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Today’s must-read
Outside one of the two remaining Hudson’s Bay Co. department stores in Winnipeg, many shoppers expressed sadness but little surprise Tuesday that the retail chain’s financial troubles could lead to some closures.
The fate of the last Bay stores in the city — at CF Polo Park and St. Vital Centre — and dozens more across Canada is uncertain, after the country’s oldest retailer filed for creditor protection in a bid to remain in business.
“It would be a sad day if (the company) doesn’t carry on,” shopper Bob Ledoux said at the Polo Park store. “It’s sad because The Bay is synonymous with Canadian retail. A lot of us grew up with The Bay and Eaton’s being the two biggest stores in Winnipeg.” Chris Kitching has the story.
Bob and Beverley Barr say they’re discouraged by ‘racks and racks’ of discounted items at the Polo Park location. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
On the bright side
Twenty years before the Titanic changed maritime history, another ship touted as the next great technological feat set sail on the Great Lakes.
The Western Reserve was one of the first all-steel cargo ships to traverse the lakes. Built to break speed records, the 91-metre freighter dubbed “the inland greyhound” by newspapers was supposed to be one of the safest ships afloat.
As the ship entered Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay between Michigan and Canada on Aug. 30, a gale came up. With no cargo, the ship was floating high in the water. The storm battered it until it cracked in half.
For almost 132 years, the lake hid the wreckage. In July, explorers from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society pinpointed the Western Reserve off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The society announced the discovery Saturday at the annual Ghost Ships Festival in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The Associated Press has more here.
A deck rack on the bow of the Western Reserve cargo ship beneath Lake Superior. (Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society via The Associated Press)
On this date
On March 12, 1945: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the U.S. 1st Army made two crossings of the Rhine River, pushing 50,000 troops and hundreds of tanks further into Germany. A force of 650 U.S. bombers dropped a heavy bomb load on Swinemuende, a stragetic port 35 miles north of Stettin, providing close support for the advancing Red Army. Manitoba businesses donated to the Red Cross campaign, helping bring the province’s total to $378,575. Read the rest of this day’s paper here. Search our archives for more here.
Today’s front page
Get the full story: Read today’s e-edition of the Free Press.
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