Looking Back 1987 -Author Margaret Laurence succumbs to cancer
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- Published on Tuesday, January 3, 2017
By Cecil Pittman
The Neepawa Press
80 years ago - Tuesday, Jan. 5, 1937: The board of trade advises the general public of a bylaw of the Town of Neepawa, having been dully passed: all retail businesses concerns in the town, garages and confectioneries excepted, will close at 12 noon on Thursday, Jan. 7, 1937 and every Thursday thereafter throughout the year with the exception of December.
70 years ago - Thursday, Jan. 2, 1947: The only musical instrument that may be increased in size is the pipe organ, an outstanding example being the one in the chapel of the U.S. military academy at Westpoint. When installed in 1911, it contained 2,418 pipes and cost $12,000. But today, through memorial contributions made in the names of graduates, it has become the largest church organ in the western hemisphere, containing 13,529 pipes and being valued at $150,000.
60 years ago - Thursday, Jan. 3, 1957: The rinks skipped by Johhny Chapple and Doug Hockin captured top honours in the finals of the first men’s bonspiel of the 1956-57 season, completed at the Neepawa Curling Club rink. The Chapple foursome were extended to the limit to edge George Csversko’s rink, from Franklin 7-10 in a dramatic final to win premier prizes in the first event. When Doug Hockin’s rink registered a decisive victory over Clarence Martin’s rink in the second event final.
50 years ago - Friday, Jan. 6, 1967: Remote starting devices for vehicles can be used legally in Manitoba. Hon. Stewart E. McLean, Q.C., Minister of Public Utilities, said that after careful review of the relevant sections of the Highway Traffic Act, the departmental staff and law officers of the Crown concluded that remote control starting devices being manufactured and sold in Manitoba can be used without directly contravening the provisions of the act.
40 years ago - Thursday, Jan. 6, 1977: The village of Eden now has a new water system, thanks to a lot of hard work and planning on their behalf by their local improvement district (LID) board. LID board members and their project initiator, Harry Smithson, said in an interview, that Eden now has a new source of softer, better water for the town waterworks. He said the old water source was hard water with a high alkaline content.
30 years ago - Thursday, Jan. 8, 1987: Neepawa’s most famous daughter is dead at the age of 60. Internationally renowned author Margaret Laurence succumbed to cancer at her Lakefield, ON, home last Monday. She was the author of such critically acclaimed and at times, controversial, novels, as The Stone Angel (1964), A Jest of God (1966), The Fire Dwellers (1969), A Bird in the House (1970) and The Diviners (1974).
20 years ago - Monday, Jan. 7, 1997: Neepawa’s Access 12 community cable channel is counting on program changes, including the implementation of advertising, to keep it out of the red ink. “Financially we’re still running in the black,” said Ivan Traill, chairman of the local community cable channel and vice-president of the Westman Cable board. “But we are running right on the edge and we have to do something about that.” Access 12 plans to do two things about that – stage an amateur talent night in the hopes of raising $10,000 and take in paid advertising.
10 years ago - Monday, Jan. 1, 2007: Nearly half of young adult Canadians are planning for their retirement, the highest number in 16 years, according to a study by the Royal Bank. The annual poll, which focuses on RRSP investment, found that about 48 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 have started saving for retirement.
The survey also found 62 per cent of people in the same age group hold registered retirement savings plans, up from 44 per cent five years ago.
