Looking back - 1967: Massive weather shift hits Neepawa and area
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- Published on Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Photo courtesy of Cecil Pittman’s archive
J.A. Clare’s store on the corner of Mountain Ave and Hamilton St, which is now the location of the Neepawa Shop-Easy.
By Cecil Pittman
The Neepawa Press
80 years ago. Tuesday, Jan. 29, 1937: Neepawa Collegiate blanks Brandon, the collegiate hockey’s best swamped their Brandon ace opponents, in a feverish game here Monday night at the rink. Both teams missed numerous chances to register, the score was 4-0.
Pearl Tomlin initiated the scoring within two minutes, the first on a pass from George Vivian and the second from a face-off to the left of Brandon net. The valiant efforts of the visitors to make a marker in the next period were fruitless. At three minutes Tomlin split the defence, giving Jack Thomson a chance to bang one past Sneider. The final period was charged with dynamite, many penalties were handed out. Bill Guinn made a get-a-way from the crowd, fooled the defense and tallied the last counter. M. Tomlin and Jas. Harper handled the game efficiently.
70 years ago. Thursday Jan. 23, 1947: The Neepawa Consumers Cooperative on Hamilton Street announced this week that contractors will commence in the very near future on complete remodeling of their store. Plans call for the installation of the most modern store fixtures and refrigeration units and utilization of the second floor of the premises. When alterations are made and new equipment is installed, the store will handle groceries, meat, ladies’ and men’s wear, furniture and other lines. Capital outlay on these improvements was estimated at $16,000.
60 years ago. Thursday Jan. 24, 1957: Mayor Whitmore is urban head (Brandon) special - Mayor William Whitmore of Neepawa was elected president of the Manitoba Urban Association, Wednesday. Ald. J. J. Pynop of St. Boniface was elected first vice president, Mayor John Paxton of Gladstone became second vice president.
50 years ago. Tuesday Jan. 17, 1967: Friday the 13th was an unlucky day weather wise, as it marked the end of a period of warm weather, and signaled the beginning of a cold front which still grips the prairies. After a high of 24 above Friday, temperatures dropped steadily, to a frigid low of minus 26 degrees overnight Monday. Neepawa and vicinity received two inches of snow Sunday in a blizzard which swept across the prairies. Many areas in Manitoba were harder hit, as wind gusting to 30 miles per hour whipped snow into drifts and blocked roads and streets. This area apparently escaped the brunt of this storm which closed schools in southern Manitoba south of here, Unity Collegiate at Brookdale and Wellwood Elementary were closed Monday because of the storm.
40 years ago. Thursday, Jan. 27, 1977: Rivers pipe band brought along their dancers to Robbie Burns night in Neepawa, and their light, quick steps were a treat to watch. The dance is an annual event sponsored by the Neepawa Rotary Club.
30 years ago. Thursday, Jan. 29, 1987: Residents of the Rural Municipality of Langford were given the okay to a second reading of a proposed zoning by-law to be incorporated into Neepawa and Planning District Development Plan. Al Shirer of the municipal planning branch in Brandon listened to the last concerns of Langford residents at a public meeting in Neepawa last Thursday. Bill Gordon, a farmer in Langford, said he is concerned the character of the municipality will change too much if rural concerns aren’t put first. “We’re exposed to quite a bit of development starting here in (Langford), like with the hog plant,“ Gordon said, adding he doesn’t want the land to be rezoned only to lose farmers in the area.
20 years ago. Monday, Jan. 27, 1997: Eric Gustafson and Pat Cockburn of Neepawa have been hired by the Marquette Regional Health Authority. Gustafston, Executive Director of Beautiful Plains Health Services, has been hired as the regional authority director. Cockburn, meanwhile, the Director of Nursing at Neepawa Hospital, has been hired as Director of Clients Services. The Health Authority also filled two other positions. James Bartlett of Birtle will serve as Director of Support Services and Capital Planning, and Mike Kufflick of Minnedosa will be director of Human Resources. All four directors will work with Sandra Delorme, Marquette’s Chief Executive Officer, as the Health Authority assumes delivery of health care in the region in April.
10 years ago. Monday, Jan. 22, 2007: A memorandum of understanding is being drafted with the Rural Municipality of Langford, moving Neepawa one step closer to a new ground water source. Utilities Committee Chairman, Wendy Menzies said the memorandum spells out the town’s desire to tap into the aquifer in the neighbouring municipality. “We’re looking for an alternate water source, this puts it in writing,” Menzies said at Thursday’s council meeting. The town recently hired UMA engineering to carry out an $18,000 regional ground water project. The project will be cost shared of 50/50 basis with the Manitoba Water Services Board. The board is already providing technical support for a study which could lead to Neepawa sourcing water from the Assiniboine Delta Aquifer. The plan, first unveiled four years ago, calls for tapping into the aquifer in the Oberon area to supply water to the town.
