Looking Back — May 2, 2024

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/05/2024 (882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SIXTY YEARS AGO

Maj.-Gen. John M. Rockingham, the general officer commanding the army’s Western command, carried out his annual inspection of Shilo’s regular army units recently.

S. Gregson was elected president of the Oak Lake Co-op at the annual meeting. Gregson presented a plan for expansion, which will include an extension to the building and the purchase of the local meat business operated now by Mr. and Mrs. Leo Jeab.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Hudson’s Bay Wholesale of Winnipeg will open a wholesale branch next week in Brandon on 18th Street North.

Henry Schellenberg, a second-year music education student at Brandon University, won the top honour in open and senior vocal competitions and the Brandon Sun Rose Bowl.

Wilton Mercury Sales Ltd. of Brandon opened this week, the only all truck sales and repair facility between Winnipeg and Regina. The centre is located on 18th Street, just off the Trans-Canada Highway.

FORTY YEARS AGO

An estimated $6 million of damage resulted from a fierce snowstorm that blocked highways and knocked out power in dozens of southern Manitoba communities this weekend.

The Spruce Woods Housing Co-operative Ltd. expects construction on an 80-unit housing complex to begin July 1. The co-op will soon call for tenders on the North Hill project, expected to cost a total of $4 million.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

Brandon street youths may have a new place to turn to thanks to a federal grant awarded to the Brandon Youth Services Council. The $47,000 grant will be used to establish a series of youth forums to find what the problems facing youth are and how best to solve them.

Dave Arnott was recently crowned the Manitoba/Northwest Ontario Legion cribbage singles champion. Arnott will not travel to Saskatoon for the national cribbage championship later this month.

A tea given by Prairie Oasis to honour Jeanne Flay, the person who has been responsible for the sound of music at Prairie Oasis for more than 10 years, was held this week.

TWENTY YEARS AGO

One of the Manitoba founders of the billion- dollar Internet pharmacy industry is fighting in court to clear his name after landing in hot water with the province’s pharmaceutical regulatory body. Andrew Strempler, whose online pharmacy RxNorth is based in Minnedosa, has filed an application in Court of Queen’s Bench to quash a decision by the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association that the pharmacist was, according to the application,”guilty of unskilled practice of pharmacy and professional misconduct.”

The City of Brandon’s final numbers for last year show it ended up almost $100,000 on the right side of the ledger. The audited financial statement, done by Brandon accounting firm BDO Dunwoody LLP, show the city spent $42.6 million of its budgeted $42.7 million for services in 2003, leaving it with a $97,240 surplus.

TEN YEARS AGO

Brandonites won’t head to the polls to elect a new mayor for nearly six months, but the campaign officially began Thursday. May 1 marked the first day candidates could register as mayoral candidates, and challenger Rick Chrest was first to file his papers at Brandon City Hall. Meanwhile, incumbent Mayor Shari Decter Hirst filed her papers Thursday afternoon.

During his time at Brandon City Hall, city clerk Con Arvisais has worked with seven mayors, 57 city councillors and attended 27 years worth of council meetings. After nearly four decades with the City of Brandon, the dedicated employee has decided to pass the torch. Today marks Arvisais’ last day.