Greenway, Named For
Pioneer
Premier of Province
Before the coming of the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway to the
district in 1889, the settlement from Dry River to Grund was named
Otenaw. The post-office was on section 16-5-13, and was kept by A. W.
Playfair, who drew the mail, with horses from Pilot Mound.
The greater number of the early settlers came from the province of
Ontario and reached the district in 1881 and the following year.
Shortly afterward came a number of Englishmen, some of them hired to
assist the earlier homesteaders, at a nominal salary, in order to learn
the ways of the community, while others settled at the eastern end of
the district near the site of the present village of Greenway.
As these and most of their families have long since gone to other
fields, a list of their names may serve to keep them in memory. Messrs.
Lodge Badinal, Lewis, W. O. Wilson, Chas. Morse, Samuel Rowe, George
Johnson and Harry Goodman. The first and last of these later moved to
Baldur where Mr. Goodman served as blacksmith for many years. He
afterwards moved to Transcona where he became foreman in the car shops
of the C.N. railway. Messrs. Lodge and Badinal entered partnership on a
farm about three miles north east of the Greenway site in 1886. One of
their first tasks was to provide furniture and supplies for their
cabin. Wild fowl contributed to their bill of fare. They drove to Pilot
Mound and purchased together with other articles, half a pound of
gunpowder and new cook stove. For safety they placed the packet of
gunpowder in the oven of the cookstove. On reaching home they set up
the stove and started a fire. Just when the room became comfortably
warm, a loud explosion burst open the door of the oven. Then they
suddenly remembered that they had not removed the gunpowder from its
place of safety.
Samuel Rowe kept the hotel at Pilot Mound from 1880 to 1883 after
which he homesteaded on sec. 36-4-13 and after farming for about ten
years, he returned to his former occupation in Pilot Mound, later
moving to Killarney, where he died in 1904.
George Johnson exchanged his farm adjoining Greenway with Mr. Cornock,
for one of equal value in British Columbia. Mrs. Johnson (nee Mary
Robertson) in 1890 showed the writer her birthday book on one page of
which, in a girl's handwriting was written:
"The rose is red, the cowslip yellow
And you are the girl who stole my fellow."
TRAGEDIES
Early in May, 1887, James Wilson, 6-5-13, after working hard
in the sunshine and sweating freely, climbed down the ice-lined
well to clean it out, and the sudden chilling caused stomach cramps
which resulted in his death about a week later. He left a young wife
and an infant daughter. Her brother Duncan Geddes worked the farm for
her for five years, after which she became the wife of William
Arnold of 22-4-13. A few years later she died leaving a young son
who is now a resident of Baldur.
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At the funeral of James Wilson, while proceeding towards Pilot Mound a
horse belonging to Sam Kernighan took sick and died.
Shortly after this date 1887, Sam Wilson 2-5-13 while making a flat
hay-rack of poles, placed a very sharp stake upright at each corner to
prevent the hay from slipping off. His little boy Jim, while playing on
the haystack, slipped down and was impaled on one of these stakes which
tore his thigh and nearly caus¬ed his death.
Early in 1897, William Tisdale, a surveyor who homesteaded on the N
30-4-12, while returning to his home with supplies, lost his way in a
blinding blizzard and was frozen to death.
Humorous Side of Pioneers Shown in Early History
Late in the fall of 1889 a farmer living several miles south east of
Greenway found that a bear had made its way into a stable, through a
hole in the roof, and had killed and partly eaten a pig. Assuming that
the bear would return for the remainder he gathered a number of his
neighbors, with guns of various kinds to await its arrival. As darkness
descended they silently took up their positions in the stable, with
guns directed toward the aperture in the roof. After a period of
almost breathless waiting, a scratching sound was heard and the tiny
patch of starlight was shut out. There was no light or time for taking
aim, as the crashing volleys rang out, but the bear wounded and dazed,
dropped headlong into the stable. As there was no safe way of telling
friend from foe they all, including the bear rushed for the door and
got outside. The bear did not wait any further greeting but struck for
the bush and never came back.
Shortly after this date Sam Dowdal 10-5-13 having a fine 45-75
Winchester rifle, went toward the hills to hunt deer. He killed and
dressed one and left it there for the night. Next morning he took the
team with him to bring home a load of wood and the deer. As
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