Keeping the railway tradition alive
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This article was published 14/04/2020 (1990 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Two of Barbara Lange’s biggest passions are railways and history.
It’s fitting, then, that Lange is in her element at one of St. Boniface’s most recognizable restaurants – Resto Gare – which is located at 630 Des Meurons St.
It was there that the Elmwood-based author and speaker talked with The Lance in March about a number of landmark anniversaries this year, including the 50th anniversary of the restaurant’s origins. The restaurant is currently owned by Linda Love.
Prior to COVID-19 outbreak, Lange was set to hold an event at the restaurant later this month with a visual presentation and readings from her most recent book, 2018’s Memories of the Moonlight Special and Grand Beach Train Era, which was published in 2019 by Borealis & Tecumseh Press. The event has been postponed, and Lange hopes it will be held at a later date.
Sixty years after train service to the eastern shores of Lake Winnipeg ended, Lange said she embarked on a journey of historical discovery when undertaking the 391-page book, which features a number of contributors.
“When you think about the history of trains in Manitoba, they were such a huge part of people’s lives,” said Lange, who also published Through the Window of a Train: A Canadian Railway Anthology in 2010.
“There was a time when you often couldn’t get to another town or city unless you took the train.
”Lange – who hails from Essex in England – is also celebrating a seven-decade love affair with the railway.
She said her interest in trains began as a child, when her father – a railway conductor – used his pass to take the family to English beaches. Then, as a young woman, she commuted from Essex to her office job in London. And after immigrating to Winnipeg, Lange’s husband, Larry, worked for CN before he retired.
Curtis Love, who runs the restaurant with his mother, Linda, said he’s proud of the restaurant’s history, and he’s looking forward to Lange holding her event at the eatery in the future.
“We’re proud to be part of the tradition here in St. Boniface,” Love said, noting lots of train enthusiasts come into the restaurant.
“For many years, we’ve been providing quality food and a quality dining experience for Winnipeggers. We’re in a historical building, and I love it when people come in and tell me how important the railways are to Canada.”
According to Resto Gare’s website, the Kirouac family operated La Vieille Gare Restaurant at the current location from 1983 until 2008 when Linda (Kirouac) Love reinvented the old St Boniface station as Resto Gare Bistro. La Vieille Gare started in 1970.
Email Lange at writealong@hotmail.com for more information.
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