212 Manitoba Ave Abraham Rifkin immigrated from Shadrinsk, Russia to New York, USA. His wife and children, Louis, Izzy, Benny, Sarah, Harry, and Gordon slowly followed, one or two at a time. When Harry immigrated in 1908, he was 14 years old. The family settled in Galancy, a Jewish borough of New York. Abraham and…
The Friendship Centre Movement Friendship Centres began in the 1950s as a response to the growing number of Indigenous people moving from reserves to urban areas. The movement evolved out of the increased need for specialized services to help Indigenous people in the transition. Initially, Friendship Centres only offered referrals and counselling services, but have…
309 Eveline Street The four-generation business, Gilbart Funeral Home, begins with James Maurice Gilbart. Maurice and his wife, Muriel Dixon were married in their hometown of Elkhorn, Manitoba. When they moved to Winnipeg, Maurice found work at Leatherdale Gardiner Funeral Home. Having found his passion, Maurice wrote and passed his exams to become a funeral…
Queen Anne was born February 6th, 1665 and reigned from March 1702 until her death in August 1714. She was the daughter of King James II and was the last of the House of Stuart. She was married to Prince George of Denmark and had 17 children, with only one of her sons, William III,…
Did you know that Selkirk Park was once home to the world’s largest Red River cart? In 1971, the Selkirk Enterprise described the ‘World’s Largest Red River Cart,’ designed by Gordon Woligrocky, from Red River Model Works. The 40-foot-tall model cart stood in Selkirk Park for more than thirty years. It cost $13,000 to build,…
Gordon Howard was the driving force behind a thriving senior’s centre in Selkirk. In the latter years of his life, Gordon focused his energy towards improving the quality of life of senior citizens. His philosophy was that “senior citizens should not conform to the stereotypical image of being old, worn out, and useless that western…
Ruth Caroline Moody was born the youngest of four children on June 19, 1900, to Richard Compton Moody and Ester Adeline Moody. Richard had been a men’s clothing dealer in London, England. After discovering he had tuberculosis, he came to Canada in 1870 to help regain his health and started working on a farm in…
Selkirk’s War Effort Beginning on September 1st 1939, World War 2 lasted 6 years and one day. With World War 1 being the ‘war to end all wars’ no one was expecting it. Approximately 1,159,000 Canadians (both men and women) enlisted throughout the war effort. Canada did not join the war right away. Selkirk, on…
The Grabowski Family were not unlike other families in Selkirk, Manitoba during the 1950s and beyond. They were kind, hardworking, and attended church every Sunday. However, the Grabowski Family had unique differences that made their Selkirk experience more distinctive than many Canadians. Piotr (Peter) and Wladyslawa (Gladys) and their three children, Anna, Bish, and John,…
Humble Beginnings As with many early pioneer settlements, Selkirk’s fire protection was left to bucket brigades and whatever citizens were available to assist in battling the flames. After two very devastating fires in 1894 and 1896, where 20 buildings burned to the ground, Selkirk’s citizens established a volunteer fire brigade consisting of 12-15 men and…