Looking back - 1988: Turkeys gone wild in Neepawa

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Published on Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Jessica Morton 
Neepawa Banner & Press

80 years ago
Tuesday, March 1, 1938
Neepawa’s Saturday afternoon dog derby sponsored by Forrest Wilcox and Ron Guinn attracted hundreds of citizens and gave them plenty of thrills and laughs. The course ran from the C.N.R. station down Hamilton Street to Brown Avenue and the crowd lined both sides of the street to cheer the boys and girls as they urged their pups toward the big flag which marked the finishing line. Don Burnett’s “Pal” had little competition, trotting right along at a good pace, reaching the goal a few minutes before his nearest opponent caught up. “Rastus”, driven by Ray Gibbs was the next to cross the line, while Miss Elsie Stewart came in third with “Buster”.

70 years ago
Thursday, March 4, 1948
Minnedosa Midgets eliminated McCreary from the provincial Midget B playdowns Thursday night in the Neepawa Arena. Minnedosa youngsters won by a score of 15-2 scoring 5 in the first period, 3 in the second and 7 in the final session. Russ Mummery and Jim Halliday were the leading Minnedosa goal getters. Kenny Downey and Leo Flamondon scored for McCreary.

60 years ago
Tuesday, March 4, 1958
One of the season’s largest crowds at the local sports arena Saturday night attended the annual Winter Carnival presented by the Neepawa Figure Skating Club, and no one went away disappointed with the performance of the youthful skaters. It is perhaps true that skating seen in Saturday’s ice show was little below that of carnivals in some previous years, but then it must be realized that the majority of the performers are very young, with many making their debuts in the skating show. They all gave most creditable performances under the direction of their instructress, Miss Elaine Ketchuk, a grade 12 student at Portage Collegiate. The 18 numbers on the program entitled “Dreamland” commenced at 8:15 p.m. with an intermission after the tenth performance. Opening the show were the senior group followed by the intermediate pair, Beverley Anderson and Brenda Deighton. The tiny “juveniles” delighted the audience in the Bed Time Ballet with the performances clad in pyjamas. In appreciation of her work with the local figure skating class, Miss Ketchuk was presented with a set of luggage and a bouquet of flowers from the Neepawa group.

50 years ago
Friday, March 1, 1968
Telephone customers in the Plumas area can look forward to automatic dial service in the summer of 1969. In making the announcement, spokesman for the Manitoba Telephone System said a new telephone building will be erected in the community to house the automatic dial equipment. When conversion from the present manual operation takes place, all Plumas telephone customers will be assigned 7 digit telephone numbers.

40 years ago
Thursday, March 2, 1978
Someone must have been smiling down on David Drayson last Friday. David’s car collided with three horses on a municipal road two miles west and two miles south of Neepawa. And although his Dodge Charger is a complete write off and all three horses died, the 24 year old Drayson came out of it with barely a scratch - just some glass in his hair and pockets.

30 years ago
Tuesday, March 1, 1988
There are seven wild turkeys wandering the streets of Neepawa. In a nonchalant way they travel together, stopping in yards and pecking at seeds on the ground. The turkeys are a source of wonderment for the people in the northwest part of town where they appear to have taken up roving residence. Conservation Officer Bill Stilwell said the National Resource Department has received numerous calls from people asking about the birds. Hopefully none of them were asking about his favourite turkey recipe.

20 years ago
Monday, March 2, 1998
The former Canadian National Railway station in Neepawa was one of five in the country to be declared a national historic site. “We were surprised and happy to hear it,” said Lorna Smith, president of the Beautiful Plains Museum, which has been housed in the building since 1980. “We had no idea this was coming.” The former railway station was built in 1902 by the Canadian Northern (later National) Railway. The brick and wood clad building was designed by Winnipeg architect Ralph Benjamin Pratt. Pratt’s design is distinguished by prominent gable dormers and a decorative overhang supported by decorative brackets. The layout of the ground floor centred around the station master’s office with a bay window facing the tracks. The second level was home to the station master. Smith said the museum will receive a commemorative plaque to mark the designation later this year.

10 years ago
Friday, March 7, 2008
On April 20, 2008 approximately 66 students from the N.A.C.I. Lions Band, along with six parent chaperones and Band Director Katharine Kingdon, will travel to Edmonton for the Cantando Music Festival. This festival is specifically designed for school ensembles, concert and jazz bands and choirs. The N.A.C.I. Lions Band wishes to thank the Neepawa Lions Club for their generous donation of $2,500 towards this trip.