million items. Three hundred thousand people hold library cards. And last year they answered 413,000 information questions. But their role is changing rapidly with technology. Now the building is not important, nor is going to the building itself necessary. And the book of the future will become a CD Rom, a database or a computer network. TheWinnipeg Library will soon open with major enhancements and renovations.

Building Winnipeg's New City Hall

Building Winnipeg's New City Hall

Ending 60 Years of Bickering

By George Siamandas

THE 60 YEAR DEBATE TO BUILD A NEW CITY HALL

Winnipeg had been slow to renew its ageing gingerbread city hall. As early as 1910 city fathers had planned to replace it but the First World War postponed it. After WW2 there were plans to replace it once again, but it would take another 16 years of studies and planning before they would actually build it. For decades Winnipeg had envied Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver, cities that had finer civic buildings. By the time Juba was elected he was a big proponent of building a new one. And to dramatise the bad condition the old one was in, he took out an insurance policy on himself should the old city hall collapse on him while he was on the job.

But deciding to build it wasn't easy. Civic voters had twice turned down money by-laws refusing to pay for building another pet project: the Disraeli freeway. A writer in 1957 chided councillors that there was enough paper from research and studies to build the first floor and that they should just get on with building a new one. Finally in 1957 the city was successful in having taxpayers agree to spend $6m on a new city hall. Voters had opted by 79% for a site across from the legislature at the corner of Broadway and Memorial Blvd. A Canada-wide design competition was held in 1958 and 91 proposals were received, some them quite futuristic. Up to date even for the year 2000.

The winning proposal was more conventional and came from Winnipeg's Green Blankstein and Russell. The plan to build it on Broadway was abandoned, as Premier Roblin persuaded the city to reconsider the location and put it back in the heart of the warehouse district. As a tool of urban renewal, and together with the plans for a new Concert Hall it was seen as a necessary rejuvenating influence for the area.

DEMOLISHING OLD CITY HALL

By now the old 1886 Gingerbread city hall had few supporters. While some called for it to be saved and used as a civic museum, these thoughts were termed the thoughts of "dreamers and idealists." Alex Clifton-Taylor an architectural critic from England called it "unbelievably ugly" in a Sept 15, 1956 article, and much too small for a city of Winnipeg's size. Clifton-Taylor observed that the old city hall had been built in the Victorian period, a time in which "artistic taste was low." And that a "newly rich class (of Winnipeggers) with lots of money and no taste" had built it. Just to check on his credentials, though the Free Press reporter took him to see the legislature, which he liked.

THE NEW CITY HALL

In approving the new city hall, thrifty Winnipeggers had provided for no frills. This was still a prairie town that counted its $6M public dollars carefully. GBR was challenged to create a contemporary Tyndall limestone building over a steel facade with its interior finished in black Quebec granite. And to provide a high level of interior design within.

But clearly there had been no money to pursue the cautionary note at the bottom of the city's report recommending the GBR design. It had urged that people want "the buildings that represent their social and civic life not to be just functionally fulfilling, they want their aspirations for monumentality, joy, pride and excitement to be fulfilled as well."

But costs gradually mounted adding another $3M to the cost. To bury this overrun they renamed it from City Hall to the Civic Centre to express the larger project that had been evolving as parkade was added. Alderman Crawford who was in charge of the project proclaimed the new city hall was so well built with 900 tons of steel, that its life expectancy was 200 years. Winnipeg's new city hall opened Monday Oct 5 1964.

REACTION TO THE NEW CITY HALL

Upon completion it was named the ugliest building in Canada, "a prison, a shoe box, Lenin's tomb." And immediately as the 600 workers took their places the staff complained about overcrowding and being "packed to the gills." It was already too small.

TRANSCONA Winnipeg's Railway Town

TRANSCONA

Winnipeg's Railway Town

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

Transcaona was built because of the railway shops. And on April 6, 1912 Transcona received its charter. It had been a heady period for businessmen that had enjoyed visions of a second Chicago. Transcona is named for the Transcontinental Railway (TRANS) and (CONA) for Lord Strathcona. It was one of the few places in Manitoba that does not owe its origins to agriculture but to the railway. In 1907 800 acres were acquired for the railway shops. It was soon discovered to be a swamp, part of a natural watercourse running from the Tache municipality to the Red River. As the shops were being built, 4 feet of fill were used to elevate the entire facility. The original town located south of the shops was largely abandoned and a new town was built north for the shops.

MAJOR RAIL CENTRE

There was a wish to create a second national railway at a time when small railways were seeing very difficult days. When the amalgamation finally took place, 3 private, 4 govt and 149 other railways came together to form the Canadian National Railway, complete by 1923. At one time 2,000 found jobs there and the facility was planned to employ 5,000. There was work for trainmen, machinists, blacksmiths, boilermakers, electricians, pipe fitters and upholsterers. Over the years Transcona has had its ups and downs reflecting levels of employment at the shops. Now it employs only 700. It has the second largest Ukrainian community in Winnipeg after the north end. The shop also built locomotives, and No 2747, was the first. Taken out of service in 1960 it has been preserved in a park. Over the years, 37 locomotives were built at the Transcona Shops

BANKRUPTCY

The boom was on. Land that had been selling for 100 per lot was now selling for $100 per front foot. The boom did not last. But hard time in the when rail business was low due to the end of the immigration of settlers to the west and low grain prices. In 1920 Transcona had to face hard facts. Dreams of their future had been unrealistic. When it came time for city council to pay for services it found it had $285,00 in expenditures but only $4,485 in revenues. The town's affairs were taken over by the province till 1927 when it began to run its own affairs. Till Regent Ave was paved in July 1931, under a depression works program, most Transcona residents would go to the city, Winnipeg, by train.

DUGALD TRAIN WRECK

On Sept 1, 1947, the country's worst train wreck happened as a train of vacationers returned form Minaki ran into a transcontinental train at the Dugald station a few minutes east of Transcona. It killed 35.

THE INCORPORATION OF ST BONIFACE

THE INCORPORATION OF ST BONIFACE

Its Struggle to Remain Distinct

By George Siamandas

ORIGINS OF ST BONIFACE

St Boniface incorporated as a city on Feb 25, 1908, and has struggled to remain distinct. Fifty years before Manitoba was even a province, there was a thriving community in St Boniface. In 1734 La Verendrye had reached the Forks and built Fort Rouge. In 1818 Lord Selkirk asked Bishop Plessis of Quebec to send missionaries to care for the emerging Metis population. Upon arrival in 1818, Father Provencher named the mission St Boniface. There were already more than 200 people living at the Forks.

ST BONIFACE: A CITY OF FIRSTS

The first white woman in the west was Marie Anne Gaboury. Her great-great granddaughter, Diane Landry would be Miss Canada in 1967. The west's first French Radio station CKSB went on the air May 27, 1946. St Boniface was also first to have a railway connection. Since 1844, the Grey Nuns have taken care of educational and health needs, In 1870 they gave 3,000 smallpox vaccinations, and in 1871 the Grey Nuns built the first hospital with 4 beds. Winnipeg had been incorporated in 1873. In 1876 St Boniface considered incorporation as a city but rejected the idea. In 1880 it was incorporated as a municipality as required by a new provincial law. In 1908 with a population of 5,930 it finally became a city.

SERVICES & PUBLIC WORKS

By 1883 St Boniface had a police and fire dept. But financial difficulties in the 1890s saw them cut fire protection services. The first hydro poles were put up in 1890 by the Northwest Power Company. First electrical service went to the Archbishop's palace and the St Boniface College. Water had initially come from the Red River, but in 1884 they put in artesian wells. In 1905, a water works plant and reservoir were built. Till the first bridge, all crossings were by a ferry near where the Norwood Bridge stands today. And where the ferry operated, so sprang up the first industries.

AVOIDING ANNEXATION

At the turn of the century English people began to move into Norwood and the issue of annexation came up. In a struggle to remain French and distinct, St Boniface chose to incorporate instead. Norwood grew with its own services. Houses replaced a golf course and marshland including several small lakes. Norwood's first minister, JS Woodsworth, preached from a tent at Marion and Kenny.

COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

Some early industries included a soap factory in 1876, a brick plant in 1879, a wool factory, brewery, and a sawmill. After a major industrial development strategy in 1909, industry boomed in St Boniface. The St Boniface Archdiocese Corp began to sell off their lands for development. First with the railway and with abundant electrical power, St Boniface offered grants for industries to locate there. Tanneries, stockyards, meat packers and flourmills poured in.

The stockyards and meat packing plants began to be built in 1913 on 20 acres of land. The Shell refinery was built in 1920. A dye works, grain companies, a roofing manufacturer, and a steel plant followed.

Today, more than 190 years after its founding, St Boniface remains the bastion of French Canadian culture in western Canada. In so many ways, the new Metis nation and the people of St Boniface, had more to do with the creation of Manitoba than did the English-speaking people of Winnipeg.

THEATRES IN WINNIPEG

THEATRES IN WINNIPEG

By George Siamandas

At one time Winnipeg had as many as 130 theatres.

Portage Ave:

Capitol 295 Portage and 313 Donald

Furby Theatre 599 Portage

Gaiety Theatre 459 Portage

Lyceum 292 Portage

Metropolitan 283 Donald

Odeon Smith

Orphium Theatre 283 Fort

Osborne 108 Osborne

Palace 501 Selkirk

Rialto

Main St

Bijou 498 Main St

College Theatre 1296 Main

Colonial 634 Main

Columbia 604 Main

Epic/Regent 644 Main St

Garrick Theatre 30 Garry

Strand 559 Main

Starland 630 Main

Neighbourhoods

Acadia 572 Selkirk

Arcadia gardens 307 Portage Ave

Arlington Theatre 863 Portage Ave

Baddow 323 Tache

Classic 18837 Portage

Corrona 1433 Logan

Mac's Theatre 585 Ellice

Park 698 Osborne

Plaza 105 Marion St

Province 205 Notre dame

Queens 239 Selkirk

Rose 801 Sargent

Tivoli 115 Maryland

Uptown Theatre

Wonderland 595 Sergent

Drive Inns

Airliner

Pembina drive Inn