The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2009, Qupperneq 14

104
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 62 #3
The tour circled through The Forks
past the travel information center, with
Johnson Terminal in the background and
then went past the Inn at the Forks.
As we continued through The Forks,
we reached Waterfront Drive. We passed
the baseball stadium on the left and on the
right across the Red River we could see the
now amalgamated, former Francophone
city of St. Boniface, home to the Festival du
Voyageur.
As we continued north on Waterfront
Drive, the Stephen Juba Walk came into
view. Stephen Juba was a colourful, ambi-
tious and entrepreneurial mayor. During
his tenure the 911 emergency system was
established and is now used all over the
world. Waterfront Drive along the Red
River is now rebuilt and has many presti-
gious boutiques condominiums on it.
The next site on Waterfront Drive was
the James Street pumping station. This was
the first home of The Winnipeg Fire
Department. In the early days, horse drawn
wagons were used to carry the water to the
fires. Water was drawn from the river to
spray the fires. This practice was halted
after an outbreak of typhoid fever occurred
because the water was contaminated by
sewage in the river.
Victoria Park is located west of the
Alexander Docks on James Street. The
park was the site of the first Icelandic
Festival or Islendingadagurinn in 1890.
Along Waterfront Avenue there are also
monuments to the Scottish settlers and a
diorama featuring Sir William Stephenson,
of Icelandic descent.
Continuing down Waterfront Drive,
we turned right on Higgins then on to
Annabella and turned left. From 1909 until
the end of the Second World War, this
street was the heart of Winnipeg's Red
Light District. Number 157 Anabella was
where Minnie Woods, “Queen of the
Brothels,” held court. The area contains
many female street names, reportedly hon-
ouring the wives of prominent citizens and
perhaps some of the area's "ladies of the
evening" as well.
Our tour continued along Annabella
to the 1950s era dike at Rover Street. From
Rover we turned right on to Syndicate
Street to view the home of Sir William
Stephenson at #175. He was bom at 28
Higgins Avenue to an Icelandic mother.
After his father died, he was raised by
Vigfus Stephenson and family. He adopted
his foster parent's name. As an adult, he
was a friend of Ian Fleming, author of the
James Bond 007 novels. Fleming fashioned
his main character on Sir William, who had
been a brilliant and audacious British espi-
onage agent during WW11 and was called
“Intrepid.”
The tour then turned left on to
Sutherland Avenue and traveled to the
Brown and Rutherford Lumber Company.
This was where many Icelandic immigrants
were employed. Also on the left is the
Louise Bridge, named after Queen
Victoria's daughter.
Turning right on Higgins, the tour
stopped at the old CPR station built in
1904. Built in the Beaux Arts style, the sta-
tion is designated a provincial heritage site
Pharmacists:
ERNEST STEFANSON
GARRY FEDORCHUK
CLAIRE GILLIS
642-5504
[rSpharmasave
We care
about your health
Centre and Fourth / Gimli, MB / ROC 1 BO