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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 Wesley 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.
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.
In 2014, the Winnipeg Press Club deposited its records in the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. It wound up its financial affairs in 2023 and was expected to be dissolved by a vote of its directors in late 2023 or early 2024.
Year
President
Affiliation
1887-1888
Thomas Hiram Preston (1855-1925)
Manitoba Daily Sun
1888-1922
?
?
1922
Hay Strafford Stead (1872-1924)
1923
Vernon M. Kipp
Canadian Press
1924
David B. McRae
1925
Wilfrid Lawrence “Biff” MacTavish (1891-1951)
1926
Garnett Clay Porter (1866-1945)
1927
Harold Moore (1877-1971)
1928
Henry Bruce Boreham (1891-1987)
1929
John Wright Sifton (1886-1932)
1930
John Frank “Never Break” Turner (1897-1972)
Canadian Press
1931
Fred J. O'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)
Consolidated Press
1937
Nathan B. “Zim” Zimmerman (1898-1951)
1938
John Morgan Sweeney (1908-1966)
1939
Laurence Edward Brownell (1891-1949)
Stovel Press
1940
Gerald Carlisle Allison (1907-1972)
1941
Guy Auldjo Gamsby (1893-1974)
Canadian Grain Journal
1942
Charles Brailsford Edwards (1906-1983)
Canadian Press
1943
John Milloy Gordon (1910-1992)
1944
Edward Arthur Nicholson “Eddie/Ed” Armstrong (1904-1950)
1945
Edwin S. Johnson
Canadian Press
1946
Edward U. “Ted” Schrader (c1918-1971)
1947
Henry Alexander “Harry” Steel (1886-1978)
1948
Alfred William “Bill” Hanks (1894-1985)
1949
Harry Gordon Aikman (1914-2002)
1950
Donald Leatham “Don” Aiken (1914-2004)
1951
Gordon Henderson Sinclair (1921-1976)
1952
John J. “Jack” Thornton
1953
Eric Joseph Hampson Wells (1917-1993)
1954
Art Robson
John “Jack” Maunder
1955
Colin William Evan “Bill” MacPherson (1927-1995)
1956
Alfred Ernest “Alf” Parr (1913-1998)
1957
Harold Leslie Doherty (1929-2008)
1958
Hugh Allan (1917-2004)
1959
William Joseph “Bill” Trebilcoe (1921-1971)
CKY
1960
Albert Boothe (1913-1985)
1961
John Brewster “Jack” Matheson (1924-2011)
1962
Patrick “Pat” Burrage (?-1991)
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
William D. “Bill” Grogan
CKY
1968
Jan Jakob Kamienski (1923-2010)
1969
Alan “Al” Rogers
1970
Frederick George Chafe (1929-2012)
Canadian Press
1971
John Donald “Don” Comstock (1927-2012)
1972
David Reginald “Dave” Bonner (1928-2006)
1973
Ian Sutherland
Greater Winnipeg Gas
1974
John Cochrane
CJOB
1974
Bill Campbell
Air Canada
1975
David Clayton William “Dave” Lee (1946-2017)
1976
G. Richard “Dick” Goodwin (1923-1981)
1977
Ernest Charles “Ernie” Mutimer (1924-2014)
1978
Stephen Alex “Steve” Halinda (1935-2019)
1979
Del Sexsmith
CJOB
1980
Manitoba Co-operator
1981
Roger Newman (1935-2021)
Western News
1982
Mark Stefanson
Manitoba Government
1983
Thomas Tryggvi “Tom” Oleson (1946-2012)
1984
Carol Noreen Little Partridge Armit (1943-2024)
CJOB
1985
James “Jimmy” King (1920-1987)
?
1986
King Kearns
1987
John Tyler
?
1988-1989
Ivan Gordon LeMesurier [Lee Major] (1938-2023)
1990
Paul McKie
1991
Paul Graham
CKRC
1992
1993
Lionel Ditz
1994-1995
Kelly Dehn
CKY-TV
1996-1997
Debra Thompson
1998-1999
Jane Graham
?
2000-2001
Patrick Michael Riordan (1939-2008)
?
2002
Sharon Helman
?
2003
Kevin Hill
?
2004
Alan McTavish
Alan McTavish Photographer
2005-2009
Debra Thompson
2009-2023
Dwight MacAulay
Manitoba Government
Senator Charles Lawrence Bishop (1876-1966)
David Reginald “Dave” Bonner (1928-2006)
Albert Boothe (1913-1985)
Bruce Boreham
John Cochrane
James Ian “Jim” Coghill (1935-2005)
John Donald “Don” Comstock (1927-2012)
Lionel Ditz
Jane Graham
Jan Jakob Kamienski (c1924-2010)
George P. Leyden
Ivan Gordon LeMesurier [Lee Major] (1938-2023)
Harry L. Mardon (1926-2004)
William Henry Metcalfe (1906-1990)
Major Harold Moore
Mark Edgar Nichols (1873-1961)
Harriet Smith
Henry Alexander “Harry” Steel (1886-1978)
Ian Sutherland
Debra Thompson
Eric Joseph Hampson Wells (1917-1993)
Ruth Miriam “Babs” Asper (1933-2011)
Janice Clare Wainwright Filmon
Gregg Hanson
Sam Katz
Mary Kelekis (c1925-2019)
William “Bill” Norrie (1929-2012)
Dufferin Roblin (1917-2010)
George Charles Waight (1892-1985)
John Hampson “Cactus Jack” Wells (1911-1999)
Valentine “Val” Werier (1917-2014)
See also:
125 Years of the Winnipeg Press Club
Manitoba History, Number 70, Fall 2012
“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.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 December 2024
