Fred Morris

The story of Hearne and Harmon avenues

Harmon Avenue and Hearne Avenue are half-bays which run off Lodge Avenue, which runs east-west and Mount Royal Road, which runs north-south. Daniel Harmon (1778–1843) was an author worked for the North West Company. Samuel Hearne (1745-1798) was an explorer employed by the Hudson Bay Company.

The history of Kane Avenue

Kane Avenue, one of several bays running east and west of Mount Royal Road, south of Ness Avenue, is named for Canadian artist Paul Kane (1810-1871). Many of his paintings were based on sketches made between 1846 and 1848 during a Hudson’s Bay Company-sponsored trip to what is now Western Canada. His works can be found at the Manitoba Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum.

The residents of Thompson Drive

Winnipeg hockey great Ab McDonald grew up in Weston. While playing for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s St. Boniface Canadiens, he played with Cec Hoekstra, and Leo Konyk on a line called the “Weston Whizzers.” As a player, Ab won four Stanley Cups and one Calder Cup (the AHL championship). He scored the Chicago Black Hawks’ 1961 Stanley Cup-winning-goal and netted the first regular-season goal for the World Hockey Association’s Winnipeg Jets in 1972.

Remembering the people of Lyle Street

The first Lyle Street residents north of Ness Avenue were listed in the 1952 Henderson Directory. This column will remember some of the remarkable people who lived part of their lives on this street.

Aldine Street best-known for famous mural

For almost a century, 2579 Portage Ave., at the southwest corner of Aldine Street has been defined by what Murals of Winnipeg describes as “unquestionably Winnipeg’s oldest standing existing mural.” Artists Leslie Charles Smith, Harry Schimke, and Alfred Widmer have all worked on mural and its subsequent reincarnations and restorations. Was the tramp a real person?

Tracing the history of King Edward Street

On Oct.10, 1909, a serious fire destroyed the King Edward Street homes of Samuel Thorenson (which was also a dairy) and Augustus Brian. Lilly and Kate Thorenson roused members of both families. At the time, King Edward had poor fire protection, a problem soon resolved by the 1912 construction of a firehall on nearby Berry Street.

During the early 1900s, a Methodist church was constructed on the west side of King Edward between Portage and Ness avenues. On Oct. 28, 1917, the children of the Methodist Church marched west to their new church on Parkview Street, which eventually became St. James United Church. On Dec. 3, 1917, the St. James Legion moved into the church building on King Edward and Legion events were held at 280 King Edward St. The Legion eventually moved to its current Portage Avenue location in the 1950s, and the modern front of the building was added in 1980.

In 1907, the Henderson Directory lists King Edward Street residents for the first time.

Many young residents of King Edward Street have made their mark in the community over th e years. Between 1927 and 1930, Gretta Ekman, Ellen Sheppard, Lilly Goodman, Lena Gobi, and Helen Gunn were mentioned as Sunbeams correspondents in the Winnipeg Free Press. In 1938, Vera Saul was named the St. James Collegiate athlete of the year. During the 1945-46 school year, Dorothy Broughton was editor of the St. James Collegiate yearbook and school newspaper The Roomers. In 1954, Bobby McKay won a bicycle in CKRC’s Robin Hood contest. The extraordinary electronic talent of 10-year-old George Rodgers was the subject of a 1961 Winnipeg Free Press story.

A salute to the St. James Jr. Canucks

On April 25, the St. James Jr. Canucks defeated the Pembina Valley Twisters 5-0 to win the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League championship and the Jack McKenzie Trophy. Let us talk about the champions.

In 1978-79 Carl Wullum and Tom Miller founded the Canucks, who joined the then-nine-year-old MMJHL. The Canucks defeated the St. Vital Victorias 7-2 in their first regular-season game and, on Oct. 13, 1978, the Canucks played their first game at St. James Civic Centre, with Wullum dropping the first puck. The evening also included performances by the St. James Figure Skating Club and a ringette team. Unfortunately, the Seven Oaks Raiders spoiled the party by winning the game 10-4. For the next 44 years, Canucks have continued to provide exciting hockey to the St. James Community.

In 2013, Tom Miller, known as “Mr. Hockey” in St. James, was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. On Jan. 22, 2016, the Canucks played in a game commemorating the 50th anniversary game of St. James Civic Centre Game, and defeated the Fort Garry-Fort Rouge Twins 8-0. Mitchell Lockhart scored the first goal and the first hat trick of the Civic Centre’s second 50 years. Tyler Weiss got the shutout.

In the 2018-19 season, the Canucks made a memorable playoff run, but their season ended in a heartbreaking one-goal, Game 7 loss in the final to the Pembina Valley Twisters in Morris. The Jack McKenzie Trophy was not awareded in 2020 or 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The story of Douglas Park Road

Douglas Street is listed in the 1907 Henderson’s Directory as running between Portage Avenue and Assiniboine Avenue. In the 1909 directory , the first residents are listed Peter Sinclair, Horace Weldon, Charles Parker, and Henry Cotter. In the 1913 Henderson, the street is referred to as Douglas Park Road for the first time. In 1941, St. James council rejected a proposal to rename Sackville Street and extend Douglas Park Road north.

Weldon operated a downtown grocery store at 383 Portage Avenue which is the current address of Portage Place, exactly where many people are hoping for a new grocery store A very positive review of Weldon’s store appeared in the Winnipeg Tribune on Sept. 25, 1915. Horace’s daughter, Kathleen Weldon, taught various elementary grades at Linwood School during an education career that spanned six decades.

In 1935, Maurice Thompson came to Winnipeg to work for his father at Birt Saddlery and soon became the owner. In the early 1980s, his daughter Susan took over the business. For almost half a century, Maurice and Eleanor Thompson hosted the Douglas Park Road Victoria Day bonfire and fireworks. Between 1992 and 1998, Susan Thompson was the first female mayor of Winnipeg. The administration building at City Hall is now named in her honour.

Another Douglas Park resident, Tom Kilberry, founded Kilberry Industries, which eventually evolved into MacDon, a manufacturer of agricultural harvesting equipment

The history of Wallasey Street

Residents of Wallasey Street, which is two blocks west of Moray Street in St. James, are first mentioned in the 1910 Henderson Directory. Between 1916 and 1974, residents north of Ness Avenue are listed.

Wallasey was once book-ended by animal facilities. Between 1954 and 1974, the Crozier Kennel was located at 743 Wallasey St. Hugh Crozier was well-known as a breeder of Labrador retrievers and was an honorary governor of the Delta Marsh Retriever Club. On July 11, 1959, Dr. Elmer (Al) Clark, and Dr. Frank Grant (changed from Gulyas) opened the Birchwood Animal Hospital at 2595 Portage Ave. Our family adopted our dog, Cindy, from Birchwood and it remains in operation to this day.

In 1911, Bannatyne School opened at 360 Wallasey St., named after William Bannatyne, a long-serving police magistrate in the St. James area. Additions were added to the school in 1962 and 1970, which have replaced the original building . The school’s current address is 363 Thompson Dr. The school has been the meeting place for the 28th Brownie Pack, which was founded in 1924 by Kathleen Thomson of 257 Wallasey St. Several generations of Kathleen’s’ family, including her daughters Nancy, Billy, and Betty, served in various roles with the pack.

Many Wallasey residents have been involved in education in St. James. Eugene Guilbert was the custodian of Bannatyne School between 1913 and 1950. Al Mayer and Al Wischnewski were St. James-Assiniboia School Division teachers and Nicole Bowering was elected to the St. James-Assiniboia school board in 2018.

The people and stories of Rita Street

Residents of Rita Street were listed for the first time in the 1911 Henderson’s Directory. They were: Miss Paton, William Quirk, Thomas Mends and Oliver Anderson.

In the early 1930s, St. James Gladiola Gardens at Rita and Williamette Avenue (now Lodge ) sold peonies for 35 cents. By 1956, there were still only 11 homes listed in Henderson’s but the Sturgeon Creek Community Club was built that year at 210 Rita St. In 2011, a merger of the Sturgeon Creek and Silver Heights community clubs was finalized and a Sturgeon Heights C.C. building replaced the 1956 structure.

Education has been an important part of Rita Street. Long-time St. James educators Thaddeus (Ted) Witoski, George Colton and Larry Friesen all lived on Rita. Marilyn Bullied and Heather Yates fought hard to reverse the 2007 closure of Silver Heights Collegiate.

Bobby Chrystal played 132 NHL games and is a member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. In overtime of Game 7 of the 1953 AHL Calder Cup Final, Chrystal scored the Cup winning goal for the Cleveland Barons when a clearing attempt took a strange bounce into the net. He also played for the 1957 Brandon Regals Western Hockey League championship team.

The story of Truro Street

Truro Street residences are first listed in the 1913 Henderson’s Directory and, until the late 1940s there were no listings of odd-numbered homes.

All the houses on Truro between Portage and Bruce avenues, and north of Silver Avenue have been demolished and not replaced.

Between 1920 and 1958, the six-sheet Deer Lodge Curling Club was located at the southeast corner of Bruce and Truro. In 1947, Jimmie Welsh, Alex Welsh, Jock Reid, and Harry Monk of Deer Lodge won the Canadian men’s curling championship, the Brier.

In 1955, the Greater Winnipeg Planning Commission proposed an extension of Truro Street to Ellice Avenue which never materialized.

The history of Moorgate Street

Moorgate Street in St. James is mentioned the 1914 Henderson Directory, which shows two houses on the street. By 1940, there were 13 addresses listed on Moorgate between Portage and Bruce avenues Most of the houses on the street and the Moorgate Apartments at 2187 Portage Ave., were built after the Second World War.

Moorgate is distinguished by two 110-year-old stone monuments.at the corner of Portage and Moorgate. The iconic, 64-year-old Silver Heights Restaurant operated by the Siwicki family is located just west of the corner and, while CIBC and Champs KFC are long gone, they are not forgotten.

There are a couple of mentions of Moorgate Street children in the archives of local newspapers. In 1957, Paul Tremblay and four other Cubs became Scouts in a ceremony at the RCAF Station and, in 1968, Maureen Korda won the Eaton’s Draw Your Dad contest.

Many well-known people lived on Moorgate. It was the last home of golfer Eric Bannister, the St. Charles Country Club professional between 1921 and 1947 who won the Manitoba Open in 1931.

The history of Deer Lodge Place

July 24 is the 65th anniversary of the opening of the St. James City Hall at 2000 Portage Ave.

What is now called Deer Lodge Place surrounds the former city hall. According to the 1909 Henderson’s directory, Berlin Street and Oakdale Place are the streets which became Deer Lodge Place.

During the First World War, Berlin was renamed Lyle Street. In 1959, the Deer Lodge Place name was given to Oakdale Place, Lyle south of Portage and one house on Assiniboine Avenue. The apartment block at 205 Lyle St. became 1960 Portage Avenue.

Politicians, athletes, business people, an artist, and several writers have lived parts of their lives on Deer Lodge Place.

The history of Strathmillan Road

Joseph McMillan was born in 1849 in St. Boniface. At the age of 13, he moved to St. James, where farmed at the Strathmillan estate and also taught school at Sturgeon Creek. He was a member of the first Assiniboia council and was later reeve, leaving public life in 1912.

He died at his Maddock Street residence on Oct. 5, 1923.

In the 1911 Henderson’s Directory, Strathmillan Road is referred to as McMillan Crossing. By 1914, the street was called Maddock Street. It has been known as Strathmillan Road since 1929.

The name Strathmillan remembers both the McMillan family and the neighbouring Strathcona Estate (now Silver Heights).

The history of Harcourt Street

It is unclear for whom Harcourt Street is named but it seems to be a transferred family name. In the 1909 Henderson Directory, just one resident, Alfred Hayes, was listed at number 2.

Between 1910 and 1917, there was a steady increase in the number of houses and properties, all without numbers. By 1918, about 40 houses or properties had been numbered. At the time, Harcourt ran from Portage Avenue to Saskatchewan Avenue, whereas now it ends at Ness Avenue. A few houses existed north of Ness well into the 1960s.

In the early 1960s, the residential neighbourhood seemed destined to change. Winnipeg’s metro government wanted to build a bridge connecting St. James and Charleswood at the end of neighbouring street Thompson Drive. St. James had been planning for about 20 years to build the bridge further east, at Moray Street. The Thompson Avenue bridge idea died when the City of St. James developed vacant land between Harcourt and Thompson on what is now known as Nightingale Road.

A couple of distinctive buildings built in the 1960s define Harcourt just north of Portage Avenue. In 1964, the auditorium of St. Basil’s Ukrainian Catholic Church opened and has become a regular and familiar home to community teas, smorgasbords and perogy dinners. In 1967, the headquarters of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, McMaster House, opened at 191 Harcourt St.

The story of Turner Avenue

To celebrate the St. James centennial, which is this year, I am planning to do a few stories on individual streets similar to my August 2020 column about Mandeville Street.

The houses on Turner Avenue were constructed in the mid 1950s and the street itself is named for Philip Turner, the first full-time surveyor for the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Anne and Gordon Keatch were original Turner Avenue residents. Gordon served as president of the Silver Heights Community Club, as a member of the St. James school board and as a St. James alderman. During his time on the St. James council, the St. James Civic Centre was opened. Don Keatch, one of the couple’s two sons played in the first game held at the Civic Centre, and Gordon helped organize the 50th anniversary game.

George McCloy was a Turner Avenue resident who was an original CJOB broadcaster and worked at the station for 41 years. He became famous for his midday show, as well as his Sunday Morning Shut-Ins Show. George also did play-by-play briefly for Winnipeg Blue Bombers game. His calm on air demeanour was much appreciated during the Bombers’ one-win 1964 season. In recognition of his service to the community, George was named to the Order of the Buffalo Hunt.

The storied hockey career of Rudy Pilous

2021 is the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Brooklands as a village. The family of Anton and Theresia Pilous were original residents. The Pilous family later moved to Winnipeg’s Weston neighbourhood.

Rudolph (Rudy) Pilous was born on Aug.11, 1914, and grew up to be a fine hockey player who made his life in the game.

A left winger, Rudy played for Portage and Winnipeg Monarchs of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. After a brief career in the minor professional leagues, he remained involved in hockey for more than four decades as a coach, manager, owner and promoter. His uncanny ability to put together dynamic forward lines helped him assemble seven championship teams.

In 1943 44,  Rudy co-founded the St. Catharines Falcons of the Ontario Junior League. After the 1945 46 season, he left the Falcons to become a minor-league coach and general manager, winning championships as GM with the 1947-48 Houston Huskies of the USHL and as a coach the 1948-49 San Diego Skyhawks of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. In 1950 51, Rudy returned to St. Catharines to coach and manage the Teepees (the new name of the Falcons).  

Remembering Ray Torgrud

Former CKY and CJAY TV host Ray Torgrud was born in Red Deer, Alta., on June 28, 1930. In 1947, he became a newspaper correspondent for three different sources and began his broadcasting career at CKRD radio in Red Deer.

During the 1950s, Ray worked at various broadcast outlets in British Columbia and Alberta, including

CHCT Calgary, which was Alberta’s first TV station. In 1960, Ray and his wife Karen tossed a coin when he was offered a job at a brand new Winnipeg TV station. The coin said no - but they still came to Winnipeg.

On Sat., Nov. 12, 1960, Ray introduced CJAY to Winnipeg, on channel 7. The first show it aired was Panorama 7. The station was located west of Winnipeg Stadium and was separated from the then-open-air Polo Park Shopping Centre by an open field.

Happy 25th to the Charleswood Bridge

On Oct. 24, 1995, the Charleswood Bridge opened the day before the civic election. It had been in the planning stages for more than 50 years.

St. James mayor Bill Hanks was quoted in a Winnipeg Free Press article on Jan. 26, 1963, saying that St. James had been planning for a Moray Street Bridge “for some 20-odd years.”

      A front page headline on the Aug. 13, 1957 edition of the Free Press read “13 Bridges Needed in the next 43 Years,” and the story indicated that a Charleswood bridge was included in the 1957 Greater Winnipeg Traffic Study.

By the end of 1990, 10 of the other 12 bridges mentioned in that 1957 report had been built at or near the suggested locations.