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Did You Know?
1. Some Argyle "Firsts"
First Settlers in Argyle: In 1879 the John
Wilson family were the
first settlers in what would become Argyle Municipality
First Iceland Settler: In 1880 Kristoferson from the “New Iceland”
colony at Gimli, visited the district south of Glenboro. He was
impressed with the agricultural potential of the region and influenced
several others from New Iceland to come south. He homesteaded SE
10-6-14, the first Icelandic settler to file a claim.
First Argyle Council
Reeve: George Playfair Councilors: F. Butcher, A.
Henderson, G.W. Cramer, James Graham, J.F. Macey, James McLellan
First Secretary Treasurer of Argyle: (1881-1887):
William Stark
First Post Office was in the Playfair house – Otenaw
16-5-13
Other Post Offices: Pasadena 20-4-13, Moropano
20-4-14, Roseberry
28-3-14
First to Own a Threshing Outfit: George Cramer
First Doctor: Dr. Thomas Beath was practicing in 1891
First Bride: Lizzie Playfair, daughter of G.W.,
married Albert Cramer
First Child Born: Katy Wilhelmina Playfair (Later
Brisbin), to Mr.
& Mrs. G.W. Playfair
First Church Services in Argyle: 1884 - Rev. James
Bell from Crystal
City
First Resident Minister: Rev. James Hoskins
First Business in Baldur: Mr. A.E. Cramer moved his
creamery to the NE
corner of Elizabeth Ave and 2nd Street where it soon became a General
Store operated by G.W. Griffiths.
First Teacher at Baldur: Miss Jennie Wells - she
held classes in a
room above the saddlery shop in 1890
First Community Picnic in the Bru: At Jones Lake in
1884
First Teacher at Neelin: Caroline (Carrie) Cumming
– 1907 after
school moved there from Roseberry. Carrie was the daughter of pioneer
and former steamboat captain John Cumming.
First Store in Greenway: 1890 H. Carbouneau.
First Real Estate Agent: Frank Schultz - he also
dispensed marriage
licenses!
First Banker: Frank Schultz - The Union Bank, opened
in 1903, later
became the Royal.
First Post Office in Baldur: In The Jesse Chester
house.
First Blacksmith: Harry Goodman
First Phone: Installed by Percy Curtis to facilitate
easy communication
between his businesses in Greenway and Baldur.
First Edition of the Baldur Gazette: June 30, 1898
Mr. S. R.P. Cooper -
editor and proprietor
First Female Newpaper Owner: Annie Ferguson Playfair
bought the
Baldur Gazette
in 1909, likely from Percy Curtis, then bought the Belmont News
which she sold in 1910. In Dec 1910 she bought the Hartney Star from
Walpole Murdock and operated it for about a decade.
First N.H.L. Player: Tommy Johnson joined the
Montreal Canadians in
1950.The R.M. of Argyle was named after The Duke of Argyle (Formerly
The Marquis of Lorne ) who was the Governor General at the time.
2. Fun Facts
As the Northern Pacific Railway
approached, the villages of Greenway and Belmont were located
first. Baldur only came into being after locals of the Otenaw district
protested vigorously.
The name "Baldur" was chosen after Chesterville was considered. Baldur
was the beautiful Norse God of innocence and summer sun, Son of Odin
the supreme God and creator.
The name was proposed by pioneer Carrie Christopherson wife of
Sigurdur. (Carrie Street is named after her.)
Elizabeth Avenue was named after the wife of the first storekeeper,
G.W. Griffiths
Frank Schultz, known in Baldur for starting the first bank and for
other business activities, began his career as a teacher. While living
in Belmont he taught for several years at Northfield School near
Wawanea where Nellie Mooney (McLung) received her early education. He
figures prominently in her memoir of her early years, “Clearing in the
West”.
The Rosehill district was first known as the Clark Settlement.
Glenora was the only “village” promoted in Argyle during the “Manitoba
Boom” of 1881-82. Ads offered lots for sale. A sawmill, grist
mill, and store were open for business a few kilometers west of the
current village. A prairie fire wiped out the mills in 1885, but the
name survived and the village sprang to life in a new location with the
arrival of the Wakopa Branch in 1904.
Alex Fowler and C. Johnson took part in a visit to the Scottish Curling
Association in Scotland in 1899
By Dec. of 1880 there were 11 Cramers and 20 Playfairs in the Otenaw
district just northeast of Baldur
Otenaw means “grand encampment”
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