Memories of the ’60s in St. Vital

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/10/2018 (2636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I have been writing this past year about my life growing up in St. Vital. I appreciate hearing from others about their experiences.

Norberry School was close to the street I grew up on. Not only did we walk to school but it seemed we walked everywhere. Because we lived closer to St. Mary’s Road than St. Anne’s Road, that’s where our focus was for shopping, banking, and recreation.

While attending Norberry, if you were lucky enough to have some spare change, a trip to Ann’s Bakery to buy a chocolate covered “hoagie” bun was a must, which I often did with money from my paper route. I also have powerful memories of the Horse Shoe Inn on St. Mary’s between St. Vital Road and Barrington Avenue, where I would go to play the pinball machine.

Playing pinball was a big deal back then. I can still recall that magical sound when you scored enough points to win a free game. On the odd occasion that I had to leave with free games still on the machine, I fancied myself a pinball wizard.

Norberry Community Club was a centre of activity. Baseball in the summer and hockey in the winter. We would skate outdoors for hours on weekends. My friend Jeff would walk from his house on Lennox Avenue proudly wearing his Detroit Red Wings jersey. He looked pretty sharp. There were only six teams in the NHL then but few people I knew were Red Wings fans.

Another important institution was Murphy’s Drug Store. To a youngster it was magical. They seemed to sell everything. It was very nostalgic when I bought the old store for the first Home Run Sports location. There is a lot of history in that building for me.

World news travelled more slowly, too.

Some important issues were even brought into the classroom. At the height of the Cold War, we had drills at school to practise hiding under our desks if the sirens went off signifying a nuclear attack. Really…?!

Then U.S. President John F. Kennedy was shot in 1963. Even for a Canadian, it seemed impossible and brought a sense of foreboding. A few years ago I visited Dallas and the JFK museum. It was an eerie feeling to go through the museum and look out onto the street where Kennedy was shot.

Another huge event which shaped our time was Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. Everyone watched the historic moments on our black and white televisions. It amazes me how vivid the imagery still is all these years later.

John Hindle is a community correspondent for St. Vital. Email him at john@johnhindle.com