5. From
"Reflections"
Village of Bannerman – By Inez Pederson
The border town of Bannerman was
situated
16
miles SW of Killarney on NE 15-1-18, three miles from the US border.
The settlement of this community dates back to 1880-1881 when James
Henderson Sr. was the first settler to file on claims in this vicinity.
His brother, Andrew, came later. In 1902 John Spafford settled on E ½
9-1- 18.
It was the dawn of a new era for the community when the Great Northern
Railway was built in 1905. This line extended from Church's Ferry, ND
to Brandon and thus Bannerman became a port of entry by rail, the first
and only port west of Emerson in Manitoba. The government had a 30 year
contract with GN to give daily mail service. Now pioneers could
immigrate by train.
With the coming of the railway there was a rush to build homes,
businesses and an elevator. The railway station had two offices, one
for the railroad agent and the other for the Customs and Immigration
officer. Railway agents were: Jack Hemphell, 1906; Charlie Simpson,
1909, and Robert Geer, 1910-1936. The customs officers were: Phil
Scott, 1906; Tom Coulter; Eldon Hannah and Charles Kelly, 1930-1936.
One remembers the many services and goodwill of the Great Northern
Conductor, Charles Bryant of St John, ND.
Each year the circus of the Royal Canadian Shows came by the Great
Northern to entertain at the Brandon summer fair. At this time the
relief customs agent went to Devil's Lake to start inspection of the
many passenger cars. Inspection was completed at Bannerman.
![](../photos/p6Bannerman/2bannerman.jpg)
Near the
railway station was the Detention House. If the customs
officer was suspicious of any passenger and his papers didn't pass
inspection, he was held there and sent back the next day. Major Lloyd
was the first immigration agent stationed there. He patrolled the
border, on the lookout for bootleggers. Jim Wright of St John patrolled
the American border. The quarantine barn was located to the NW of the
station. Any livestock crossing the border were held there overnight
for inspection. Dr John Little was the veterinarian at this time. To
the north west were two section houses and a water tank to fill the
tender for the train. Section men were: Tom Church, Tim Livinstone,
Frank Ames, Marc Clifford, Frank Sherman and Pat Jasper. The first
magistrate for this community was John Balfour and the first town cop
was Sam Balfour.
The main street of Bannerman ran from southwest to northeast. One of
the central buildings was the hotel first owned by Gene Couture. He and
his brothers, Fred, and Hugh built it. South of the hotel, Owen Bell
and Gundar Hallen built and operated a feed and livery barn. The second
owner of the hotel was PB Campbell. In 1913 Mrs. Elizabeth Cook bought
the hotel and boarding house beside it. It was a large hotel with many
rooms and a big dining area as well as a bar for entertainment. Rumour
has it that there was some illegal gambling. There are many stories of
amusing incidents in this old building. When prohibition came, the bar
was closed and it was then changed to a dance hall.
The livery stable to the right of the hotel was owned and operated by
Mr Bill Cook who also supplied the community with milk. There was a
livery team and sleigh or buggy that was always ready for hire. The
lumber yard was owned by A Bourassa from St John. On the same side of
the street was the pool room and barber shop operated by Bill Thompson.
On the north part of town was a store and post office, built by John
Spafford in 1906. Joe Bate owned the first blacksmith shop. Second
owner was Mr Balmoral. Jim Melville bought this building and
blacksmithed there for several years. J Boupre owned the harness and
shoe repair shop.
Directly across the street from the hotel was another grocery store,
built and owned by Frank Martineau in 1905. Jack Dickson and Sam Gibson
also opened a store east of Martineau's. Martineau traded his store to
John Hutchinson. The store was bought and sold many times; Ernie
Turner, Clayton Coulter and Tom Blixhavn were all owners. Tom Blixhavn
operated this store for many years. His sons farmed in the district.
When the GN Railway was discontinued, he bought the station for his
store. Mac and Anna McDonald, Bert and Ivy Ames, Reg and Oda Mae Arnold
and Irvin and Evelyn Colp sold groceries and had the post office before
business phased out. This old station was sold to John and Minnie At-
chison who moved it to Lena.
There was a second blacksmith shop on the
east
side of the street. The blacksmiths were John Neufeld, Bob Guille, Mr.
Nelson, George Dickson and Pete Hildebrand. Business was poor so Mr.
Mid Barber, who owned the building, had it hauled from Bannerman.
Andrew Henderson started the first store and butcher shop. This was
later sold to Mr Jasper. They moved it to Wakopa and started the first
beef ring in this area. Owners of the first Massey Harris dealership
were Joe Bates and John Spafford. Doug Trevors also had an implement
dealership in Bannerman.
Because of its proximity to the border, Bannerman was well known to
members of the bootlegging fraternity.
Most of the early settlers felt the need of establishing a home of
worship. The first church was Presbyterian; it later became the United
Church. Rev. Lobb and Rev Stooke were two of the first ministers.
Names of a few citizens who performed an invaluable service to the
community, bear mentioning: Mrs Bessie Colp, Mrs Frances Spafford and
Mrs Mary Green, all mid-wives; James Henderson Sr, an unlicenced
veterinarian; Bill Harrison and Jas Henderson, first steam threshing
outfit.
Councillors were: Wm Davidson, Earl Jaques, Emery Jaques, Lyle Jaques,
Bob Geer, Bill Parker, Bill Blixhavn, Bob Porter, Jas Henderson Jr, Roy
Ringland and Jack Jaques.
![](../photos/p6Bannerman/6BannermanBallTeam.jpg)
Old-timers
Baseball Team (1912-1935): John Mcinnis, Harvey Reide,
Charles Simpson, Jack Couture and Hugh Couture, all pitchers; Alvie
Spafford, catcher; Chas Hemphell and Chas Henderson, 1st base; Jesse
Cain, 2nd base; Harry Spafford, 3rd base; Jim Melville, short stop; Jim
Henderson Jr, centre field; Bill Dafoe, right field; Pete Melville,
Dandy Melville, Bill Melville, Carl Spafford and Chas Kelly.
With the closing of the GN Branch in 1936, businesses closed down and
residents moved away. Rather than close the church, the districts of
Desford, Wakopa and Bannerman engaged one minister. This arrangement
lasted for several years but when the population became too few, the
church had to close. The building was moved to Wakopa and made into a
residence.
Victoria Lake was the first school in the district, it was formed in
1887. Later Henderson School was built in 1905 on SW of Sec 15-1-18.
Many changes took place. Change of a highway or tearing up of a branch
of a railway has made ghost towns. This is what happened to Bannerman.
However, we still have our heritage which we cherish and the faith,
love, perseverence, sacrifices and hard work of our pioneers will not
be forgotten.
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