MHS Centennial Organization: Winnipeg Press Club

Link to:
Presidents | Life Members | Honorary Members | Sources

On 12 February 1887, a strong representation of Winnipeg’s newspaper publishers, editors and reporters gathered in their club rooms at Winnipeg City Hall to elect the first board for the Winnipeg Press Club. They could not know that night that the club would, in the 21st century, reign as Canada’s oldest media club, and one of the four oldest in the world. Elected as the first officers of the club were Thomas Hiram Preston as President (the runner-up was Charles Acton Burrows), William Edward Maclellan as Vice-President, Archibald McNee as Treasurer, and Charles Wesley Handscomb as Secretary, with an Executive Committee consisting of John W. Dafoe, George A. Flynn, and A. P. Wood.

The early objectives of the Winnipeg Press Club were similar to those of the present-day club: 1) to promote the professional, social, cultural and educational interests of its members and encourage professional exchange and development, 2) to provide a united voice to the practice of journalism and freedom of the press in Winnipeg, and 3) to establish fraternal relationships with fellow press clubs and media associations around the world.

Originally a private club for members of the newspaper fraternity, it grew to become an organization with members across many media. Broadcasters joined its ranks in 1947. The first women journalists became members in 1970.

The WPC is perhaps best known for its annual satire show “Beer and Skits,” which still stands as North America’s longest-running revue. Beer & Skits formed in 1933, put on two shows in 1934, and staged a show every year thereafter until the final production in 2006. For the first 50 years, the show was restricted to men only, in both the cast and crew and the audience. Women became part of the show in 1984. B&S presented the fun-loving side of media personalities, and many of the same people who were involved in the often slap-stick B&S comedy also played a key role in Winnipeg’s Schmockey Night, an equally slap-stick fundraiser for Manitobans with disabilities. WPC’s contribution to Schmockey Night’s success was acknowledged with the national Ability Fund Award in 1972.

In 1890, the Club left its rooms at City Hall, and followed a vagabond existence until 1953, when the Club opened the doors of its first club room and bar, on the third floor of the Northern Life Assurance Company at 300 Main Street. For 47 years, from 1961 through 2008, the Marlborough Hotel was its home. The Club no longer maintains its own rooms. After having a temporary home with the Irish Association of Manitoba on Erin Street, as of 2011 the Club holds meetings and events at The Royal Canadian Legion, St. James Branch #4, at 1755 Portage Avenue.

The prestigious Winnipeg Press Club Presidents Award was established in 1997 for “Someone Who Made a Difference” in the community through their achievements and contributions in both their private and public lives. Past recipients include “Cactus” Jack Wells, The Hon. Duff Roblin, Mary Kelekis, Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, Bill Norrie, The Hon. Pearl McGonigal, Sam Katz, Janice Filmon, Gregg Hanson, Babs Asper and Val Werier.

On 3 April 2005, an MHS Centennial Organization Award was presented to the Winnipeg Press Club by Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard, Jacqueline Friesen, and Gordon Goldsborough. Around 2014, the Winnipeg Press Club ceased operations and deposited its records in the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections.

Presidents

Year	President
1887-1888	Thomas Hiram Preston (1855-1925)
1888-1922	?
1922	Hay Strafford Stead (1872-1924)
1923	V. M. Kipp
1924	D. B. MacRae
1925	Wilfrid Lawrence “Biff” MacTavish (1891-1951)
1926	Garnett Clay Porter (1866-1945)
1927	Harold Moore (1877-1971)
1928	Bruce Boreham
1929	Major Jack Sifton
1930	John Frank “Never Break” Turner (1897-1972)
1931	Fred J. Malley
1932	Albert Ernest Horsemah “Abbie” Coo (1885-1967)
1933	Harry E. Wilder (1881-1948)
1934	Alfred Vernon Thomas (1875-1950)
1935	William Henry Metcalfe (1906-1990)
1936	Francis Cornwallis “Frank” Pickwell (c1875-1953)
1937	Nathan B. “Zim” Zimmerman (1898-1951)
1938	J. M. Sweeney
1939	Laurence Edward Brownell (1891-1949)
1940	Gerald Carlisle Allison (1907-1972)
1941	Guy Gamsby
1942	C. B. Edwards
1943	Jack Gordon
1944	Edward A. Armstrong (1904-1950)
1945	Edwin Johnson
1946	Ted Schrader
1947	Harry Steel
1948	Alfred William “Bill” Hanks (1894-1985)
1949	H. Gordon Aikman (1914-2002)
1950	Donald Leatham “Don” Aiken (1914-2004)
1951	Gordon Henderson Sinclair (1921-1976)
1952	Jack Thornton
1953	Eric Joseph Hampson Wells (1917-1993)
1954	Jack Maunder
1955	Bill MacPherson
1956	Alf Parr
1957	Harold Leslie Doherty (1929-2008)
1958	Hugh Allan (1917-2004)
1959	William Joseph “Bill” Trebilcoe (1921-1971)
1960	Albert Boothe (1913-1985)
1961	Pat Burrage
1962	John “Jack” Matheson (1924-2011)
1963	Eugene Louis “Gene” Telpner (1920-2005)
1964	Harry L. Mardon (1926-2004)
1965	William Edward “Bill” Morriss (1919-2003)
1966	Robert Edmond “Bob” Trudel (c1925-2013)
1967	Bill Grogan
1968	Jan Jakob Kamienski (1923-2010)
1969	Al Rogers
1970	Frederick George Chafe (1929-2012)
1971	John Donald “Don” Comstock (1927-2012)
1972	David Reginald “Dave” Bonner (1928-2006)
1973	Ian Sutherland
1974	John Cochrane
1975	Dave Lee
1976	Dick Goodwin
1977	Ernie Mutimer
1978	Steve Halinda (1935-2019)
1979	Del Sexsmith
1980	Robert W. “Bob” Hainstock
1981	Roger Newman (1935-2021)
1982	Mark Stefanson
1983	Thomas Tryggvi “Tom” Oleson (1946-2012)
1984	Carol Partridge
1985	James “Jimmy” King (1920-1987)
1986	King Kearns
1987	John Tyler
1988-1989	Lee Major
1990	Paul McKie
1991	Paul Graham
1992	Kevin Rollason
1993	Lionel Ditz
1994-1995	Kelly Dehn
1996-1997	Debra Thompson
1998-1999	Jane Graham
2000-2001	Patrick Michael Riordan (1939-2008)
2002	Sharon Helman
2003	Kevin Hill
2004	Alan McTavish
2005-2009	Debra Thompson
2010-2012	Dwight MacAulay

Life Members

Senator Charles Bishop

Dave Bonner

Albert Boothe (1913-1985)

Bruce Boreham

John Cochrane

James Ian “Jim” Coghill (1935-2005)

Don Comstock

Lionel Ditz

Jane Graham

Jan Jakob Kamienski (c1924-2010)

George P. Leyden

Lee Major

Harry L. Mardon (1926-2004)

William Henry Metcalfe (1906-1990)

Major Harold Moore

M. E. Nichols

Harriet Smith

Harry Steel

Ian Sutherland

Debra Thompson

Eric Joseph Hampson Wells (1917-1993)

Honorary Members

Ruth Miriam “Babs” Asper (1933-2011)

Dr. Lloyd Axworthy

Janice Filmon

Gregg Hanson

Sam Katz

Mary Kelekis (c1925-2019)

Pearl Kathryne McGonigal

Dufferin Roblin (1917-2010)

George Charles Waight (1892-1985)

John Hampson “Cactus Jack” Wells (1911-1999)

See also:

125 Years of the Winnipeg Press Club
Manitoba History, Number 70, Fall 2012

Sources:

“Talented newsman, talented father [Steve Halinda],” Winnipeg Free Press 26 October 2019, page B1.

We thank Wendy Hart, Nathan Kramer, and Sheilla Jones for providing information used here.

Page revised: 20 April 2022