ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL AND WINNIPEG'S OTHER OLDEST CHURCHES

ST. JOHN'S CATHEDRAL AND

WINNIPEG'S OTHER OLDEST CHURCHES

by George Siamandas

The 1834 cathedral replaced an earlier log church built in 1822 by John West. Construction for St. John's Cathedral started in 1833. The limestone came from Stonewall and was quarried and hauled to the site during the preceding winter, by oxen pulling sleds. Much of this hard work was done by volunteers from the native and Red River settlement. Total cost was 900 pounds and the new cathedral could hold 500 people.

The site had been selected and put aside years earlier by Lord Selkirk himself. They were proud of their new church and Thomas Simpson called it "better than 90% of the Scotch country churches." But their pride was premature. The new building deteriorated after just two years and for decades needed constant buttressing.

In 1862 it was replaced by a third church. But once again structural problems plagued the church. By the 1880s they desperately needed a new church. But it was a very long wait for the congregation. It was not until 1926 that the church was replaced by the present St. John's Cathedral on Anderson Avenue. Andersen was named in honour of Anglican Bishop Anderson who came to red River in 1849.

The first church in Red River was built in St. Boniface in 1818 on the present site of St. Boniface Cathedral. This site has seen a succession of six churches: three were demolished to make way for larger churches, while two were lost in fires. Once again it was Lord Selkirk that had granted the land on the east side of the Red for the French community.

The oldest church is St. Andrew's on the Red; it was consecrated in 1849. It is the oldest church in the west that has remained in continuous service. It has seen a major restoration of the stonework in the last few years. Its a testament to masonry techniques that old limestone buildings like St. Andrews have survived and can be restored. And all before pilings were commonly used.

One of the oldest churches is St. James Church. It's located across Polo Park on Portage Ave and it was built in 1852. The oldest downtown church is Holy Trinity church just opposite Eatons which was built in 1882. It is the oldest building surviving on Graham Avenue.

Another interesting old church is St Peter's on the east side of the Red in Selkirk. It is known as Peguis' church because Salteaux Chief Peguis and his people helped build it in 1852. Peguis worshipped at St Peter's till he died in 1864 and Peguis is buried in the church yard.

Nassau in Fort Rouge is a very ecumenical street with at least 7 churches. Starting on the north there is the Christian Science, then St. Luke's Anglican, Crescent Fort Rouge United, Trinity Baptist, Evangelical Mennonite Conference and ST Francis De Sales Catholic Church for the Deaf.

The first synagogue was Sharrey Zedek originally located at the corner of Henry and King St. Virtually the entire Jewish community turned out on a September day in 1889 to witness the laying of the corner stone. That cornerstone is now incorporated in the Wellington crescent Sharrey Zedek which was completed in 1949.

MANITOBA BANS THE BOTTLE

MANITOBA BANS THE BOTTLE

For a Short Time Only

by George Siamandas

LIQUOR IN MANITOBA
After a long campaign for temperance, Manitoba voters took a hard line against the social costs of liquor and voted to introduce prohibition 83 years ago on March 13, 1916. In the days of the Hudson Bay Co, liquor had been imported from Britain for residents of the Hudson Bay posts. The first provincial Liquor Commission was established in 1878 and it allowed one bar for every 300 people. With a population of 7,000, 23 licenses were allowed.

THE IMPACT OF PROHIBITION
In 1916 there were 196 hotels in the province, with 76 of them in Winnipeg. There were 40 liquor wholesale liquor stores and 7 breweries. Put out of work were 1,975 bartenders. Most were expected to move to wet areas in the US or in Canada. For enforcement officials the job became one of dealing with people who went underground with bootlegging. Prohibition lasted for 7 years till Manitobans had second thoughts. In 1923 by a vote of 107,609 to 67,092 Manitobans reversed themselves and decided to allow liquor sales once again. This time a provincially run corporation the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission would regulate the sale of liquor to Manitobans.

THE 1924 LIQUOR ACT
The act was fairly restrictive. The price had to be the same everywhere. Stores were located in Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage La Prairie, The Pas and Dauphin. Advertising was very closely regulated and had to be approved by the Commission. Billboard ads were banned. There were quotas on sales. One could not buy more than 24 quarts a week or 72 quarts of beer per month. Liquor had to be consumed at home only. There was to be no barter of liquor and no transportation of liquor in Manitoba. Liability for a drunken person's death was established by the act to whomever had supplied it to the individual. Ten ratepayers could stop the establishment of a licensed premise or a beer vendor. And in fact the Mennonite Bible belt was free of liquor for many years. Today Steinbach remains as dry as it ever was. People, could be banned from buying liquor on the authority of the police magistrate or two justices of the peace. They were termed interdicted persons.

RELIANCE ON LIQUOR REVENUE
As with lotteries today, the question of govt reliance on liquor sales and taxes for revenue has always been a dilemma. Government has walked the tightrope of valuing the revenue from liquor while at the same time trying to balance the social cost of drinking in society.

When the Liquor act was passed in 1924 the average Manitobans spent $20 a year on liquor. By 1930 it was $31 per year. During the depression it fell to $14 rising sharply to $62 in 1946 after the troops had returned home. In 1924 liquor revenues were $1.4 annually, declining to less than a million in 1934. But by 1947 revenues were $6 million comprising 27% of govt revenues that year.

THE BRACKEN COMMISSION
In 1954 a commission to study the Liquor Control Act was lead by ex Premier John Bracken. It conducted an exhaustive 750 page study that has the depth of social research you would expect if done today. In 1954 Manitobans had spent $43 million on liquor. At this time a good bottle of whisky cost $4-$5 and a 24 of beer were $3.27.

The research showed alcohol reduced inhibitions helped contribute to poverty and dependency. It struck a tone for scientific and objective reasons for temperance and not moralistic reasons. It surveyed liquor practises throughout the world and reported a s follows. China has a serious problem with opium. Columbia was suffering serious problems with beer made from corn. Mexico had the same problem with home brewed beer. Iceland had lived with prohibition for 40 years and seemed happy with this.

Russia was endemic with alcoholism. There was a liquor store for every 86 inhabitants: 8 times the norm. It was easier to buy liquor in Russia than to find a newspaper. Germany had once had a problem, but by this time it had gotten it under control. Holland was recognised as having the best policies for treatment of alcoholism, funded by the state but provided privately.

A new liquor act was passed in 1956, which is still in effect. It brought the consumption of liquor into the 20th century allowing a liquor vending system to be established. No liquor advertising was instituted. And it voted not to allow the sale of beer in grocery stores.

FLIN FLON HISTORY

FLIN FLON HISTORY

Excerpted By George Siamandas

Flin Flon is the gateway to a nature-lover's paradise. Located at the meeting point of three Canadian geological regions, the EDGE gives you access to an astounding variety of landscapes. The untouched, rock surfaces of the Canadian Shield to the north, polished smooth by the last glaciations, provide a dizzying array of lakes, swamps and muskegs. To the south, one can see the Precambrian-Paleozoic contact, an escarpment rising up to thirty metres above the southern country that boasts the even shored lakes of the Manitoba Lowlands. And, to the west, the Great Plains of Saskatchewan offer a breath-taking agrarian vastness that must experienced to be believed.

Besides taking in the beautiful sights, activities available in the include golf, swimming, fishing in both summer and winter, camping, and even scuba-diving.

The history of Flin Flon and the surrounding region is steeped in romantic adventure, as the entire area was settled by men and women in search of their fortunes in gold. In 1910, a group of prospectors found gold in quartz veins on the West Side of Amisk Lake. Members of this group were Jack and Dan Mosher, Thomas Creighton, and Leon and Isidor Dion - names that appear repeatedly in the history of the region. This deposit led to the development of the Prince Albert Mine that operated in 1937 and again from 1940 to 1942.

By 1913, people were coming from all over Canada to make their fortunes. This was the first major discovery of gold west of the Ontario border since the Klondike gold rush. More than a thousand men, and even two women, came to stake claims. The 'town', which sprang up, was called Beaver City, and consisted of a row of tents and log cabins, as well as two cookhouses capable of feeding two hundred men at a time. Commercial fishing was also started on Amisk Lake in 1913. Freight was hauled by York Boat in the summer and by sleigh in the winter.

World War 1 and a subsequent outbreak of Spanish influenza contributed to the demise of Beaver City. When war broke out in 1914, one man was left as caretaker of Beaver City. After three years of looking after a deserted town, Angus McDonald was given the town as payment. Roderick McDermott is the last known surviving resident of the Beaver City settlement. Mr. and Mrs. McDermott still reside in Denare Beach.

Gold prospecting continued through 1914 and 1915. In 1915, Creighton, the Moshers and the Dions discovered the massive Flin Flon copper-zinc orebody and prospecting shifted from gold to base metals. The complex mineralogy of the deposit inhibited its development until the Mandy Mine was established along Flin Flon Lake in 1915. Eventually, the Mandy Mine became profitable and busy enough that no one returned to the gold claims. The community of Flin Flon came into existence as Beaver City disappeared.

Margaret Laurence

Margaret Laurence

Drawing From a Dreadful Childhood in Neepawa

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

Jean Margaret Laurence, Manitoba's distinguished author of "The Stone Angel" and "The Diviners," was born Jean Margaret Weymiss, on July 18, 1926. Her mother was Verna Simpson, 6^th daughter of John Simpson. Margaret's father was Bob Weymiss, a lawyer who had really wanted to become a carpenter. Her dreadful early life in Neepawa became the source of her writings.

DEATH WAS HER EARLY COMPANION

Death was Margaret's companion in childhood. Margaret lost her mother Verna at age four. Her aunt Margaret returned from Calgary to help care for young Margaret and slept in a back room. After a year of town gossip, her aunt became her next mother. From then on she would call her new mother mum. At age 9 Margaret lost her father. As a little girl she was made to go see her parents' graves, surrounded by peonies. From then on she hated that flower.

GRANDFATHER SIMPSON

The other major figure in Laurence's life was her maternal grandfather John Simpson, a successful businessman in Neepawa. He had come from Milton Ontario as a pioneer and had literally walked the 50 miles to Portage La prairie where he got his start. Simpson was a mean, avaricious man who was respected but hated by nearly everyone. He refused to let his wife go shopping with any money, and he later regretted sending Margaret's mother to Agricultural College as he did not like the idea of paying tuition for her to "learn how to cook."

After her father died the family had to sell their house and move in with Grandfather Simpson. Margaret later remarked how the house felt like a cage and her grandfather was a tyrant. She was encouraged in everything she did. She felt different from the other children, an outsider. She became an observer of the lives of others. The war took away every boy in her class by grade 12. As a result, all of Margaret's memories were of Neepawa as a place of death.

ESCAPE TO WINNIPEG

At age 17 she won a scholarship to United College and found an opportunity to meet other budding writers. At age 18 she bought a Remington typewriter for $14 and remarked that her typing course taken at age 14 was the best thing she ever did. She stayed at Sparling Hall and ate at a Salisbury House as well as Tony's. She had coined the name Minewaka in a short story competition run by the Winnipeg Free, Press.

MARRIED LIFE

She married Laurence in 1962 at age 21 and they lived for a while at 515 William above Anne and Bill Ross. For a while Margaret worked at a communist newspaper without knowing it and later for the Winnipeg Citizen. Her husband and the Rosses did not get along as he disapproved of their causes. Her husband was interested in 3^rd world development work and after a short stint in England he found work on improving the water supply in Somalia. She wrote first about Africa but later after returning to England in 1962, after her divorce. She had two children.

There she began to write about Manawaka (Neepawa). The Stone Angel came out in 1964. In 1974 she returned to Canada living in Lakefield Ontario. She became a heavy smoker and an alcoholic. In later life she did not enjoy the idea of returning to Neepawa even for short trips. On her rare visits, she refused to walk by the old brick house.

This secretive woman who had decided long earlier that "a life without hope is not worth living," planned the details of her own funeral, including the timing of her death in Jan 5, 1987, during a battle with cancer.

HONEST JOHN BRACKEN The Man Who Didn't Want to Be Premier

HONEST JOHN BRACKEN

The Man Who Didn't Want to Be Premier

By George Siamandas

Honest John Bracken, the man who did not want to be Premier, ran the province for 22 difficult years between 1922 and 1944. Bracken was born the son of a dairy farmer June 22, 1883 in Leeds Ont. He loved sports especially football and hockey. He was one who kept his feelings to himself. He went away to high school but failed his final exams returning home defeated. He took on the management of his father's dairy farm and made into a success. Up at 4:30 in the morning and in bed by 9, Bracken tended the farm 7 days a week. Like farmers everywhere, Bracken had been raised on values of hard work, and self-reliance.

Later he applied to the Ontario Agricultural College where he became one of 300 students. There he applied himself and did well. He would later find a clerical error had occurred. He had in fact passed. He graduated with top marks and took on his first job. He went west in 1905 to head up the Manitoba a section of the Federal Seed Bureau providing better seeds to western farmers. He was then wooed further west to work in Saskatoon by WR Motherwell. He became a specialist in dryland farming writing several seminal texts. In 1920 he returned to head up Manitoba's Agricultural College. He loved farmers and talking about farming. And he loved to work, taking time out only for his beloved curling.

MANITOBA'S PREMIER 1922-1942

After winning the 1922 election the United Farmers of Manitoba found themselves without a platform and without a leader. After approaching several agricultural leaders they decided on Bracken. Bracken who had no interest in politics and who felt as head of the Ag College he already had the best job in Manitoba, turned them down flat. He gave such a stirring speech why he wasn't the man that the United Farmers of Manitoba realized they wanted this co-operative non-partisan even more.

The next day they presented him a petition asking him once again to become leader. And once again he refused. On the third try they made sure that they saw him at home with his wife present. Once again he said no. But then Mrs Bracken said: "John you should help these men out." He agreed.

But first, Bracken who had never voted in his life before had to win a seat. He decided to run in The Pas. Bracken won his seat and won elections for 22 years including some with acclamation. Forty years later, Bracken would tell a reporter a familiar story. After the election, the part aboriginal mayor of The Pas had told Bracken that he had been offered $10,000 by the Conservatives to run against Bracken but the mayor decided not to run.

Bracken was at the helm for the most difficult times Manitoba faced. He introduced income tax and raised the gas tax. He reduced govt spending, fired civil servants, and cut back mother's allowances. Within three years he was running a surplus. He was seen as arrogant, unable to forget his schoolmaster background and treated MLA's as schoolboys.

FEDERAL POLITICS

After his long service in provincial politics, in 1942 Bracken was once again persuaded to serve another group's needs, this time as the leader of the federal Conservative Party. He convinced them to add the name progressive, but he was disappointed in the partisan bickering and his performance was judged lacklustre. He lasted two years. Some saw him once again, as the wrong man in the wrong party.

HIS LEGACY

Bracken gave Manitoba 22 years of unselfish govt. His influence lasted as Brackenism would become the philosophy of the Garson and Campbell govt that would follow for another 15 years. In 1954, Bracken the teetotaller headed a Royal Commission on Liquor. His report recommended the liberalisation of drinking laws. Years later he regretted the increasing rates of alcoholism. He retired to Manotick Ontario to breed horses and died Mar 16, 1969.

HENRY MALANIK The Last Man to Be Hung In Manitoba

HENRY MALANIK

The Last Man to Be Hung In Manitoba

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

During a crime of passion Henry Malanak killed a policeman and had to pay the ultimate price. Today we tell the story of Henry Malanik, the last man to be hung in Manitoba 48 years ago this week June 17, 1952. It was 1950 and the City of Winnipeg Police Department would lose another officer in the line of duty. Detective Sergeant Edwin "Ted" SIMS was shot to death at the scene of a domestic dispute at 19 Argyle Street. The murderer, Henry MALANIK, was convicted and was the last man executed in Manitoba.

Malanik had come to Canada as a child in 1912. He had a grade 4 education. He had been convicted of several break and enters at age 17 but had no further troubles with the law till 1950. Malanik began an affair with Olga the wife of Adolph Kafka his childhood friend and best man. It was a fight over Olga's affections that resulted in a gun battle at their house in Point Douglas. Malanik and Kafka were each fined $50. Tragically, several months later their guns were returned to them.

KILLING OF POLICEMAN TED SIMMS

In July 15, 1950 Malanik was thrown out of a wedding reception for being drunk and disorderly. He went to the Argyle St house to see Olga where he and Adolph got into a knife fight sending Adolph to hospital. The police were called and Detective Sargent Ted Simms along with Det Jack Peachell and Det William Anderson attended the house. Malanik had fled but returned with a double-barrelled shotgun. In a gun fight Malanik killed Simms with a shotgun blast to the abdomen. Detective Peachell emptied his gun discharging 5 shots at Malanik. Three found their target. As the gunfire continued another rookie policemen shot Detective Andersen in the neck by mistake. He would later be fired from the force.

THE TRIAL

In Oct 1950 Malanik went on trial, his lawyer pleading for a manslaughter charge. After 40 min the jury returned a guilty plea, and Malanik was sentenced to hanging. Judge Kelly had reservations believing Malanik may have been too drunk to form an intent to kill. This was enough for an appeal. Malanik was retried in May 1951 and once again found guilty. This time judge Williams had no doubt of Malanik's guilt. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court where it was denied.

THE LAST HANGING

At 2:00 am June 17, 1952, as 40 witnesses watched, Henry Malanik was led into the execution chamber. Executioner "Camille" wearing a black beret and a Hawaiian shirt pulled the lever. As Malanik hung from the rope, blood began to spurt. His jugular had been severed. Two minutes later he was pronounced dead. It was the last time a man was hung in Canada's most humane and modern prison, Manitoba's Headingley Jail. Hangings continued at other provinces till 1962.

From time to time the issue comes up. The Reform Party supports capital punishment, as do approximately 69% of Canadians. In the US capital punishment is available in 38 states, where homicide is ten time more prevalent than in England.

JOSEPH EDOUARD CAUCHON

JOSEPH EDOUARD CAUCHON

Manitoba's Controversial 3rd Lieut Gov

by George Siamandas

Cauchon became the third Lieut Gov of Manitoba in 1877. He was born Dec 31, 1816 at Quebec City. Cauchon is descended from on of the oldest families in Quebec City; they originated in Normandy and are thought to have arrived in 1636. He received a classical education and then studied law. Cauchon launched the Quebec Journal in 1842. He would own it for 20 years and edit it for 33 years. He was also a member of the Quebec legislative Assembly.

A MAN OF QUEBEC

Cauchon invested in railways and real estate and in 1866 was elected mayor of Quebec city. After confederation he was named a senator and was appointed its speaker. A Liberal supporter at heart, he resigned and was found having profited as an owner of a lunatic asylum. He joined Alexander MacKenzie's govt but was soon "put to pasture" replacing Alexander Morris as Lieut Gov of Manitoba.

Cauchon arrived in Manitoba in early December 1877. Red River was still just emerging from the fur trade and Cauchon grumbled about his exile to Manitoba. The Toronto Globe offered its condolences to the people of Manitoba.

In Manitoba there were a lot of hard feelings. The English who had swelled Manitoba s population were not happy with the idea of a french Speaking Lieut Gov at a time the office still had some power. Surprise at his appointment was shared by all. Even in St Boniface Tache observed that the appointment of a French Canadian is as extraordinary as the arrival of the railway.

Cauchon promised that he is "not a representative of a faith or a nationality, and to bestow no special favour on no citizen but to render justice to all." His only transgression was in 1878 when he withheld assent of the act to abolish the official publication of documents in French. Cauchon left the job in 1882. English speaking Manitobans saw him as doing nothing, while his colleague Dubuc thought he had been excellent. For a province establishing responsible govt it was not a bad thing.

FIRST OF ALL A BUSINESSMAN

While he may not have found Manitoba politics interesting, business was another matter. Cauchon became very involved in business which apparently shocked people of the day. In Winnipeg, he took full advantage of the Winnipeg land boom as he had done in Quebec City.

The Free Press estimated he had made over a million dollars by 1882. He sold 120 lots in Point Douglas having held them only three evenings making a profit of $15,243. He speculated on land where the railway would go through at the Louise Bridge on the St Boniface side. The City of Winnipeg sued him but lost and had to pay a bundle for the land needed to woo the CPR through Winnipeg.

In December 1882 he purchased for $60,000 the land on the east side of Main ST at York Ave, south of what later became the CN station. He built Winnipeg's finest Block at the time the Cauchon Block for another $100,000. It had a Greek facade of four stories. Actually a brick building with a pressed metal facade it was as elegant a structure as one could find for the stores and offices it provided. But the land boom faltered and Cauchon gave up the block by 1884. It became the Empire Hotel.

WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUCHON

By now Cauchon was penniless. He and his son took up a homestead called Westwood in the Q'Appelle Valley, where he died in Feb 23 1885 at age 68. He lies buried at St Boniface cemetery after a state funeral. Cauchon had been married three times. Cauchon St a short street in in Ft Rouge also bears his name. Interestingly, Manitoba would not have another French speaking Lieut Gov for another 100 years till Bud Jobin was appointed in 1976.

EDITH ROGERS Manitoba's First Female MLA

EDITH ROGERS

Manitoba's First Female MLA

By George Siamandas

On June 29, 1920 Manitobans elected their first woman member of the Legislative assembly. Edith Rogers had been active in soldier's relief programs, and was seen as woman capable of bringing women's issues before the Legislature. She is described as having been a true daughter of the north country in that both her mother and father had strong connections with the Hudson Bay Co. Her paternal grandmother had been the illegitimate daughter of Sir George Simpson.

She was born Edith MacTavish in 1876. growing up at Norway House. She was educated in Montreal. In 1897 she met Arthur Rogers who was a wholesale dealer in fruits and provisions, while on a duck hunting expedition with her uncle. Arthur Rogers began a new dairy business in 1905 called crescent creamery with the active involvement of Edith. The dairy was a success because they paid close attention to hygienic conditions during a time when typhoid fever was rampant.

HOW DID SHE BECOME A PROMINENT WINNIPEGGER?

Edith raised four children and led an active life as part of the social elite. Participating in many luncheons, teas, bridge parties and dinners, Edith Rogers took a special interest in the General Hospital and the Convalescent Home. After WW2 she was very involved in veterans associations helping returning soldiers adjust to civilian life. In 1920 the Liberal party asked her to run as a candidate. Manitoba was the first province to give women the vote that year and it was the first opportunity women had had to vote or to run for office. Three other women ran for office that year.

WHAT ISSUES DID EDITH ROGERS PRESS IN THE LEGISLATURE?

She was very interested in social welfare and pressed for the adoption of the child welfare bill. She also introduced a bill for censorship of motion pictures and a bill giving widows increased power over their husband's estates. She also represented the government on the Social Welfare Council of Winnipeg. She also introduced a bill to incorporate the Winnipeg Foundation. She was also credited by city of Winnipeg officials for always being willing to secure legislation that solved civic problems.

She continued to serve in the legislature till 1932, after which due to declining health retired in her daughter's home in Toronto. She came back at the outbreak of WW@ to become chairman of the War Council of the Red Cross. In 1942 she decided to retire to her childhood home in Colbourne Ontario. On the eve of her departure for more than an hour and a half a steady procession of people came to pay their respects at the grand staircase of the legislature. She died in 1947.

BALDUR STEFANSSON THE FATHER OF CANOLA

BALDUR STEFANSSON

THE FATHER OF CANOLA

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

Baldur Stefansson is one of Manitoba's most distinguished plant scientists and the father of the new breed of canola which he derived from selections of rapeseed. Stefansson's father had come from Iceland in 1910 and settled in Vestfold in the Interlake between Lundar and Inwood. He was a cattle farmer. Baldur was born in April 26, 1917. The area was not very prosperous. The area's soil lacks phosphates, as he would later discover. It was so bad the cows would chew the 2x4 lumber.

Baldur went to WW2 and when he returned decided against becoming a farmer. Why? Because he saw it as being too competitive. Every one of your neighbours is a competitor he maintains. And to get into farming takes a large investment. In the final analysis, the profit margin is very low. Instead, like many returning soldiers, he went to university, studied agriculture and settled on plant science. He earned an MA and a PhD.

PLANT SCIENCE INSTEAD OF FARMING

He became interested in finding new sources of edible oil. While hemp was an attractive possibility, Stefansson and his colleagues knew that the govt would not permit research with this plant. Instead they concentrated on rapeseed. He wanted to develop an edible oilseed for large-scale production on the Canadian prairie.

WHAT IS CANOLA?

Canola is the bright yellow crop, growing across the prairies. It is an oil seed. It came from selection of rapeseed, which is part of the mustard family. Rapeseed originated 2,000 years ago in India and was introduced to Asia during the time of Christ. It arrived in Europe in the 13th century. It became popular on the prairie because of its ability to grow in cooler climates. Grown for the oil contained in the seed, it was a particularly favoured lubricant because it could stick to metals in the presence of water. In 1936, a Saskatchewan farmer imported some rapeseed from Poland and began to grow it in Canada. It seemed to do well.

OVERCOMING PROBLEMS OF RAPESEED

Rapeseed had two difficulties in being utilised as edible oil. If it was to be for human consumption the amount of erucic acid had to be substantially reduced. And the by product of crushing which is used for livestock feed, had to be made more palatable by reducing anti-nutritive glucosinolates. Stefansson was able to do both. In 1974 he succeeded with the double low "Tower" variety of canola. And to differentiate it from rapeseed the new name canola was coined from "Canadian Oil." The other choice was CanAbra, but the name was appropriated by a member of the committee who started an Alberta company with it.

WORK FOR CHEMICAL COMPANIES

After developing the in the double low "Tower" variety, Stefansson then began work for Calgene a corporate plant breeder that developed the round-up resistant variety of canola. Calgene was later bought out by the giant in plant varieties: Monsanto. Stefansson has no regrets about the work and how its value had remained with the companies. He was well paid as were literally hundreds of scientists and support staff for years while the company took the risk. He is happy his canola has allowed some farmers to be a little more productive and to be able to make a slightly better living.

AWARD WINNER

He has won many awards over the years and a room in his modest house in Fort Garry now houses the collection. The Wolf prize from Israel, Order of the Buffalo Hunt, the Royal Bank etc. About two dozen in all. He is glad not to doing his plant breeding work in the corporate "dog eat farmer" environment of today.

The 1946 Portage Women's Jail Riot

The 1946 Portage Women's Jail Riot

Unhappy to Have a Woman Warden

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

On April 15, 1946 a riot broke out at the Portage La Prairie Jail for Women. Newspapers reported a combination of bad food, overcrowding, and poor medical care as the cause of the riot. It was a Monday and 15 women refused to go to work. Tear gas was used to bring the women under control but they began to throw furniture around and barricaded themselves. The women demanded to see the Attorney General J.O. McLenaghen while singing "don't fence me in."

Attorney General J.O. McLenaghen met with them and heard complaints against female Warden MC Mountain. One inmate said of trying to communicate grievances to Miss Mountain, "you might as well be talking to a little dog." McLenaghen promised to look into their complaints, ordered they be taken off their bread and water rations and left to a chorus of "he's a jolly good fellow."

A DAMNING REPORT ON THE WOMEN'S PRISON

Head of jails in Manitoba Royal Burritt conducted an investigation into the state of jails in Manitoba and found the womens' complaints had merit. The management consisting of Ed Calder and Maud Mountain was judged as incompetent. Staff was only at half the level required. Maud Mountain was a lousy administrator and showed no initiative. Ed Calder the past warden at the jail had been accused of hitting numerous women with his clenched fist. He ran the place like an autocrat. Burritt suggested that Calder be fired. Yet at the top of the womens' demands was their wish to see the return of their male warden Sheriff Ed Calder.

Set up in 1931 and made women's only in 1935, the facility was badly in need of repairs. The colours were depressing, and described by Burritt a "bilious blue" and "dirty yellow." The windows had been painted over a "hideous green" preventing light from coming into the cells. The food consisted of cold meats and potatoes. The fridge barely worked and the range needed replacement. It would have failed any restaurant health codes in effect at the time. The women were not given toothbrushes even though the cost was only 10 cents. There were no written rules of behaviour. Calder made the rules up as he went. Complainant Edna Burch said Calder beat her for a small infraction of the rules and put her on bread and water for 5 days.

There was no vocational training available, nor any recreational facilities. The library contained nothing up to date. It had a few rotting foul smelling old books. Burritt concluded that there was nothing wrong with the food. "Nothing could start trouble sooner than to provide poor food and we know that well enough" said Burritt. Two years later Burritt seemed to have forgotten the importance of a decent meal.

1948 MEN'S PRISON COMPLAINTS

In 1948 unrest broke out at Headingley Jail. Men complained of not enough variety in meals. Not enough sugar available. No bedtime snacks. An investigation proved the men's concerns. Meals consisted of a lot of beef stew and steamed or mashed potatoes. On alternate days sliced balogna. Sugar rations were tripled. It was deemed too impractical however to give prisoners bedtime snacks in their cells.

SIR JAMES AIKINS

SIR JAMES AIKINS

Manitoba's Two Term Lieut Gov

by George Siamandas

Sir James Aikins who was appointed Manitoba's 9th Lieut Gov on August 3, 1916, and was the founder of Winnipeg's oldest law firm Aikins MaCaulay Thorvaldson founded in 1879. Aikins was the son of Sir James Cox Aikins who served in Sir John A Mcdonald's cabinet and who himself was Lieut gov of Manitoba during 1882-1888. The younger James was born in Peele County Ontario in 1851 and was educated in upper Canada College becoming a lawyer like his father in 1878.

Aikins was drawn to the promise of the west and came to Manitoba in 1879 for just a look and returned only to pack and move to Manitoba's new west. He took an office in Winnipeg over Richardson's store and worked on a kitchen table from the corner of Main St and Rupert Ave. Aikins became involved in the temperance movement and was a popular speaker. When he arrived in 1879 there were 17 lawyers in Winnipeg. The great land boom of 1881 swelled the city's population of lawyers such that in one day in June 1882 79 new lawyers were called to the bar. By the end of 1882 Winnipeg had 213 lawyers.

MOVING UP IN LEGAL CIRCLES

Aikins rose fast in Manitoba legal circles. He was appointed counsel for the CPR expansion in the west. By 1884 he was made a QC. Aikins was considered a gifted speaker and an expert constitutional lawyer. His firm was now known as Aikins Culver and Hamilton and it was handling 1/3 of the city's legal cases. In the early 1890s as the city was in recession and the city tried to begin taxing the CPR railway from school taxes, Aikins took Winnipeg to the supreme court and won the CPR's continued exemption from municipal taxation. In 1914 he received a knighthood and he became the first President of the Canadian Bar Assoc and was a noted speaker at many of its sessions. The Canadian Bar seemed his greatest joy and he was considered a master orator. His friends referred to him as J. A. M.

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

With his many years of participation in the Temperance movement, Aikins was chosen to draft the 1900 Manitoba Liquor Control Act. A staunch Conservative he represented Brandon. Aikins headed the Conservative party in Manitoba after 1915 and they supported women's suffrage and prohibition. They were snubbed at the polls as the country and Manitoba went Liberal.

BUSINESS

Aikins worked on behalf of major companies such as great West Life for which he served as solicitor for 37 years. He was a director of many other firms including the Imperial Bank. Aikins left his name to the legal firm Aikins MaCaulay & Thorvaldson and Aikins St in the North end. Aikins built the Sommerset Block in 1900 just east of Eatons at Donald and Portage named after his older brother. It was the first concrete building to be built in Winnipeg. He helped get eh Royal Alex and the Main St CPR subway. JAM had been a lavish entertainer at Govt house.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Aikins was active in numerous community organizations including serving as one of the founders of the Winnipeg YMCA, chair of Wesley College, Boy Scouts.

THE SPORTSMAN

He was an ardent golfer and was considered one of Manitoba 's most skilled marksmen. His first marriage went sour as work preoccupied his time.

AN IRONIC END

Aikins career was to be celebrated in a special reception. In the large program for this special event one hundred and nineteen letters had been written congratulating Aikins for 50 years as a lawyer. They came from the prime Minister McKenzie King, from the Us Supreme court and from every important lawyer in the world. Ironically the day before the celebration was to be held to commemorate his 50 years on the Manitoba Bar James Aikins took ill and died two days later. He left one son and two daughters. He died in February 1929. He left a $6 M estate. His home Riverbend became Balmoral Hall school for girls.

HAROLD AIKINS

His son Harold trained in law and fought in WW1 losing a leg. He became a member of the firm but unlike his dad, he was a most sour personality.

Manitoba's 1950 Flood Relief Fund

Manitoba's 1950 Flood Relief Fund

by George Siamandas

As the 1950 flood's impact was felt Manitobans quickly created a relief agency. Manitoba and the world pitched in to help with the creation of the Manitoba Flood Relief Fund.

IMPACT OF THE 1950 FLOOD

$50M damages

Black friday May 5; final crest was May 13

Flood lasted 51 days

40,000 evacuated from southern Manitoba

80,000-100,000 from Winnipeg of a population of 300,000

Some dikes were 18 feet high and 60 feet at the base.

There was a run on linseed which was used to plug the sewers.

2,000 homes were damaged above the first floor (Second floor)

Morris had the worst damage largely because of the poor construction of its buildings. Analysis overall showed that poorly constructed homes faced the worst damage. Those with concrete foundations did the best.

There was a secret plan called Operation Black Boy which would have called a total evacuation of Winnipeg with preparations for mode of transport and everything. Another foot of water higher and the power would have been out. The goods in Winnipeg great warehouses would have been destroyed. As it was the river put most of Lombard Ave under water and there were sandbags at Portage and Main.

Instead of going ahead with Operation Black Boy the red Cross went ahead with Operation Rainbow. This was the Red Cross relief effort which helped people adjust.

SETTING UP THE MFRF

The committee first met on May 12, a week after the flood first hit on Black Friday. The idea came from Mayor Garnet Coulter who was at a mayor's conference in new Orleans. Within 2 weeks the agency had $400,000. The guy in charge was HW Manning, vice president of Great West Life.

WHERE DID THE MONEY COME FROM

It came from everywhere in the world. A lot from Manitobans themselves.

On May 14 every radio station in Canada carried a 20 minute new report on the flood and an appeal for donations. The following Sunday May 16 Bob Hope asked for donations to the flood at the close of his show.

Eatons across the country matched its employees donations dollar for dollar giving $307,034. The agency sold a picture book of the flood for $1 called "THE RIVER RAMPANT" Kids shined shoes for 15 cents, Movie Theatres across the country took collections. In Winnipeg people were urged to donate a day's wages.

In Toronto they held red River relief Rally at maple Leaf gardens. The entertainment which included Giselle McKenzie was broadcast on 800 radio stations throughout North America. The fund insisted on money because it was such a hassle to obtain and move goods around. The British Parliament gave 300,000 pounds. The British were noted for being unwilling to give cash.

It did a great job raising money: $8,897,618 by November. It was a generous group in distributing even though I saw an appeal by residents of the Glenwood area. By the end it had trouble giving all the money away. It was left with $2,000,000 which went to start up the Canadian Disaster Relief Fund. Administration costs were only 2%. They even helped small businesses many whom were farmers to buy new stock.

IMPACT ON MANITOBA

It cost the Manitoba government $42M. That was the equivalent of the entire year's provincial budget at the time. And how much did the insurance companies pay in the 1950 flood? Almost nothing!

HISTORY OF STEINBACH

HISTORY OF STEINBACH

"The Automobile City"

by George Siamandas

The village of Steibach was founded in 1874 by 18 Mennonites families that set up a traditional Mennonite village along a creek. The founders' names included Wiebe, Penner, Reimer, Towes, Friesen, Plett and they are the stock of many Mennonites in Manitoba today. It is an unlikely location as it was away from Winnipeg and on the south eastern edge of the old Mennonites villages. But its success was due to ambitious hard working people. But initially, business was frowned on as an activity.

EXCOMMUNICATING THE FIRST CAR OWNER

JR Friesen brought a 1911 Model N the forerunner of the Model T to Steinbach. He was promptly excommunicated by the church but Friesen was so excited about the possibilities of the car that he did not take the excommunication too seriously. In fact he had the last laugh when several years later the same ministers that had thrown him out came to buy cars themselves. On June 6 1914 he became the first Ford car dealer in western Canada. The cars were brought by rail knocked down in boxes, assembled and delivered on sleighs to their owners. In 1928 and 1929 they were selling 70 cars per year at about $650 each.

To sell cars in the 1930s they offered your money back in three days if not satisfied. They also held Canada's earliest car auction selling 48 at the Penner dealership which was western Canada's most modern in the early 1950s. John D Penner in 1950 was the first to take out full page ads in the Winnipeg papers to promote cars.

They tried every inducement including inviting customers and their families over for dinner. One time Mr Penner visited a family on their farm, and while he showed the husband and wife the car, Mrs Penner milked all the cows. The wife was so moved she agreed to the sale on the spot. Mr Penner said he had not yet milked a cow himself but he had done just about everything else in order to sell a car.

SALES LEADERS

Steinbach's car salesmen were the top of the country in the 1950s selling more than 250 cars annually. In 1960 they held a special promotion where anyone who came to Steinbach to buy a car had his hotel restaurant or other transportation paid for him. People came not only from Manitoba but also from Saskatchewan and Alberta.

LOCAL INVENTION & INGENUITY

Many businesses depended on a local invention. Inventors helped make their work easier, whether grain feeders for threshing machines, bee keepers equipment, bakery ovens and dough making machines, or mechanized dredges used to build drainage ditches.

Abraham S Friesen who was the first village mayor, first postmaster and a mechanical pioneer introduced mechanization to agriculture. He built the first windmill in 1877 and the first sawmill in 1876. It was his sons that later started the first Ford dealership in western Canada. Others like Peter K Barkman set up the first steam powered mill flour mill in 1880.

BUSINESS PROMOTION WAS SEEN AS A PRIORITY

To encourage industry they introduced a ten year tax holiday and so Barkman's Flour Mill was constructed in 1922. Through the 1950s and 1960s Steinbach had the highest growth rate of all Manitoba communities.

DOING THINGS FOR THEMSELVES

Not happy with the condition of roads in the 1930s, the local transportation committee took matters into their own hands developing and upgrading first the road to Giroux where the nearest railway was located and then east to the Morden Sprague highway. They filled in swamps with corduroy getting help from adjoining farmers. Soon the predecessor to No 12 was formed. They also formed pure bred swine and poultry clubs a legacy for egg and pork production that is making this rural area the fastest growing producer in Manitoba. All the work was don in the depths of the depression with barely any governmental money. They held courses on everything under the sun: bee keeping, hog raising etc.

THE MOST GIVING CENSUS TRACT IN CANADA

According to Statistics Canada, Steinbach and the area around it is known to be the most giving census tract in all of Canada for charitable donations.

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IN MANITOBA

THE BEGINNINGS OF THE

JEWISH COMMUNITY IN MANITOBA

by George Siamandas

On June 10 1882 70 Jewish families arrived in Winnipeg. They were Russian Jews that were being massacred throughout south western Russia because it was thought they had something to do with Czar Alexander's death in 1881. Years of oppression caused a mass exodus lasting from 1882 to 1914.

Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt Canada's high commissioner to Great britain became involved in a relief committee called the Mansion House committee whose role was to raise funds and assist emigration from Russia. Galt proposed that they come to Manitoba. By spring of 1882 his proposal was accepted and 400 Jewish refugees left the Austrian Galician city of Borody bound for Winnipeg. Most were small traders and mechanics of various trades. They were expected to become farmers.

About 30 Jews had lived in Winnipeg as early as 1877. Most were of british or german origin and they were of the reform branch which was fairly well assimilated into the larger society. The existing community arranged for use of the immigration sheds and provided food and interpreters. They raised 1,200 in just a few months. The spirit of humanitarianism was strong in Winnipeg and Bishop Machray and Mayor Alexander Logan helped in increasing the donations. The papers were also supportive and helped create a very sympathetic climate.

About 150 became involved in the construction of the CPR laying track as far west as Moose Jaw. Their families lived with them and their observance of high holidays was tolerated. But by fall they fell into great difficulties as a recession fell over Winnipeg. Jobs were impossible to find after the collapse of the real estate boom and there were no places to live.

As winter was approaching efforts were made to move the families east but it did not come about. There were delays in giving them land to farm either in Manitoba or in the Q'Appelle valley. The authorities were just not ready for them and how to plan for them as they had done with the Mennonites and the Icelanders. Temperatures plummeted to

-50, they almost starved because they would not eat food they were offered. By the late 1880s the Jews had already established a multi cultural society. Despite their differences they all share a religion, a history as a people apart and Yiddish.

The newcomers were quite different. Different even than their English and German counterparts. They spoke a different language, ate different food, and kept solely to themselves. They were not interested in farming and had no money to become involved in any new activities. They faced a fair amount of racism and were excluded from elite clubs. Over time the children of the labourers, pedlars and store owners became doctors, lawyers and scientists.

By 1931 there were 20,000 people identifying themselves as Jews in Manitoba. Today the Jewish community numbers about 15,000 to 16,000 almost all urban but as their children seek better opportunities elsewhere numbers are dwindling.

HECLA ISLAND

HECLA ISLAND

How an Icelandic Fishing Village Became a Ghost Town Gateway to a White Elephant Luxury Resort

by George Siamandas

MR. PORTAGE AND MAIN, HENRY MCKENNY HELPS ESTABLISH HECLA ISLAND

The first group of Icelandic settlers came in 1876. But they had not been the first. The man that first brought attention to this island north of Gimli was Henry McKenny.

Henry McKenny the man responsible for establishing Portage and Main, is also one of the first to create economic activity at Hecla Island. It was his idea to cut lumber on well forested Hecla Island and ship it to Selkirk for processing on his schooner the Jessie McKenny in 1868. The same year a saw mill and a general store established at Hecla.

MAGNUS HALLGRIMSON

The first Icelander to establish a homestead was Magnus Hallgrimson. He first worked on McKenny's saw mill and also became the island's first postmaster from his home. He called his home Hecla and it caught on as the name used by outsiders. The Icelanders actually called the island Mikley or big island. Until a cause way was built as part of the park development, Hecla was isolated during parts of the year. Hecla which is about 18 miles long and 6 miles wide eventually had 500 people. And almost all the residents had something to do with fishing, timber or livestock farming.

THE GOVERNMENT DRIVE THEM OUT

It was in 1970 and 1971. Sixty families had to move out. The land became Hecla provincial Park and the destination resort was named Gull Harbour. The philosophy was that the natural beauty of Hecla would be best be enjoyed without the clutter of people. And parks are easier to run without residents. But the resort failed to realize success and has in fact been a money loser. The lack of people are obvious to a visitor and one just does not feel the pulse of real life there now. People tell stories of visiting Hecla before the park and how take the ferry there before it became a park. It was not fancy, but you got to see a real fishing village.

PLANNING GONE AMUCK

It seems to have started as project to give the Hecla residents economic opportunities. Government studies showed farming was not worthwhile, the fishery had closed and so had the island's high school. Hecla Islanders initially developed the plan. People would have new jobs. But the plan envisioned the residents staying. They liked it there. Residents say that they would not have lived anywhere else, and that the isolation encouraged a very independent style of living. At the time, government was looking to provide additional recreational opportunities. And to provide a destination for the Lord Selkirk. But as the planning process continued there was a major change. The plan got bigger. Residents found out that they would all have to go.

PRICES THE HECLA RESIDENTS GOT

Some found alterative accommodation, but others feel they go next to nothing. Replacement properties were running three times what they got. Since the early 1980s some of the original residents have been actively lobbying to get the land back.

HOW DID SUCH A MISGUIDED PROJECT EVER HAPPEN?

I spoke to many people, three at length. Two were intimately associated with Hecla Park, while a third was closely involved in related projects. All three, concerned about their jobs and reputations, demanded anonymity. One knew all the details but he could not explain how the plan had changed so radically or why.

Another had an admittedly cynical explanation. He thought Hecla may have happened in a time (early 1970s) when a group of master-planning oriented technocrats thought they knew best what should be done. And apparently in those the heady Schreyer years they pretty well could push things through and get their projects done.

A third said he would come looking for me if his name was used. But he kept talking about it. He left government before it was fully completed. He feels that most of the criticism is ill informed. Yet he doubts it would be built that way or at all today.

MANITOBA'S FIRST LEGISLATURE

MANITOBA'S FIRST LEGISLATURE

A government of peace and reconciliation

by George Siamandas

On March 15, 1871 the first session of the Manitoba legislature met to consider the business of the new province of Manitoba. Adams Archibald the benevolent despot that ran the show had been born in Truro Nova Scotia in 1814. He became a lawyer and politician in Nova Scotia were he served as Attorney general. He strongly favoured the union of British North America and was involved in the drafting of the terms of confederation. In 1870 he became the Lieut Gov of Manitoba. Archibald was the right man at the right time. He had sufficient knowledge of the running of government, had good legal training for the passage of basic laws, was a strong believer in confederation, and he had a genuine stance of conciliation towards those involved in the rebellion. As soon as he got to Red River in Sept 2 1870 Archibald met with local leaders and avoided extreme individuals like Schultz and Riel and his top men. Two weeks later on September 20 1870, he appointed an Executive Council comprising Alfred Boyd and Marc Girard both of whom were relative newcomers.

THE FIRST PREMIER

Boyd is listed as being Manitoba's first premier and appears as such in the Canadian Parliamentary Guide. But according to Bruce Donaldson the Province's head of History, Archibald really functioned as Manitoba's first premier. It was Lieut Gov Adams Archibald who really wielded power and was in effect the premier. Till the first legislature opened on March 15 1871 Archibald and his executive council ruled by proclamation. They arranged for a census set up electoral boundaries and planned the first election for December 30, 1870. While essentially operating as an autocrat, Archibald often consulted with people like Tache and James McKay in order to be made aware of local feelings and personalities.

They met for six weeks and they passed a lot of bills. For the first session Archibald had planned a set of 32 bills in order to keep the new legislators "busy and (to) fend off abstractions". In short order they set up a court system, a school act, a law society, electoral boundaries and regulations, and laws on deeds, wills and estates. The system of public schools was like in Quebec, while the system of justice and courts was modeled after the one in Ontario.

The election was held Dec 30 1870. The census for Manitoba was interesting. It showed 558 Indians, 5,757 metis, 4,083 half English half-breeds, 747 white natives of red River, 294 canadians and 525 Britishers and Americans. There were 24 constituencies following the old parish boundaries: 12 French and 12 English. During the election Archibald did his best to ensure that moderate candidates made themselves available for election. There were no formal political parties yet.

Some of the same men that had been part of Red River society helped form the first government; men like AGB Bannatyne, John Norquay, and John Sutherland.

The Canadian Party comprised Britishers like Alfred Boyd, and Henry J Clarke. The French community was represented by Canadians like Joseph Royal, Marc Girard, and Joseph Dubuc all lawyers who helped draft Manitoba 's constitution after that of Quebec. Of the 24 elected to Manitoba 's first legislature, James A Jackson writes that 17 of them were sympathetic to the provisional government and its leader.

When you compare today it seems the first legislature was meeting right after a coup d'etat. It seems to have been a cordial affair considering the seriousness of the issues of the day. Archibald was a pragmatic fellow. And his actions suggest the freedom a person can exercise who is seeking solutions. There were issues of the Riel rebellion that somehow had to be both forgotten, yet addressed. Joseph Royal was elected first speaker. Manitoba was in transition from a fur trading are to an emerging gateway of agricultural commerce. Awaiting was the complex job of setting up a civil service. There was no treasury or a means of raising taxes. There were no roads or other signs of infrastructure.

Archibald got into trouble with the English press for being too cosy to Riel. The amnesty that had been promised by Ottawa was not forthcoming. But Archibald refused to take any action against Riel or any of the other "criminals". It made for bad press in Ontario but went over well in Red River.

There was no legislature. That was not built until 1884, so they met at one of the members homes; the home of Andrew Bannatyne. They chose not to use the Council chamber of Fort Garry perhaps because of its associations with Riel and the provisional govt. But they carved a mace from a portion of Fort Garry's flagstaff and from the hub of a red river cart.

In the fall of 1872 Archibald was replaced by Alexander Morris. He had tired of the heavy pace of the two years at Red River. He became Lieut Gov in Nova Scotia and later won a seat in Parliament. He died in 1892.

JEAN-BAPTISTE LAGIMODIERE

JEAN-BAPTISTE LAGIMODIERE

The Man Who Walked 1,800 Miles

By George Siamandas

You have heard of the road named Lagimodiere but did you know that the man after whom it was named literally walked 1,800 miles or 3,000 km to deliver a message to Lord Selkirk? Jean Baptiste Lagimodiere, Manitoba's most famous traveller completed his trip to Montreal 184 years ago on Mar 10, 1816.

The son of a farmer, Jean Baptiste Lagimodiere, AKA Lagimoniere and Lavimodiere, was born On Christmas Day 1778 in St Antoine sur Richilieu, Quebec. In 1800 JB went west, joined the fur trade and found work in the grand Portage area of Minnesota. He married an Indian woman and they had three daughters. In 1805 he returned home and married Marie Anne Gaboury. They returned to work in the north-west travelling around what would become Alberta and Saskatchewan.

In 1811 he set out for the Forks because he had heard that settlers would be coming to the area and he offered his services to the HBC. He was hired by the HBC on a one-year contract paying £30. JB was a great hunter who could keep their hunting parties supplied with food. Lagimodiere was independent minded and didn't automatically side with the Metis on political issues which explains his work with the HBC.

SETTLED AT RED RIVER

In 1812, Lagimodiere settled in what is now St James where for the next three years Marie Anne would have no neighbour. While they enjoyed peace in St James, 6 miles east in Fort Douglas, what is now Point Douglas, there were a series of violent clashes between the HBC and the NWC. During these difficult times Lagimodiere helped supply the settlers with food. But the Selkirk settlers were evicted from Red River.

HBC agent Colin Robertson asked Lagimodiere to take letters to Lord Selkirk in Montreal, telling of their plight and requesting aid. He set out October 17, 1815 travelling part of the way on horse. A man named Benoni Mairier and an Indian guide initially accompanied him. But later on he was entirely on his own. He carried no food and had to find everything he ate on the way.

The return was even more difficult. Lagimodiere carried back Selkirk's reply to the settlement. The NWC was determined not to let him through. Amongst his various tribulations including delays, he was robbed at Duluth by Indians and a Negro called Bonga. The rivalry between the HBC and the NWC was at a peak and Lagimodiere feared for Marie Anne's life. He would return to find the family safely sheltered by an Indian family.

Lagimodiere would continue to serve as a guide and courier. He received a land grant north of Seine along the east side of the Red River. Here he brought up his family of four boys and four girls. Lagimodiere was the first to permanently settle in the northwest. His wife Marie Anne Gaboury would be the first white woman to permanently settle in the west.

GRANDFATHER OF RIEL

In 1844 daughter Julie would marry neighbour Louis Riel Sr. and give birth to the Louis Riel that would make Manitoba history.

MARIE ANNE GABOURY The First White Woman in Red River

MARIE ANNE GABOURY

The First White Woman in Red River

By George Siamandas

© George Siamandas

It was 1806 when the first white woman is thought to have come to Red River. Her name was Marie Anne Lagimodiere and she came as the bride of Jean Baptist Lagimodiere. She would be further distinguished in the years to come by being the grandmother of Louis Riel.

Marie-Anne Gaboury was born on Aug 2, 1780 in Maskinonge near Three Rivers. On April 29 1806, she married Jean Baptiste Lagimodiere who had returned to his hometown after 5 years in the Northwest. After a few months they returned to Red River. It took to months to complete the 2000 mile trip from Montreal to Pembina; much of it by canoe.

MEETING LAGIMODIERE'S EX

Upon arrival at Pembina, Lagimodiere's previous Indian wife was very distressed to see Lagimodiere with a new wife. She immediately made plans to eliminate her rival. She prepared a poison and approached Marie Anne disguising her feelings of jealousy and betrayal. Another Indian woman told her white husband who revealed the evil plan. Lagimodiere took notice and moved Marie Anne 25 miles north along the Red. By January 6 she gave birth to first daughter Reine.

COUNTRY WIVES

The idea of taking an Indian girl as a wife had become customary in the new land. Five thousand men had done so by 1777. With no priests, the marriages were informal yet long lasting. The relationships seemed to benefit everyone by forming valuable alliances. But, in 1806 Marie Anne upset the order of things. Gaboury descendants say that due to his wide ranging trips, Lagimodiere had several Indian wives. Other white women like Mrs George Simpson would face the same problem 24 years later. When George Simpson Gov of the HBC at the time cast off his Indian wife, it made everyone else feel discredited and they ostracised him. They stayed only 3 more years.

WELL RECEIVED

Lagimodiere was a hunter and his work would keep them travelling on the plains, wherever the buffalo roamed. Marie-Anne's white complexion and blonde hair were a marvel to the Indians who called her the white goddess. They travelled to Fort Edmonton where Marie learned to prepare pemmican. Their life was constantly full of danger and excitement.

During a buffalo hunt on the prairies she gave birth to her second child a son she called La Prairie. In the Cypress Hill she had a third child she named Cypress. Marie Anne was left alone for a full year while husband Lagimodiere delivered letters from the settlement to Lord Selkirk in Montreal.

THE FIRST WHITE WOMAN

There is considerable debate as to whether Marie Anne Gaboury was the first woman in the west. She is the first to permanently settle in the west. But it appears a few months before Marie Anne's arrival another woman disguised as a man had stowed aboard a ship. After giving birth she was discovered and sent back to England.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MARIE-ANNE?

She lived to be 95 (died Dec 7, 1875 in St Boniface) and barely had a sick day. She had 3 sons and 3 daughters. For decades, because she was the only baptised woman, she became godmother to much of the St Boniface population. Her grandson was Louis Riel but her descendants included several other distinguished Canadians.

FATHER GEORGES ANTOINE BELCOURT

FATHER GEORGES ANTOINE BELCOURT

"The Man the Indians Called the Great Spirit"

by George Siamandas

April 4, 1803 marked the birth of Father Belcourt, one of the most popular Roman Catholic missionaries who pioneered work amongst the native people. This outstanding man was called the Great Spirit by the native people of the west. Belcourt was the eldest of eleven children born to Antoine Belecour and Josephte Lemire who were farmers in Yamaska County Lower Canada. He was ordained by Bishop Panet in 1827. Belcourt took the trouble to learn English. Learning he would be coming to the west he spent two months at Oka to learn Algonquin, a language similar to the Cree and Saulteaux languages of western tribes. Together with Bishop Provencher, Belcourt came out to Red River in the spring of 1831. A fastidious writer, Belcourt kept graphic descriptions of his travels from day one in his daily journal.

BELCOURT THE CARPENTER

Father Belcourt was an able carpenter that assisted in the building of Provencher's new St Boniface Cathedral. He also built furnishings for Provencher's home and helped establish a workshop that produced prefabricated door frames at St Francis Xavier. Belcourt did this in part because he needed extra money and worked as a tradesman making door frames and cart wheels.

BAIE ST PAUL

Near what is now St. Eustache, Belcourt established a mission and worked to turn the Indians into Christians. But Provencher was always disappointed with Belcourt's productivity at attracting converts. Belcourt retained the respect of the Indians like no other white man. His facility and interest in learning Indian languages was a big help. He also helped develop native language that helped express Christian concepts and ideas. Indians travelled from as far as the west coast to meet the man they called the "Great Spirit." Belcourt wrote textbooks and worked to develop a Saulteaux English dictionary.

OTHER NORTHERN MISSIONS

Belcourt made extensive visits to the interlake trying to establish literally a dozen new missions. He was not always welcome by the Indian bands. He also went to Rainy Lake, White Dog, Duck Bay, Swan River, Fort Francis, He travelled by water using a birch bark canoe he built himself.

INDUSTRIAL ARTS

Belcourt had a variety of garden seeds sent out and he tried to establish farms. Belcourt had frequent disagreements with Provencher. It is thought he tried to do too much, too soon, and Provencher felt his work was too costly. His mission was not considered productive enough. Belcourt was considered a wishful thinker. But he was a great persuader. And he received separate funding from Quebec for his missions over Provencher's disapprovals. Amongst other things Belcourt wanted to start an industrial school.

Belcourt became independent and disagreed with Provencher and his HBC sympathies. Provencher feared Belcourt had gone native. Belcourt started "going to the prairies" or out on the buffalo hunts. He documented the hunt in great detail: how it was organized, their route, and the hunting methods.

POLITICS

He fought to maintain access for the buffalo hunters into the northern US after 1845 when the US became concerned with border crossers. Belcourt also helped the Metis in their trading grievances with the HBC at a time when the HBC was suppressing free trading. Neither the HBC or Bishop Provencher agreed with this action and they had Belcourt recalled to Quebec.

Annoyed by this interference, Belcourt went south of the border and spent 11 years near Pembina North Dakota at St Josephe. In 1859 he left the west and relocated to Rustico, Prince Edward Island where he helped establish the Farmer's Bank of Rustico forerunner to a Credit Union. He died peacefully on May 31, 1874.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS MANITOBA MISSIONS?

His missions did not survive. It is said that several hundred natives left Manitoba to follow him to Pembina. His works suggest that he may have been an early pioneer of the social gospel. Today Belcourt, North Dakota, just south of the International Peace Gardens, stands as the only reminder of this distinguished man who got along better with his parishioners than he did with the church and political hierarchy.