Aldine Street best-known for famous mural

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/10/2022 (1121 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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?

A couple of well-known pharmacists operated the drug store with the mural at 2579 Portage Ave. Carman Ruttan graduated from the U of M in 1919 with a gold medal in Pharmacy. Carman had effective but sometimes unusual remedies for people’s ills, especially poison ivy. He is listed in the Henderson Directory as both the resident and business operator at 2579 Portage Ave. between 1923 and 1952.

In the early 1950s, Carman moved to eastern St. James and Jack Andrews leased the property and lived on site. After moving from 2579 Portage Ave., Andrews operated a pharmacy at 3223 Portage Ave. He also served as president of the Canadian Pharmaceutical Association.

After his home was expropriated for the expansion of the St. James Bridge, Carman Ruttan returned to 2579 Portage Ave. for the final decade of his life.

In the 1960s, Alex LeDuke lived in a suite in the building named after him at 2577 Portage Ave. Between 1930 and 1959, he had operated Duke’s Barbecue, a restaurant, nightclub and dance hall located at 2523 Portage Avenue. Duke’s hosted the 1940 and 1941 windups for the MJHL St. James Canadians. Other businesses that are gone but not forgotten include the Marigold Restaurant, Briggs and Maxwell Pharmacy, Parkes Meats, and U and R Taxes.

Aldine Street residents are first listed in the 1925 Henderson Directory, and included Rev. Thomas and Myra Marshall. Rev. Marshall died in 1944 after serving over 25 years at the Wallasey Street St. Andrews Anglican Church. When the church moved to 2700 Portage Ave., three stained glass windows and a communion table were transferred to the new church in his memory.

Aldine resident Herbert Glazier owned a service station at 1870 Portage Ave. Between 1959 and 1979, Harold Bower was a co-owner of Randall Plumbing and Heating. Under his leadership, Randall worked on the Richardson Building and expanded its presence outside of Winnipeg. Another Aldine, resident, George Olmstead, served 33 years as a firefighter, retiring as a captain.

Jim Farrell served as news director of CKRC. Brian Smiley covered the Winnipeg Jets for the Winnipeg Sun in the 1980s and ’90s, and Linda Smiley played a major role in the merger of the Silver Heights and Sturgeon Creek Community Clubs.

Richard Bower excelled in science and won the 1960 Governor General’s medal at Daniel McIntyre High School and several Bank of Montreal centennial scholarships. John Junson was a meteorologist for Environment Canada for 35 years and wrote weekly weather columns for the Winnipeg Free Press. He and wife Noreen were married for 70 years.

Ivy Peters won a 1971 handicrafts award at the CNE Exhibition in Toronto. On April 8, 1951, Toby, a nine-year dog, woke up Tom and May Hollier, allowing them to safely escape their burning house. Toby will be a member of our St. James Pet Hall of Fame.