The Golden Boy and a Cemetery Full of Bachelorettes – Winnipeg Highlights

So, you are probably wandering. with the list of ‘les doit voirs’ from Jean Yves, if I ever made it beyond the grounds of the Legislative Assembly.  Good news!  I also made it inside.  Afterall, he wouldn’t want me to miss seeing the ‘Golden Boy’, who sits atop the dome of the building.  Inspired by Hermes, of Greek mythology fame, the Golden Boy represents the future of Manitoba.  Running through the fields of wheat to embrace the West and social progress.  Like Hermes, he carries the torch and a message of hope… a message which cannot be ignored.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that the Golden Boy is like 30 ft tall and has  a weight measured in tons to boot! .

The Legislative Assembly is an architectural marvel.  Like Saskatchewan, it was built in anticipation of a provincial population of nearly 15 million.  Manitoba got a little closer… but as we know, Canada as a whole is only standing at 33 million.  So, a little ways to go for us all yet in terms of our early provincial population targets, eh?

 Columns of marble, grand stair cases, elaborate carvings… no expense was spared!  In fact, the building’s original project manager, a Mr. Kelly, was notorious for going over budget.  It was no wonder, when they discovered that his house (which was just down the street) was built almost entirely with materials he had stolen from the project.  Even the massive columns – apparently, it took these going missing to tip off the authorities of the already multi-hundreds of thousands stolen from the work site…;) – graced his front porch (and still stand today at the front of the Kelly apartments).  He was forced to flea the city and live in the U.S.  Hmm, just desserts?

 On my tour, there were visitors from all over the world – England, Pakistan, Japan… interestingly, Manitobans formed the largest contingent of my 20+ person or so tour.  The group from Pakistan asked if there are any fist fights or wrestling matches in the Legislative Assembly.  At first, the tour guide thought that the man asking the question was joking?  Turns out, that fights are common place when it comes to Pakistani governance.  The tour guide assured him that there was no fighting… the occasional name calling and perhaps thumping of desks with hands… but no fighting.  We all seemed a little disappointed…J.

 Later that afternoon, I took the bus (oh, did I mention that it is FREE downtown between the hours of 11:00 and 3:30… it is called the Spirit Bus!  And, tourists are not the only ones who ride… cool idea when you think about it!) to the Manitoba Museum which also houses the Planetarium and Science Centre.  Quite the place!!  There was an interactive CSI type exhibit (you could run prints, compare DNA samples, read evidence briefs) where you had to solve the mystery of who murdered the curator of Ancient Collections.  Entertaining and well, forensics are hot right now!  Also a part of the collection – your typical mish mash of Natural History, First Nations exhibits, History of the Fur Trade and the partial evolution of Manitoba from agricultural to urban existence.  There is also a replica of the ‘Nonsuch,’ the ship that took the first cargo of furs to England in 1668, resulting in the founding of the Hudson Bay Company.

My favourite exhibit and one of personal connection featured Winnipmg in the 1920s.  There was a recreation of the main drags, and how they would have looked, accompanied by displays on the immigrants making their way to Canada at the time.  Included in these were the Scots.  My grandmother and her family were among these immigrants.  They arrived in 1920, my grandma was 6.  It was surreal to be surrounded by images that she herself has lived and experienced.  It was quite moving to think about really… Here I am, with a dream to see and experience Canada – and I found a piece of shared history…  a small part of where my Canadian identity begins. . 

 Her mother, after losing her husband in the First World War, made the decision to move with her two children to Winnipeg.  Here, she would operate a rooming house and take in the occasional sewing.  There was an exhibit on how this was common practice… and that rooming houses of the 20s, though yielded only a modest existence for the family that ran them, provided many opportunities for meeting some of not only Canada’s most affluent, but interesting of characters.  Grandma has shared some stories of those who stayed with them… quite entertaining tales indeed!  Her mother must also have been a woman of great personal strength to take on this venture while raising two small children.

 While meandering through the exhibit, I couldn’t help but wonder about other things.  Like whether the Chocolate Shop where my grandmother (now 92… soon to be 93) and grandfather (whom I never did have the pleasure of knowing) went on their first date still stands?  Or if my grandmother and the theatre group she was a part of performed on the well worn stages that grace the cultural district of today…  I may never know for sure, but it was still fun to wonder.  And it did make it extra special to be in this place… I made a mental note to be sure to tell her of my time here when I am home for a few days in July.

 My visit to the Manitoba Museum concluded with the Planetarium show on the “Western Sky”.  I for one really ENJOY a good Planetarium show.  Yep, that confirms it, I’m a geek and proud of it.  But really, looking up the night skies has fascinated us as humans for centuries… it can’t hurt to become a little more acquainted with what we have been staring at all these years…;).

 One evening, I decided to take the All About Ghosts tour which focuses on the history and haunted happenings within Winnipeg.  The tour was quite well done and definitely worth the price of admission.  Especially, considering the amount of ground we covered both walking and on the ‘ghoster coaster’… otherwise known as a mini tour bus.

 Not only did I learn more about the area’s history and ghoulish past… but my tour also had one other point of interest.  A bachelorette party had made this one of their stops on their evening of revelry!  A woman dawning a necklace with charms shaped like various parts of the male anatomy and handcuffed to a blow-up doll was my first clue that something other than tourists may be afoot.  My second was the progressively more intoxicated and giggly gaggle of young women clutching to each other as they walked through the cemetery that was a part of the tour.  I found it all quite entertaining and they were genuinely interested in the tour…  apparently the bride-to-be is quite a fan of everything involving the supernatural.  I enjoyed talking/joking and making friends with the whole lot!   

 Ah yes, good fun in Winnipeg!  Tomorrow, I will head off to Sioux Look Out for a little ‘Northern Exposure’.  A leisurely morning and a relatively short train ride (6 or so hours) await me tomorrow… so will close for now.  The weather here has been quite warm and humid… looking forward to a little relief lakeside in Northern Ontario.  Until then!!