Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society board members with Reeve and Mayor (left to right): Reeve Loren Schinkel, Mayor Gordon Peters, Brigitte Schneider, Gord Emberley, Hallie Lavoie, Terry Tottle, Marlene Tottle, Mae Lavoie, Kaitlyn Mitchell (summer student), Gus Wruck, Denise Joss, Skylor Mitchell, and Maryanne Shipley... missing Norm Plato & Kathy Willis

Visitors, volunteers, vendors, and weather all contributed to a great Open House on Saturday, May 20th at the Lac du Bonnet District Museum!

This being the 100th birthday of the formation of the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet and Council, we showcased exhibits celebrating RM100. Included among these exhibits are the “Community Travel Trunks,” which we created as our RM100 project.

The outdoor exhibits of the Wendigo, Hans Erickson cabin and Lac du Bonnet’s CPR train switch featured new descriptive signs, funded in part by the Lac du Bonnet Charitable Foundation.

Special VIP guests Reeve Loren Schinkel and Mayor Gordon Peters graced the attendees with opening speeches.

RM100 cakes were served along with coffee and lemonade.

Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society President Gus Wruck starting with an introductory speech to our VIP guests Reeve Loren Schinkel and Mayor Gordon Peters.

Getting the RM100 cakes ready for cutting....

This year the Lac du Bonnet and District Historical Society celebrated a tribute to our German settlers on Friday, December 2 at the Lac du Bonnet Community Center. It was a wonderful evening with the German dancers getting everyone off their chairs, dancing and singing. A silent auction, rainbow auction and 50/50 draw were held to raise funds for the Lac du Bonnet and District Historical Society. We would like to thank local businesses, members, and everyone who generously donated prizes and their time to make this event a success.

The history of Germans in Manitoba began as early as 1670 when Ruprecht Von Wittelsbach (Prince Rupert of the Rhine) became the first Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company. One hundred and fifty years later, German mercenaries were among the settlers brought in by Lord Selkirk. They tilled land along the Seine River until 1826 when most of these settlers moved to Eastern Canada or the United States because they found the farming conditions on the area poor.

By the late 1870s, 7,000 German-speaking Mennonites arrived in Manitoba, followed by many more settlers of German descent in the early 1900s brought to Canada by news of the rich farm land in the West. There was great diversity among these German Manitobans: they practiced a variety of religions, including Lutheran, Baptist, Hutterite and Mennonite, and many spoke either High or Low German, which were so different of dialects that they could not always understand one another.

In this area, the first Lutheran German settler was Friedrich Karl Wenzel, who registered for a homestead in August 1884, which was located twelve miles north of Beausejour and two miles west of the Brokenhead River. By 1896, a large group of Russian-Germans arrived in the Brokenhead area. These farmers were very successful over the coming years. In December 1906, the Beausejour German Society held their first ball, which some 200 people attended. The areas of Thalberg, Glenmoor and Golden Bay were also settled by German families. By April 1900, some forty German families were living in Whitemouth, primarily in the area that would become River Hills.

On March 12, 1908, Hermann L. Otto of Thalberg reported to the German Newspaper Der Nordwestern that he had been “working for J.D. McArthur in a bush camp at Milner, where [he received] $30 per month.” He also stated that once they were finished at Milner, eleven men were moved to Lac du Bonnet to work there.

Arnold Weiss, 1905
Courtesy of Karen Weiss

Two of the local German settlers were Arnold Weiss and Roy Freund. Arnold Weiss moved to Lac du Bonnet in 1903 and, for sixteen years, worked as a sawyer for J.D. McArthur. In 1905, he married Emeila Bruneau. They lived on Second St. for five years until they purchased and worked two farms one mile west of Lac du Bonnet. Weiss Road, off Hwy. 214, serves as a reminder of where they lived with their twelve children. In 1921, Arnold took on the contract to build a road from Lac du Bonnet to Milner Ridge, which would provide additional access to Beausejour, Whitemouth and Winnipeg.

Roy Freund, outside Allard Building Store May 1932
Courtesy of Charlotte Kitzmann

Roy Freund emigrated from Germany in 1928, settling in Green Bay with his sister and family. He took work where he could: painting, harvesting, working in bush camps and mines, until he found a steady job at the butcher shop in the Allard Building. During WWII, Roy served with the Canadian Army. Upon return to Lac du Bonnet, he married Verna Slaboda and worked for Harry Springman for two years before becoming manager of the Allard Building store. In the early 1950s, having saved enough money, Roy built a new grocery store, the IGA Food Market, located on Park Ave. where the dental clinic now stands. In 1962, he expanded and built a new store on Second St. (where Dancyt’s Fine Foods is today) called Roy’s Solo Food Market. This development sparked the change from residential to commercial buildings on Second St. Roy also served on the Town Council, was Chairman of the School Board and was involved with many community pursuits including the Anglican Church, Legion and curling. Roy retired in 1972, selling his business to the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Today, 9% if the areas’ residents are German.

This year the Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society celebrated a tribute to the Finnish settlement in our region on Friday December 4 at the Lac du Bonnet Community Center.

Leno Knox, the daughter of Finnish immigrant Pete Livo, who resided in Pointe du Bois, gave a wonderful speech on the Finnish history to the attentive audience of 155+ people. Leona also had on display the costume her mother Alli Livo (see Photo) brought with her when she arrived in Canada in 1928, her Transatlantic ship boarding pass and her passport, along with other memories.

Miriam Simoens a decendant of the Tuokko Family, raised on Pinawa Bay, also had a Finnish Costume on display, along with a table of more current items from Finland. Miriam played a very important role in baking traditional Finnish breads and desserts which were combined with other Finnish desserts made by Iona Plato.

The Lac du Bonnet District Museum displayed photographs of early Finns from Elma, Whitemouth, Newcombe, Riverland, Pointe du Bois, and Pinawa Bay.

The displays were overwhelmed with onlookers, photo takers, memories, and information.

Entertainment this year was “storyteller” Kay Stone with a tale of the Kalevala chapter  Lemminkainen the trickster and Don MacLellan on acoustic guitar

89 pounds of food was collected at the door and donated to the local food bank. Silent auction, rainbow auction, and 50 / 50 draw were held to raise funds for the Lac du Bonnet and District Historical Society.

We would like to thank local businesses, members, and everyone who generously donated prizes and their time to make this event a success.

Finland is a Nordic country in northern Europe bordered by Sweden to the west, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east.

Unrest with the Russian occupancy of Finland Tsar Nicholas 11 's  February Manifesto of 1899, combined with Canada's Minister of the Interior Sir Clifford Sifton's advertising free homesteads in western Canada initiated a great exodus of Finns from Finland.

The Finns came to the USA then spread across the prairies favoring SE Saskatchewan "New Finland".

The late 1890s saw Finns settle in Whitemouth and Elma. Later they settled in Newcombe, Riverland, Pinawa Bay, Lee River, and Pointe du Bois.

December 5th , 2014

“Bienvenue: our French heritage was the theme of our Annual Wine & Cheese Fundraiser at the community center. The weather certainly cooperated with us, as we had a full house of guests coming from all areas within the RM of Lac du Bonnet and beyond. Many new faces along with familiar faces enjoyed the evening of historical displays, entertainment, draws, fabulous French wines, and delicious foods featuring Sucre a la Crème.

Our French history focused around the areas of Maple Creek, Landerville, Crescent Bay, and of course Lac du Bonnet. For detailed information of the French settlements in these areas be sure to check our tab, titled “History and Stories” on this website.

One of the displays featured George Veilleux’s christening gown from 1923. George and his family were long time residents of Lac du Bonnet. Joseph George Albert aka “Chief” Veilleux (1923-2001 )was a WW11 Vet ,City Hydro, and Natural Resources employee.

Also displayed was a wonderful log cabin quilt made by the Roman Catholic Church ladies auxiliary for raffle during a card party . Maria David won the quilt and later passed it on to Evangeliste David in 1940.. This quilt was on loan from Laurentine Fournier for the evening. Louise Ylonen was generous enough to loan us a primitive hand carved chair and frame done by Jean Baptiste David who settled in Crescent Bay area during the depression.

Our special MC’s for the evening were Marie Hiebert and her father Archie Cing- Mars who spoke to the audience in both English and French .

Our wonderful entertainment consisted of Erin Okrainec who is an 11 year old Fiddler from Winnipeg. She has been playing the violin for just over 4 years. She has placed 1st in “10 and under” at the Manitoba Open 2013 Fiddle Contest and 2nd at the International Old Time Fiddlers Contest 2014 “Junior-Junior Division” held at the International Peace Gardens. Erin loves playing Old Time Fiddle Music.

“Old time has a fun swing, with lots of change-ups. When I play it, I just want to dance and smile.”

Also playing some great French tunes were The duo “1 Plus 1” comprised of Ed Courcelles and Guy Lacroix. Ed hails from Pine Falls/Powerview and Guy from Lorette. Both now live in the Lac du Bonnet area and have taken to music as a retirement activity. They entertain in both English and French and have been regulars for years at various venues in the Franco-Manitoban community such as the Festival du Voyageur.
The event proved to be another great success and we especially thank the many French descendants who so willingly dug deep into their history and old photos, allowing us to tell their stories, and our local businesses and volunteers for their continued support.

Sucre à la Crème

• 1 C. heavy whipping cream 35%
• 1 1/2 C. brown sugar 1 1/2 C. white sugar
• 1 tbsp. butter 1 tsp vanilla a pinch of salt
• Boil cream & sugars together on medium heat stirring constantly until soft ball stage .
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla & salt. Stir approx. 3 mins. to cool down , then add butter. Stir vigorously until thickened like gravy.
• Place into parchment lined 9 x 9 pan and let cool about 2 hours.

December 6, 2013

2013 Wine & Cheese

"Sveikt" Latvian Heritage took place two days after a major snow storm which left Lac du Bonnet with a downfall of 10 - 12 inches of snow. The weather that evening was -25 without the wind chill. Needless to say we were concerned that the turnout would be affected.

However at 6:15 pm the guests began to arrive. We had approx. 145 people, which equaled last years' attendance.

Lettonia balsam firs were centerpieces on each table, and a huge Lettonia Balsam was placed beside the four photo display boards and artifacts.The photo displays showcased: Bird River, Lee River, Lettonia, and Newcombe Latvian immigrants, Latvian entrepreneurial spirit, "Janis", Newcombe School, and Lettonia Post Office.

2013 Wine & Cheese

The artifact displays featured John Lapin's story including a home tanned leather jacket and bag, carved wooden tool handles he sold through Osis Building Supply, and homemade soap made by his wife Mary. The Sarapu broad ax was wedged into a hewed dovetailed log and told the story of the Sarapu family barn. There was also displayed a Latvian doll donated by Peggy Yuill (Sarapu), a hand hooked rug, and a Latvian wool blanket on loan from the Apsit family, Latvian woven fabric, embroidery, knitted socks, and mitts from Aina Turton, along with a Latvian inspired embroidered skirt donated by the Dancyt family. There was an original wax paper bread wrapper (framed) circa 1947 from the Usackis Bakery which showcased their 25 years at the bakery. Also showcased was an anvil from Alex Dancyt telling his story, the original Bird River 1924 and 1936 school records, and an old box of sturgeon hooks along side Alfred Apsit photo with a huge sturgeon catch. A color portrait of Arnold Urban playing his accordion done by Gay Kirby, who was Lettonia Albert Johnson's daughter added to the display.

We also had for sale three local history books "Caviar and Venison", "The House Beside the Rock Hill", and "Tramway to the Pointe".

2013 Wine & Cheese

Karen David (Dancyt) was the MC who gave a short story of her grandfather Alex Dancyt coming to Lac du Bonnet from Latvia with just the shirt on his back, becoming a camp cook, laborer, blacksmith, baker, and eventually a store and dance hall owner ( Aleda Hall).

She spoke of the Austin street connection in Winnipeg where her mom lived upstairs.

Mary Louise Chown with her Dulcimer and Donna Drysdale (Aina Turton's daughter), accompanied on guitar by her son Jordon, performed Latvian folk tales and songs to the delight of the audience.

Arnold Urban on accordian, Allan Urban on guitar, and Betty Dancyt on keyboard also performed. Betty has been playing with Arnold for 64 years in the Lac du Bonnet area.

Allan was showing the audience a bit of the Urban humor by his intervening comments.

Susan Karklin, Diane Neal, and Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Drawson served their homemade pirags to the guests at the tables.

The finger food also consisted of local smoked goldeye and Dancyt's Kurtwurst sausage.

The atmosphere was wonderful, there were tears shed, laughter abound, and friendships reunited. Joyce Alksne shed a tear when a lady brought in her grandfather's citizenship paper from 1918 which had John Alksne's signature on it.

We thank all our local businesses and volunteers who contributed to the success of this event.