Photo book brings Portage history to life

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This article was published 24/08/2020 (2194 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new book featuring photos from seven decades of life in Portage is about to be published. On Sun., Sept. 13 at 2 p.m., an outdoor book launch for Historic Photographs of Portage la Prairie: 1870–1939 will take place at Fort la Reine Museum.

Matthew Lacroix sourced most of the images and completed the final layout, while James Kostuchuk, chair of the Portage la Prairie Heritage Advisory Committee, wrote the captions and assisted in finding photos from archives, libraries and personal collections. The book’s creators decided to limit the collection to start at 1870, as that was the year the earliest image was taken and also the year Manitoba became a province. They ended it in 1939, the year of the royal visit of King George V and his family.

“We tried to avoid images where there wasn’t a lot of context. We didn’t want a book that put a focus on buildings and houses,” said Kostuchuk, who moved to Portage la Prairie from Dauphin in 1990.  “We also wanted high-quality original photographs so that they looked good when they were reproduced. It is meant to be a coffee table book you leaf through.”

Local history provides plenty of interesting tidbits to keep readers intrigued.“Portage la Prairie has suffered tremendous hardships. A serial arsonist destroyed much of the town’s core area in the 1880s. A major cyclone and flood created substantial damage in the 1920s,” Kostuchuk said. “It is clear that people from the era were proud of their accomplishments, the things they built. The Merchants Bank is interesting. It was one of the city’s grand buildings but it developed a severe lean and had to have the upper stories removed. It was eventually demolished.”Kostuchuk acknowledges the input of other history buffs involved in the project.

“We were well supported by many people including two amazing local historians, Les Green and Brian Barrett,” he said.

“I was really fortunate to get Gord Goldsborough to write a foreword for the book. He is the author of the Abandoned Manitoba books and a regular CBC Radio contributor.”

The heritage advisory committee received funding from Manitoba Sport, Culture and Heritage and from the City of Portage la Prairie for the book, which is a project for Manitoba 150. “The last major book on Portage la Prairie History was in 1970 so it seemed fitting to add to our history in 2020,” Kostuchuk said.

“Premier Pallister wrote a short piece for us, too. His family has a century farm and he is from Portage la Prairie. Portage la Prairie had a prominent role in the creation of our province.”

Historic Photographs of Portage la Prairie: 1870–1939 will be available for $25 at the Sept. 13 event, with Sept. 20 scheduled as a rain date. Attendees are asked to bring cash, as well as their own lawn chairs and masks. Social distancing protocols will be in place. Proceeds from the book sale will be used towards local heritage projects such as the digitization of the Daily Graphic newspaper. The book will also be available in retail outlets, to be announced soon. Kostuchuk also suggests that anyone interested in prairie history subscribe to the Manitoba Historical Society’s journal, Prairie History. Information is available at www.mhs.ca

“It is a fantastic journal with lots of local content,” he said. “We need to support local history as much as we can, and buying a subscription really helps a lot.”