Manitoba Pageant, April 1957
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We won't be in touch with you again until after the summer holidays ... so we thought we would tell you about some of the wonderful things you can see right here in Manitoba. We have marked the general locations on the map below. Perhaps you can get to see some of them!
1. CHURCHILL. If you went up on the Hudson Bay Railway to Churchill, you could cross the mouth of the river and clamber around the ruin of Fort Prince of Wales, the partially restored great stone fort which took forty years to build - and then was blown up by La Perouse in 1782. The Roman Catholic mission at Churchill has a fascinating museum too.
2. FLIN FLON. Fourteen miles south of Flin Flon, actually in Saskatchewan, is Denare Beach, on Amisk Lake. A new venture, the "Gateway Museum" is just starting there. You will be able to see the skeleton of an Indian medicine man, found in an ash heap beside one of the chimneys at the Frobisher-Henry Fort (built in 1775-6 by 'Pedlars' of those names) just across the lake from the museum.
3. NORWAY HOUSE. You have read the story of Norway House in this issue. A small museum was started last year by the United Church.
4. RIDING MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. In the park's townsite is a museum of natural history, where you may see mounted birds and animals of many kinds, native to Manitoba.
5. AUSTIN. Here is an entirely new kind of museum! It is an outdoor display of old farm machinery. Austin is eleven miles west of Portage la Prairie. The best time to go is on a weekend - or during the first two weeks in October when they hold a Threshers Reunion annually.
6. WINNIPEG. Don't miss Ross House museum, the "Countess of Dufferin," Upper Fort Garry Gate (on south Main Street near Broadway), the Manitoba Museum and Winnipeg Art Gallery (both in the Winnipeg Auditorium), the Historical Exhibit in the Hudson's Bay Company Store (fourth floor) ... and the Legislative Building, where, at the Tourist Bureau, main floor, they have such fine books and maps for you to take home. North of Winnipeg, on Highway Number 1, you can stop off to see Saint John's Cathedral, Old Kildonan Church (built 1851 - Selkirk Settlers), Saint Andrew's Church (built 1849 - retired fur traders), and Lower Fort Garry (built in the 1830s - and still very like it was in those days!). The Lower Fort is open daily from 10:30 until 5:30 from June until September.
7. SAINT BONIFACE. Here you may visit Saint Boniface Cathedral and see the old house built for the Grey Nuns; the statue-group in memory of La Verendrye (in the park across from Saint Boniface Hospital) ... and the museum in the Hotel de Ville, or City Hall (on Provencher Street).
8. SOURIS. You can have some real fun, crossing Squire Sowden's swinging bridge ... and will see some of the finest scenery in the prairies as you travel through the Souris valley.
9. MORDEN. There are three attractions at least here ... the Dominion Experimental Farm, with acres of beautiful gardens; just outside the town a large boulder-marker marking the La Verendrye Trail; and, what better for a hot day - a little lake, created by a dam, where you may swim or water-ski.
10. EMERSON. You read about the rise and fall of Emerson in this issue - perhaps you will be able to stop by and visit the old customs house in the park there.
11. INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDEN. A smooth run down Highway Number 10, south of Brandon will take you to the Canadian-U.S. border where this terraced garden lies. On our side of the border is the Turtle Mountain Forest Reserve - and there are several lakes and camp-sites where you may have good picnics!
Keep your eye open for news about anniversaries in Manitoba this summer. There will be such celebrations at Brandon, Selkirk and Hartney, and probably other communities as well.
All the places we have mentioned are not so far away. They await your visit - and recognition by Manitoba's own! Have fun! And if the you go outside the province for your holidays, say with pride, "I'm from Manitoba!" - you have plenty to be proud of.
Page revised: 30 June 2009
