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Friday, 28 February 2014

Behind the Photo: Winnipeg Police Tug-o-War Team (1918)

Often I will see an old photo or ad and spend some time digging into the back story. Sometimes I find a great story, sometimes not. Either way, I learn a few things about the city's history. Here's my latest attempt:

wpg police tug o war team '18
Winnipeg Police Tug-o-War Team, 1918
by L. B. Foote, Archives of Manitoba (Source)

This photo was likely taken at the Winnipeg Street Railway Sports Day at River Park, (near present day Jubilee and Osborne), on  Saturday, September 21, 1918. If so, the team consisted of: Joseph Mulholland, Anchor; William Duncan; Daniel McKenzie; Samuel J. Samson; John Bell; A Gwynne; H. Sleeman; Colin McKenzie; J Scholta; J. J. Samson (captain); Walter Hughes, coach.

September 19, 1918, Winnipeg Tribune

This was the first such event put on by the Street Railway Amateur Athletic Association. The invitees were public services employees from the gas works, electric company, police department,  fire department, railway police and, of course, the streetcar workers. 

The day featured dozens of athletic events. There was track and field, bicycle races, tug-o-war, baseball and soccer tournaments. Other entertainment included bands, children's games and a quilting contest. Officials from the city and respective utilities were in attendance to present the prizes and choose raffle winners.

September 23, 1918, Manitoba Free Press

In the end, the police beat out the C.P.R. Police and Winnipeg Electric Street Railway teams to take the top prize in the tug-o-war. The best all-round track athlete award, the McLimont Cup, was presented to Ken Sutherland of the Street Railway soccer team for his running abilities.

August 28, 1918, Winnipeg Tribune

It was vindication for the police. The previous month at the Kiwanis Karnival, they lost the tug-o-war to the firefighters !

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Empty Again: Kelly House's long history

Kelly House IIKelly House
News that Kelly House at 88 Adelaide Street is empty again. For the past three years or so it was home to Cancer Care Manitoba's Challenge for Life Campaign offices.

Back in 2008 when it was facing demolition, I wrote a post about its history. Below is a rewrite of that post with some additional information and up-to-date hyperlinks !


Kelly House sits on land originally owned by Alexander McDermot who sold it to Thomas and Michael Kelly. The brothers were a pioneer family in Winnipeg's construction industry with such firms Kelly Bros., Thomas Kelly and Son and the Manitoba Construction Company. Their reach expanded as far west as Vancouver.

July 29, 1897, Nor'Wester

Michael's portfolio included the old Dominion Post Office on Portage Ave, the Law Courts on Broadway and the Boyd Building on Portage Avenue. Thomas’ works include the Grain Exchange Building, the Free Press Building, the Imperial Bank (Millennium Centre), and the Bank of Nova Scotia (A.A. Heaps Building).

Besides buildings, they were also responsible for many public works, including bridges and roads. They even laid the first asphalt on Winnipeg streets, as noted in the above article.

September 23, 1882, Winnipeg Daily Sun

It was Michael Kelly who designed and had Kelly House built starting in September 1882. Like his brothers, he came to New York from Ireland in the 1840s. There, he married Elizabeth O'Neill and the two began their family which eventually consisted of seven sons and three daughters. In 1877 they came to Winnipeg and in 1881 he went into partenership with Thomas in the construction business.

The Kelly family lived there for five years.


Kelly then rented the home out to architect James H Cadham. The Cadham family, wife Eliza and five children, lived there from 1887 to 1901.

James H. Cadham was responsible for designing over thirty buildings in the Exchange District and downtown, many of them built during the time he lived on Adelaide. The Galt Building (103 Princess) and Whitla Block (70 Arthur) are just two examples of his work.


Cadham’s son, Frederick Todd Cadham, lived at Kelly House until he was 11 years old. He went on to become a pioneering doctor in the field of bacteriology and hygeine, a long-time professor at the U of M and head of Manitoba's public health laboratory, (which was later named the Fred T. Cadham Public Health Laboratory in his honour). 


November 20, 1901, Morning Telegram

In late 1901 the Cadham's moved out and by that time the commercial activity of Exchange District had overpowered the small residential neighbourhood within it. Kelly House became a rooming house, still owned by Michael. Around 1908 it appears that Thomas may have taken ownership of it.

The Kelly name was sullied with the Manitoba Legislature Scandal ca. 1915. Under growing allegations of kickbacks, misappropriation of funds and theft of building materials, the construction process was stopped in 1915 and a Royal Inquiry was held. The inquest brought down the government and tore apart the families ties of the three Kelly Brothers. Micheal, however, was cleared of any wrongdoing. (For a more detailed account of the scandal see Cherney's articles in WREN: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4.)

June 30, 1923, Manitoba Free Press

Michael Kelly died in 1923 with his reputation intact but it seems that his house became tied up in the legislature scandal thanks to Thomas' involvement in its ownership. 

The house become property of the city in 1921 and remained so until 1948. (I can't find a reason as to why the city became owner or why they kept it for so long. Specultion is that it may have been seized as an asset of Thomas Kelly.)

During the years of city ownership it appears that the house was closed up. 

ca. 1979 (Source)

Once back in play, it appears as if the house continued to be a rooming house, or at least divided into at least two residences. In 1979 it was was given heritage status as being "significant for both architectural and historic reasons”.

From 1982 to 1986 Kelly House was home to the Winnipeg Film Group. 

During their time there a number of notable films were made. John Paizs' The Three Worlds of Nick (1984) became the first WFG first film to be screened at Toronto's Film Festival. In 1985 John Paizs' Crime Wave is released and became a cult classic, (check out this CBC story and this fansite. It is also said that some scenes from Guy Madden's Tales from the Gimli Hospital are filmed inside Kelly House.

Over a decade later, it  was featured in a series of juvenile fantasy books by Rae Bridgman as the entry point to the secret world.

Kelly House I (1882)

In the early 1990s the building got new owners, Adelaide Investments, who had very different plans for Kelly House. It ended up sitting empty for about a decade when the owner applied to have it's heritage status de-listed. It was the first step in applying for a demolition permit to create more parking for his neighbouring property.

In November 2008 the city's Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development voted down the motion to remove the historical designation. Instead, they paired up the owner with CentreVenture to see if they could work out a redevelopment plan.

Kelly House

In March 2009 the two announced that they had come to an agreement to split the $450,000 in renovations required. The following year It became home to the Cancer Care Manitoba's Challenge for Life Campaign offices.

Related:
My Flickr album of Kelly House photos
Historic Buildings Committee Report
Kelly House lease listing CentreVenture

Also:
Here are a few newspaper clippings that i came across that will give you a sense of what Kelly's neighbourhood would have been like. The residential nature can be seen in the ads for houses and hotels:
Wpg Daily Sun, July 27, 1883:
Daily Nor'Wester, March 8, 1895:
Wpg Daily Sun, June 27, 1883:
Wpg Daily Sun, May 13, 1882:


Some neighbourhood businesses where Kelly may have shopped:

Wpg Daily Sun, April 5, 1882:Daily Nor'Wester, Oct. 2, 1885:
Sidewalks ! Daily Nor'Wester July 24, 1894:


The list below are still in progress - sorry if they are a bit messy !

The Michael Kelly Years: 1882 - 1887

It’s difficult to piece together a complete list of the works accredited to Michael. While in partnership with his brother Thomas. Also, the Kellys were for the most part contractors, not architects, and contractors don't get as much mention in building indexes. Micheal, though does get credit for being the architect of Kelly House) .

This is a partial list of some of Kelly Brothers works. An interesting to note that two of their projects, the St. Andrew’s Locks and Dam and the Winnipeg Aqueduct, are designated “National Engineering Historic Sites” by the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering. The former is also a National Historic Site.


- Bank of Nova Scotia 254-258 Portage Ave. (More) c.1908–10

- Bank of Toronto 456 Main St., c.1905 – 1907 (More)
- Canadian Northern Railway Shops
- Free Press Building c.1912, 300 Carlton St. (More)
- Grain Exchange Building III c.1906-08, 167 Lombard Ave. (More)
- Imperial Bank of Canada (Millennium Centre) c.1906, 441 Main St. (More)
- Kelly Building (Kilgour Block) c.1904, 181 Bannatyne Ave. (More)
- Laura Secord School c.1912, 960 Wolseley Ave. (More)
- Dominion Post Office c.1904-09, Portage at Garry
- Water Tower, Tache Avenue
- Utility Building /Grain Exchange I c.1892, 164 Princess St. (More)

Out of town works:

- Shoal Lake Aqueduct (one of multiple builders)
- St. Andrew’s Locks and Dam (Lockport)
- Dominion Post Office (Vancouver)
- CPR Railway Tressel
(b/t Lethbridge & Ft. Macleod AB) c.1890
- Canadian Bank of Commerce Building (Vancouver)

The J.H. Cadham Years: 1897 - 1901

You can see that a number of Cadham's buildings were created while he lived at Kelly House between approximately 1887 and 1892. For a complete list with architectural references see Cadham at the U of M Buildings Index. 
- Avenue Building c.1904265 Portage Ave
- Galt Building c.1887 103 Princess St (More)
-Whitla Building c.1899 264-266 McDermot Ave. (More)
- Alloway and Champion Building c.1905, 667 Main St.
- Alloway Building c.1898, 179 McDermot Ave. (More)
- Blue Ribbon Building c. 1901, 87 King St.

- Brownstone's Sportswear (Reiss Furs) c. 1903, 275 McDermot Ave.
- Daylite Building c. 1899, 296 McDermot Ave. (More)
- Fit-Reform Block c. 1905, 289-291 Portage Ave.
- Frost and Wood Warehouse c.1906, 230 Princess St. 1906
- Gault Building (Artspace) c.1900, 92-104 Arthur St. (More)
- Gaylord Block c.1903, 111 Lombard Ave. (More)
- Gregg Building 52-56 Albert St. 1902 (More)
- Imperial Dry Goods Block c.1899, 91 Albert St. (More)
- McLaughlin Carriage Building c.1902, 204-212 Princess St. (More)
- Medical Services Building c.1906, 750 Bannatyne Ave.
- Merchants Building c.1897, 250 McDermot Ave. (More)
- Miller Morse Hardware Co. c.1904, 317 McDermot Ave. (More)
- Moss House c.1900, 218 Roslyn Road
- Sheldon's Furniture Warehouse c.1905, 315 William Ave
-
Stobart Building c.1903, 275-281 McDermot Ave. (More) 
- Woodbine Hotel c. 1878, 466 Main St. (More)

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Before today's game, take time to remember the Winnipeg Falcons

April 27, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune

Before you hunker down to watch the 2014 Olympic gold medal hockey game, take some time to remember the very first Olympic gold medal winners in hockey: the Winnipeg Falcons. 

On April 26, 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium, this team made up mostly of Icelandic immigrants and their descendants from around the West End and North End dominated opponents from countries like the USA and Sweden to take the tournament.

Despite the fact that many locals looked upon Icelanders as being near the 'bottom of the barrel' amongst immigrant groups, stereotyped as uneducated and impoverished, the city as a whole celebrated their victory. A Free Press editorial of April 28, 1920 trumpeted:

"The victory of the Falcon hockey team of Winnipeg over all-comers at the Olympic tournament at Antwerp is a matter of pride for all Canadians, and for Winnipeg people especially. The Falcons, representing the Dominion of Canada, have demonstrated to the world the stuff of which young Canadians are made"  

As tends to happen with many great stories from our history, this one was largely forgotten. It was thanks to Manitoba hosting the World U-17 Hockey Championships in 2001 that there was a rediscovery of their feat and a resurgence of interest in the team. The federal and provincial governments recognized the descendants of team members and Team Canada dedicated the tournament to the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons.

April 27, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune

Related:
Winnipeg Falcons.com
1920 Winnipeg Falcons Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

1021 Wellington Crescent - Part 2

Sad news that 1021 Wellington Crescent has been significantly damaged by fire. Here's a look back at its history. Part 1 looks at the families that have called it home over the decades. Part 2 is about the home builder, Frank R. Lount.

Frank R. Lount (source)

The house was designed and constructed by Frank R. Lount in 1933. 

Lount came from Ontario in 1921 and was actually a housing contractor by trade under the company names F. R. Lount, F. R. Lount and Son with son William).

Though the Depression caused many Winnipeg families to lose their fortunes, Lount saw an opportunity. He designed and built over a dozen exclusive homes between 1929 and 1939 on streets like Wellington Crescent, Elm Park Crescent, Grenfell Boulevard, Girton Boulevard, Fulham Avenue, Park Boulevard and Handsart Boulevard.

In the case of 1021 Wellington, at least, Lount continued to own the house until the early 1940s and lease it to the owners. It's unclear if he did the same thing with his other tony properties.

September 8, 1936, Winnipeg Tribune

In 1936 the Town of Tuxedo opened up a large section of land for residential development, enough for 50 houses. Lount was the first to break ground on the site with four homes and 137 Girton became the show home for the development.

November 8, 1949, Winnipeg Tribune

The construction slowed to a crawl during World War II but as it came to an end, Lount found a new niche: post war bungalows. In his native St. James he took out dozens of permits, sometimes applying for five or more at a time. 

In 1949 he struck a deal with the City of St. James to purchase the 126 acre former Lord Strathcona estate on which 500 homes would be constructed over a period of years. (The area is now known as Silver Heights.)

Winnipeg Clinic Oct 1953 PC 18-7294-18-6298-004

After the war, F. R. Lount and Sons, (he only had one son, the plural likely includes Peter Stovel, an architect who worked for the company and became his son in law in 1943), built something other than houses. Frank is credited as the architect for the Winnipeg Clinic Building on St. Mary Avenue. The company also designed and built the Silver Heights Apartments on St. James Street.

Lount was founding president of the Winnipeg Home Builders Association in 1944 and president of the Canadian Home Builders association in 1945-46. He died on May 22, 1976 at Grace Hospital leaving wife Annette, son William and daughter Ferne.

Related:
1021 Wellington Crescent Historic Building Committee
Frank Reade Lount Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
Sures House Winnipeg Building Index

Monday, 17 February 2014

Lives lived at 1021 Wellington Crescent - Part 1 UPDATED


Sad news that 1021 Wellington Crescent has been significantly damaged by fire. Here's a look back at its history. Part 1 will look at some of the families that have lived there over the decades. Part 2 is about its designer and builder Frank Lount.

Note that this information is taken mainly from Henderson Directories up to 1965. Henderson's were not always 100% accurate in that it sometimes took a year or two for addresses to completely "catch up" to the owner. Also, in the case of this property, it seems that it may have served as two residences at times, likely the main house and a rental suite. This may also account for some of the overlap. 

This is not meant to be an exhaustive biography of the families, just sketches cobbled together from various newspaper articles to get an idea of who loved there. After 1960 the popularity of " society pages" and printing people's full address whenever they are mentioned in the paper waned. As a result, as the decades go on les material can be found on each family. 
Some families appeared in the newspapers a lot, others did not.

If you wish to correct any details or add information, please email me at cassidy@mts.net. 

1933: Construction

Frank R. Lount (source)

Frank Lount designed and built 1021 Wellington Crescent in 1933 but his family never lived there. According to the city's Historical Buildings Committee, he retained ownership of it until the early 1940s. (More on Lount in part 2.)

1933 - 1944: The Sures Family

Fred Myer Sures was born in Russia and came to Winnipeg in 1906. In 1915, at the age of 20, he created the Canadian Shirt and Overall Manufacturing Company. In the early 1920s he and brother Nathan created Sures Brothers Ltd., a dry goods manufacturer and wholesaler at 248 McDermot.

Heimskringla, December 18, 1929

The company grew quickly after taking over a couple of bankrupt competitors, including footwear company Ames Holden McCreedy in 1925 and dry goods company R. J. Whitla and Co. in 1931. After the Whitla takeover, Sures Brothers were a major player in both the dry goods manufacturing / distribution business as well as the garment industry.

In 1931 Fred also created the Radio Oil Refinery Company Limited.

October 3, 1936, Winnipeg Tribune

In 1933 the family, which consisted of wife Sarah and children Pearl, Elaine, Florence, Ethel and Joseph, moved from 177 Machray Street into the newly constructed 1021 Wellington Crescent.

The house appears to have had an uneventful existence while the Sures' lived there, aside from a 1939 goldfish theft that annoyed Mrs. Sures.

December 23, 1937, Winnipeg Tribune

The Sures' were active philanthropists in the Jewish Community. Fred, for instance, was a past president of the Free Hebrew School and a board member of Shaarey Zedek Synagogue. 

Fred died on December 21, 1937 though the family continued to live there into the early 1940s.. (Brother Nathan, company president, lived across the street at 1034 Wellington).

In 1943 - 44 the Sures', vacated the property. Mrs. Sures moved to Harvard Street and Joseph moved to Campbell Street.

1944 - ca. 1949: The Powell Family

In 1944 the house was owned by Kenneth Powell, president of grain company Hallet and Carey and the president of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange in 1942-43. The family included wife LaRene and son Wallace

Powell started in the grain industry in Winnipeg in 1915 and joined Hallet and Carrey in 1924, working his way up to president. In 1952 the company's name was changed to K. A. Powell.

Powell appears often in the business pages in the 50s and 60s as he was appointed to numerous corporate boards, including the Toronto Dominion Bank and Labatt Brewery. He sold his company in 1970 to CanX Grain and died on June 13, 1982.

1949 - 1957: The Smith Family

February 16, 1949, Winnipeg Tribune

The Harold A. Smith Family lived in the house by late 1949. Smith was a son of Sidney Thomas Smith, one-time president of the Reliant Grain Company. After his death in 1947 the company was liquidated.

 May 27, 1946, Winnipeg Tribune

In the late 1940s Harold was president of a company called Insul-Mastic, manufacturers of cork-based undercoating for cars. He was known as a sportsman and owner of Goldstream Stables.

By 1950 the Smiths were pretty much out of the limelight and the newspapers. Son Clancy was away at school in North Dakota and eldest daughter Marilyn got married and moved to N. D. in 1950. The stables, too, seemed to disappear around 1951. The family may have retiened ownership of the house for a few more years.

1955 - 1961: Dr. Georgina Hogg

 June 19, 1945, Winnipeg Tribune (Hogg on left)

Georgina Hogg was from Landis, SK and came to Winnipeg to attend medical school, graduating in 1945. After an extended trip to the U.S., by 1953 she was on staff at General Hospital's department of pathology and a member of the faculty of medicine at the University of Manitoba. Her parents came to live with her at 1021 until their deaths.


Hogg may have lived in the smaller suite as the Smiths are still listed in the Henderson Directories of 1955 and 1956 and she overlaps with the next owners by a couple of years. It appears that she moved out in 1961.

Hogg became a senior pathologist with national stature and was made Professor Emeritus at the U of M in 1990. She died on April 21, 2002 at Victoria Hospital.

1960 - 1966: The Peterson Family


Though Investors Syndicate had been around since 1926, its first company president was appointed in 1946. He was Theodore Peterson who had been with the company since 1930.

Peterson and his wife had one daughter, Jonina. In 1966 Peterson was replaced at Investors by Clarence Atchison and the family moved to Ottawa.

1966 - 1991: The Halter Family

Aubrey Halter and Nola Borwn (Courtesy of Dr. Reese Halter )

Aubrey Halter was a lawyer and land developer. Nola Brown was a writer and  television personality. The two met in the late 1950s and were married in 1963. 

The Halters inhabited the house longer than any other family. They moved there In 1966 and raised three children. Dr. Reese Halter, a California-based conservation scientist; Jason Halter, a Toronto-based architectural designer and professor; and Diana who lives in British Columbia.

For more about the Halters, see The Halters of Winnipeg. For more about their time at the house see this Free Press story.

1989 - 2004: The Sifton Family

Leo Mol delivers "Fawn and Deer" (courtesy of Sifton Family)

In 1989 Graeme and Melanie Sifton purchased 1021 Wellington from the Halter Family. Graeme was a previous owner of the Winnipeg Free Press. They raised their two children, Micah Nancy Sifton and Trevor Klassen Sifton, there. 

Renovations done to the home during their 15-year stay included the addition of a circular driveway and gateposts. 

2004 - 2008: The Asper Family


In 2004 the Asper family purchased the home, though news articles don't specify which of Izzy and Ruth Asper's three children owned it.

2008 - 2014: The Dornetshuber Family


The final owner was the Dornetshuber Family. In 2008-09 they invested around $1.5 m to renovate the home. They were out of the province at the time of the fire and nobody was hurt. (For more drawings of the renovations.)

Related:
1021 Wellington Crescent Historic Building Committee
Frank Reade Lount Winnipeg Architecture Foundation
Sures House Winnipeg Building Index
News coverage of the fire: Free Press, CBC

Friday, 14 February 2014

Red River Co-op's first foray into the grocery business (1958 - 1983)

Updated: July 2016
Wall Street grocery store ca. 1958 (source)

Red River Co-op is getting back into the Winnipeg grocery scene with the purchase of four stores from the recently merged Sobeys-Safeway chain. It's a return to a market that they operated in from 1958 to 1983.

September 22, 1947, Winnipeg Tribune

On September 15, 1937, the charter of the Red River Co-operators Co-operative Supply Ltd., (now known as Red River Co-op), was signed. For its first two decades, the organization was dedicated to the fuel supply business.

Its parent organization, Federated Co-op Limited's largest assets included an oil refinery in Regina, about 50 oil wells in Saskatchewan and Alberta, two lumber mills in B.C. and a coal mine in Drumheller.

In the 1940s, Co-ops Main Street and Pembina Highway fuel yards added small general stores and in the late 1950s they decided to make the jump into the grocery business.


June 24, 1958, Winnipeg Free Press

In September 1957, ground was broken on the first Red River Co-op Shopping Centre on Wall Street at Ellice Avenue. 

Designed by Smith Carter Katelnikoff Associates, the $750,000 development consisted of a 20,000 square foot grocery store that had an appliance and hardware department plus a pharmacy. There was also a separate gas station, credit union building and farm supply yard.

June 24, 1958, Winnipeg Free Press

The 4,000 Co-op members and special guests were invited to attend the opening ceremony on June 25, 1958.

Entertainment included a “wild west jamboree” with the Red River Valley Boys and music by the Heather Belle Pipe Band. After some speeches the ribbon was cut by Mrs. A. A. MacDonell, widow of the Co-op's first president and mother of the 1958 one.


September 12, 1961, Winnipeg Free Press

On September 13, 1961, a similar shopping complex was opened as part of the Rossmere Shopping Centre development at Henderson Highway at Rowandale Avenue.

August 21, 1969, Winnipeg Free Press

By 1969, Coop Food Store newspaper ads listed four locations, including Stonewall and St. Norbert, though a purpose-built food store in St. Norbert did not come until 1980.


In 1976, Federated Co-op held their national meeting in Winnipeg. The Manitoba president expressed concern that Red River Co-op's expansion into the grocery and other businesses had stalled. Despite having four grocery stores, half of the Co-op's sales were still in the farm supply category.

This was blamed mostly on a lack of capital with which to open new stores or buy into new businesses, as seen in other Western cities. It was his hope that more co-ops would amalgamate with Red River to bolster their reserves.

There appears to have been such an amalgamation as 1978 newspaper ads listed Red River Co-op food stores at Ellice and Wall, Rossmere Shopping Centre, Cavalier Square on Regent Avenue, St. Norbert, Stonewell, Teulon. Ste. Agathe and Oakbank.

June 25, 1979, Winnipeg Free Press

As for new businesses, around 1978 a Co-op Travel Agency was added to the Ellice and Wall store.

T
he biggest addition was a 5,620 square foot, $10 million Home Centre, a combination hardware store, lumber yard, gas bar and grocery store that opened at McPhillips Street at Stardust in June 1979.


November 18, 1980, Winnipeg Free Press

The St. Norbert location was rebuilt as a Home Centre in 1980, which included a new, custom-built food store.

October 29, 1982, Winnipeg Free Press

Despite what some may have considered slow growth, the 70,000 member Red River Co-op floundered.

It went from recording a $575,000 profit in 1978 to just a $19,000 profit in 1980 and the projections looking forward to 1986 were for a $7 million loss. (Source: WFP Oct. 20, 1980).

In early October 1982 staff were asked to take a 10% wage reduction while the Co-op sorted out what it was going to do. On October 29, 1982 it was announced that most of its retail operations would be shut* and their successful gas bar business would be examined. .


*The Free Press noted that the operations that would be closed by the end of 1982 included: Wall Street (food, pharmacy); Rossmere (food, pharmacy); McPhillips (food, pharmacy, travel, home centre); Stonewall (general store, lumber); St Norbert (food, home centre); Oakbank (general store); and Teulon (general store).

The original food store on Wall Street was the last to close. It was given a reprieve until the end of February 1983.

The number of gas stations were whittled down to just three as the Co-op struggled to sell off its larger properties in a recession. Its operating losses for the 1983 year were nearly $3 million.



February 1, 1960, Winnipeg Free Press

Some blamed the expensive McPhillips Street development for the Co-op's woes, others noted that the "grocery wars" between rivals Safeway and Superstore meant that smaller chains like Co-op got squeezed out of the market.

Whatever the reason, it knocked Red River Co-op out of the grocery business for over three decades.


Related:
Coop Transforming Four Stores - CBC (May 2014) 
Purchase announcement Federated Coop 
Our History Red River Co-op 
75 Years of Service Red River Co-op (Video)