St. James Library celebrates 60 years

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/04/2018 (2815 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In 1882, Edwin Bourke, the first St. James MLA, built a house just south of the current location of St. James Collegiate, on what was known as Hay Field Farm.

In 1925, Edwin’s son William built a nine-hole golf course. The municipality of St. James took over the land in the 1930s and the Bourke house was demolished in 1940.

In 1947, an ambitious plan to build a state-of-the-art high school and recreational complex on the land was revealed. The golf course closed in 1949 and, in September 1951, the unfinished St. James Collegiate held its first classes.

The school was expanded in 1954, 1958, 1963 and 1966. Behind the school, the Bourkevale  Community Club opened in 1952. The St. James Lawn Bowling Club is next to the community club. Between the mid-1950s and 1990s, the St. James YMCA at 150 Ferry Rd. had a popular indoor swimming pool.

A public library for the area was originally included in plans for the high school but was cut from the final plan due to its cost, as were plans for a football field and a 1,450-seat theatre, among other things.

In 1954, the Lions Club of St. James circulated a petition in favour of a library and got the required support of eight per cent of local voters. In 1955, a one-room public library opened inside the collegiate but construction soon began on a stand-alone library building.

On Sat. Feb. 8, 1958,  St. James mayor Tom Findlay opened the St. James Library just west of the school, the first Manitoba public built since 1915.

John Russell was the original head librarian, there were four staff members  and 75,000 volumes. In 1970, Manitoba’s centennial year, the second floor was added in. On Nov. 14, 1970, Monica Dickens, great granddaughter of Charles Dickens, joined St. James mayor Bill Hanks for the grand opening of the new addition.

A recent renovation was completed in 2014.     

Happy 60th birthday to the St. James-Assiniboia Public Library.

Fred Morris is a community correspondent for St. James. Reach him at fredmorris@hotmail.com