011.George Simpson, Problem Solver

And now you see if they hadn’t moved and had instead insisted on being flooded every bloody year, we wouldn’t have Lower Fort Garry, which is where George Simpson moved them to avoid flooding. And I’m going there this weekend. If you hear excited giggling on the breeze, that would be me FYI.

Come Retire at Thomas Kelly Retirement Estates

009.You are a Bad Man, Thomas Kelly!

Happy Labour Day! It would be fitting to post a comic maybe about the Winnipeg General Strike, but you get this instead. One connection maybe is that one member of the Citizens Committee of One Thousand (Travers Sweatman) represented Thomas Kelly at his trial. Another is that FJ Dixon, who was arrested on charges of conspiracy after the General Strike, was the main person who led the charge for an investigation into what was happening at the building site.

And why was he on trial, you ask? Because while building the legislature there were allegations of kickbacks and theft of materials. It’s said that Kelly used some of the materials meant for the legislature to build a house for himself and his friends. He was convicted and sent to prison, but apparently because he was so well-connected he just hung out, slept and ate at the warden’s house throughout his sentence. And he only paid back $30 000 of the $1.2 million he was supposed to pay back. But don’t worry, this has a happy ending because once out of prison he had a successful career in America. And Canadians love a Canadian succes story, right?

Kelly built a whole lot of stuff in Winnipeg including the Winnipeg Free Press building, the Grain Exchange Building, the Imperial Bank and the Bank of Toronto among many others.

Others have written more about Thomas Kelly, his legacy and life in Winnipeg and the Legislative Building Scandal all of which you can read more about at Winnipedia, West End Dumplings, and the Manitoba Historical Society (I know, a historical society!!!).

001.Whee!

An iconic image in Winnipeg history, and Canadian history. Maybe even global history! Because for a time people watched Winnipeg as the apparent mass uprising of Bolshevikism in Canada. Didn’t quite go that way. Even the New York Times was covering us! The first time and the last time, probably. Here’s a clip of their story:

you can read the entire article here. (With credit to http://1919winnipeggeneralstrike.blogspot.com/)

They say that history is written by the winners. I suggest that history is REwritten by bored history students. I think it’s good that we start with the notion that history can be fun – especially if it’s mostly devoid of facts.