Featured banner image of the lift bridge

An Unexpected Force – The Opening of the Selkirk Lift Bridge

News, Heritage Highlights

Announced in 1934 as a vital Great Depression infrastructure project, the Selkirk Lift Bridge was completed by 1936—but it sat completely unused for nearly a year because no government level wanted to absorb its ongoing maintenance costs. The gridlock broke on April 29, 1937, when a frustrated local man lowered the span himself; when officials rushed to shut it down, they were blocked by a defiant, celebratory crowd of townsfolk demanding the bridge stay open, forcing its official historic opening days later.

Featured banner portrait of Elsie Bear

Elsie Bear

People

Born into a Métis family in Grand Marais in 1921, Elsie Bear became a monumental figure of advocacy, community service, and cultural pride in Selkirk. A founding force behind the Selkirk Friendship Centre in 1967, she dedicated her life to empowering women, children, and Indigenous peoples, while personally fostering around 40 children and launching a massive annual community Christmas dinner. Her decades of selfless giving earned her Manitoba’s prestigious Order of the Buffalo Hunt and the MMF’s Order of the Shawl.

Featured banner portrait of Mel Bedard

Mel Bedard

People

Born in Selkirk in 1929, Melvin “Mel” Joseph Clifford Bedard was a legendary Métis fiddler who dedicated his life to preserving Indigenous and regional musical heritage. A master of the Red River Jig style who counted Don Messer and Andy de Jarlis as close friends, Bedard won over 80 competition awards, recorded acclaimed albums, and mentored generations of performers before his induction into the Fiddlers Hall of Fame in 2013.