by Bruce Cherney (part 1)
“Winnipeg has not forgotten. Winnipeg will never forget,” claimed the Manitoba Free Press, the day after the province’s new cenotaph was unveiled by Manitoba Lieutenant-Governor T...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 2)
On December 14, 1906, Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Daniel Alexander Macdonald issued his ruling on what had become known to the public as the Free Press Ghost Case.
“This is an a...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 1)
In the realm of spooky, it’s really a ghost of a tale. But in this case, it wasn’t the presence of a spectre — real or imagined — that provided plenty of copy for the print media, but...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 3 of 3)
The Romans didn’t invent the aqueduct — it’s an honour which falls to the ancient Assyrians, whose engineers were well aware that water flows downhill. King Sennacherib (721-705 BC) or...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 2)
The benefit of Shoal Lake was that its water would not require treatment for human consumption, according to professor C.S. Schlichter of Wisconsin, who had been hired to undertake yet another investigation ...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 1)
Despite its significance to the city of Winnipeg, the historic event was ushered in with little fanfare. In fact, its announcement was buried on page 6 of the Manitoba Free Press. On April 7, 1919, the newsp...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 2 of 2)
In the courtroom, many of the witnesses refuted the Crown’s interpretation of events, saying the blood found on defendant Robert Morran’s clothing was the result of helping his father to...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 1)
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, Dr. Mortimer told Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes he observed two sets of footprints on the pathway outside Baskerville Hall. He said one set w...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 2 of 2)
The first stage performance in the Walker Theatre was held on Monday, December 17, 1906, although the official opening would occur two months later.
“The glory of last night was his ...
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by Bruce Cherney (part 1 of 2)
In the spring of 1905, rumours were spreading throughout Winnipeg’s theatre-going public that impresario C.P. Walker was planning to build a new playhouse. The rumours were fueled by Walker’...
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