First there was Lido Plage, a 16-acre resort on a relatively straight stretch of the Assiniboine River near Headingley, Manitoba. In its heyday from 1931 to 1953, it featured “picnic tables, toilets, dressing rooms, eleven cabins, a dance hall, dining hall, and restaurant.” [1]
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| Lido Plage resort was a 15-minute drive west from Winnipeg. [Google maps] |
Estelle Thomson wrote a brief history of Lido Plage for the Headliner, a weekly newspaper published by the Winnipeg Free Press:
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| Lido Plage, 1932 [2] |
It began as a race track in the early 1900s, featuring sulky races. From 1906 to 1931 the area was used as a gated horse pasture that doubled as picnic grounds (for a 25 cent fee to open the gate).
In 1931 the area was developed into a resort area with a beautiful beach, trees, small store and gas pump. It was at this time the official name of Lido Plage was bestowed — Lido for a town in France and Plage meaning beach.
The area proved to be incredibly popular and a dance hall with live music, restaurant, picnic areas, outdoor entertainment venues, and cabins were developed and enjoyed until the early ’70s. In the ’80s the area was developed into a rural residential community.
Today Lido Plage remains a tranquil residential community where a rural lifestyle can be enjoyed in close proximity to the city. [2]
A more recent resort named Sunny Harbour was built in 1957 north of Lido Plage inside a tight curve of the river. The site featured an artificial lake that had a mud bottom for its first year, but was soon lined with concrete.
Excerpt from Map 62H/13h St Francois Xavier (1969) Sunny Harbour was the brainchild of Heinz Adams (1923–2004). Adams was born in Bessarabia, Romania and immigrated to Canada in 1948. A devout man, his obituary notes that, “Four thousand people were baptized in the pool he built.” [3]
The new venture had a rough start. On July 23, 1958 John Ernest Banera drowned at Sunny Harbour. The family sued the owners for $60,000. Their claim noted that there was no lifeguard on duty and the search for Banera was hampered by dark and dirty water. Other criticisms stated the pool’s slope did not adhere to provincial regulations, and water depths were not posted.
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| A lawsuit against Sunny Harbour was filed in 1959. [4] |
The coroner’s jury returned a verdict of accidental death. There had been a lifeguard on duty, but he had not noticed Banera in difficulty until other swimmers located the drowned man. Artificial respiration efforts failed.
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| The 1958 case prompted a review of beach and pool protocols and rules, and the need for more life saving equipment, supervision and training. [5] |
Despite the bad publicity and difficult start, Sunny Harbour attracted large crowds, and developed into a popular full-featured resort.
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| A 1962 advertisement. The price was right for thrifty Frasers. [6] |
At 2½ acres, this salt-water cement pond with the sandy beach would have impressed Jethro Bodine. Advertisements claimed it was the only artificial lake in Canada. The 27-acre site boasted a children’s pool, showers, picnic grounds, restaurant, barbecue pits, camping and trailer park. It was intended to be a year-round resort, with tobogganing and skating facilities. A golf course was planned for 1963.
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| A 1975 advertisement in a rural newspaper invited campers to the site. [7] |
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| To Heinz Adams, it may have been a place for baptisms, but to the general public Sunny Harbour was an affordable family swimmin’ hole and camping site. [8] |
Sunny Harbour was a fast drive from the Fraser home in St. Charles. The family would pile into the station wagon and be at the site within minutes to enjoy a long summer evening there. I recall Myrna teaching me to swim, explaining, “Yeah, you sink at first, but you come back up.” Oh! That’s all it took.
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| Who needs swimming lessons when Myrna can teach you in no time? [9] |
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| A 1976 advertisement noted Sunny Harbour’s many features, including hundreds of tenting and trailer spaces and fully qualified life guards. [10] |
It seems Sunny Harbour operated from 1957 to 1981, when the property was listed for sale.
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| A brief real estate listing in August of 1981 referred to Sunny Harbour as a trailer park camp. [11] |
By this time, entrepreneur Heinz Adams had branched out into other ventures. In 1973 he built a furniture factory and showroom north of Sunny Harbour and Hwy. #1. White Horse Furniture also had a showroom in Winnipeg. The company was known for its custom-made furniture of solid woods, and Adams became known as “the King of Solid Oak.”
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| 1980 advertisement. The White Horse Furniture company featured locally made solid furniture. [12] |
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| 1981 advertisement. The invitation to design your own furniture and have it built by the professionals at White Horse Furniture was a unique offer. [13] |
As with Sunny Harbour, Heinz Adams’ furniture business also faced challenges.
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| In 1988 a fire roared through the factory. [14] |
Although their insurance coverage was inadequate, the company was able to attract investment that allowed them to rebuild and carry on.
But a year later, the factory burned down again.
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| 1989. “Someone’s got a hate on for them.” Heinz had a suspect in mind. [15] |
Newspapers do not report any arrests for either fire, but both were labelled arson. As before, the company recovered and carried on for a number of years.
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| In 1999 equipment from “the former White Horse Furniture factory” was sold. [16] |
Meanwhile, the name “Sunny Harbour” continued on. The swimming pond was filled in, a road was built across it, and “Sunny Harbour Estates” replaced the campground. The new development featured 13 exclusive lots and custom-built homes.
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| 1997 advertisement. The 13 Sunny Harbour Estates properties were .8-hectare river lots. [17] |
A 1998 Winnipeg Free Press article profiled the custom home of Sunny Harbour Estates developers Peter and Anne Feeleus, who explained the transformation from beach to housing development. “The road goes right over the pool. […] When we came here the pool was a swampy mess. We pumped it dry and poured the concrete in.” [18]
But buyers of vulnerable river-front properties should always take a hard look at their location. While Manitoba is better known for Red River floods, the Assiniboine River could also be a threat. Homes in Sunny Harbour Estates have been threatened by floods and owners have had to dike their properties. It seems Mother Nature wants the area to revert to a swimmin’ hole.
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| River-front properties, indeed. This photo of Sunny Harbour Estates threatened by the Assiniboine River accompanied a 2015 Winnipeg Free Press article. [19] |
Bison Park
Those who remember Sunny Harbour might recall a similar resort across Hwy. #1 to the north. According to Estelle Thornson’s brief history of the site [20], the 100-acre Bison Park was developed by a group of Air Canada pilots. The park opened on June 12, 1960 and featured three cement-bottom pools, a concession stand, and change rooms. Advertisements claimed Bison Park had the “largest concrete paved swimming pool in the west with continually circulating mineral water; filtered and purified.” [21] Visitors from Winnipeg could take a bus to the site.
After going bankrupt in 1963, a few original owners and new partners re-opened the property as Jellystone Park. Over time, camping facilities and bicycle trails were developed and the property was renamed White Horse Campgrounds.
The business still struggled, and was sold to a First Nations Band who renamed it Tansi Resort. A family dining area was popular, and the spot attracted snowmobilers along the Assiniboine River.
In 1996 Marquette Homes bought the property intending to develop a 55+ trailer park. But regulations stymied their plans and the land remains vacant.
- “Lido Plage,” Manitoba Historical Society, http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/lidoplage.shtml
- Estelle Thornson, “Humble Beginnings of Lido Plage,” Headliner, February 10, 2013, https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/headliner/correspondent/Humble-beginnings-of-Lido-Plage-226153141.html
- “Heinz Adams” obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, July 26, 2004, https://passages.winnipegfreepress.com/passage-details/id-87661/ADAMS_HEINZ
4. “Family Files $60,000 Suit Against Pool,” Winnipeg Tribune, May 13, 1959
5. “Beach, Pool Alarm System Is Urged,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 31, 1958
6. “Come to Sunny Harbour Beach” advertisement, The Jewish Post, June 21, 1962
7. “CAMPING” advertisement, Grandview Exponent, August 13, 1975
8. “Swimmin’ Holes,” Winnipeg Free Press, August 25, 1962
9. “Fun in the Sun” advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, June 8, 1968
10. “Sunny Harbour Resorts” advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, August 6, 1976
11. “Suburban Property” classified advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, August 20, 1981
12. “Custom Made Furniture Factory Direct to You” advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, October 18, 1980
13. “Custom Made Furniture” advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, May 9, 1981
14. “Fire guts factory, leaving 40 jobless,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 5, 1988
15. “Skilled arsonist suspected in fire,” Winnipeg Free Press, April 17, 1989
16. “Notice of Sale: Equipment from Furniture Manufacturing Plant,” Winnipeg Free Press, May 28, 1999
17. “Build Your Dream Home in ‘Sunny Harbour Estates’” advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, September 20, 1997
18. Treena Khan, “Luxury in the country,” Winnipeg Free Press, October 4, 1998
19. Murray Waddell, “$48M to protect against flooding,” Winnipeg Free Press, March 11, 2015
20. Estelle Thornson, “100-acre slice of Cartier awaits a new owner,” Headliner, February 7, 2014, https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/headliner/correspondent/100-acre-slice-of-Cartier-awaits-a-new-owner-243514081.html
21. “Beautiful New Bison Park is Now Open!” advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, July 27, 1963
