One Great History

One Great 150 - Helen Armstrong

In 1917, Helen Armstrong burst onto the labour scene. A passionate and opinionated speaker, dedicated to the labour movement, she quickly became a voice for working women in Winnipeg in a time of rapid social change and growing labour movements.

One Great 150 - Winnie the Pooh

En route to a military training camp at the start of the First World War, Winnipeg veterinarian Harry Colebourn purchased a baby black bear cub for $20 from a hunter on a train platform and named her Winnipeg. She quickly become the darling of the Canadian Veterinary Corps and the rest of the troops at Salisbury Plains, and when Colebourn left her at the London Zoo for safekeeping she became a favourite for zoo visitors. Including A.A. Milne and his young son, Christopher Robin.

One Great 150 - Margaret Scott

In the fifth episode of our One Great 150 series, we talk about Margaret Scott, an early Winnipeg philanthropist and purveyor of the social gospel. We discuss just how gross Winnipeg was at the turn of the century, and whether organizations like the Margaret Scott Nursing Mission succeeded in making it less so.

Thank you to Dr. Esyllt Jones for her help on this episode!

 

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One Great 150 - Francis Evans Cornish

Buckle up folks, it's the big moment: Winnipeg is about to become a city. And rushing headfirst to the mayoral race is Francis Evans Cornish, local lawyer and known drunk. Surely everything will go well.

One Great 150 - Elzéar Goulet

In episode three of our One Great 150 series, we cover the Red River Resistance by following the path of Elzéar Goulet, a mail carrier who became a leader in Louis Riel's Métis armed forces and, ultimately, was one of six men who decided the fate of Thomas Scott. Though Goulet was a player in many of the key moments of the resistance, the most lasting impact of his story may have been the tragedies that followed in the wake of his death.

Thank you to Jean Teillet, author of The North-West is Our Mother, for her help in this episode. Her full interview can be found on our Patreon page.

One Great 150 - Sarah Ballenden

The summer of 1850 saw the Red River Colony embroiled in scandal. Captain Christopher Foss was sueing several residents of Upper Fort Garry for defamation after they'd accused Sarah Ballenden (the Metis wife of the Chief Factor, and functionally the first lady of the fort) of having an affair. Social lines were drawn within the colony, highlighting the divides that been steadily growing over the past decade.

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For $5 a month you also get access to our bonus episodes, including post 150 episode discussions on sources and what we had to leave out.

Thanks to the Winnipeg Free Press and the Manitoba Historical Society for their support! You can check out a brief write up of the episode in the Winnipeg Free Press.

About One Great 150:

The premise is simple: 15 people, 150 years. With 16 episodes leading up November 9th, 2023 - the 150th anniversary of the signing of Winnipeg's incorporation papers.

 

One Great 150 - Chief Peguis

Welcome to the first episode of One Great 150, folks! We're beyond excited to get this project going and to have you along for the ride. And to kick things off, we're starting with Chief Peguis!

 

The Red River Valley that Peguis arrived into was one already marked with the scars of the fur trade, and he quickly established himself as a skilled leader, hunter, and warrior in the area. Over his summers spent at his camp near Kildonan Park, Peguis would witness the comings and goings of countless new arrivals: Cuthbert Grant, returned home after many years away, the Selkirk Settlers, the Selkirk Settlers coming back, and Lord Selkirk - who Peguis would sign the Peguis-Selkirk of 1817 with.

 

A huge thank you to Niigan Sinclair and Allen Sutherland for speaking to us about Peguis! If you want to hear the interviews in full (and you should, they're great), you can check them out for free on our Patreon - available here. For $5 a month you also get access to our bonus episodes, including post 150 episode discussions on sources and what we had to leave out.

 

Thanks to the Winnipeg Free Press and the Manitoba Historical Society for their support! You can check out a brief write up of the episode in the Winnipeg Free Press.

 

About One Great 150:

 

The premise is simple: 15 people, 150 years. With 16 episodes leading up November 9th, 2023 - the 150th anniversary of the signing of Winnipeg's incorporation papers.

 

Hanukkah in Winnipeg

Happy Hanukkah! This December, we explore some historic Hanukkah celebrations in Winnipeg, including a potato-grating contest and a questionable fruit salad. We are also joined by Belle Jarniewski from the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, who tells us a little bit about the history of the holiday and its significance for Winnipeg's Jewish community.

Winnipeg Free Press 150

Alex and Sabrina look back at the history of Winnipeg's paper of record and some of the journalists who helped make it what it is today. They also convince Nick to do a skit!

Manipogo

Alex tells Sabrina and Nick all about Manipogo, Manitoba's very own sea monster! Future doctor Kimber joins us to explain how this cannot exist.