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Glenora



From Greenway, the route of the Wakopa line veered sharply southward for the first few miles, recognizing the need to serve the growing district of Glenora.  It didn’t hurt that MLA George Lawrence’s family had extensive holdings there.

While Greenway had its beginnings with the arrival of the railway, Glenora had a different origin story, one often repeated throughout the province. It had an identity and some services, including a store,  a gristmill and a swamill and sawmill - but it was a short distance west of where the railway decided to place their station. Railway companies avoided established towns where they might have to pay inflated prices for townsites.

Long before the railway created the “new” Glenora, there had been an attempt to create a speculative town on the old site based on hopes and predictions that a railway would soon arrive. In the Manitoba Boom of 1881 numerous such “cities” were surveyed and promoted as the next big thing. All were touted as important railway centers of the future. The Glenora claims were somewhat less extravagant, modest even, but ads were placed in Winnipeg papers and lots were sold, and money was lost. But Glenora beat the odds – it became a thriving little village that still exists - but not on the original site.

By June, 1904, the site of the new town had been surveyed and building operations were to begin at once. It was reported in the Baldur Gazette in the August, 1904 issue, that lots were selling high. Material for the Dominion Elevator at had been shipped by 1904, and T.L. Lawrence was to be the grain buyer. Tom Etsell, an Englishman, put up the first dwelling.
In about 1915 livestock was picked up from Glenora, Greenway and Neelin and shipped on the CNR to Winnipeg. Wm. Coldron of Glenora and Mr. Bramwell from Neelin were buyers. They were paid so much a pound commission.



The Glenora Pool Elevator started in the crop year 1926-27. The first meeting was held on June 8, 1927. The first board members were: J.E. Brinkworth (vice-president); J.M. Cruikshanks (secretary); Bruce Fraser (president); N. Galloway; P.T. Cuthbert; Frank Nelson; and S. Wardell. There were 15 shareholders the first year. The first agent was Mr. Waters. The elevator was built in 1927, and had a capacity of 32,000 bushels and an Emerson Cleaner. Mr. Wm. Macklin hauled the first load.



Photo from Historic Sites of Manitoba

A 40,000 bushel wooden grain elevator was built in 1927. A new balloon annex was constructed next to it in 1952, increasing its total capacity to 85,000 bushels.

The elevator agents were:

1927-28 W.P. Waters 1929-48 C. C. Douglas 1949-52 F.W. Mcintosh 1953-56 D.P . Miller 1957-62 R.N. Denbow 1962-73 W.B. Gordon 1973-76 Dennis Magwood
Clare Lebreau was the last agent in the elevator when it closed in 1978. The elevator was sold to M. Desrochers and it burned down in 1980.



Baldur Gazette, Feb 3, 1949


More elsewhere about the winter of ’49.





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For more about Glenora

http://www.virtualmanitoba.com/Places/G/glenora.html