Small Town Manitoba Curling

My family history is connected to the sport of curling as some rediscovered photos clearly show. There are not many pictures of weddings, birthdays or other special occasions but curling teams - oh yes! The old photos help me reflect on the leisure pastime of my ancestors and how the game has evolved.  

This picture was labelled Hargrave Ladies Curling 1926.  The women are noted to be: back left - Florence Stinson and Evelyn Odell, front - Coral Wilson and my Grandma Frances Milne in the light coloured coat on top of her dress!  This would have been taken before she was married in March of 1927.  The local history book called Binding Our Districts,  complied in 1989, says the curling rink had been discussed since November 1905 but was built in 1926 and used until around 1973.  My great grandfather, Alexander Milne, was a keen participant as well.  Being a Scottish immigrant, he likely played the game back in the "old country".  

1926 at Hargrave -from left Mrs. Edwards, William Reid, Sandy Johnson and Alex Milne

The wide household corn brooms were widely used until narrower brooms and later ones with coverings that were called "Rink Rats" became popular.  Brushes made with horse hair and hog hair came along in the 80's and then synthetic fabrics took over.  Handles are now fibreglass or carbon fibre instead of the wooden dowel.  Famous curler John Morris has a video on YouTube here that shows the history of brooms. 

Left to right - Alex Milne, Tom Phillips, Amos Odell, William Reid

Amos Odell donated the land for the rink to be built in the summer and all of 1926 and a horse barn and well were also important to have on site.  Windows helped with lighting during the day but gas lamps and later electricity kept the games going into the night. An open air skating rink was flooded on the south side of the building as well for hockey and skating.

Hargrave 'Spiel 1958 - left - Stella Tapp, Frances Kinnaird, Joyce Braybrook, Inez Heaman

I recall the scoreboard sponsored by McDonald's Export A Tobacco like the one above were in every rink and were a challenge to decipher for the non-curler!  

Along with playing the game, my family was involved with the many volunteer duties to keep the rink going.  Repairs and upgrades to the building, serving meals and lunches of donated food, sawing wood for heat, serving on boards and as draw masters were all vital to the continued success of the Hargrave Curling Rink.  

Elkhorn 'Spiel 1960 - Irene Bender, Frances Kinnaird, Bessie Armstrong, Janet Sawyer

The curling sweaters being worn by Bessie and Janet were popular in the 50's and 60's.  Mary Maxim or Cowichan is another name as talked about in this blog with many designs and patterns.  A Google search of "Vintage Mary Maxim" give lots of examples. 

My Dad (above with his twin sister Dorothy and Skipper the dog) remembers when the prizes at bonspiels were huge. There was one at Nipawin, SK where the winners took home brand new Hudson automobiles! Listen to a radio broadcast clip here from January 1948 from the event that drew top teams from across the prairies to the Autospiels held from 1947-1954. Electric prizes were popular in the 40's and 50's and Rivers had one of these. Fancy trophies and prizes gave way to Cash Bonspiels and "Pick a Prize" affairs.  

My Grandpa, Frank Kinnaird, also enjoyed curling and the Pyrex dish pictured below was one of his prizes, my Mom recalls. The Pyrex Love Website shows the set in red and more about it here.  It was advertised in the September 19, 1949 Life magazine and was found online at Google Books for the going price of $2.95!

 As to the future of rural curling, a March 2013 free press article tells of the struggles of curling and rinks in rural Manitoba. One of the many ways life has changed since the days of my ancestors.  I am glad the pictures remain to remind us how it was.

Today's Mystery - James Jamieson

The postcard style photo above and the two men in uniform below are part of the Jamieson mystery in my family tree. The were recently found on the same page in a family photo album, making me think someone placed them together for a reason.   The above one has Uncle Jimmy written on it, I wonder if it's Grandma's writing?

That would make him the brother of her mother, Jeannie Jamieson Milne.  The only sure information have about James is from the 1894 Scotland census where it says he was age 7 (born around 1884) and his birthplace was Banff, Banffshire, Scotland.  At the time, he was living with his 36 year old mother Margaret (nee Duncan) at 18 St Catherine Street, with brother William Duncan Jamieson age 8 and 11 year old sister Susan A. Jamieson. The only other fact I know is that James was mentioned in Jeannie's obituary in 1948 still living in Banff along with his sisters Mrs. McKenzie and Mrs. Greenlaw.   Some recall it being said James and perhaps his brother served in WW1 but with such a common name, it is hard to trace. The two military pictures seem to support this theory.

The unidentified photos posted below were found in Grandma's trunk and we wonder if it is James on the left and W.D. on the right as in comparison to the soldiers above? Please do contact me if you have any further information on my Jamiesons.  I'd love to know more about them!

P.S. - An online source called Worrall's Directory of the north-eastern counties of Scotland from 1877  indicates a James Jamison farmed at Crannabog near  Aberchirder and a Jas Jamieson at Ribrae in the same area.  I wonder if they are ancestors?  

A New Portrait of my Great Grandparents

The picture above on the left of George William Kinnaird and Margaret Carruthers was discovered in Grandma's trunk but it was a brown tin type and rather hard to make out.  We wonder if it is their wedding portrait from August 8, 1888.  The record of this event is below.

The photo at the right said "Uncle George" on the back and is of the same style.  Tin Type photos were popular in the mid 1800's but they were dark and tarnished quickly.  The one of George alone was is in a paper frame that has survived remarkably well.

Another picture recently turned up in a look through a cousin's album and what a find!  The details are so much easier to see and Margaret seems to be wearing the same dress.  George is wearing a tie and the setting seems the same as in the picture above of him alone.  The background of this one is so sharp and the pleats in her dress even show so well!

This picture also showed the photographers name and Google helped with that too.  Norris M. Trickey worked as a photographer in Winchester, Ontario from 1888-1904 according to this website . This photo is called a Cabinet Card type and this 4 X 6 size dates from the mid 19th century and onward.

Margaret died in 1894 at age 29 of tuberculosis, not long after this portrait was taken I assume.  It would have been a cherished remembrance for her family and her two young sons, Stephen and Francis. She has a familiar look to me, so I know her genes have been passed down and remain in the faces of my family today.  

Mission Soda Sign

 This cardboard advertising sign for Mission soft drinks came to my house from the Sinclair home in the late 1980's. The colour on it remains bright and it hangs in my basement to hopefully keep it that way.  It was in the attic of their house but I'm not sure where or who might have aquired it. I have been unable to find a similar one searching online.  EBay has several bottles, crates, openers that advertise this brand but nothing like this one.  This blog says Mission Soda made soft drinks from 1929 through1970 and like most smaller bottlers, was bought up and amalgamated into Coke and Pepsi bottlers.

Cleo Moore (1924-1973) was an actress in the fifties known as one of he blonde bombshells following the trend of Marilyn Monroe. This video from YouTube highlights her movie career

When I saw the Mission Beverages clock pictured below at ebay,  I knew I'd seen it somewhere in my childhood before.  It is posted for sale at $225.00! Was it in Glinz's store or Freida's cafe in Oak River?  Does anyone else remember?

Brandon Normal School Class of 1941

My Aunt Doris Henry was proud of her time at Brandon Normal School and being a teacher myself, I am glad many items remain for me to tell her story. Aunt Dodie, as we always called her, had saved many keepsakes including the framed class photo above where she is shown under the word "Normal".  To her left is another former Oak Riverite, Elsie Henry (later Cory), daughter of Charles Henry.  I recall her saying she and Elsie "were the cornerstones of the school"!

Brandon Normal School began educating teachers in 1912. The history of the term "Normal" seems to be that their purpose was to establish teaching standards or "norms" so that education could be similar from place to place.   B.J. Hales was its first principal and continued for the next 27 years.  He was instrumental in developing an institution to prepare teachers destined for schools in rural Manitoba.  He felt that native flora and fauna were critical parts of the curriculum that country school teachers needed to educate their students and he took a particular interest in developing the grounds of the school to model for future teachers what their own school grounds could mirror.  His extensive collection of taxidermy animals and birds is now at the Brandon General Museum and Archives.

The Normal School building is situated on 11 acres in Brandon between 10th and 11th Street and Queens and Hill Avenues.  It was the former location of Patmore Nurseries until the building began construction began in 1911.  I have attended a few Professional Development sessions in the building and it is a beauty!  A pamphlet published by the Manitoba Historic Branch in the 1980's describes the building as follows:

The two storey structure measured 15.24 by 13.1 metres and was constructed of reinforced concrete with brick walls and tile partitions.  Four entrances led to the central octagonal rotunda from where easy access could be made to the various rooms on the first floor.  These included two large classrooms with cloakrooms, a laboratory with a large conservatory, reading room and library, general business offices and private suites for teachers.  The basement contained a gymnasium, manual training classroom, caretaker's quarters, boilers, fuel and fan rooms and a lavatory.  The second floor contained the classrooms, a room for home economics, a museum and a large lecture hall.  The exterior finish of the school, simple in design, was constructed of brick with stone trim.  

In 1943, the building was turned over to the Department of National Defense and in 1946 it became the Department of Agriculture headquarters. Winnipeg became the only Normal School in the province at this time in order to centralize and in 1958 it was renamed the Manitoba Teachers College. Brandon College brought back teacher training in the 50's.

The 1940-41 school year saw Clarence Moore as principal.   Miss Yeomans taught physical training "P.T." including a Sports Day at the Brandon Fair Grounds to prepare the girls for the Field Days their country schools would participate in. Miss Pilling instructed in academic subjects as well as sewing and home economics, useful skills to have once the girls found a husband and were discouraged from returning to the classroom. Miss Smith instructed Music and Miss Harrison covered teaching methods, administration and discipline.  English, Art, Geography, History,Math, Health, Science - the list goes on.  There was also a "Model Room" where students were brought in for practice teaching opportunities under the guidance of an instructor.  Much of this information came from poems written by Thelma Meadows Davies for the class reunions that Dodie had saved.

Dodie kept the receipts for her schooling - $105 for the year.  She would have likely lived nearby -  room and board, or "light housekeeping" as it was known.

The Class of '41 Graduation Exercises were held on Wednesday, June 25th, 1941 at 8:00 pm where 62 girls were awarded with various medals and prizes and listened to Hon. Ivan Schultz, Minister of Education, address the proud families and the graduates. Marionette plays, folk dances, singing and more rounded out the program that closed with God Save the Queen.  It would have been a mix of emotions to be looking ahead with excitement and nervousness but sad to be missing the connections that had been made over the year together.

Doris taught in schools at Penrith, White Bank Lea, Strathclair, Neepawa, and Lavinia.  The links take you to the Manitoba Historical Society Website information about each school, an invaluable resource for me when writing this blog.  She is pictured below on the steps of the Lavinia School teacherage and the farewell letter she received was saved with her Normal School mementos.  

Lavinia, Man

June 28/46

Dear Miss Simms

We your friends are gathered here this afternoon, to bid you farewell, and to express in a tangible way, our appreciation, for your efforts on behalf of the children of our community.

We have watched your cheery disposition and ready smile, and have felt benefitted, by your presence amongst us.

As we journey through life, we often find it necessary to change our place of residence, and while we miss the old friends, we increase our circle of friendships in this way.

While your departure will be our loss, it will also be someone elses gain.

We shall often think of you, and hope you will at times remember with pleasure your stay at Lavinia.

Wherever in the future your lot may be cast, we trust you will find it above expectations.

As a token of our appreciation, we ask you to accept this gift.

The Lavinia Community

Graduates seem to have felt a real sisterhood and kept in close contact over the years.  The reunion photo above is dated 1966 and they occurred regularly after that.  Dodie is fourth from the right in the back row.  Lists of classmates' addresses, married names and reunion location details are part of the envelope of saved items.  The clipping below from 2006 would be from their 65th and last one Aunt Dodie would attend.  She is wearing the blue blazer in the middle row.  They seem to be a creative bunch, with poems and skits and other entertainment planned and a determination to stay in touch.

I know Aunt Dodie would be glad to have this special group remembered and hope I've given you a picture of their time at "Normal"!