Shoal Lake Businesses 1979

The town of Elphinstone celebrated its centennial in 1979 and the Shoal Lake Star printed a special issue commemorating the event. Several Shoal Lake companies advertised in the paper including Menzies Department Store where Junction 16 Clothing is today, and Kady-Lo Farm Service located on The Drive. All its buildings are gone.

Two Aerial Views of Shoal Lake

Former resident Terry Lewycky sent me a couple of aerial views of Shoal Lake from the 1980s. Above is a great summer shot taken by Pradniuk Advertising about 1982. Terry was Advertising Manager for Travel Manitoba (remember the slogan Good To See You?) when this was taken.

Below is the cover of the Manitoba Telephone System Rural Phone Directory for 1983. The picture in the upper right corner is another aerial view of the town and lake looking south. Thanks for these, Terry. Anybody else got any old Shoal Lake pictures for the blog?

Towering Spruce

This photograph was taken by Mark Fikkert in May 2015. Past the spruce trees around the edge of the lake is the RCMP Museum.

Griffin Family Inquiry

Reid Dickie

Today I received this inquiry:

Hello, I’m the curator at the Wellington County Museum and Archives near Fergus, Ontario and am looking into the William James Griffin Jr. family of Shoal Lake. William’s uncle, William A. Griffin, was the Keeper of the House of Industry and Refuge (1884-1916); William’s father Anthony ran a store in county (at Alma and at Elora). I came across a August 13, 1919 Elora newspaper reporting that William’s son Crawford, age 16, had drowned “at the Narrows” (is this near Shoal Lake?). Willaim ran a hardware store called Eakins and Griffin. Crawford’s sister was Margarie according to 1911 census and his mother was Sarah. I’d very much like to know more about the family and see any photographs, thank you for your assistance. Susan Dunlop Wellington County Museum and Archives

I spent an hour or so going through the Shoal Lake history books and the related material I’ve collected over the years, scanned a few things and sent Susan the following reply:

Hello Susan,

    Thanks for your inquiry. I set the research hounds loose and found some great stuff for you.

    Shoal Lake’s major history book, Ripples on the Lake Volume One, published in 1984, has this listing written by Marjorie who is also pictured:

Ripples… also has this picture taken in 1907 of South Railroad that shows the Eakins & Griffin Hardware, third from left with pole in front of store:

 After Shoal Lake was incorporated as a village, W. J. Griffin was on its first council. This is from Ripples… and includes some of the early council’s business:

MINUTIAE

• Quality Hill, as described by Marjorie, was in the northwest corner of SL, north of the tracks. The Griffins lived at the corner of Birtle St. and North Railway Ave. During my time in SL in the late 1950s and 1960s I never heard the term Quality Hill. It had dissolved into the mists of time although a few other small towns in Manitoba did have areas they called Quality Hill, self-described by those with wealth. His business partner, Eakins, also lived on Birtle St.
• The earliest reference to Griffins in Manitoba Henderson’s Directories is 1904 when the listing says: Eakins (W. J.) & Griffin (W. J.), hardware and implements. In 1906 they have added tinsmiths and undertakers to their services.
• The earliest record of telephones for the Griffins is in 1909 when the hardware store number on Station Road is 76, Griffin’s home number is 48.
• The Narrows, where Crawford drowned in 1919, is at the south end of Shoal Lake, about 5 miles from town, before the lake links with Cooks Lake.
• There are no Griffins buried in any of SL’s cemeteries. Possibly Crawford was buried in Hamiota Cemetery.
• Hamiota, where the family moved, is 18 miles south of SL.

SL History Blog 3rd Anniversary

Reid Dickie

Three years ago today I began sharing this blog with the world and the world has responded!

Almost 15,000 views have been recorded since March 30, 2011, a pleasing and rather surprising number. This represents people from 73 countries who have checked out Shoal Lake’s history.

The Top Ten most interested countries are:

1. Canada

2. United States

3. United Kingdom

4. Australia

5. Brazil

6. Russian Federation

7. Germany

8. India

9. France

10. Philippines

Sincere gratitude to everyone who visited the site.

In my video series The Lonesomes: 16 Prairie Stories I used details from the founding of Shoal Lake as the basis for one of the videos called Squatters. Watch it here.

The Lonesomes: 16 Prairie Stories

Reid Dickie

This falls under the category of blatant self-promotion.

When you drive down a country road and see a lonesome old farmhouse, sun-baked and tumbling down or a busted-up half ton rusting away on a rise or an abandoned red barn, don’t you wonder what happened in those places? Maybe you even create stories about them.

That’s what I did. I found sixteen such places in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and let their stories arise in my imagination. The Lonesomes is the result!

In The Lonesomes, it’s life and death at play on the open prairie. Change is chronicled in personal events, measured by lifetimes. The stories tell of the desperate births of people, towns and ideas, of mystery,trickery, love, revenge and bizarre deaths, glimpses of the human condition that resonate deeply with people everywhere, city and country, town and farm.

Several of the stories grew directly out of Shoal Lake’s history. Squatters, story #10, reveals the town’s founding moment. I Don’t Like Trains, story #11, is based on actual events that happened just outside of Shoal Lake. I used the Prairie Dog Central (above) as the train. A Town with Water, story #13, though completely fictional, was based on my memories of the waterworks being installed. One of the outhouses I used in The Lonesomes (left) is in Bryd Siding. Several Shoal Lakers inspired some of the other characters.

I wrote, directed and produced all sixteen stories in the 45-minute video that range in length from one to five minutes.

For a unique glimpse of our prairie past, follow The Lonesomes online.

The Lonesomes is being made available on YouTube, one new story every day for sixteen days starting Sunday, March 16, 2014 at https://www.youtube.com/user/DickToolCo On March 31, the entire video will be available on YouTube.

Offering a peek into my creative process, each story will be accompanied by its script, character backstory and location information on my blog at http://www.readreidread.com.

School Opening Program 1962

Reid Dickie

Looking through a box of family stuff I came across this program from the Nov. 16, 1962 opening of the newly-built Shoal Lake elementary school (right side of picture) and the transition of the red brick school to becoming the high school.

Requesting info on Charles Concordia

I received this contact from Don Menzies:

This is a long shot but I recently heard a story that might be true.  During WW1, a boy from New York state spent a year or two with relatives (possibly) in Shoal Lake. His name was Charles Concordia. Does anyone know if the name “Concordia” shows up anywhere in Shoal Lake’s history?

I checked the history books and the cemeteries but came up with nothing. Anyone got any information for Don? donfmenzies@hotmail.com

M. J. G. McMULLEN – Who?

Reid Dickie

He was manager of North American Lumber in Transcona where he became president of their board of trade. He was a Transcona school trustee and elected five times as a town Councillor. He was main organizer in the Transcona 1950 flood fight. He chaired the historical booklet committee for the Golden Jubilee Celebrations. He was enthralled by magic and performed from an early age. His stage name was Len Vintus. His puppet was named Jerry. He co-founded the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1922 which became the largest magician organization in the world. He was Manitoba manager of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. In 1958 he was appointed the Provincial Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce. As manager for the Manitoba Travel and Convention Association promoting Manitoba, he became known as Mr Manitoba due to his unfailing enthusiasm for the province, its heritage and resources. He was an author and a poet. He was M. J. G. McMullen and he was born in Shoal Lake in 1903.

In his many roles, McMullen became extremely well-traveled and well-known in Manitoba. He was familiar with Shoal Lake, probably performed here and became friends with some locals. One Shoal Laker so impressed the magician/politician that he waxed poetic about him in #11 of his pamphlets of poems about Manitoba. J. D. McLean, who built and landscaped the lovely Queen Anne brick on Chestnut Street, was the subject of this poem by McMullen. Click to enlarge.

McMullen died at age 95 in 1999. Read more about him on MHS site.

 I wrote about J. D. McLean’s legacy to Shoal Lake in a feature on the People page of this blog.

Phoenix Family History Request

Reid Dickie

I received this email from Robert Boynton in Calgary this weekend. The homestead was between Shoal Lake and Strathclair. If anyone has information to help out Robert, he came be emailed at rctboynton@shaw.ca

Robert’s email:

Thanks for having this website.

The Phoenix family came from Ontario and homesteaded NW21-3-27 W1. Jon Phoenix died in 1932, his wife, Martha Janette McNaughton died in 1935. Three of their children never married. Jessie Rhoda Phoenix died in 1962, Winford Roy died in 1963 and Mary Dott Phoenix died in 1965.

They had a sibling Marion who was born April 14, 1893 and died in Union, Union New Jersey in February of 1976.

Is there any mention of whether Marion had children or not in any local history story for the family that might exist?

Thanks, in advance for your consideration of supplying any information that might exist.

Rob Boynton
Calgary

My reply:

Hello Robert,

 

Thank you for your contact and for your positive comments about the SLH blog.

 

I checked the history books and could find but one reference to the Phoenix family. That was in the cemetery listings. In SL Cemetery there is Nathaniel Phoenix 1849 – 1936. There was no Phoenix family entry in the body of the book and no reference to Marion.

 

I will post your letter and this response on the SLH blog. Maybe someone in the community remembers the family or has more information.

 

Thanks again,

 

Reid Dickie