Whitetwater Village   Web  / PDF    Vol. I, Page 22
While other small towns  were dying because they were bypassed by the CPR, Whitewater was settled after the railroad came through, thus given a real chance at success.

Hartney       Web  / PDF       Vol. I, Page  25
James Hartney's interest in the area began later in 1881. He bought two sections of land and hired labourers to work it before he moved to the area in 1882 with his family.

Turtle Mountain Coal Mining      Web  / PDF      Vol.  I, Page 27
It was true that there were "Millions of Tons of Coal Near Deloraine" as one headline read, but getting the "black diamonds" out of the ground was something else entirely.
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Strathallen School      Web  / PDF       Vol.  I, Page 28
The school was built in 1892 about seven miles (11 kms) southwest of Boissevain along the old No. 3 Highway.

Grande Clairière Convent        Web  / PDF      Vol.  I, Page 29
The beginning of the Grande Clairière Convent was marked in 1898 when Father J. Gaire, the parish priest from Grande Clairière, was visiting the family of one of his parishioners in France.
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Great Northern Railway       Web  / PDF      Vol.  I, Page 30
Construction of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) began during the winter of 1905 and finished in 1906, covering the 69.5 miles (110 kms) from St. John's (Devil's Lake), North Dakota to Brandon, Manitoba.
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The Metigoshe Métis Community   Web  / PDF     Vol.  I, Page 31
Mennonite Settlement in Southwest Manitoba   /   Web  / PDF      Vol. I , Page  34
Mennonites settle on the Canadian Prairies -  Post 1923
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Walter Zeiler – Rum-runner   Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 36
He travelled in the dead of night, never under a full moon, and never after it had freshly snowed because of the tracks that would be left by his horse's hooves

Salter and Henderson Mines     Web  / PDF    Vol. I, Page 37
The Henderson coal seam was discovered by John Nestibo and his brother while they were in the process of digging a well.
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Marsden Schools       Web  / PDF    Vol. I, Page 38
The school became an important feature to the Métis community and helped local people affirm their heritage in this area by being its only Métis school. It doubled by serving as a community centre and dance hall as well.

McCharles Cabin        Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 39
Around 1941, a small house was built by a Métis family just to the north of Lake Dromore. The cabin, constructed from square-cut local black poplar logs, has weathered the years well and remains as a window into an important time and way of life.

Waskada Museum         Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 40
The Waskada Museum, however, has made its buildings as much of a feature as the artifacts that fill them.

Lorna Smith Nature Centre      Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page  41
The Lorna Smith Nature Centre just southeast of Boissevain was established in 1983 by the Turtle Mountain Conservation District as part of the reservoir project.

In the extreme southwest corner of the province of Manitoba there sits the ruins of a small church. The first church of any denomination to be built west of the Souris River.

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Eunola School   /   Web  / PDF       Vol.  II, Page 41
The doors of this rural schoolhouse have not remained entirely closed with the end of classes
1896 - 1962
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Lyleton Branch    Web  / PDF     Vol.  II, Page 42
Settlers in the area of Waskada and Goodlands in southwestern Manitoba waited in great anticipation for a branch line to be built through their communities.
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Captain Large and the Empress of Ireland      Web  / PDF       Vol.  II, Page 44
A Homemade Steamboat Plies the Souris River ...1909-1913
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Lyleton Shelterbelts       Web  / PDF      Vol. II , Page  45
The first of many shelterbelts to be planted in the region was completed in 1936. It consisted of 2,300 trees which were planted in a row measuring half a mile on C. E. Fennell’s farm.

Oil Exploration      Web  / PDF      Vol.  II, Page 46
The present-day oil boom builds upon a history of success in the oil industry

Chinese Settlement in Rural Manitoba     Web  / PDF      Vol.  II, Page 50
Over the span of his nearly 100 years he became a sailor, farmer, veterinarian, gold-panner and dedicated community worker

Lake Max Recreation      Web  / PDF     Vol.III , Page 27
As the largest lake in what is now Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, Max Lake was the natural location of choice for summer holidaying.

Charles Sankey     Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 30
Over the span of his nearly 100 years he became a sailor, farmer, veterinarian, gold-panner and dedicated community worker
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Grande Clairiere     Web  / PDF    Vol.  III, Page 31
In the spring of that year new settlers began arriving from France and by July there were 43 homes and almost 150 people in Grande Clairière.  

The Six Buildings of the Waskada Museum     Web  / PDF    Vol.  III, Page 32
In the spring of that year new settlers began arriving from France and by July there were 43 homes and almost 150 people in Grande Clairière.  

All Saint's Church     Web  / PDF    Vol.  III, Page 32
The All Saint’s Church and Cemetery served as a landmark and community centre for over 30 years before the numbers in the parish could no longer support it.

Lake Metigoshe Recreation      Web  / PDF     Vol.III , Page 35
The bulk of Lake Metigoshe lies in North Dakota, with only 60 out of 1,580 acres lying in Canada.

Shirley Colquhoun        Web  / PDF      Vol.  III, Page 36
Samuel Colquhoun was the first person in Canada to take advantage of recreational potential at Lake Metigoshe.

Jim Dandy        Web  / PDF      Vol.  III, Page 38
One of Pierson’s early entrepreneurs
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Turtle Mountain Forestry Reserve   Web  / PDF      Vol.  III, Page 41
In 1895 the Minister of the Interior set aside 75,000 acres as the “Turtle Mountain Timber Reserve.”

Purple Hill Church             Web  / PDF      Vol.  III, Page 42
In 1898 the Purple Hill Church, located in the Medora area, was opened and dedicated.

Prairie Skills Centre /   Web  / PDF   Vol. III   , Page  43
The many careers of a small-town stone churh    1896 - Present

Elva Elevator       Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 44
It was  oldest remaining elevator in Canada!  (1894 - 2019)
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Chain Lakes Quaker Church        Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 46
The area around Chain Lakes was settled by Quakers—also commonly known as “Friends.”
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A. E. Hill Store: The Hart-Cam Museum       Web  / PDF      Vol.  III, Page 47
The 120 year old building that today houses the Hart-Cam Museum spent most of its life serving as a general store. It later became a restaurant, museum . . . and Hollywood film set? Yes indeed – not only once, but twice!

George King General Store      Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 49
Built in 1904, it was once also the home of the Boissevain and Morton Library and Archives.

Waskada Park   Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 50
On a walk south of the townsite one day, a vision presented itself to Sankey: a recreational park, surrounded by trees, with space for sports activities and community events.

The Blue Flea     Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 51 
The Lauder Subdivision of the CPR (which came to be known as the Blue Flea) was constructed due to a request which came from one Thomas Dand.

Ben Arde: Mountainside Store Operator      Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 53
1949 - 1962
Ben Arde was born in Saskatchewan in October of 1926. His parents farmed there until the 1930s. When Ben was eight his father, originally from Wakopa, moved his family back to Manitoba, this time settling south of Mountainside.
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Mining Coal During the Depression     Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 55
Beginning in the 1880s and revived again in the 1930s, coal mining contributed to the economy in Deloraine, Goodlands, and surrounding communities.
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Railway Schemes and Dreams     Web  / PDF    Vol. IV, Page  10
While many of the railway proposals may have been based more on hopes than on available investors, most were practical, indeed modest, attempts to address a local Manitoba need.

A Disturbance in the Classroom - By Edith King      Web  / PDF      Vol. IV   , Page  12
At the blackboard the young teacher determinedly was writing an exercise for the class. From behind her came a sudden but definite flip, flip, flip of an inkwell.

The Anchorage       Web  / PDF    Vol. IV , Page  14
The Anchorage was not, as one might expect when first hearing of it, a public hall. It was a private home.

Little Schools on the Prairie       Web  / PDF    Vol. IV   , Page  16
Single young women were the sought-after choice as teachers. In fact many jurisdictions specifically ruled out married women in the position.
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A Tale of Two Mill Fires     Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 18
The story of milling in Boissevain begins shortly after the town was established as an important commercial centre on the new CPR line. In those days a progressive town needed a mill.

From Trails to Rails     Web  / PDF     Vol. IV , Page  19
Whole villages like Deloraine, Waubeesh and Wassawa were moved to new locations when the rail line passed them by.

Deloraine's Dr. Thornton     Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 22
In Deloraine, in the first part of the twentieth century, if someone mentioned "The Doctor" it could refer to only one person: Dr. Thornton.
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Waskada's Blacksmith: Ren Amos     Web  / PDF    Vol.  IV, Page 23
Over a span of half a century, Ren operated his blacksmith shop. He had to rebuild it twice. His wife often helped him in the shop and together they lived and worked through countless changes in agricultural methods.

Tena's Boarding House     Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 24
In today’s world how many people come home from work only to face another round of domestic chores? Not at Tena’s.

The Home Bank Scandal Hits Lyleton      Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 25
 On or about August of 1923, Stan Hill, the Manager of the Lyleton Branch of the Home Bank of Canada received a short telegram, delivered in code. It read; "Cease business, close the door."

The Beef Ring      Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 27
Before freezers were in every home feramers found a way to share fresh beef.

A Piece of the Broomhill Store       Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 27
Perhaps when local Postmaster William Kilkenny and his brother John built it in 1908, they were not only optimistic, but also ahead of their time.
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The First Phone in Boissevain      Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 28
In 1904 a local exchange was located in Hilton's Drug Store, but only a few residences were hooked up. Then in 1906 the Bell Telephone Company began installing its own phones in Boissevain homes.

Delivered by Train - Prairie Style     Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 29
The extension of the CN line from Adelpha on to Deloraine brought service to Mountainside and area.
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Order it From Eaton's      Web  / PDF     Vol. IV, Page 30
Those first black & white, text-only, catalogues offered mainly clothing but the options soon included everything from books to furniture and farm tools.
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The Edwards Sisters - Business Partners     Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 31
What did Mr. and Mrs. Edwards think when Alice and Ida, at quite a young age, took the unusual step of moving to a nearby community and going into business?
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Fultonville     Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 36
"Fultonville", as the locals dubbed their venture, started off with three horses, a walking plow, a hoe, some pickaxes and a spade.

Cricket Anyone? : The Waubeesh English Settlement        Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 38
There were many attempts in Western Canada for groups from Britain to duplicate the sort of life they were used to in their home country.

Sitting Eagle      Web /  PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 40
He and his Grandfather H'damani were among the few who declined a $200 government pay-off to relocate to a reserve near Pipestone. By 1909, only H’damani, his grandson Chaske (later known as Sitting Eagle) and a few others remained.
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Prairie Fire!      Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 44
It was a landscape shaped by the prairie fire, and the fires served their ecological purpose.

The Blizzard - By Marion Robinson    Web  / PDF    Vol. IV   , Page  48
It was a terrifying night. There was a long string of shaky stove pipes almost the length of the room, and with each terrific impact of the wind they shuddered and groaned.
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Norman Breakey - The Inventor from Pierson       Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 49
  So, who can we thank for this handy implement which saves time, effort and laundry costs? Well that’s a bit of a sad story.
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What the Rats of Cranmer Knew     Web  / PDF       Vol.  IV, Page 50
The collapse of an elevator in Cranmer could have been dangerous, but there was some warning.
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Pauline Johnson Comes to Town     Web  /  PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 51
The celebrated poet toured extensively across Canada. She even came to Napinka, where she made quite an impression.
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Alton Breault - Adventures of a Radar Repairman       Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 52
It was top secret - he and his companions at the training facility at Yatesbury, England, couldn’t tell even their servicemen buddies what they were working on. 

The Rescue of the Hathaway Thresher     Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 54
It was the world’s first rotary thresher, a significant departure from the design then in use and a forerunner of the axial flow system used in modern threshers.

Border Stories     Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 56
Maybe all stories that stimulate an interest in a subject are good stories.

Mr. Bryan's Whistle Stop      Web  / PDF       Vol.  IV, Page 58       
“One time, Mr. William Jennings Bryan, a noted politician in U.S.A. was trying for the presidency. He came to Canada on the Great Northern Railway..."
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The Mission School     Web /  PDF     Vol.  V, Page 3
In 1892 the local Endeavor Society obtained some funds and set up a school in a donated cabin on the Turtle Mountain Reserve.
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Shutting Down IR#60    Web /  PDF     Vol. V, Page 4 & 5
In 1889 Indian Agent J.A. Markle, based in Birtle, raised the possibility of relocating H’damani’s band.
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The Fish Lake Cemetery        Web  / PDF      Vol. V, Page 6
Graves are unmarked, but remembered in this small Metis Cemetery near Lake Metogoshe
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By Ships, Trains and Ox-Carts     Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 7
A look at the routes taken from Ontario to Maniotba's Southwest Corner

A Railway Builder’s Challenge— Crossing the River     Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 9
The wooden trestles were used to cross steep ravines, and later filled with earth
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The Three Bridges at Riverside    Web  / PDF  Vol.  V, Page 10
This well-used crossing of the Souris River has seen a few changes.
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The Harvest Excursion – Definitely not a Vacation               Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 11
Harvesting is a time-sensitive operation, and labor intensive as well. When the time came to get that good crop off the field there were simply not enough men around to do the job. 

Observations of a War Bride     Web  / PDF    Vol.  V, Page 12
Vera Booker was one of 48,000 young women who came to Can- ada as a war bride during and after the Second World.
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The Two Desfords       Web  / PDF       Vol.  V, Page 14
The Desford community began in the late 1870's along the Old Commission Trail about twelve kilometres south- southeast of Boissevain.

Jimmy Jock – Minto Cemetery’s First Resident      Web  / PDF Vol.  V, Page 15
Jimmy Jock died in 1901 at the age of 74 and was buried in the then-empty Minto Cemetery. Even today the ravine he settled bears his name, celebrating a man of uncommon character and stamina
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Naming Medora             Web  / PDF     Vol. V, Page 16
Who choses the name of a new town?
 
Napinka at the Crossroads    Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 17
In 1890’s there was no north-south line in the district. By connecting at Napinka the CPR made the route to Brandon a little shorter. The decision created a boom in Napinka
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Main Street in Bede             Web  / PDF     Vol. V, Page 18
Welcome to Bede. Not so much a ghost town, but rather another community that didn’t quite become a village.

Too Many Schools?             Web  / PDF     Vol. V, Page 19
The first schools in the regions were Menota and Napinka in 1884. Between 1885 and 1895 another fifteen were established. .

Albert Titus – a Napinka Character       Web  / PDF      Vol.  V, Page 20
Ab's claim to fame was as a chronicler of the times through his many articles for the local papers. 
Places

The Belgian Connection       Web  / PDF      Vol.  V, Page 21
Ab's claim to fame was as a chronicler of the times through his many articles for the local papers. 

The Diana Icelandic Cemetery      Web /  PDF    Vol. V, Page 22
lcelandic settlers originally come to the New Iceland settlement at Gimli beginning in 1876. Some later moved on to the Grund area between Baldur and Glenboro, and when homesteads were becoming harder to find, a few moved west to the area between Sinclair and Tilston.

The Berns Boys Come to Tilston     Web /  PDF       Vol. V, Page 23
US immigration to Manitoba was quite common for a while. One particular family left its mark on Tilston.
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The Pierson CPR Demonstration Farm     Web /  PDF      Vol. V, Page 24
The Pierson site, one of 13 on the prairies, included a full line of modern buildings, including a two-story four bedroom house. 

Snow Plane to the Rescue!         Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 26
Simply put, a snowplane was a sleigh with a body on it and a propeller on the back end of a motor. Like the horse and sleigh before it, it didn’t need roads.  

Built to Last - Concrete Block Buildings        Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 27
For a few years in the early 20th century, many buildings in southern Manitoba were built with locally cast concrete blocks.  

The Local Egg Grading Station              Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 28
The Melita Creamery had 6 full-time egg handlers, who worked almost day and night during the peak season.
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Some Assembly Required: Mail Order Homes        Web  / PDF       Vol.  V, Page 29
Although Eaton’s was the most widely known provider of the mail order buildings, the largest company in the business in Canada was the Canadian Aladdin Co. Ltd.

Private Banks           Web  / PDF      Vol.  V, Page 30
As towns developed, increased commerce spurred the need for financial services. Those services were at first provided by private banks.
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Nurse Halladay and Boissevain’s First Hospitals      Web  / PDF      Vol.  V, Page 31
When the time came to open the doors on this new and much appreciated service, Nurse Halladay was appointed Matron.

Why Locomotives Had Cow Catchers        Web  / PDF      Vol. V, Page 32
A 1948 derailment in Medora was caused by a sleeping cow on the track.
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An Elephant Story – By Jerry Drier             Web  / PDF     Vol. V, Page 33
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The Hartney Air Training Field     Web  / PDF   Vol. V, Page 34
The Relief Field 1 for No. 17 Service Flying Training Schoolbased at RCAF Station Souris had a large hangar and personnel of eighty men and twenty-five officers.
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Crime and Punishment in Hartney      Web  / PDF       Vol. V, Page 35
Hartney’s first (and only?) murder mystery.

Walpole Murdoch – Pioneer Newsman     Web  / PDF    Vol. V, Page 36
For ten years Murdoch was a familiar figure on Hartney's streets and at community affairs.  "Unconventional" might be one way of descibing him.

Murder for a Homestead      Web  / PDF      Vol.  V, Page 37
Two murders, a national manhunt and a near escape. It all started on a farm near Boissevain.

Gone to the Dogs     Web /  PDF     Vol. V, Page 38
In 1955 the Broomhill Curling Club received permission to sponsor the All American Field Trails complete with championship stakes. 

Prisoners of War – Harvest Help       Web /  PDF       Vol. V, Page 39
The prisoner farmhands were lightly guarded and often permitted to go shopping or attend church.  An unknown number stayed after release and became Canadians.

The Case of the Nazi (?) Farmhand      Web /  PDF     Vol. V, Page 40
Why is there a sketch of Adolph Hitler on a vintage threshing machine near Pierson?

Who Was Walter Farwell?     Web  / PDF      Vol. V, Page 41
Perhaps a small town in a new land is the perfect place to start over? Why does Hartney have a street named after a gambler and bigamist?
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Boissevain’s Dr. Bird    Web  / PDF     Vol.  V, Page 42
Dr Bird had to deal with many emergency procedures by the dim light in a homesteader’s bedroom.

The Small Town Photo Studio         Web  / PDF       Vol.  V, Page 43
Once settlers got established they went looking for less essential amenities, like family portraits. Every town used to a have a photographer or two.

Home Delivery - The Drayman        Web  / PDF     Vol. V, Page 44
In addition to doing the daily deliveries from the station, the draymen did deliveries from merchants to customers. In the days before everyone had a car, many businesses would deliver.

The Rural Press - A Survival Story             Web  / PDF       Vol.  V, Page 45
A new village might have been considered to have “arrived” when it had a paper. For quite a while some towns had competing papers.

The Riverside Canucks of Baseball Fame       Web  / PDF      Vol. V, Page 46
The Riverside Canucks played for over 40 years at Riverside Park, on the banks of the Souris River north of Minto. They are in the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Getting Ready for the Christmas Concert     Web  / PDF      Vol. V, Page 47
Ask someone who attended a one-room rural school about the memorable times and you can be pretty sure the conversation will include reminiscence about Christmas concerts.

Train Time    Web  / PDF    Vol. V, Page 48
For many years Train Time was the occasion of the day in small town Manitoba.


The Latest Thing – The Telephone      Web  / PDF     Vol. V, Page 49
The whole system was run by people and depended upon the skill and the personality of the operator.

“Connie” Riddell             Web  / PDF       Vol. V, Page 52
Because he worked for the CPR, and was subject to job trans- fers, he was instrumental in the sporting lives of three communities.

What's on in Melita This Week?     Web  / PDF     Vol. V, Page 53
The Melita Opera House was one of several venues offering a wide variety of touring entertainers.
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