Looking Back 1947: Blizzard shuts down Neepawa
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, January 17, 2017
By Cecil Pittman
The Neepawa Press
80 years ago. Friday, Jan. 22, 1937: Congratulations are due today to Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Pasquill on the attainment of their 25 Wedding Anniversary. They were married January 22, 1911, at the All Saints Church, Thelwall Cheshire, England.
70 years ago. Thursday, Jan. 16, 1947: The blizzard of the past two days has put an entire stop to all travel by bus and so far the snowplows have not been out in this vicinity. The weather reporting apparatus at the local weather bureau is also out of commission which accounts for why we have no weather report this week.
60 years ago. Thursday, Jan. 17, 1957: Grand aggregate honours in Neepawa’s 18th annual men’s bonspiel which concluded Saturday, went to Keith King’s local rink. The popular local foursome headed by a first-year skip surprised the curling experts by chalking up an impressive record of 10 wins and one loss in the week long classic. Also on the team were lead R. A. (Bob) Ferris, Wayne Sparling, Keith King and Jerry White.
50 years ago. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 1967: DANGER – OPEN WATER: Ice on Lake Irwin has been broken up to allow oxygen into the water in attempt to save the Rainbow Trout population, and an area of open water at the west side of the lake is a definite danger to anyone travelling on the lake. Drivers in the area are warned to keep clear of this vicinity, as the ice may be undercut even if this is not apparent on the surface.
40 years ago. Thursday, Jan. 20, 1977: The Viscount Cultural Centre did not only open for business, it now has it’s own administrator as well. Mrs. Marlene Siatecki has taken on the position of administrator and she’s enthusiastic about getting things rolling. Her plans for the centre are both novel and interesting. One of the items on her agenda that will be getting underway almost immediately is Info-Neepawa. It’s an interesting, and completely free, service that will keep track of community events.
30 years ago. Thursday, Jan. 22, 1987: Word was received last week that the Neepawa Lions Club had been granted a telephone centre so that Neepawa and district contributors to the 13th annual Lions telethon can phone in pledges locally without having to compete for long-distance lines. The telethon will be held on Sunday Feb. 1 from 6 am to 7 pm and will be broadcast live from Pantages Playhouse Theatre in Winnipeg. Proceeds from Lions Telethon go to the Lions Foundation of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Incorporated and are used to meet some of the many requests for funding assistance that come from all parts of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario.
20 years ago. Monday, Jan. 20, 1997: The Neepawa version of the Community Works Loan Program has made its first loan, but don’t expect any details to be made public. Even though the loans program is supported by public funds, Committee members have no plans to reveal the identity of loan recipients or the amount received. “I guess you have to put yourself in their (loan recipient) shoes,” said Neepawa Area Development Corporation president, Betty Kozak. “Most people wouldn’t want their finances made public, and since we’re acting like a bank we’re treating recipients with confidentiality.”
10 years ago. Monday Jan. 15, 2007: A proposed American move to lower barriers to Canadian cattle imports will help the industry-a Neepawa-area cattle producer doubts it will ever return to what it was pre BSE. “We’re never going to get back to where we were”, Doug McLaren said. “Things will get better, but it will never be the same.” McLaren, who raises over 500-head of cattle, also said he never expected the initial discovery of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in an Alberta cow back in May 2003 would bring the industry to it’s knees. “I never thought it would last this long, “ he said. Following the discovery of BSE in an Alberta cow, Canadian beef exports were banned in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico. Although border restrictions have since loosened, only younger cattle are allowed to leave Canada.
