Looking Back — Jan. 6, 2024

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/01/2024 (725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SIXTY YEARS AGO

Brandon and western Manitoba residents are being asked this month to dust off old books and other records of Canadian history to help provide a storehouse of Canadian knowledge at Brandon College.

Thieves netted almost $500 after a safe was dynamited at the Big Four Sales Ltd. at 618 Rosser Ave. this morning.

FIFTY YEARS AGO

Industry Minister Leonard Evans confirmed that Manitoba does not plan to switch to daylight time this winter.

A former Brandon alderman, Hugh Gibson, is dead at the age of 69. Until his death, Gibson continued along involvement in Brandon’s public affairs as a member of the Brandon Housing Authority board.

Work has started on the second storey of the Manitoba Telephone Building on Victoria Avenue and 18th Street. When completed in July, the addition will have cost $1 million.

FORTY YEARS AGO

Prairie farmers will receive final grain payments totalling just over $409.7 million for the 1982-83 crop year. Final payments for Canadian western red spring wheat, which makes up more than 90 per cent of the crops, will be 48 cents a bushel, or $17.84 a tonne.

Canadian National Railway made a profit in excess of $200 million in 1983, reversing the previous year’s record loss of $223 million.

THIRTY YEARS AGO

Following a fairly mild Christmas on the Prairies, winter returned with a vengeance yesterday, packing cold temperatures and high winds. Winnipeg was one of the national cold spots, reporting in at -40 C, counting the wind chill factor.

Canada captured the gold medal at the world junior hockey championship in the Czech Republic when they beat Sweden 6-4 to end up with a 6-0-1 record. Wheat King Marty Murray played for the Canadian team.

TWENTY YEARS AGO

A skyrocketing Canadian dollar has Brandonites once again choosing Hawaii, Florida and other sunny United States locales for winter getaways, says Marlene Kirton. The Canadian dollar surged above 78 cents US yesterday for the first time since July 1993, dropping slightly by the end of the day to close at 77.99 US.

Brandon Transit has stopped running its special 10 p.m. to midnight bus route and cut back service on a number of routes throughout the city. After scrapping its community bus and rerouting a number of routes in the past 18 months, Brandon Transit shortened the routes of its circular bus route, Routes 20 and 21, and stopped some daytime runs to Maple Leaf Pork along Richmond Avenue. The latest cuts, expected to save the city $234,000, will be followed in May by further cutbacks on all routes.

TEN YEARS AGO

Military training that included a tour in Afghanistan gave a passing motorist the steely resolve to stop and talk a teenage girl out of dropping off the First Street bridge to the train tracks many metres below.

Positive profiling and youth mentorship initiatives are what Brandon’s aboriginal liaison officer hopes to accomplish in upcoming months. David Ironstand, who has been an active member of the Brandon Urban Aboriginal Peoples’ Council, took over the newly created position in September, and has been focused on carrying forward BUAPC’s main objectives — education, housing, economic development and employment. Ironstand’s nine-month term contracted position is also dedicated to creating positive profiles of Brandon’s aboriginal peoples. Ironstand said educating the public is key to achieving that goal.