One Great History

Building the Gingerbread City Hall

Winnipeg's Gingerbread City Hall was, for many years, a distinctive local landmark. It was demolished in 1962 amidst safety concerns and a larger push to modernize Winnipeg. Sabrina's not here to talk about that, though. Instead, we're talking about the construction of the Gingerbread City Hall and the many, many scandals that plagued it throughout the 1880s.

A Mystery at Falcon Lake

In May of 1967, amateur geologist Stefan Michalak was looking for quartz in the Whiteshell when he saw something bizarre. Was it an alien spacecraft? An experimental rocket ship? A hoax? In this episode, Alex interviews UFOlogist Chris Rutkowski and we talk through the UFO sighting known as the Falcon Lake Incident as well as its aftermath and a few theories. Plus: a special guest who may or may not be Alex's dad.

 

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Harlequin Romance Novels: A History

After almost a year out of the studio, Sabrina, Alex and Nick are back to recording in person! To kick us off, Sabrina recaps the unusual and unpredictable story of Harlequin Romance - a publishing house founded in Winnipeg that is now one of the largest romance publishers in the world. Their start, as it turns out, was not nearly as romantic. 

Also of note - One Great History will now be released MONTHLY!

Polio in Manitoba

In an attempt to be topical, Sabrina goes through the storied history of polio in Manitoba - from the early epidemic era, through bizarre treatment ideas and wonky science, to one of Canada's largest vaccination initiatives. We promise, we didn't want this episode to feel quite as relevant as it does.

 

Content Warning: This episode was recorded over a month ago, before the discovery of the bodies of 215 children at the former Kamloops Residential School. We are all heartbroken by the discovery, and unfortunately this episode contains a similar incident on a smaller scale. It is discussed from 54:46-57:03 so you can expect it or skip it if you aren't in a space for it.

All About Archives

What even is an archive? Do we even really need them? Sabrina and Alex tackle these questions and talk to archivist Tom Nesmith and filmmakers Jesse Green and Vanda Fleury-Green about the importance of the City of Winnipeg archives and the less-than-ideal situation they're in.

Whoa Nellie - The Mock Parliament

In 1914, Nellie McClung and a delegation of her fellow suffragettes went to the provincial legislature to be heard on the topic of women voting. While they presented their best arguments in favour of suffrage, McClung found herself half-hoping that Premier Roblin would not be swayed. If he somehow changed his mind, after all, it would make her biting impression of him the very next night somewhat awkward.

In this episode we talk about the Manitoba suffrage movement's most famous piece of campaigning: the mock parliament presented at the Walker Theatre, a role-reversal in which women debated whether men ought to vote. We also talk about the problematic politics of Nellie McClung. (Spoiler: Alex has VERY mixed feelings.)

The Battle At Market Square

Sabrina and Alex explore an uglier side of Winnipeg's history in this episode, namely, the rise of fascism and Nazism in Winnipeg in the 1930s. We discuss the rise and fall of the various parties (yes, there were more than one) and the countless ways Winnipeggers fought back against them, including a large riot called the Battle At Market Square.

Warning: this episode does contain discussion of antisemitism.

The Ladies of Rachel Street

Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Winnipeg had not one, but three red light districts. Over and over, we debated over how best to deal with the existence of sex work. Create a "segregated district" for ease of policing? Shut down the district (again) to preserve the morality of the city? Find out what happened on this new episode of One Great History!

The Ballad of Ginger Snooks

It's finally time for Sabrina to talk about her favourite garbageman: Robert "Ginger" Snook! From city scavenger, eccentric electoral candidate,  and absurd local celebrity, Ginger Snook was everywhere in the early 1900s and was remembered (not fondly, but remembered) by many who knew him.

Bathtub Gin and Fighting Sin: Winnipeg's Prohibition Past

Prohibition is always a fun topic - speakeasies, Al Capone, bootlegging! Alex is here to tell you that none of that exciting stuff happened in Manitoba. Believe it or not, Manitobans demanded prohibition. And then we changed our mind. Were temperance-advocates just middle-class busybodies? Did bootleg liquor really taste like old boots? Listen to find out!