Looking back -1957:Rolling railway comes to Neepawa
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Cecil Pittman
The Neepawa Press
80 years ago
Friday, June 25, 1937
It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good. While Wednesday evening’s heavy rainstorm pounded down a certain amount of tender garden stuff about town, automobiles standing on the streets during the downpour got a swell cleaning job, and numerous shop windows were brightened up without the aid of elbow grease.
70 years ago
Thursday, June 26, 1947
Word has been received that the Brandon bowling team, of which Tony Evans was a member, won two singles and one double prize in the American bowling congress in Los Angeles, California in May.
60 years ago
Thursday, June 27, 1957
The only rolling railway museum in the world will pay it’s first visit to western Canada this summer. From June to August the Canadian National Railway’s museum train, containing a wealth of early railway history, will be on display in Neepawa on June 27 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. standard time. The oldest day coach on the train was built by the Grand Trunk in Montreal in 1859. Probably one of the most interesting exhibits on view is the diesel engine that powered the car that set up a still unbeaten record for a trans continental trip in 1925 which covered the 2,937 miles from Montreal to Vancouver in 67 hours.
50 years ago
Friday, June 30,1967
Despite the fact she has been around for 83 years, Wednesday, June 28, will go down as one of the most eventful days in the life of Mrs. Ida Holmes. She was honoured on Wednesday afternoon by being introduced at the gathering of the official opening of the East View Lodge as the first guest registered when the lodge first opened in March. In the evening, she again had a place of honour as a head-table guest at the Neepawa civic dinner as she was chosen to represent the pioneers of the district. She met and chatted with the honorable Richard S. Bowles, lieutenant governor of Manitoba, at the dinner. Mrs. Holmes was born in Neepawa and lived in Rosedale municipality with her parents. She received her education at Mountain View School and was married in 1910 to the late Thomas Holmes.
40 years ago
Thursday, June 23, 1977
Neepawa wants Rosedale’s fire engine, but don’t get the wrong idea. The Beautiful Plains museum committee is hoping to add Franklin’s vintage fire equipment to the display in Neepawa, but a few of the Franklin residents got a chuckle out of the idea of Rosedale giving Neepawa an engine. The 1905 wagon had 2 water tanks and was pulled by half a dozen men.
30 years ago
Thursday, June 25, 1987
On September 15, a legal tender stamp will be issued with particular significance to Neepawa’s Collin Roulette. The 9 year old and his family were informed last week that his winning design will be used on self-stamped envelopes sent out from the children’s hospital of the Health Sciences Center in Winnipeg. His design was chosen from among 3,000 others entered by children in Manitoba and North-Western Ontario, who were staying in the children’s hospital due to illness. The grade 2 Hazel M. Kellington student said he had been in the children’s hospital for two days of a one-week stay when he was given a pencil and paper and asked to come up with a design for the stamp. His stay in the hospital became necessary when an infection set in from the medication he was given to fight the leukemia he was diagnosed with when he was only three years old. The design he eventually created was a portrait with all of his immediate family members.
20 years ago
Monday, June 30, 1997
A former school inspector who retired from the Beautiful Plains School Division in 1970 has donated $100,000 to the Beautiful plains Community Foundation. Interest gained from the money donated by Joseph “Joe” Butcher will be used to establish a scholarship for 2 graduating students in Beautiful Plains, one from Neepawa collegiate and one from Carberry collegiate, planning to attend university or community collage. Butcher, a resident of Neepawa’s East View Lodge since April of last year, said the idea came to him when he was still living in his own home. He said he was very impressed with his paperboy, who held down a couple of part time jobs, all in an effort to raise money for college. “My idea grew from that,” said Butcher. After the idea was sown, Butcher contacted the Beautiful Plains School Division and Beautiful Plains community Foundation. Last Tuesday, he signed over the principal to the foundation to create the Mrs. A.K. And inspector Butcher scholarship. The first part of the scholarship is named after Butcher’s wife Ann, who passed away last year. The couple were married in 1936 when Butcher was already well into his career as a teacher.
10 years ago
Monday, June 25, 2007
After years of debate and delays, construction will start on Neepawa’s personal care home today with the simple turn of a shovel. Manitoba healthy living minister, Kerri Irvin-Ross, will be taking part in a sod turning ceremony this morning to mark the start of construction on the town’s new personal care home. The ceremony at the care site in the Westcreek development has been scheduled for 11 a.m.. The former conservative government first announced construction of the care home in the spring of 1999. Following many delays, plans for the 100 bed structure was finally unveiled in December 2005. The cost of the 67,000 square foot structure has been estimated at $18.5 million, but is probably higher in 2007 dollars. Under a policy introduced in 1999, local communities are required to raise 20 percent of the costs for new care homes and hospitals. If 10 percent is raised before construction starts, the province will match that amount.
