In Review: Window on Our Past 2020

December 29, 2020

In November 2019, in collaboration with Terry and Marlene Tottle of the Lac Du Bonnet and District Historical Society, I planned topics for all twelve articles. Our focus was on showcasing the history of the area with the hope that these articles would get locals and visitors alike interested in our past.

Around this time last year, I submitted the first article for the Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society feature in the Lac du Bonnet Clipper newspaper. It was a short piece discrediting the long-told belief that La Verendrye was the one who named this particular body of water after his hat. It took ten days of researching and revising before I had an article I would be happy to see in print.

Long-standing Name of Unknown Origin (will open in new tab)

Then came the story about the February 21, 1965 fire, which remains the most devestating blaze the town has witnessed. Devastating Blaze Unites Community

March had the early beginnings of the community, describing the journey with horse teams from Whitemouth. A Rich and Plentiful Land

By April I had found my stride. The tale of the Hudson Bay Company traders who overwintered at a tiny post north of the current townsite became the easiest one to write, and the longest one, so far. This trend continued. The Traders

In May, with the current pandemic overwhelming the world, I quickly put together an article on the 1918 Spanish Flu. It seems these events come every hundred years or so, leaving startling similarities between them. The 1918 Spanish Flu

Throughout the last half of the year, my interest in aviation became an asset as I recounted the history of the early bush pilots flying out of Lac du Bonnet, servicing the mines and remote communities.

The RCAF arrived first in August 1926. The RCAF in Lac du Bonnet

James A. Richardson’s Western Canada Airways, Ltd. established a base in early 1927. Flying with the Canada Goose

The Manitoba Government Air Service was created in 1932, with Vickers Vidette aircraft flown by former RCAF pilots to run fire patrols.
A Local Enterprise for 86 Years

The aviation business was so good in town, in 1934, senior pilots from Canadian Airways, Ltd., formed their own company, Wings, Ltd.
Wings Limited

The Remembrance Day article honoured RCAF pilot, Fred Small, and his sister, Eileen, who wrote letters to the local boys overseas, which were later compiled into the book, “Hello Soldier.” This article was the longest to date. A Time to Remember

I even mentioned these airlines moving their planes clear of the August 10, 1935 Travellers’ Hotel fire. Electricity Caused Travellers’ Hotel Demise

The story of Manitoba’s first female mayor, Edythe Brown, became the final Window on Our Past article for 2020. Compared to the first, this piece took only four days to reasearch and write, and half the number of drafts. Ahead of the Times

Since I started a year ago, I have proven my skills as a researcher. These articles have made me a better, more practiced, writer. With such broad topics, it is hard to limit the length to 400-500 words (though thankfully a few have been accepted nudging 600). History writing is difficult enough without having to keep your reader interested long enough to reach the end, though it seems I have managed so far.

The Clipper editor, Mark Buss, has agreed to print another year of these Window on Our Past articles, calling them a “highlight of the paper.” It’s this kind of response that gets me excited about these small pieces I am writing.

Thanks for following along. Here’s to 2021!