When the C.P.R. decided to make Brandon
the headquarters, however,
Grand Valley quietly disappeared into the mists of memory with only a
school and an annual picnic keeping the name alive over the years.
That began to change in the fall of 1969 when the Brandon Chamber of
Commerce decided to follow suggestions to make Grand Valley the theme
of centennial celebrations in Brandon and district.
Gents in ruffled shirtfronts and piped jackets, ladies in long gowns of
yesterday began at the start of the year to get into the Grand Valley
spirit.
Engines and paddle wheels on display. Jaycee Santa Clause Parade, 1969
Another idea was born, however, when the two men from two Grand Valleys
got together in Winnipeg. Why not a "twinning" of the two areas as well
as twinning of Brandon and Wheeling, the urban centres of the
respective valleys of the Assiniboine and the Ohio?
Mr. Kaiser is enthusiastic about the fact that there are skeleton
fragments of boats to be found in Manitoba rivers.
“They’ve all been removed, buried or covered by waters backed up by
dams in our country,” he told me one evening, "It's just fabulous to
think that they are be found here. "
He’s coming back in July…
Michael Kaiser is going to return to our Grand Valley in early July,
after the snow has gone, hopefully. He has already laid plans for the
visit, when he wants to take a look at the site of the Assiniboine
Queen as well as some of the other sites of sus¬pected paddlewheeler
graves along the river.
The S and D Reflector is carrying several pages in the July edition
about the Empress of Ireland (Assiniboine Queen) and her history.
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