{"id":576412882,"date":"2022-04-20T02:00:07","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T07:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/correspondents\/2022\/04\/20\/the-story-of-douglas-park-road"},"modified":"2022-04-20T02:02:16","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T07:02:16","slug":"the-story-of-douglas-park-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winnipegfreepress.com\/our-communities\/correspondents\/2022\/04\/20\/the-story-of-douglas-park-road","title":{"rendered":"The story of Douglas Park Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

Douglas Street is listed in the 1907 Henderson’s Directory<\/em> as running between Portage Avenue and Assiniboine Avenue. In the 1909 directory , the first residents are listed Peter Sinclair, Horace Weldon, Charles Parker, and Henry Cotter. In the 1913 Henderson, the street is referred to as Douglas Park Road for the first time. In 1941, St. James council rejected a proposal to rename Sackville Street and extend Douglas Park Road north.<\/p>\n

Weldon operated a downtown grocery store at 383 Portage Avenue which is the current address of Portage Place, exactly where many people are hoping for a new grocery store A very positive review of Weldon’s store appeared in the Winnipeg Tribune<\/em> on Sept. 25, 1915. Horace’s daughter, Kathleen Weldon, taught various elementary grades at Linwood School during an education career that spanned six decades.<\/p>\n

In 1935, Maurice Thompson came to Winnipeg to work for his father at Birt Saddlery and soon became the owner. In the early 1980s, his daughter Susan took over the business. For almost half a century, Maurice and Eleanor Thompson hosted the Douglas Park Road Victoria Day bonfire and fireworks. Between 1992 and 1998, Susan Thompson was the first female mayor of Winnipeg. The administration building at City Hall is now named in her honour.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Former\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Former Winnipeg mayor Susan Thompson grew up on Douglas Park Road, where her parents hosted an annual Victoria Day bonfire and fireworks display.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n

Another Douglas Park resident, Tom Kilberry, founded Kilberry Industries, which eventually evolved into MacDon, a manufacturer of agricultural harvesting equipment<\/p>\n

For over a century, many newspaper stories written by journalists with Douglas Park Road connections have dominated coffee shop conversions. Garnet (The Colonel) Porter wrote for the Winnipeg Telegram<\/em> and Winnipeg <\/em>Tribune<\/em>. Garnet became president and eventually a life member of the Winnipeg Press Club. Gordon Sinclair Sr., Gordon Sinclair Jr., Dave Sinclair and Tom Brodbeck have all continued the Douglas Park Road journalism tradition.<\/p>\n

Bill Hanks was publisher of the St. James Leader<\/em> weekly newspaper and his wife, Geraldine, was president of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association. In 1961, he was elected mayor of St. James. Under his leadership, St. James Council found the political will to overcome financial obstacles and get the St. James Civic Centre built. Bill Hanks is remembered by Bruce Park’s A.W. Hanks Walkway.<\/p>\n

Robert Pollock was an artist. One of his famous pictures is of the gathering at one of the Douglas Park Road Victoria Day bonfires. In 1952, Phyliss Cooke won the Tudor Bowl at the Manitoba Music Festival.<\/p>\n

Harry Dunwoody, clerk of the Manitoba Legislature between 1929 and 1950, lived on the street before moving to Woodhaven. Politician Scott Fielding lived on the street before moving to south Winnipeg. School trustees Maurice Thompson, Gord MacKinnon, Peter Carney and Ed Hume all lived parts of their lives on Douglas Park Road.<\/p>\n

With this story, over 700 people have been mentioned in my series of profiles of St. James streets. Your feedback is welcome.<\/p>

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