Looking Back: 2007 - Neepawa’s population at 3,298
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- Published on Tuesday, March 14, 2017
By Cecil Pittman
The Neepawa Press
80 years ago. Friday, March 12, 1937: A special treat at the Roxy: SAN FRANCISO. This is undoubtedly one of the great pictures of the decade. The earthquake sequence is one of the most awesome spectacular ever seen on the screen – something you will never forget. Starring Jeanette MacDonald (the star of Rose Marie), Clark Gable and Spencer Tracey - Roxy management.
70 years ago. Thursday March 20, 1947: Mr. Editor: My brother Peden Connell mailed me a marked copy of a recent issue of the Neepawa Press containing a short sketch of the life of Mr. Monnington. That article is worth the $5.00 I'm enclosing, and anytime you print more stories of the great men who pioneered the prairies, I wish you would send them along to me. I quickly ran over the paper for news of names I knew and I suppose it is not strange to say my greatest interest was in the column marked: Extracts from the Press files. “Down the list I went until I came to the 40 year period which coincide by school days and every name was familiar. The last name under the heading of 1897 is “Seed oats for 20 cents per bushel”. My memory tells me the farmers were prosperous at the time. I wonder if the present fight for higher wages and then higher prices gets us any further than in the stage of discontent?
60 years ago. Thursday, March 21, 1957: Walter Greenhalgh succeeds Frank Alguire as president of the Neepawa Rotary Club. He was appointed at a meeting Friday, March 15.
50 years ago. Friday, March 17, 1967: Representatives of Manitoba Telephone System will be calling on Neepawa residents for the next few weeks, beginning Monday, March 20. Purpose of the canvass according to MTS spokesman, is to explain to homeowners and businessmen some of the new equipment which will be available to Neepawa residents when dial conversion takes place this year. Construction of the MTS exchange building here is progressing on schedule, and the anticipated switch over date to dial service is November. Installation of dial phones in homes and business places will be completed before this date.
40 years ago. Thursday, March 10, 1977: The Shoal Lake 14 year-olds defeated the defending champion team of Swan Valley to take home top laurels in Neepawa's 1977 Tournament of Champions. The tournament was a great success again this year by all accounts, with fans comparing the hockey caliber to Junior League play. Over 2,000 spectators turned out over the weekend to watch the games.
30 years ago. Thursday, March 19, 1987: The $10,000 which is left from last year to spend on development at Lake Irwin will be used up in the coming summer months. About 100 trees are expected to be planted at the lake. As well, there will be some beach improvements, dock improvements and the installation of more recreational facilities, including horseshoes, barbecue pits and shuffleboard. Dust control on the road will make driving to the lake more pleasant and a nature path will make the lake more attractive.
20 years ago. Monday, March 17, 1997: The axe has fallen on Kelwood School – Five years after the school was put under review for possible closure. Turtle River School Division superintendent Joe Mudry, said with only 18 students and a projected drop in enrollment for the fall term, the division had little choice but to close the school. “Every year we found it fit to keep it open another year until now,” said Mudry. “I'm sure parents are disappointed but enrollment just dropped too low.”
10 years ago. Monday, March 19, 2007: The numbers are in. Some Manitoba communities are gaining population, others are maintaining. Some, like Neepawa are losing population, according to the latest statistics released by Statistics Canada last week. The town's population dropped from 3,325 in 2001 to 3,298 in 2006, a 27 per cent loss the chairman of the Economic Development Committee had plenty to say about that. “I don't like to sound like a pessimist,” Monty Simon said. “I'm a realist, I was expecting this.” Except for the blip in the 1980s, when the town reached a population of 3,425 in 1981, Simon maintains growth has been on a downward spiral for the last 50 years. “As far as growing, we have been dying slowly for 50 years,” he said.
