David Wylie Buchanan, born in 1854 in Sarnia, Ontario, was a St. Charles market gardener and recognized expert in prairie horticulture. The Winnipeg daily papers published long articles promoting Buchanan's ideas and reporting on the many presentations he regularly gave to horticultural societies and others. He was the publisher of the Commercial Trade Journal for many years, and was especially prolific in the early 1900s, when horticultural articles like the following were published in Winnipeg's daily papers:
- Fruit Growing in Manitoba -- Winnipeg Tribune, August 7, 1905, p. 9
- D. W. Buchanan on Perennials -- Winnipeg Tribune, April 2, 1907, p. 3
- Fruits in Manitoba -- Winnipeg Tribune, April 10, 1907, p. 4
- World Ransacked for Fruit -- Winnipeg Tribune, June 17, 1907, p. 10
- Plum Growing in Manitoba -- Winnipeg Free Press, September 20, 1910, p. 14
- Care of Currant Bushes Neglected on Prairies -- Winnipeg Tribune, April 19, 1924, p. 11
In 1907 D.W. published a comprehensive book entitled Horticulture in the North, advertised as "a complete guide to the cultivation of all fruits that can be grown in these provinces." It included chapters on home gardens, windbreaks, plant diseases, insect pests, trees, shrubs, flowers, and more. It was a scholarly work well worth its $1.00 price.
The LaFlèche family would have had a front row seat to the successful enterprise D.W. operated immediately east of St. Charles Street. Perhaps their large brood mingled with D.W.'s 10 children.
By the 1920s, D.W. was in his late 60s and turned his attention from his labour-intensive horticulture business to golf. A column in the Winnipeg Tribune of July 31, 1924 asked "Do Golf and Business Mix? What Do You Think?" and quoted D.W. under the subhead "Golf Course An Asset":
By the 1920s, D.W. was in his late 60s and turned his attention from his labour-intensive horticulture business to golf. A column in the Winnipeg Tribune of July 31, 1924 asked "Do Golf and Business Mix? What Do You Think?" and quoted D.W. under the subhead "Golf Course An Asset":
D.W. Buchanan, the well-known writer: "Any man who would injure his business by playing golf would probably find some other way of injuring it if he didn't play golf. I consider our municipal golf course one of the great assets of our city. It has popularized the cleanest and most beautiful game of the entire list. A sound mind in a sound body is the greatest set a business man can have. Man is a land animal; it does him good to get his feet on the ground. A game of golf twice a week will keep a business man in physical and mental trim."
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| Artist's rendering of the original Royaumont clubhouse completed in May 1922, courtesy Leonard Remis, Glendale Golf and Country Club [J. Alan Hackett, Manitoba Links: A Kaleidoscopic History of Golf, p.167] |
D.W.'s promotion of golf in 1924 was no surprise. By then he was a trustee of the Royaumont Golf Club, developed on the 99-acre site of his nursery and orchard. The course opened to the public on May 24, 1922. Green fees were 50 cents. Advertisements noted that the clubhouse was on Portage Avenue, serviced by the St. Charles and Headingley street cars, which ran every 15 minutes.
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| Winnipeg Free Press, May 20, 1922 |
Two hundred golfers showed up on opening day. A subsequent advertisement illustrated the full 18-hole golf course, although only nine were ready at the time.
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| The Royaumont's club house was at Portage Avenue, handy for drivers and those coming by streetcar. Winnipeg Free Press, May 27, 1922 |
The endeavour proved popular. In 1923 the course opened early, on April 29, and it was announced that all 18 holes would be ready within 10 days.
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| Winnipeg Free Press, April 28, 1923, p. 35 |
By 1924, the Golf Club had an 18-hole course and a 9-hole course. Advertisements solicited memberships, and boasted improvements, like a better water system, new greens, a larger clubhouse, and 50 new sets of Spalding golf clubs and bags for rent. Social events like tournaments and weekly dances were promoted. Annual fees were $10 for men, $5 for ladies, with 25-cent green fees per game. Luncheons and refreshments were available at all hours.
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| Winnipeg Tribune, March 21, 1924, p. 75 |
By 1926 Winnipeg boasted 23 golf courses, featured in a two-page illustrated promotion published by The Winnipeg Tribune.
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| Winnipeg Tribune, May 31, 1926, pp. 22-23 [Wyman Laliberte, Flikr] |
The ad included a photo of the river hole of the Royamount [sic] Golf Course:
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| This hole would be directly east of the St. Charles ferry and Catholic school. |
D.W.'s golf course was a success. Memberships were limited to 600, and it was noted that "there will be no restrictions against ladies becoming members and playing whenever they like." (Winnipeg Free Press, September 18, 1924, p. 16)
In 1935 D.W. appealed the $7,000 assessment of his 99 acres (Lot 96, St. Charles) used by the Royaumont Golf Club. This amount was already reduced from the council of Assiniboia municipality's valuation of $7,620. The Manitoba Tax Commission listened to D.W.'s appeal and reduced it to $5,440.
In March 1942, D.W.'s wife Lillie Grace (née Power) passed away. The Buchanans were respected citizens of Winnipeg, and the papers noted her passing. Lillie came from a remarkable family. Her parents came from Scotland in 1866, homesteading in St. Charles at the site of the Royaumont Golf Course. Lillie's mother had trained in obstetrics at Glasgow University, and was Winnipeg's first medical nurse. The obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press (March 27, 1942, p. 2) noted that "Mrs. Buchanan took part in the women's suffrage campaign of 1912" but did not elaborate.
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| Winnipeg Tribune, March 27, 1942, p. 3 |
David Wylie Buchanan retired to British Columbia in 1944. He died in his daughter's home in Victoria in December 1949 at age 95. The funeral was held in Winnipeg and he was buried in St. James Cemetery.
In 1946 the Royaumont Golf Course was sold to a group of Jewish businessmen for $35,000 and renamed Glendale Golf and Country Club. The new club sold 200 memberships at $1,000 the first year, with annual dues of $60. The course itself was redesigned, with the first new nine holes ready by July 1, 1948 and another nine open in August 1949. A new mid-century modern clubhouse designed by the architectural firm Green, Blankstein and Russell was built on the riverbank at the south end of the property by 1951.
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| The pioneer Buchanan home in June, 1947, showing the proposed area for Glendale's ninth green in the foreground. [J. Alan Hackett, Manitoba Links: A Kaleidoscopic History of Golf, p.233 and Manitoba Archives] |
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| Construction of the ninth fairway and green in progress a short time later. [J. Alan Hackett, Manitoba Links: A Kaleidoscopic History of Golf, p.233 and Manitoba Archives] |
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| The Glendale Golf and Country Club clubhouse, designed by Green, Blankstein and Russell, c. 1951 [Winnipeg Architecture Foundation] |
See also:
Home sweet home
There goes the neighbourhood
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