Looking Back — Nov. 21, 2023

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/11/2023 (721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SIXTY YEARS AGO

Brandon philanthropist Dr. A.E. McKenzie cheered the hearts and the coffers of Brandon College when he told the board of directors that a gift of $175,000 would be forthcoming between now and June 1964. McKenzie, honorary chairman of the board, has given $14,000 a year to the college for 25 years through the A.E. McKenzie Foundation.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Dorothy Jones was honoured at a retirement party at the Canadian Inn. Jones has worked for the Metropolitan Store for the past 44 years.

Photography Unlimited, Brandon’s first independent photographic supply store, opened recently at 416 10th St. Owners are Glenn Smith and G.E. (Bev) Barkley.

FORTY YEARS AGO

The annual inflation rate slipped to 4.9 per cent last month, its lowest level since it hit 4.7 per cent in August 1972 and down from five per cent in September.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

Nearly 120 years after the North West Mounted Police embarked on their trek west to run the whisky traders from Fort Whoop-up, a new controversy is brewing over their trail. Communities along Highway 3, which runs parallel to the international border, want the exclusive right to promote a tourism route capitalizing on the NWMP legacy. This pits them against neighbouring towns along Highway 2, which is being labelled the Red Coat Trail.

The U.S. Senate approved the North American free trade deal last night, clearing the last hurdle in the United States to the accord’s enactment Jan. 1.

TWENTY YEARS AGO

The fate of the former Brandon Mental Health Centre now rests in the hands of private developers and not a provincial government plan to expand colleges in Manitoba. In the New Democratic Party’s speech from the throne yesterday in Winnipeg, the government indicated it will work with the City of Brandon and investors to create housing at the century-old institution.

Black Bond Books, an institution on Rosser Avenue for nearly 20 years, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in British Columbia, where the original family owners now run a 13-store chain. Owner Cathy Jesson claims to have never forgotten her Brandon roots, crediting the small-town service philosophy cultivated here with the chain’s resounding success in B.C. Jesson’s mother, Madeleine Neill, opened Black Bond Books on Rosser in 1963, naming it for the surnames of two of Jesson’s great-grandmothers. Neill’s husband was a partner, but was also busy running his own Barry Neill Men’s Wear on 10th Street.

Unionized instructors, tradespeople and support staff at Assiniboine Community College have voted 91 per cent in favour of rejecting the school’s latest contract offer.

TEN YEARS AGO

The power went out, federal candidates talked provincial politics — and Conservative Larry Maguire showed up. The third Brandon-Souris byelection debate was hosted by the Brandon Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. It had a different format than previous forums, as candidates were put on the chamber’s “hot seat.” About 100 people came out to watch the debate at the Victoria Inn, the first time all five candidates participated. Maguire pulled out of the Brandon Friendship Centre debate last week and the forum hosted by the Brandon University Students’ Union on Monday due to scheduling conflicts.