The Goddess Serendipity plays a quiet, but effective game.
When Mom and Dad married in 1949 they settled into a tiny home at 230 Parkhill Street in Kirkfield Park, about 13 kilometres west of Portage and Main.
A few years later, in 1952, they were helping Uncle Edmund (Mom's oldest brother) and Aunt Phyllis move in Charleswood. To get there they needed to cross to the south side of the Assiniboine River. The Perimeter Highway did not yet exist, and the closest bridges were at Headingley (7 km west of St. Charles) or at St. James, near Polo Park. Thus, Mom and Dad drove down St. Charles Street to use the ferry.
The parish of St. Charles was established in 1855, when the Hudson Bay Company granted land to the Catholic Church for a
mission. The spot was strategically between St. Boniface and St. Francois-Xavier, and in this area the Assiniboine River's banks were high. (The disastrous Red River flood of 1826 was not soon forgotten.) Originally, a small log chapel was built on the riverbank, followed by a frame church in 1866. Graves in the cemetery date back to 1868. A rectory and school followed, further defining this French enclave.
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| St. Charles Church built in 1866 |
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| St. Charles Catholic Church (built in 1905) with ferry in foreground, 1922 |
The much more ornate Gothic church built in 1905 was destroyed by fire on New Year's Eve, 1928. Rumor has it that the basement was full of coal, and an argument over whose jurisdiction it was delayed firefighting efforts. The church was a total loss, and the coal continued to burn for days and days. A more modest church was rebuilt in its place, which was doubled in size in 1988.
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| The current St. Charles Catholic Church (photo: J. Arnott) |
Just west of the church, on the riverbank, was the St. Charles Novitiate, built in 1897. Alas, once it was no longer occupied, it soon fell into severe disrepair and was torn down in the 1980s.
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| The St. Charles Novitiate, shown here in 1979 (photo: MB Archives) |
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| The ferry with St. Charles Academy on the north bank. Classes first began there in 1906 with 41 students. |
The original site of the ferry was actually further east. Around 1865, a river road was cut through the dense woodland along the south bank of the Assiniboine River. A ferry was established at The Passage in 1870, linking Berkley Street in Charleswood with Rouge Road. Due to shallow water, the ferry was moved upstream in 1908, connecting Xavier Road on the south bank to St. Charles Street on the north. This ferry remained in use until the Perimeter Highway and bridge were built in 1959.
It was because they were using the St. Charles Street ferry that Mom and Dad happened upon this fixer-upper:
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| First look at 86 St. Charles Street, 1952 |
Built in 1915 for the LaFleche family, early pioneer farmers in the parish, the house was already feeling its age by 1952. It sat on the northern edge of its one acre, and the land with it included five separate lots. Its address was later changed from 86 to 400 St. Charles Street, when postal services were improved.
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| Main floor |
The main floor had some unique design features. The pantry off the kitchen provided access to the living/dining room. Pocket doors opened that space into the den, handy for very large gatherings. The kitchen had windows in all four directions. It was said that the tiny window near the kitchen sink allowed Mrs. LaFleche to keep an eye on traffic down the street. This kitchen and the sunroom above it were lined in brick, a fire prevention strategy, no doubt.
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| 2nd Floor |
The second floor featured a large centre hall. Because it was ringed by doors, the space was nice, but not especially useful. The bathroom was enlarged by moving the tub back, into the closet space of the SE bedroom. A replacement closet was built inside the bedroom.
The floor also had an unheated solarium above the kitchen. This sunroom was originally open to the elements, with brick "exterior" walls on its north and east sides. When the room was later glazed in, it remained unheated, with its tar paper floor and drain to the eavestroughs (a peril for wayward hamsters, as we were to discover). The hamster was rescued within a few days via a kitchen soffit, but Frasers never did find a proper use for the room, beyond ripening tomatoes.
St. Charles was still very rural back in 1952. Perhaps that was part of its appeal. The house had a cistern in the basement, a coal-fired furnace, and was connected to a rudimentary sewer that ran down the street to the river. A 14-by-20-foot stable was included near the southwest corner of the property. The house and yard needed work, but had lots of potential.
But Mom and Dad were undaunted. Maybe Dad was reminded of the great old Ontario brick homes, like that of his Uncle Stan. Perhaps it was the small-town setting and space for kids that appealed to Mom. In any case, they were both intrigued enough to take a good look.
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| P.M. likely refers to Pilot Mound. Mom had been a good saver and was actually earning more than Dad when they married. |
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| That porch always seemed to need paint! |
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| Mom, having worked at Dale and Company Insurance, added Interest + Insurance to Dad's notes. |
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| "Concrete crib well" was a cistern in the basement. |
The foundation and faulty beam placement were to plague Dad's peace of mind in subsequent years. But the opportunity was unique, and Mom and Dad were up for the challenge. They even arranged to swap their little bungalow for this much larger home!
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| $100.00 deposit on the purchase of 86 St. Charles Street |
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| 230 Parkhill was valued at $3000 compared to $5000 for 86 St. Charles Street. |
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| 86 St. Charles was sold by Mr. Railton, but Pierre Menard held a mortgage on the property. |
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| Two real estate transactions for $94.75. Not bad. |
Because the mortgage-holder, Mr. Pierre Menard, could not be located, the lawyers had a little extra work to do to legally secure title of the property for Mom and Dad. Although not a fan of lawyers generally, Dad always said that White & Newman did a terrific job with all of this.
As an aside, Dad's Uncle Gordon told a story from his harness racing days in the U.S. He once came across a fellow from Manitoba who bragged to him about his big house in St. Charles. "That sounds just like my nephew's house," the surprised Gordon replied. It seems the man was indeed talking about 86 St. Charles Street. Could this possibly have been the mysterious Mr. Menard, who thought he still held the mortgage?
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| I recognize this writing. Mom calculated the mortgage payments. |
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| In due course, the mortgage was paid, a great relief to "pay-as-you-go" Murray and Hazel Fraser. |
The purchase was a wise one, and Frasers enjoyed 400 St. Charles Street for almost three decades, until it was sold in July, 1981. Dad (who could do anything) went to work improving and maintaining the property. New sidewalks, fencing and a driveway were added, a 20-by-24-ft garage was built, and the house was re-wired, re-floored, re-plumbed, re-roofed... indeed, Dad was the owner that house needed.
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| The house in 1953 |
The photo above features the 1948 Ford, plugged in through the kitchen window. Dad had by this time moved the back porch steps from the west to the south side, to better protect the back door from the weather. There was nothing to temper westerly winds.
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| Mom makes her way north with two kids on a bright winter day. |
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| By the summer of 1958, there were five Fraser kids enjoying the large yard. |
Above: Mom's large gardens helped feed the Fraser brood. Beyond the trees on the east side of St. Charles Street is the Glendale Golf & Country Club, which helped contain St. Charles as a distinct neighbourhood.
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| Summer of 1958 |
Above: view to the south end of the property, showing Montagnons' and Collins' houses at left. St. Charles Church marks the riverbank. Behind the swing set and trees is a familiar-looking house at the end of the block. It appears to have been built by the same contractors who built 400 St. Charles Street. Some records say it was also built the same year, but I recall hearing that it was built three years earlier, in 1912. It was called "The Nazareth" and used as a residence for some of the Oblate nuns of St. Charles Academy.
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| 362 St. Charles Street |
This home, kitty-corner from St. Charles Academy, differed from 400 St. Charles Street in a few important ways. Its foundation was of stone rather than concrete, the brick was all one colour, and its rooms were small, befitting the dormitory it once was. It lacked the big intersecting kitchen and back porch that was such a feature at Frasers'. While it did not have a sunroom, it did boast a second-floor balcony that we envied.
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| 400 St. Charles Street - still a landmark in the neighbourhood |
