History Nuggets
When the Week’s Work is Done
In the Black family photo collection at the Manitoba Agricultural Museum, there is an image of some Black family members gathered around a Ford Model T car, sitting on the running board or on the grass, relaxing and chatting. The week’s work is all done as most of the people in the photo are well…
READ MOREBrandon, Saskatchewan and Hudson’s Bay Railway
In addition to the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian Northern Railway, which later became part of the Canadian National Railway, Brandon had a third railway, the optimistically named Brandon, Saskatchewan and Hudson’s Bay Railway (BSHB) which was a subsidiary of the Great Northern Railway. While the line got to Brandon, it never got to Saskatchewan,…
READ MOREBacksetting Revisited
In a 2018 History Nugget, we described the backsetting method of breaking virgin sod. A reader informed us that there is more information on backsetting in the book Profitable Grain Growing written in 1919 by Seager Wheeler, a noted agronomist and grain grower of the time. Seager Wheeler immigrated to Canada in 1885 and in…
READ MORERestoring Big Roy
While the Manitoba Agricultural Museum’s collection includes some very recognizable artifacts such as the Case 32-110 steam engine, Rumely Model E Oil Pull, Bull Moose Sheaf Loader, and others, the most recognizable artifact is the prototype Versatile Model 1080 tractor better known as Big Roy. Big Roy is one of our biggest attractions; people from…
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