Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 3, 1963, Winnipeg, Manitoba 18 Winnipeg free press saturday August 3, 1963 Little Street honors great Indian ninety years ago our civic authorities settled the Enigma of naming streets which run North from notre Dame Avenue. Starting with the first Street West of Princess they allotted More or less in alphabetical order names of girls said to have been Daugh ters of prominent citizens. The first girl Street is Ade Laide followed Westward by Charlotte which later became Hargrave. Then Dagmar fran Ces Gertie Harriet Isabel quotes i have never found in a Long experience of politics that criticism is Ever inhibited by ignorance. Prime minister Harold Macmillan. Science has been glamorized for so Long that Many people firmly believe it can do no wrong. This is a very danger Ous attitude. Duke of Edin Burgh. We Are All now living with in our Means even though we have to borrow Money to do so sir Geoffrey Lawrence j Juno Kate Lydia. West of Sherbrook Street we have Olivia and Pearl. Apparently they then struck on a name which should have followed Dagmar so the Street West of Pearl was named Emily. Tecumseh the Street West of Emily is the Western Boun Dary of one of this City s old est and most noteworthy institutions the Winnipeg general Hospital. Of the Many hundreds of motorists who drive along this thoroughfare it is doubtful if More than one per cent know the name of this Street. Doubt less fewer than that number Are aware of the reason for such a name. Why is there such a group ing of traffic on this Short and almost unknown Street motorists enter it from notre Dame Avenue at its Southern extremity and William Avenue on the North. Between these two is a driveway leading to the front Entrance of the hos Pital which is visited daily morning afternoon and eve Ning by friends and rela Tives of patients. A Pioneer business Man of this locale was indirectly responsible for the naming of this Street. It honors an Indian the origin of Street by Harry shave won Honor and distinction in the annals of Canadian his tory. Tecumseh was born near the site of the City of Springfield Ohio about 1768. He was a member of the Shawnee tribe. In the year 1805, together with his brother tens Kawa Kawac an attempt was made to unite the tribes of Western indians against the Whites. They claimed that the land was the common property of All the tribes and could be alienated Only by common consent. In 1sos he established a Vil Lige in Indiana but Battles be tween the Whites and indians followed and in 1811 the indians were Defeated by . Troops under general w. H. Harrison. The net result of this defeat was the coming to can Ada of Tecumseh and his Many followers. They entered with enthusiasm into the conflict the United states has to chief whom in the Days of move very fast to even stand the beginnings of the Selkirk j ican still. President Kennedy. Between the British and Amer Eer was he achieved enough during the War of 1812 to stamp him As one of the princes of a Warrior race and to enable him to stand beside Brock and Salaberry in the historic contest with Ameri can says Hopkins encyclopedia of Canada about Tecumseh. In this War he was Given the rank of brigadier general and took part in the capture of Detroit. In the accompanying picture of Tecumseh he is shown wearing the uniform of his rank but the head gear appears to be something of his own composition. It has been said of him that his conduct in the Field of Bat the was Only exceeded by his eloquence in Council. He had an aversion to external Orna mentation and when not in uniform his customary attire was a Deer skin coat and fringed pantaloons Indian moccasins on his feet and an Eagle Feather in the red Ker chief wound around his head. These were his simple and settlement at red River had Brief As it Tecumseh s car i soldiery accoutrements. Fancy free Grotto Tecumseh a and a Patriot he was contemptuous of glory or of the spoils of War. His five foot ten Inch stature carried with it the Eye and perception of a Hawk the in the year 1813 the Ameri can Indian who became a Brit ish Patriot was killed in Bat the at moravian own. It is fit Ting that in the name of a dignity and leadership of a Winnipeg Street bordering an High ranking general and the j institution of help and Corn patriotism to the British cause fort to suffering humanity equal to any of the great Lead the memory of Tecumseh ors. Should be perpetuated. Motor camping in the 30 s continued from preceding Page be pushed almost across the Road or lifted up a bit so we seemed to be sailing. The Tumbleweed rolled for Miles across the Prairies and piled up in huge Mounds wherever it met an obstacle. Dust was in our hair our eyes our nostrils. It grated Between our Teeth settled in our clothes and even crept into the suit cases. I cooking and eating outdoors was now out of the question so the budget had to be Hast ily revised to provide for eat ing in restaurants. We slept in the tent every night though because our Money could never be stretched to in clude hotel rooms. Once we camped in a Farmer s pasture and in t h e Middle of the night mum woke up screaming. Billy Billy there s a Mon Ster looking in the window. It s huge it la trample us to death daddy got out from under the warm blankets and went shivering lighting matches to find a big White horse peering in the Little Side window of the tent. That horse stayed there All night. Every now and then the tent would Sway a Little As he brushed against it and we could hear his snorting and stomping. Mum Lay awake All night muttering Little frightened things like of my of my god of Bill go out and Chase him o n e afternoon we came into a town that had a few Trees with leaves on them. We pulled up into a Little Square and put up the tent. Daddy got out the kerosene stove and put it up under a Nice Green tree and left mum and me to run it while he and Ken and Bob went out to buy some milk. We pumped and lit matches until we were running out of Energy and matches then mum decided to Speed things up a bit by pouring a Little kerosene directly Over the burners. I was getting out the frying pan and wiping the dust off it with the Edge of my sweater when i heard mum scream. It was True. She had set fire to the Only tree in the whole Park and it was Burn ing like mad. People who were watching us went run Ning in All directions a big Bell began to ring and men came dashing from the houses around with buckets and pots of water. They got the fire out just As daddy and the boys came wandering up to see what All the excitement was about. Daddy was furious when he discovered it was us who had caused All the commotion. He started throwing things into the car muttering Only a minute. I was Only away a minute and she sets fire to the Only tree in we were five Miles up the Highway before daddy realized he had left behind the poles that held up the front Flap of the tent but he would t go Back for them. The rest of the time we had to tie the Corners onto Trees when it was very hot. Just before we came to Regina we took a Little Side trip Down into the q Appelle Valley where daddy wanted to look at the laundry they had in an Indian Mission school there. It was like turn ing into a storybook land after All those hundreds of Miles of nothing but dust and Tumble Weed and deserted farm houses. The minute the car nosed Down into the Valley every thing As far As you could see was beautifully Green with Little streams running through the Bottom of the Valley and a Lush carpet of grass Over All. Daddy looked Over the laundry while the nuns in charge of the school showed us around the grounds and through their Beautiful Rose Garden. When we took the Road up out of this Valley and started Back on the Dusty forsaken Highway to Calgary again i was convinced that the nuns had some sort of Spe Cial influence with god who arranged that Little bit of greenery for them to hide away in. Mum had planned on Mak groups in front of the tent snickering and pointing. The latecomers stood on tiptoe and through the Little Side windows. We had put up our tent in the Middle of the Vil Lage schoolyard there for an hour before the Bell clanged and it went on its Way with All the people in the Back leaning away out and waving and Yelling Good Bye to me. I burst into tears i mum leaned Back to Pat and we had to wait until school console me. Opened and the teacher came just then we heard a big and made the kids leave be i pop and a Long slow sizzle fore we could get up a n d j As the air came out of the dressed. Daddy thought it was front tire. We looked at each terribly funny and laughed other in dismay As the car until the tears ran Down his j settled crookedly to one Side Cheeks. Daddy slumped behind the a arc wheel looking beaten. When we pulled into j suddenly he brightened. Calgary the streets were Well we made he sex strangely deserted. D a d d y i claimed. In could t find anybody to ask but he vowed that we would where was a place to put up take the the tent. I was wearing an old crack sweater and shorts All dirty i and rumpled and i w a i 1 e d j i was not getting out of the j train Home by i think women should read Many More adventure stories than they do. Real rollicking tales of cloak and Dagger and derring do such As the three musketeers. Stories of voodoo and rum running like John Masefield s Sard h a r k e r. Yarns of Clipper ships and tropical mystery such As Joseph Conrad s marvellous works or Michelier s rascals in Paradise or if they could t stand quite so much blood and Thunder then Back to Hergesheimer and the Bright shawl even though it is the fashion today to belittle Hergesheimer. And of course they should read every single line of John Buchan. I think it would give women a better insight into the work Ings of men s minds and it would add immeasurably to our knowledge of foreign parts so that even if we could t travel our minds would Fly out of our kitchens and right into the Galley of some tramp Steamer. It would transport us from our stodgy living rooms to the imagined reality of a compound Bunga Low with its grass matting and Palm fans its teak Wood furniture and All those exotic properties that help provide an authentic background for these tales of the faraway. Yes i think it would do us a lot of Good just to get thinking along other lines. And i suppose it would do women in these foreign foreign to us that is places a lot of Good to read our adventure stories. For with them the name Medicine hat or in Dian head might conjure up As much Romance As Carcas Sonne and co Romandel do for us. Even save the Mark a name like flin flon might in Trigue some far off Fatima and fill her mind with Bright visions of impossible snows and legendary temperatures. The trouble is with us women we be just sat Back and let the men go adventuring. Or used to do so. Nowadays More and More women Are working their Way around the world Trollope that they Are. And i Call them Trollope with Good reason and with no overtones of insult. For did you know that the word originated from a very by Dorothy Garbutt mrs. Trollope who was the Mother of Anthony Trollope great victorian novelist and author of those wonderful Barchester novels about the Middle of the last Century she went gallivanting off to America alone and wrote her impressions of that country. Unfortunately they were a Little too Frank and the Ameri cans came to use the word Trollope for a woman who Galliv anted unnecessarily. But not As we use it now As a Hussy. Come to think of it maybe we Don t Call people Trollope any More i Don t really recall hearing it for quite some time. But it s a Good sturdy word and i like it. However As i was say ing before i went off the track Back there Reading adventure yarns would do us a lot Good. I know it helps me after i be had a session with some of the women s magazines and their interminable Young love stories in which the heroine with some impossible name like Mirren or Kati Waits and Waits for a hero invariably named Derek or Adrian to make up his mind or for him to get a promotion from the Stock room straight to the manager s desk. Or in which she sulks because he did t notice her new hat and goes off with a terribly terribly Good looking Young Man who she finds out has t got the comme i comme Ca of her rugged sweetheart and after a Melee of misunderstandings All is Well and she marries the poor Guy. I m obliged to read reams of such stuff because god forgive me i m trying to write stories like that and having the Dickens of a time in the doing of it. Because All the ghosts of those thundering Good adventure yarns will in Sist on coming Between me and the tripe i m trying to imitate and i feel like going off by myself and being slightly sick. Perhaps i m too particular. What do you think famous woman traveller a copyright 1963 of Good god the whole thing is going up in ing a big impression with her White coat in Regina because daddy had business acquaintances there. But the coat had t stood the trip very Well it was smudged and wrinkled like an accordion. We drove around Regina trying to find some place to have the coat cleaned and pressed in a hurry but every thing was closed. As we pulled into the camping ground there were daddy s friends waiting for us All dressed to kill in their shiny new car. They had a daughter about my age who went to a private school and looked just too perfect to be True. All of a Sud Den i Felt very dirty. They wanted us to go Over to their Home but mum said no. Daddy insisted that they come Over to the Community House at least so we could sit Down and he would make a cup of Coffee. Mum did t want to go any where where there were Bright lights. She kept Whis Pering no Billy. And pulling at the Back of his jacket to have a. Word privately with him but he did t never did. He led the Way to the Community House where the lights were still blazing. Mum ducked into the tent took off the coat and put on an old sweater. She tried to act As though we were just roughing the people stayed Only a Little while and we sat on the Bare benches and had Coffee and the cake they had brought for us while the care taker and his wife sat in the other Corner and glared at us. That was the night mum went to bed with a migraine headache and it lasted All the Way to Medicine hat. She was just about get Ting Over it when the brakes went out As we shot Down the Hill to Medicine hat. At the very Bottom just where the Road levelled off there was a beat up wreck with a huge sign on it drive but we passed it so fast we could hardly read it. Cars dashed out of our Way and people turned to stare As we careened through town. Daddy finally got the car stopped and we left it in a garage and went to have lunch. Car looking that Way in any City. Daddy went into a drug store to ask where All the people had disappeared to. In we just made the Steep a minute he was Back. Go ahead and change right of words and things Hill out of Medicine hat and were on our Way again towards Calgary. About the Middle of the afternoon the car began to balk a Little. Fin ally it gave a Long sad sigh and stopped daddy coasted it Over to the Side looked at the dashboard and said she s boiling Over he reached under the seat and pulled out an old piece of rag to protect his hand crawled Over mum and went out and screwed off the fancy Radiator Cap. Steam and boiling water spurted into Fife air. Daddy leaped Back out of the Way and disappeared. Billy Billy where Are shouted mum. I m came a faraway voice and daddy climbed out of the ditch covered with Little scratches and shaking the Loose gravel out of his hair. It took a lot to make daddy lose his temper and he was now on the very Brink. Mum took one look at him and knew that this was a moment to leave him strictly alone. He sat Down on the stuff on the running Board and muttered to himself for a while then we heard him give a big sigh and say of Well live an9 he took a big can of water out of the trunk where it was stored for such emergencies. We All sat in silence for a while As the Sun beat Down burning hot and waited for the Radiator to Cool off. Then daddy put in the water bit by bit and we started off again. That night we misjudged our time again and drove until it was dark without find ing a camping place. Finally daddy was so tired and we were All so Cranky that he announced the next open Field we come to the tent toes we came to a big open Square daddy put up the tent and we All fell asleep right away. In the morning As i sat up on the mattress and yawned i became aware of the sound of giggles and the feeling of eyes watching. Before i ducked Back Down under the covers again i caught a glimpse of about a dozen lit tie girls and boys standing in Lere in the car. The Guy says this is Stampede week and everybody s out at the fair grounds. No one will see i started in to change. I pulled myself As far Down As could into a Blanket while my Brothers smothered their giggles and made silly faces at me. Just As i was putting on my Blouse a Streetcar rumbled up and stopped right beside us crammed full of people All shouting and yell ing and celebrating. And there i was clutching the Blanket up Over my scrawny shoulders furious at mum and daddy because they should have known a Streetcar would go by i Felt As though a thousand pair of eyes were on me and a new neat turn of speech by or. Alexander code a Little hopefully grows up to be a big for the moment a Little boy is the opposite of a big which is in no sense Surpris ing quite in contrast to the puzzling fact that a Little cheese is rarely and a Little warmer never the opposite of a big cheese and a big respectively. A Little has two meanings obviously. How the second came out of the first is not totally incomprehensible and if we do not know the exact pathways of the transition our excuse is that it happened so very Long ago. Once in a while a word or phrase evolves a totally new it seemed the Streetcar stood additional meaning under our very noses and it is quite vex ing if under such exceptionally favourable conditions we still cannot say what made the transition occur and How it progressed. The Way i used it in my opening sentence is a Case in Point. When you sit and wait and watch your Rod and line full of Hope that a big one is going to bite you Are hopeful and you sit and wait and watch thus runs the meaning of this adverb As it is defined in All the dictionaries i can Lay hold of. The other meaning of Hope fully which is quite revolutionary and new though Sud Denly quite frequent is not even in the third edition just off the press of the big web Ster. I think the Only reason the purists Are not fighting it tooth and Nail is that they have not noticed that they use it themselves. Someone sent me a question Naire requesting that i return it As soon As possible Hope fully by Early in another passage i remember it is noted that machines will hopefully enable the scientist to find quickly the information which he needs when he needs this makes it still clearer the new hop Fudy wants to take the place of the old and rather cumbersome it is to be hoped that or let us Hope that it is really a neat turn which will hopefully find general acceptance. Yams of Early Manitoba by w. E. Ingersoll those Pioneer school Days the Pioneer school Day began with getting1 to the school which boys and girls of school age accomplished by the free use of what was called Shanks s Mare walking an average distance of one to two Miles or in rare cases up to four Miles. Horses could not be spared from the plow Harrow Hay Rake or reaper according to season. Nearly All feet were Bare and the style of the Barefoot boy with Cheek of Tan with his turned up pantaloons and his merry whistled tunes had not changed since Whittier s Day. If the Pioneer boys and girls were late for school the boys and the girls were kept in at re Cess and made to write late a suitable number of times. Punishment for lateness was routine and certain As All teachers knew that parents started their children off in time and to be late meant that there had been needless dawdling Enro Ute. If there was a suitable excuse punishment could always be averted by bringing a note from Home. There was not much lateness. Most Barefoot boys of Early Manitoba would rather get to school in time for a game of Pom Pom pull away or in summer for a dip in some Slough or Creek before the dry business of getting an education got under Way. Early Manitoba school Days were wonder Ful Days. The teacher would let us go to the door or even go outside when a procession of indians passed. Here come the someone would report and we would All go and drink in the squeak ing of the carts and the whinny of the Broncos. There were such a variety of things to do lat the mid Prairie Pioneer schools that sometimes instead of rejoicing we were sorry when the sum Mer holidays separated us All and we always greeted school opening in the fall with a hurray on rare Days Sioux Ben our self appointed Indian Mentor would come to school and give us a talk on peace. Sioux Ben s full name was chief Ben Sun Cloud. Although the last time i met Sioux Ben in my father s office father was the local told me that he was soon to know what it feels like to be a Hundred years i cannot conceive of this Majestic old Indian As dead even yet. I have often thought that sitting Bull must have looked like Sioux Ben. He was Tough As lace leather All Over. He would sometimes come to in mid afternoon to give us a talk on peace. And believe it or not chief Ben Sun Cloud old red skin Warrior had discovered that peaceful coexistence was the secret of outlawing War Long be fore the world s most quarrelsome chief creature the White Man found it out. Fighting no he would say. You lick him he hates you. He licks you you hate him. It never ends. Talk it Over and it s settled and you be both still got your scalps on where they masterful old Sioux Ben he came in smell ing of All the wild Prairie smells but chiefly of Kinni Kiznick Indian tobacco with which Noble red preceptors packed the pipe of peace. He had big shoulders made bigger by the Buckskin fringes on his ceremonial coat. He was a King of Prairie Kings. It was quite a comedown after chief Ben Sun Gloud went to go Down to the Creek and spend the rest of our playtime catching minnies in our handkerchiefs As the silly Little fish swam past. But Sioux Ben would have approved because we always turned the captured minnows free ;