What’s New in the Local History Room?

We are now in 2024 and it is time to have a look at the new arrivals in the Local History Room.

Our first title, On the road to abandoned Manitoba: taking the scenic route through historic places, scientist-historian Gordon Goldsborough hits the road in search of adventure and little-known stories from Manitoba’s past. Among the places he visits are underground radiation monitoring posts from the Cold War, a remote hydroelectric generating station, cruise ships on the Red River, and the original route of the Trans-Canada Highway. This is the third volume of this excellent historical series, filled to the brim with gorgeous illustrations and lively narration of Gordon’s experiences and travels throughout the roads less travelled of the province. It is also the final volume of his “Abandoned Manitoba” series and all three are well worth the read for explorers and historians alike.

Did you know that in the early twentieth century, we had our own group of explorers of the unknown who attempted to ally science and seances to communicate with the dead? The art of ectoplasm: encounters with Winnipeg’s ghost photographs by Serena Keshavjee covers the curious history of Winnipeg’s “ghost” photographs in the wake of the First World War and the 1918-19 pandemic. It was against this backdrop that a Winnipeg couple, physician T.G. Hamilton and nurse Lillian Hamilton, began their research, documenting and photographing seances they held in their home laboratory. The Hamiltons’ work and photographic evidence attracted international attention, with notable figures like Arthur Conan Doyle participating in the Hamilton family’s seances. This book is a fascinating take on a uniquely local topic, filled with otherworldly images found in the Hamilton family archive, telling a story of human longing for connection beyond our known reality.

In 1816 the Métis were first recognized as a new Canadian Indigenous nation. The Métis played an important role in the early exploration and development of western Canada. Along the Métis trail: Métis history, heritage, and culture by George Goulet is a book that provides a vivid up-to-date portrayal of the fabulous history, heritage, and culture of the Métis People from the late 1700s to 2022. This book provides factual information on the Métis People that the authors have assembled during more than a quarter of a century of extensive research on the Métis People of Canada and Louis Riel.

Ab McDonald was a Winnipeg-born, four-time Stanley Cup winner, who played 15 seasons in the NHL, before joining the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association in 1972. He became the team’s first captain and scored the first goal in the franchise’s history. Throughout his life, he was a wonderful ambassador for the sport of hockey in Manitoba, and lived in Winnipeg for his entire life. Pat McDonald was Ab’s wife and is the best person to tell her husband’s story and what it was like to be a hockey wife through the 1950s and 1960s in this biography, Mr. Winnipeg: the Ab McDonald story. She teamed up with prolific hockey author Ty Dilello for this book. Dilello fills in the details from Ab’s hockey career and interviewed countless teammates and friends over the years to help tell Ab’s life story.

For 14 years, Bill Redekop crisscrossed rural Manitoba writing offbeat and little known stories about people and places for the Winnipeg Free Press. Now he’s back with a new collection of non-fiction stories in Don’t fence me in: true stories about rural Manitoba. Stories focus on quicksand, a new new glacial lake, two friends who have gone for lunch every week for 35 years, the police dog academy in Brandon, civilian jail guard duty, a house made out of a single boulder, and much more. Redekop knits a tapestry of rural life.

Come and check it out!

Louis-Philippe

What’s New in the Local History Room?

Fall is here and it’s time to have a look at what is new in the Local History Room collection.

Though Canadians overall regard their health system in a positive light, its origins and history are not straightforward. Edited by local authors, including Esyllt Jones, Medicare’s histories: origins, omissions, and opportunities in Canada presents 13 essays by social and health historians that explore the emergence, evolution, successes and continuing shortcomings of our country’s medicare system. The authors point out that medicare, despite its many benefits, was designed with “gendered, classed and racialized inequalities.” The book focuses particularly on the diverse communities that helped shape or drove to reform it over the decades. This included physicians, First Nations, activists for mental and women’s health, patients and survivors who pushed for reform and representation.  

Unsettled: Lord Selkirk’s Scottish colonists and the battle for Canada’s west, 1813-1816 is the story of the Red River Settlement, now Winnipeg, in the years 1813 to 1816, told with archival journals, reports, and letters from the two hundred and fifty Scottish Highlanders who were offered to re-settle in the heart of North America after being evicted off their land. They would face not only a daunting ocean crossing and trek west, to an unfamiliar land and climate, but also discover that the land was already peopled by both First Nations and the nascent Métis people. Additionally, there was the Hudson’s Bay Company, that believed that this would always be fur trading country and opposed attempts to create agricultural settlements.

Establishing shots: an oral history of the Winnipeg Film Group, written by local filmmaker Kevin Nikkel, tells the story of the group’s beginning in 1974 as a non-profit collective of filmmakers that would help train its members to produce and promote local independent films. The book collects 33 candid interviews with its members, including well-known names like Guy Maddin, to form a personal narrative of the group’s origins and ongoing impact, including its successes and failures over the decades. It gives interesting insight on how many of these artists got their start and how Winnipeg was part of a larger movement artist-run centres in Canada attempting to create their own unique style of cinema.

While taxi cab drivers may often suffer from an unfair reputation, Eddy Proulx is here to set the record straight. Eddy drove a taxi in Winnipeg for twenty years, and in Memoirs of a Winnipeg cab driver, he shares his many memories about the job that became his passion. Beginning in the late 1960’s as he joined the Red Patch Taxi company, his many tales take us on a wild ride, with stories ranging from sad and tragic to funny and weird. They often include colourful characters, as well as describe the everyday stresses and frequent abuses that are the still part of the job. It is an instructive read with keen observations about human nature, and also contains good descriptions of Winnipeg’s streets that will be familiar to Winnipeggers.

Finally, a gorgeously illustrated book, Before the Arch: Victoria Beach, a visual history 1920-1960 by Mark Strople tells the early years at Victoria Beach, Manitoba, through postcard images, archival photography and family photos provided by Victoria Beach families. Extensively researched, and basing its narrative on local newspapers writings and advertising, the reader gets a glimpse at what life was like in early decades of this popular destination. Local businesses, popular events and traditions like the Annual Snow Trains, and some landmarks that are no longer existing like the Air Station or the popular Victoria Beach Inn, are also fondly remembered.

Come and check it out.

~ Louis-Philippe

What’s New in the Local History Room?

Come and look at the new reads in the Local History Room!

To begin, we have a biographical tale called The fur trader: from Oslo to Oxford House from Einar Mortenson. It details his years (1925-1928) spent as a free trader at posts in Pine Bluff and Oxford Lake in Manitoba during the waning days of the fur trade. The book is translated from the original Norwegian and supplemented with a scholarly introduction, annotations, a bibliography, and a reading guide to provide context. This additional material presents the author as a product of Norwegian culture at the time, and is intended to guide the reader through a close reading of his interpretations of the Residential School system, the people he encounters, and Indigenous peoples’ participation in the First World War. The tone of the narrative is engaging and comes with photographs that show the living conditions in the Canadian North at the time.

The work and architectural legacy of local architect Max Blankstein has been noted in this new book called Max Blankstein: architect by city historian Murray Peterson. Blankstein was an important architect in Winnipeg’s early history, most notably with the Uptown Theatre on Academy Road (featured on the book’s cover). The first Jewish architect registered in Canada, he left a legacy of theatres, apartment blocks, houses and other buildings in Winnipeg and the Prairies. The book also covers Max Blankstein’s children’s impact on Winnipeg’s architecture. His sons, Cecil and Morley, and daughter, Evelyn, were all award-winning architects and worked on influential pieces in Winnipeg’s modernist period in the post-WWII era, including our current city hall, the airport and Polo Park mall.

A world of faith & spirituality: yours, mine, theirs & ours: diversity in Manitoba was co-authored by two individuals with very different backgrounds, and is meant to be a celebration of interfaith understanding, reflecting and paying tribute to the growing diversity of beliefs of Manitoba’s many cultures. Ray Dirks is a Mennonite Christian born in Abbotsford, B.C., who moved to Winnipeg in 1985, and Manju Lohda is Hindu, born in India before immigrating to Canada about 30 years ago. Over six years, they compiled interviews and photos in this fascinating book, covering a wide range of faiths including Indigenous spirituality, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha’i, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Unitarian Universalism, Yazidi, and Falun Dafa. Their hope is to inspire curiosity, a thirst for knowledge, and understanding through sharing in the diverse faiths present in our city.

Heirs of an ambivalent empire: French-Indigenous relations and the rise of the Métis in the Hudson Bay Watershed by Scott Berthelette tells the story of French-Indigenous relations in the Hudson Bay Watershed between the 1660’s and the end of the French presence in North America in the 1780’s. The French-speaking settlers and fur traders that came to what was then the edge of France’s North American empire, who came to be called Canadiens, traversed the vast expanses of the Hudson Bay watersheds, built forts and trading posts, and established trading relations with Indigenous nations. These relationships deepened and evolved, often through marriages and adoptions into nations, until the roots of a new people with a distinct identity and culture came into existence: the Métis. This is a very dense read but well worth it for readers interested in learning more about the “ambivalent empire” that was created due to the Canadiens navigating the complex indigenous geopolitical and cultural landscape.

Finally, to help celebrate their 150th anniversary, the Winnipeg School Division released Winnipeg School Division 150: celebrating one hundred fifty years, 1871-2021, a collaborative effort from members from 78 schools to trace their collective history from its beginning with the first school, a log cabin in Point Douglas on the southeast corner of Maple and Common Street serving a population of 241 inhabitants, through the continued growth and transformation up to the present. The book is richly illustrated and tells the story of the constantly growing number of schools that opened over the decades to help educate more numerous and diverse students, along with new services that came into being like French immersion, Indigenous education and Newcomer services. The sheer amount of historical photographs and information makes this a valuable read, and it offers a window into the lives and experiences of Winnipeg students as well as their teachers, both past and present.

Come and check them out!

– Louis-Philippe

New Ideas in Old Local Cooking Reads

The beginning of a new season is a good time to get inspired and try new things in the kitchen. Or maybe try something old instead? The Local History Room has an extensive collection of cook books from many decades.

Out of Old Manitoba Kitchens by Christine Hanlon in an invitation to get to know the people who came to Manitoba up to the 1920’s and brought foods and recipes that left lasting influences in our eating habits. From bannock and bread recipes, soups, stews, preserves, and mainstays that are still popular staples.

Over the years, even local professional teams (and their families) tried their hands in sharing their favorite meals, and published recipe books that one can now find in our collection: like The Jets are cookin’, 81-82 : family recipes that includes a recipe for a mayonnaise cake, or the 1984 Blue Bombers’ What’s Cooking with the Grey Cup Champs? that combines recipes and interviews of the players and staff.

Some of the cook books, especially those published in the early decades of the 20th century, offer recipes that emphasize practicality and availability of ingredients over fancy and complicated recipes, while at the same time trying to suggest ways of making basic meals attractive and appetizing. For example, the Manitoba Farmer’s Library published Practical Cookery in 1919 and it was distributed free to whoever requested it, with tips on how to select nutritious foods according to the scientific knowledge of the day.

The United Farm Women of Manitoba published the Manitoba Health Cook Book in 1938 focusing on simple and practical recipes but with a wide variety of recipes covering appetizers, soups, main courses, deserts, beverages and even preserves. The book is also full of ads for local food-related businesses of the time, plus an ad for “Hollywood Shoes”.

Other books are linked to famous annual events, like Folk Festival Fare published in 1977 of Folklorama’s 1990 book What in the world’s for dinner?. Both offer a snapshot of what diversity meant for Winnipeggers in these years, and what kind of recipes were popular with festival goers as both events used food to bring people together and share in their cultures.

This is of course in addition to the large collection of cook books published by local clubs, organizations (including one from the Winnipeg Library Staff Association) and local chefs that are available for browsing in the Local History Room.

Come and check them out!

Louis-Philippe

What’s New in the Local History Room

With Summer’s end and the chills of Fall arriving, it is time to come and discover new local reads in the Local History Room collection.

First, the richly illustrated Osborne Village: an architectural tour by Susan Algie and James Wagner explores the historic and contemporary architecture of this vibrant neighbourhood. The book is part of a new series designed to make the Winnipeg Architecture Foundations’ self-guided architecture tours more accessible, thanks to a larger format, larger print and more photos, and the result is really attractive and engaging. It highlights more than 50 residential and commercial buildings built between the late 1800s and the present, including the iconic red-brick Roslyn Court Apartments and philosopher Marshall McLuhan’s childhood home on Gertrude Avenue.

Beginning with the Grand Rapids Dam in the 1960s, hydroelectric development has dramatically altered the social, political, and physical landscape of northern Manitoba. In our backyard: Keeyask and the legacy of hydroelectric development tells the story of the Keeyask dam (725 kilometers north of Winnipeg) and accompanying development on the Nelson River from the perspective of Indigenous peoples, academics, scientists, and regulators. Voices that environmental assessment and regulatory processes have often failed to include, particularly the Indigenous peoples impacted by the dams, are now amplified by the work of Aimée Craft, an Anishinaabe/Métis lawyer and academic who co-edited the book. 

Next, we have received and updated edition to Bartley Kives’ excellent A daytripper’s guide to Manitoba: exploring Canada’s undiscovered province. Get the straight goods on cities, towns and natural attractions in every corner of the province and northwestern Ontario, and plan short day-trips or longer vacation to suit your tastes. Discover more of the province, even if you have lived here all your life.

The book begins with chapters on the human and natural history of Manitoba, followed by sections about Winnipeg and then other regions. Completely revised, and including full-coloured illustrations, to include new Manitoba sites like the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the MTS Centre, and countless other smaller gems, this edition also features daytrips to north-western Ontario. This is a welcome addition to the most popular Manitoba guide in the library’s collection.

Women of the fur trade is a play written by Frances Koncan of Couchiching First Nation. Frances is also our Writer-in-Residence for 2022-2023. This play is set during the 19th century Red River Resistance, featuring three very different women in a room of a fort sharing their views on Louis Riel, the fur trade and the changing world brought upon by European influence. The author’s tone is satirical, and modernizes the familiar story by incorporating current pop culture references. Twenty-first century slang is freely used to give a fun and fresh perspective from different voices that we are used to from history books.

Finally, a refreshingly original title that recounts the glory days aboard the M.S. Paddlewheel Queen and other vessels that sailed Winnipeg’s historic Red River. Welcome aboard! My 44 year journey on the Red is the story of how Steve Hawchuk switched from a career as a bookkeeper to become a captain of riverboats sailing up and down the Red River. From 1969, Captain Steve and his ships and crew became part of a booming business, taking 3.5 million passengers (including school tours, wedding parties and celebrities like Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Burton Cummings) on excursions in his 45 years at the helm. The highlights and memories are now included in this new book, which includes plenty of tales from the author’s career on the river alongside a series of glossy photos taken aboard the paddlewheels that is sure to bring back fond memories for the many passengers who had the pleasure of taking a ride on his riverboat.

Come and check them out!

Louis-Philippe

Welcome Back to the Local History Room

The Local History Room fully opened in late June. This means you can come on in, and read and research the rich collection of books from local authors, vertical files of newspapers articles, Henderson Directories, telephone directories and local magazines. Also, the Micromedia Section moved right next to it which means you can also consult the Winnipeg newspapers on microfilm, along with the daily copies of The Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Sun and The Globe and Mail.

Many new titles of local interest have recently arrived in the collection. Here are some noteworthy additions for you to discover.

My Privilege, My Responsibility by Sheila North

Known as a “bridge builder,” Sheila North is a member of Bunibonibee Cree Nation. She was the first woman to be Grand Chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, a role she held from 2015-2018. “North’s work in advocacy journalism, communications, and economic development harnessed her passion for drawing focus to systemic racism faced by Indigenous women and girls. She is the creator of the widely used hashtag #MMIW. In her memoir, Sheila North shares the stories of the events that shaped her, and the violence that nearly stood in the way of her achieving her dreams. Through perseverance and resilience, she not only survived, she flourished.” (Provided by the publisher) 

Heart of Gold: a History of Winnipeg Music by John Einarson

Music historian and author John Einarson, a longtime member of the Winnipeg music community who has written about Neil Young and Randy Bachman (to name a few), presents a compelling case for Winnipeg being the center of Canadian music for more than a century. This book is an exhaustive exploration of multiple genres including Indigenous, francophone, country music, folk and roots music, classical and opera, dance bands and jazz, blues, and rock ‘n’ roll. Singers and musicians of all musical stripes have gone on to shape and influence music across the country and around the globe.” (Source: A History of Winnipeg Music)

Listening to the Fur Trade: Soundways and Music in the British North American fur trade, 1760-1840 by Daniel Laxer

“As fur traders were driven across northern North America by economic motivations, the landscape over which they plied their trade was punctuated by sound: shouting, singing, dancing, gunpowder, rattles, jingles, drums, fiddles, and – very occasionally – bagpipes. Daniel Laxer unearths traces of music, performance, and other intangible cultural phenomena long since silenced, allowing us to hear the fur trade for the first time. While the fur trade was propelled by economic and political interests, Listening to the Fur Trade uncovers the songs and ceremonies of First Nations people, the paddling songs of the voyageurs, and the fiddle music and step-dancing at the trading posts that provided its pulse.” (Provided by the publisher)

Tales from the Homestead: a History of Prairie Pioneers, 1867-1914 by Sandra Rollings-Magnusson

The book is a compilation of thirty-six personal homesteader stories, providing unique insight into the daily life of prairie pioneers, highlighting the voices and personal stories of early immigrants who arrived in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. “The book includes stories of surviving periods of near starvation and natural disaster, and describes the challenges of navigating Canada’s nascent immigration process, building a sod home and establishing a farm, and adapting to the norms of a new country. Along with these tales of difficulty, fear, and sadness are the many stories of happiness and wonderment at the beauty of the land. Community events and parties are thoughtfully remembered, as are accounts of attending one-room schoolhouses.” (Provided by the publisher)  

Of Pork and Potatoes: a Memoir by Bill Massey

Finally, author Bill Massey has had a multi-faceted life. He is a farmer, educator, and advocate, and he offers in this biography the story of his childhood growing up in a troubled home in rural Manitoba in the 1950’s and 60’s. Bill’s personal story explores his life growing up and working on farms around Kelwood and Elma, and about he and his community’s more than 15 year struggle against business (specifically industrial hog farming) and bureaucracy at a number of levels. Never giving up, he managed to survive and use his skills to help others, becoming a teacher, principal, and advocate for disadvantaged children. 

Come and check it out.

Louis-Philippe

It is Better to Give than to Receive: Homemade Gift Ideas

The Holiday season is quickly approaching (yes, I know it’s early), and it won’t be long before everyone will be looking for gift suggestions and ideas. While there is nothing wrong with buying gifts from stores (especially if it is something long sought after), there is something extra special in offering something you made yourself. The library has a large collections for those looking for inspiration for a homemade gift project, so here are a few recommendations.

Edible Treats

The holidays is a time to savour good foods, both traditional and exotic, so giving edible gifts is always appreciated. And since there is always a lot of cooking involved anyway, you might as well knock two birds with one stone.

Homemade Christmas : celebrate Christmas with scrumptious recipes, sweet memories, crafty gifts and clever ideas to warm your holiday home is full of easy-to-make recipes for every festive occasion, including for treats like cakes, cookies and homemade caramels.

Delicious gifts : edible creations to make and give by Jess McCloskey presents dozens of appealing recipes for edible gift packages – candies, cakes, jellies, fruit preserves, spreads, chutneys, pickles, soft pretzels, and other tasty food products that make wonderful gifts.

Knitted Surprises

The knitting section is one of the most highly-used in the library collection, and that is because it is not only a pleasant hobby but also because it allows one to create personalized garments, toys and decorations for everyone you love.

Knitted Gifts for All Seasons : Easy Projects to Make and Share by Wendy Bernard is packed with 30 new garments and accessories, which the author provides numerous ways to customize and personalize. Projects are organized by season and range from cozy slippers, mittens, and a pom-pom wreath to Fair Isle yoke-neck sweaters for the whole family. 

More last-minute knitted gifts by Joelle Hoverson offers collection of 30 projects organized according to the time it takes to complete them, from less than two hours to more than eight. Among the projects featured are sachets, bracelets, ornaments, mittens, gloves, hats, sweaters, baby blankets, and throws.

Crafty Creations

If your knitting skills are not quite there yet, but you know your way around scissors and glue, you can create gifts and decorations in no time using some basic supplies.

Crafty gifts by Jane Bull presents ideas for gifts that kids can make, including bath treats, personalized mugs, and button charms, along with ideas for handmade wrapping paper and name tags.

Quick and easy Christmas : 100 gifts & decorations to make for the festive season is a beautifully illustrated instruction book that shows you how to quickly and easily make knitted, sewn, paper, felt decorative items, or even mosaic, decoupage, needlepoint and cross stitch objects. All the projects are made using tools and materials that are easy to source, and provide all the inspiration you need to make Christmas extra special.

Green Ideas

If you love the spirit of the season but are also mindful about the environment check out the titles geared toward creating eco-friendly surprises.

With the book Zero waste Christmas : crafty ideas for a sustainable Christmas by Christine Leech you can create plastic-free crackers for the table, no-waste decorations for the tree and zero-waste wrapping and present solutions for your family and friends. Choose from projects and tutorials for a sustainable Christmas including sewing, crochet, upcycling and reuse ideas.

The Eco-Christmas craft book : 30 stylish festive projects that won’t hurt the planet by Marrianne Miall includes instructions for all the things that make Christmas special, such as tree decorations, advent items, Christmas cards, table decorations, wreaths and many more. There are 30 fabulous projects to make, and ideas for many more using recyclable materials.

Ambitious Projects

If you feel like going the extra mile and try creating a truly original gift for your loved ones, here are a few more gift-making reads.

Discover in Homemade Bath Bombs & More Soothing Spa Treatments for Luxurious Self-Care and Bath-Time Bliss by Heidi Kundin more than 75 easy recipes for all-natural bath bombs, along with other fun and luxurious bath products such as sugar scrubs, body butter, and bath jellies that you will be able to make for a fraction of the store price.

Creative polymer clay : over 30 techniques and projects for contemporary wearable art by Heidi Helyard reveals simple techniques that can be used to create one-off, contemporary jewelry pieces with minimal tools and equipment. Learn about slab and cane making, marbling and colour mixing, inlay and printing, surface embellishments and more to create unique jewelry pieces that are enjoyable to make and fun to wear.

And finally for a real challenge? Discover how to build rustic furniture from cut timber in the comprehensive guide for woodworkers: From tree to table : how to make your own rustic log furniture by Alan Garbers. Alan provides detailed, practical information on procuring and processing logs, with sage troubleshooting advice based on years of experience.

Of course, this is a small sample of what the library has so come and explore more in our catalogue.

Enjoy this holiday season, no matter how you choose to do it.

Louis-Philippe

What’s New in the Local History Room?

As Fall is now upon us, here are some of the new local reads that have recently arrived in the Local History collection and are also available for loan.

The 90’s was a tumultuous decade, not only in Manitoba but also throughout Canada. In a recollection of his more than 11 years as Manitoba’s premier (1988-1999), Gary Filmon has released a memoir. In Yes We Did: Leading in Turbulent Times, Filmon shares his insights on important issues that were being decided, like the Meech Lake Accord, the implementation of NAFTA, and of course one of the worst natural disasters in Canadian history: the 1997 flood. The book also provides insight about his personal life: his upbringing as a child of immigrants on College Avenue, his education in engineering (and contribution in the building of Duff’s Ditch), and the role his wife Janice had in his life and his involvement in politics (which began in 1975 when he ran for City Council). The 1990’s in Manitoba has not been written about very much, so this is a welcome addition to the collection and those interested in learning about the man who was at the helm of government for most of it.

At their zenith, 5,758 grain elevators defined the economy and skyline of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, when wheat was king across the West. While many still stand, every year their numbers dwindle. This is the history that Grain Elevators: Beacons of the Prairies written by Christine Hanlon and illustrated from award-winning photographer Chris Attrell, seeks to preserve. The focus of the book is the grain elevators themselves, evocatively photographed in all seasons, night and day. The photographs are large and colourful and all are captioned with details about the elevators and/or the area. If you are a fan of Gordon Goldsborough’s Abandoned Manitoba, you will definitely enjoy this book.

Driven by their passion for local history, James Kostuchuk and Matthew D. Lacroix sought out old and never-before-published photographs of Portage la Prairie to offer this visual glimpse of the city’s people, places, and events from the 1870s. Starting with the creation of Manitoba as province, to the 1930s with the Royal visit of 1939, the result is the excellent Historic photographs of Portage la Prairie, 1870-1939 : from Saskatchewan Trail to Royal Road, filled with high-quality photos that tell the stories of its inhabitants through the details of each picture. Well-known events are also chronicled, including surprising tragic ones such as the damages wrought from floods and even from a serial arsonist that burned down much of the downtown area in the 1880’s. This is highly recommended for fans of historic photography and local history.

The Warming Huts are a public art and architecture installation held annually at mid-winter on the major rivers of Winnipeg, Canada. The huts are selected through an international design competition, and via the invitation of select designers or artists. The book Warming Huts: A Decade Plus of Art and Architecture on Ice by Lawrence Bird was published to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the project. It celebrates the annual project as a critical body of work foregrounding the poetics and politics of public space, while highlighting the variety of architectural narratives expressed in the Huts. This is an original local topic and I enjoyed learning more about it. 

In Status Update by George Toles, award-winning artist Cliff Eyland and famed writer George Toles combined their unique talents in a book like no other, tackling apropos issues related to climate change, politics, relationships, death, and sex with wry humor and deft tone.

Come and check these out!

– Louis-Philippe

What’s New in the Local History Room? (September 2021)

As Fall is upon us there are exciting new local reads to discover, available for lending from branches in our system, or if you drop by the Local History Room at Millennium Library.

First is a local entry in the growing field of “COVID confidential” literature: editor Paul Samyn recently released Notes from a pandemic : a year of life and death Winnipeg Free Press, which started off as a series of nightly entries about COVID-19 in a newsletter for the newspaper. Samyn took 300 entries, the earliest from March 17, 2020 when the pandemic hit the city and finishing in March 2021, to create this book. The missives mix straightforward information with political commentary, pandemic peculiarities, humour, inspiring stories, and personal accounts of Samyn’s (and family members’) experiences and insights during a very long year. This is a very timely and relatable read, or re-read since the newsletter itself ended up with a viewership surpassing 100,000 readers!

Another subject to read and learn about is the Residential Schools tragedy, which unfolded for many decades from coast to coast. The book Did you see us? : reunion, remembrance, and reclamation at an urban Indian residential school focuses on the Assiniboia Indian Residential School between 1958 and 1973. It was the first residential high school in Manitoba and one of the only residential schools in Canada to be located in a large urban setting. Did You See Us? offers a glimpse of Assiniboia that is not available in the archival records. It stitches together memories of arrival at, day-to-day life within, and departure from the school with a socio-historical reconstruction of the school and its position in both Winnipeg and the larger residential school system. Stories transcribed from oral interviews from survivors are mixed with anecdotes from former teachers and community members, plus it contains illustrations and poems. For more resources and reading suggestions about this very important subject, explore our Residential Schools Info Guide .

Local historian Jim Blanchard (author of Winnipeg 1912 and A Diminished Roar) treats us again with another engaging read about our city. In Thinking big : a history of the Winnipeg business community to the Second World War, the focus is on the Winnipeg business community from pre-contact Indigenous trading up to 1939, how it dealt with challenges such as the Great Depression and post-World War I depression, and organized itself to take advantage of periods of growth and prosperity. Focus is given to local entrepreneurs like Sam Stall and Andrew McDermot, and companies like Great-West Life that rose in that period and left their marks on the city. Blanchard’s research cover the years of the fur trade, the rise of the wheat economy, the creation of the Board of Trade, and then the “boom years” at the turn of the twentieth century where industry and agriculture expanded and diversified until slowed by the Great War and the General Strike. The 1920’s saw sectors like the garment, manufacturing and hydroelectricity production flourish until the Great Depression stopped economic growth until the Second World War began. This is a well-researched book filled local stories and anecdotes about the people that helped make Winnipeg what it is today.

Finally, Mennonite village photography : views from Manitoba, 1890-1940 features the work of four Mennonite photographers from villages in southern Manitoba at the turn of the 20th century. Unlike the formal portraits taken by professional photographers of the time, these restored images collected from archives and family collections provide a clear view into Mennonite life and early settlement in Manitoba. Though two of the photographers, Heinrich D. Fast and Johann E. Funk, were encouraged by their respective churches to give up their hobby in preparation for baptism and marriage, all four nonetheless captured an array of subjects both posed and candid, and the images reveal something of how they saw their worlds. The quality of some of these photographs is truly great, and show the viewer a time and place rarely seen before.

Come and check them out.

~ Louis-Philippe

What’s New in the Local History Room? (July 2021)

What great local reads have recently arrived in the Local History Room?

For the fans of local music, two recent titles should definitely attract your attention. First is the autobiography of Indigenous singer and guitarist Errol Ranville Run as One: My Story. This tells the story about his beginnings in rural Manitoba, his love of music through his discovery of the Beatles, starting in the C-Weed and the Weeds band, and his rise to fame in the 1980’s (winning Juno nominations in 1985 and 1986). Despite facing obstacles in a predominantly white music business and battling his own personal demons he has become a role model for many.

The next book is a must-have for any serious Guess Who fan. Wheatfield Empire: the Listener’s Guide to The Guess Who by Robert Lawson is for readers interested in a comprehensive history of their recording career, covering the famed band’s discography album-by-album, song-by-song. It notably covers the pre-Burton Cummings history with the chapter “Early Years 1958-1965” and more in “Early Years-1966-68” with Cummings now a member. The book also contains excerpts from interviews with members of the band, with a focus on both Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman.

A new academic local title, Authorized heritage : place, memory, and historic sites in Prairie Canada, analyzes the history of commemoration at heritage sites across western Canada. Historian and author Robert Coutts argues heritage narratives are almost always based on national messages that commonly reflect colonial perceptions of the past. These narratives are being challenged by Indigenous views of history and the meaning of heritage space, most notably in places like Batoche, Seven Oaks and Upper Fort Garry. The book speaks to a vital part of understanding, not just our national heritage overall, but the importance of considering what heritage means from many perspectives.

It is surprising that it took almost a century after Manitoba became a province for the Manitoba Museum to become a reality, opening on July 15, 1970. Several attempts were made to create the museum throughout the decades, but lack of funding, bureaucratic inertia and costly mishaps kept thwarting the building of the first stand-alone museum in the province. This is the story that curator and MHS member James Burns tells in his fascinating and gorgeously-illustrated book Fire, Folly and Fiasco: Why it took 100 Years to build the Manitoba Museum. It also exemplifies the cost of such inaction: the lack of a dedicated (and fireproof) facility to store Manitoba’s heritage meant that priceless collections were nabbed by American or European museums and archives, or worst, destroyed in fires or lost through negligence. It was only in the 1960’s that enough public pressure and funds were assembled to begin the construction of the present museum. The book is filled with historical anecdotes and illustrated examples of artefacts that, thankfully, now have a proper home.

For those of us who have not grown up in Winnipeg’s North End, local Bud Ulrich invites the reader to discover an intimate slice of history in Together at Tobans : Winnipeg’s North End kids in the 1950s. The “Tobans” mentioned in the title refers to a community club that was located on Shaughnessy Street which was the focal point for recreational activities in the area. The author has collected over 25 stories, told in their own words as well as friends that highlight growing up in the neighborhood 70 years ago. Many of those stories focus on local sports (including those from hockey stars Bill Mosienko and Fred Shero), as Bud Ulrich and collaborator Joyce Ormshaw were heavily involved in coaching local youth. The book is filled with historical tidbits and personal memories which makes an enjoyable read.

All of these titles are available for borrowing, and are always available in the Local History Room. Come and check them out!

~ Louis-Philippe