Taking a walk in history’s shoes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/07/2019 (2512 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A crowd of community members took a step into Brandon’s past this weekend to learn more about the city’s history.

About 20 people gathered together outside the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Sunday afternoon to take a walking tour, focused on what the north end of Brandon was like in the 1900s.

“I’ve been in Brandon for 10 years, and I know there’s quite a bit of history that I’m not aware of,”said Cameron Pakulak. “It’s always nice to learn about what went on in your backyard.”

The tour was held as part of Doors Open Brandon, an annual event that lets visitors explore buildings not generally open to the public and aims to educate people on the history of the community.

In the early 1900s, the north end was dubbed Brandon’s ghetto by what was then known as the Brandon Daily Sun, said history enthusiast and tour leader David McConkey.

A similar tour of the north end was held at Doors Open in 2014, with many people coming along who had family members who had immigrated and moved to that part of town.

It was so popular they decided to bring it back this past weekend with a few small changes.

This year, there was a little bit more information about the bilingual Ruthenian (what Ukrainian was called back then) English school program in Manitoba.

McConkey hoped it gave people more of an appreciation for the city of Brandon.

“Going on a walking tour is an illustration of what you can gain if you slow down and take a closer look at the city that’s there,” he said. “Rather than just rushing by to get to the next appointment or part of your life, just stopping to pay more attention as you go for a stroll.”

The tour started at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and moved on to St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. Both churches were open to the public as part of the event, and people could go in and tour them before or after the walking tour wrapped up. Other stops on the tour included the Internment Camp Plaque, Ninth St. North, Assiniboine Avenue, 12th Street North, 53 12th St. North and Stickney Avenue. They also looked at old storefronts and a number of houses along the route.

Dorothy Walker came out to the tour on Sunday to learn more about where she grew up. Although she now lives in the south end, as a child she used to live at 903 Stickney Ave.

“I just wanted to see the history of the north end because I was here, and I don’t know a lot of the older history,” Walker said.

Others currently live in the area and wanted to learn more about it.

“It’s just really nice to know the history and to participate in the community,” said Chelsea Pakulak, who lives a few streets over from where the tour started at the church.

It was a mix of older and younger people who came out over the weekend, McConkey said.

“People of all ages are stopping to take the time to appreciate what’s around them. It’s a good event. It reminds people of just what is actually around them if people stop and take an extra look.”

» mverge@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @Melverge5