Dead end

Life was already tough for the Barron family. Their two-room wooden house near Isbister Street and Saskatchewan Avenue was little more than a ramshackle 19x23-foot shelter. It had no phone, no running water, no electricity, and no room for the family of 14 who called it home. A neighbour referred to them as “very, very poor – just making ends meet.” 

Mr. Albert Barron and his wife Elizabeth had 12 children: Roland (21), Leo (19), Allan (18), Edward (15), Loretta (14), Cecille (12), Evelyn (11), Jeanette (9), Beverley (7), Oliver (5), Olive (5), and Warren (3). 

The father was a cemetery laborer. Leo had worked briefly at a garage but had been unemployed for several months.

Tuesday, December 13, 1955 was a bad day for Leo. It was an even worse day for his mother, Elizabeth.

Some reports claimed there were 11 children; 12 is correct.  [1]

Eighteen-year-old son Allan had been outside shovelling snow when his mother came to the door saying, “Leo shot me.” The two boys carried her to the couch. She was in pain and conscious, telling neighbour Mrs. McMillan, “Florence, Leo shot me, but I don’t think he meant it.” 

Not having a phone, Leo and Allan ran to Mrs. Hamel’s home on Isbister Street for help. Her first call was to Father Clement Lepine of the St. Charles Roman Catholic parish. Then she called St. James police, who offered no assistance, saying “the case was out of their jurisdiction.” So Mrs. Hamel then called the Mounties, who directed her to go over to the Barrons’ house “to see what’s what.” When she reported back to them, they finally came with an ambulance. Dr. James O’Toole arrived at the Barron home about 2:15 pm and found neighbours, a priest, and some of the children.

Elizabeth died on the operating table at the Grace Hospital about 3:10–3:15 pm on December 13, about 75 minutes after being shot in the back. Doctors reported that she had suffered “extensive internal haemorrhage and shock” caused by the bullet that severely lacerated her liver.

Winnipeg’s original Grace Hospital, built in 1906 at Arlington Street and Preston Avenue (since demolished) was in the Wolseley area. The current Grace Hospital at 300 Booth Drive, opened in 1967, is only eight minutes away from Saskatchewan Avenue and Isbister Street.  [2]

Leo never denied shooting his mother, but claimed he did not know the gun was loaded and that it fired accidentally. Known to be a tease, it was not the first time Leo had pretended to shoot his mother. On this fateful day, however, he admitted he was “kind of mad” at her. Planning to go shoot rabbits, Leo had lost a mitt and she would not help him look for it. He told her to find it or he would shoot her. Those words would come to haunt him.

The sorry 19-year-old Leo was detained by the RCMP and held on a coroner’s warrant ahead of a preliminary inquest held on December 22 in provincial police court. After a three-hour inquest, he was taken to the Headingley jail.

Winnipeg Tribune, December 23, 1955, pp. 1, 3  [3]

On January 18, 1956 Leo Barron was committed for jury trial on a charge of murder. The decision followed testimony from his 14-year-old sister Loretta, a key witness. But her testimony was problematic. The young girl often broke down and refused to talk, and there were discrepancies when she did speak. Crown attorney S. R. Lyon deemed her unreliable, and almost had her declared a hostile witness.

Leo’s younger sister Loretta testified that Leo had threatened his mother, saying, “Find my mitt or I'll shoot you.” The story says an older sister comforted Leo, but he didn't have an older sister, so this may have been a cousin or friend.  [4]

While Leo awaited his jury trial, his family carried on as well as they could. Their aunt, Mrs. Cecile Foidart, brought her own three children to the home to help look after her brother’s large brood. “Mr. Barron told them I was to be their Mum now, and they don’t fret about their dead mother any more,” she said. 

“WASH TIME: Allan Barron dries his little brother Warren. The twins Olive and Oliver line up at the wash bowl. Mrs. Foidart and her son Reginald wait by the cooker.”

The motherless family was grateful to have help from their aunt.  [5]

Leo’s murder trial was scheduled to begin Monday, February 13 at 10 am in courtroom No. 1. Fifteen crown witnesses were expected to testify. It took crown counsel S. R. Lyons and defence counsel S. Breen 50 minutes to select an all-male jury. Thirty were rejected. Three of the 15 witnesses would be Barron family members. Mr. Justice Ralph Maybank would preside over the trial.  [6]

In testimony from Const. H. G. Van Deusen, an RCMP firearms expert, the rifle’s condition was questioned. The .22 calibre rifle was supposedly emptied by an older brother well before December 13, but when tested by the RCMP the gun would not always eject the last round. This defect may have played a role in its firing when Elizabeth was killed.

Testimony from sobbing 14-year-old Loretta Barron was next to hopeless, claimed Mr. Justice Maybank. She refused to talk and did not seem to understand the importance of telling the truth. The judge said he was dubious about her intelligence and the value of anything she would say. 

Leo’s 14-year-old sister Loretta was a key witness, but clammed up on the stand.  [7]

Leo Barron’s fate was in the hands of the jury by February 15. Crown counsel S. R, Lyon acknowledged that the shooting was accidental, but noted it was negligent to not check whether the gun was empty. Defence counsel S. Breen reminded the jury that there was no intent, so the question of murder should be dismissed. (The judge seemed to agree.) Breen also told the jury “that statements made by Barron to police were not clear about the actual shooting because due to poor education and poor environment Leo was not able to express himself with clarity.”

Mr. Justice Ralph Maybank “told the jury they could return one of three verdicts: Not guilty as charged, guilty of murder or guilty of manslaughter.”  [8]

The jury retired to deliberate after a 45-minute charge by Mr. Justice Ralph Maybank. They took less time to return their verdict: guilty of manslaughter and one year in Headingley jail.

Guilty of manslaughter. Go to jail, go directly to jail.  [9]

Isbister Street at Saskatchewan Avenue: a dead end in more ways than one. [Google maps]

Sources

1. “Rifle Shot Kills Mother of 11,” Winnipeg Free Press. 14 Dec. 1955, pp. 1, 8.
2. “Grace Hospital, Winnipeg, Man., Canada,” Past Forward: Winnipeg’s Digital Public History. http://pastforward.winnipeg.ca/digital/collection/berman/id/7775/ 
3. “Son, 19, Charged With Gun Death,” Winnipeg Tribune. 23 Dec. 1955, pp. 1, 3.
4. “Youth Weeps Bitterly as Preliminary Trial Into Murder of Mother Ends,” Lethbridge Herald. 21 Jan. 1956, p. 2.
5. “ ‘Rather Than Sit and Cry We Help One Another,’ ” Winnipeg Tribune. 2 Feb. 1956, p.19.
6. “Murder Hearings For Spring Assize,” Winnipeg Tribune. 4 Feb. 1956, p. 5.
7. “Tearful Witness Wordless,” Winnipeg Free Press. 14 Feb. 1956, pp. 1, 14.
8. “Barron’s Fate Goes To Jury,” Winnipeg Tribune. 15 Feb. 1956, p. 4.
9. “Youth Sentenced to One Year for Fatal Shooting of Mother,” Winnipeg Tribune. 16 Feb. 1956, p. 19.

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Westward to Westwood

“Go West, young man, go West. There is health in the country, and room away from our crowds of idlers and imbeciles.”  

 – Quoted in 1833 by U.S. Congressman Josiah Bushnell Grinnell as direct advice from American author and editor Horace Greeley. The origin of the phrase remains unproven.

“Go west” was also a fitting message during Winnipeg’s rapid growth prior to World War I. Real estate agents jumped at the chance to profit from the boom, when crowds of newcomers flocked to the city.

There were few, if any, cities in Canada in 1914 that could match the dynamic changes that had taken place in Winnipeg. In only forty years Winnipeg grew from a small fur-trading post with less than two thousand inhabitants to a sprawling metropolis one hundred times that size [… and] by 1914 Winnipeg’s population and industry were spilling over into surrounding municipalities. [1]

There were several land speculators eager to promote new suburbs far from downtown. Among these proposed developments were areas we know well: St. Charles and Westwood.

Articles and advertisements gushed with effusive praise, promoting these areas as upscale and beautiful. Smart investors would be foolish not to act quickly to secure a piece of paradise so full of promise.

Winnipeg Tribune, December 1906 [2]

James A. Halsted, Esq. (1841–1914) in 1906 [3]

One particular real estate mogul eager to sell lots in Westwood was J. A. Halsted. He was actually a private banker in Durham, Wingham and other nearby towns, and mayor of Mount Forest, Ontario. He saw that there was money to be made out west, and established the Halsted Land Company. Its offices were in the top floor of the McIntyre Block in Winnipeg, a massive building that housed a wide range of businesses, including several real estate agencies.

The McIntyre Block, 416 Main Street, Winnipeg, circa 1908 [4]

 The Halsted Land Company promoted its west Winnipeg property aggressively between 1906 and 1911. It named the new neighbourhood Halsted (sometimes Halstead) Park in its copious newspaper advertisements, which were often larger and more numerous than those of competing real estate firms. Investors were urged to get in on the ground floor. 

Winnipeg Free Press, September 1906 [5]

The proposed lot map shown in the above ad is helpful. Halsted Park was the property between Portage Avenue and the Assiniboine River, and included Sumach, Seaton, River (now Raquette), Queen (now Best) and Whittier (now Bedson) streets. 

A 1961 map shows Halstead Park (Whittier to Sumach streets). This slice of real estate was not formally named Halstead Park (the early promoters’ term), but was in the middle of the Westwood suburb (which is officially the area between Portage Avenue and the Assiniboine River, and between the two golf courses.) [6]

Back then, the area was essentially undeveloped, “beautifully wooded with oak, poplar and elm, and lies high and dry, sloping gently to the river.” Buyers need not worry about the spring floods that could threaten downtown and low-lying areas of the city. Other 1906 sales features included regular trolley car service on Portage Avenue, local ferry service just east of Sumach Street over the Assiniboine River (moved to St. Charles Street in 1908), nearby churches and schools (including the just-opened St. Charles Catholic School), and proximity to “the Gentlemen’s Country Club Grounds” (i.e., St. Charles Country Club) which opened in 1904.

The street car service was an important factor in developing Winnipeg suburbs. 

“Winnipeg Electric Company 1428 operating the Suburban Rapid Transit Company route to Headingley in the winter of 1927.” [7]

By the end of October 1906 the Halsted Land Co. claimed to have sold 250 building lots since September 8, but cautioned that present prices would hold for one more week. Potential investors were constantly warned to act quickly before prices increased and lots sold out.

Winnipeg Free Press, November 1906 [8]

Halsted was keen to market this desirable property. It had a lot going for it, and he knew how to pitch it. Creative full-page advertisements could not be missed.

Winnipeg Tribune, November 1906 [9]

As a salesman, Halsted was an enthusiastic, but verbose, copywriter. The long-winded full-page ad above predicted that Halsted Park would become a choice locale: “This is no windy puff, but a bare statement of fact about a piece of land possessing natural advantages that are on a par with the finest property in or around Winnipeg.” Further, “The soil will bear comparison with the finest virgin prairie in the Province, and the timber need scarcely be interfered with beyond a judicious thinning when it comes to the beautification of the home.” With a little work and little cost, “any part of it can be quickly transformed into an umbrageous and secluded haven of rest, a paradise of peace far removed from the dust and din, the mingled splendor and squalor of a City that throbs with new life every day from its centre to its circumference.”

A peculiar ad referenced Theodore Roosevelt and featured simplified spelling and smart investment. It introduced two real estate firms (Neely & Rodgers and the Central Real Estate Co.) alongside the Halsted Land Co. The ad below ran once.

Winnipeg Free Press, November 1906 [10]

The “Who Can Doubt?” ad published four days later was more traditional. It promoted the usual features of “the most desirable property on the market,” adding that Winnipeg “has a future before it similar to that of the largest cities of the United States.” The message was clear: “There can not be found any safe or better investment than Real Estate in a great and growing city.” Investors were again advised to move quickly while prices held.

Winnipeg Tribune, November 1906 [11]

In the next ad, P.O. LeClair & Company (also at 712 McIntyre Block), was listed as the real estate agent. Notable on this over-written ad is that Halsted is now spelled Halstead, but only in the headline.

Winnipeg Free Press, December 1906 [12]

The top of the $$$$ ad promoted real estate investment generally, then said of Halstead Park that “This property sells on its own merits, and requires no boosting.” They then added the boosting, including, “we predict that within three years it will be built up with suburban homes, and those who wish to escape the discomforts of living in the congested limits of the city should secure some of this property without delay.” 

In mid-December 1906 the Winnipeg Tribune featured a map of the city indexing and illustrating its many sub-divisions. A supplementary map shows where Halsted Park was located (river lots 100 and 101). St. Charles Street (river lot 95), is identified by the RC Church notation. The Buchanan Nurseries (later Royaumont in 1922, then Glendale Golf and Country Club in 1946) would have been between St. Charles Street and Halsted Park. Phoenix Park and Dudley Park are unfamiliar names, but may have been other real estate promotions like Halsted Park. The confusing “St. Chas P.O.” and “St. Chas School” on Portage Avenue north of “Country Club” mark the St. James municipal hall across from Kirkfield Park School.

Winnipeg Tribune, December 1906 [13]

One day later, the Tribune published a glowing article entitled “Halsted Land Co.” that was essentially another advertisement for the company. The text noted, “The sales of Halsted Park have been unrivalled in the history of Winnipeg and are increasing week by week as the merits of the property become known.” It ended the endorsement with, “Halsted Park is a suburb that will occupy a foremost position in the history of Greater Winnipeg, which history is now in the making.”

Winnipeg Tribune, December 1906 [14]

Ad frequency dipped between 1906 and 1910, when Tully & Tully emerged as real estate agents for Halstead Park. They appear to prefer the Halstead spelling, although later ads revert to Halsted. Their ad (below) notes the aforementioned features of the property, along with the “go west” message, noting, “Commencing at Crescentwood, the great residential district, west, is the Agricultural College, the Manitoba University, the golf links, the government rifle range (soon to be moved farther west still), St. Charles Country Club, Kirkfield Park (with the finest race track in the Dominion), St. Charles Village, the new rifle range, where there will shortly be stationed 3,000 men (this means better car service), and Headingly, the terminus of the street cars at present. Does not this show a great line of development; does it not echo and re-echo the truth—‘the west is king?’ ”

Another paragraph in the ad suggests the neighbourhood remained undeveloped. “HALSTEAD PARK is one of the next properties to develop into settlement. Watch it grow in population. To-day only two houses, but they are new.”

Winnipeg Free Press, May 1910 [15]

A subsequent 1910 ad, after four years of promotion, suggests little had actually been built in Halstead Park, but that it would “be all built on shortly.” Readers thinking it was stark prairie would be reassured by the nearby infrastructure noted: the village of St. Charles, the Country Club to the east, and the village of Charston (Charleswood) across the river. Perhaps their sales had been to land speculators, and not to individuals planning to build their dream homes.

Winnipeg Free Press, May 1910 [16]

Tully & Tully advertised frequently in May of 1910, urging investors to act quickly before prices rose again.

Winnipeg Free Press, May 1910 [17]

The ad below claimed owners had already commenced building, but did not specify how many homes were underway. (Perhaps Tully got a call from Halsted; note the spelling of Halsted Park.)

Winnipeg Free Press, May 1910 [18]

By June of 1910 prices had risen from $65–$85 to $70–$90 per lot. Tully & Tully now boasted that two houses had been built and four more were to begin construction by July 1. 

Winnipeg Free Press, June 1910 [19]

In 1911, Alexander Spenard, another realtor in the McIntyre Block, was selling Halsted lots. A brief want ad noted, “Halsted Park, St. Charles, has made many friends during the last twelve months, and won the confidence of two thousand investors. The owner of this sub-division offers half-a-dozen only, beautifully treed river lots, size 50x250, at $15 per foot. The quick investor will double his money inside of one year. Cars pass property every hour now, and a twenty-minute service is assured by next week. So get in front and await developments.” [20]

Spenard listed a Halstead Park home for sale in 1913. The home was only two years old and the property included a stable and large garden. “Owner will sacrifice.” Oh oh.

Winnipeg Free Press, February 1913 [21]

Halstead Park was only one of Winnipeg’s new suburbs being promoted to investors during an exciting boom. It appeared to have the features and promise a realtor dreams of. But the sales campaigns dwindled by 1913, when Winnipeg’s real estate market collapsed. A year later, World War I halted immigration, and commercial activity (including land sales) declined. “The ‘continuous joy-ride’ was over as Winnipeg entered a new era.” [22]

August 1914 was the end of an era for 73-year-old J. A. Halsted, too. He passed away in Toronto from pneumonia [23], leaving an estate of $308,000. [24]

J. A. Halsted home in Mount Forest, Ontario. If this was the kind of neighbourhood he envisioned for Halsted Park, it was not to be. [25]

Sadly, Halstead Park never did materialize as promised. The area today, the core of Westwood, does not feature stately old historic and unique homes from the early 1900s. It instead exemplifies baby boom sprawl, with modest, middle-class homes built in the 1950s to 1970s. Contrary to the early hype, it is no rival to Tuxedo or Crescentwood. 

1962 newspaper ad for Westwood Lands Ltd. [25]

Westwood in 1961 (notations added). [27] St. Charles is on the far horizon, just beyond Halstead Park. 

Sources

1. Alan F. J. Artibise, Winnipeg: A Social History of Urban Growth 1874-1914 (Montreal and London McGill–Queen’s University Press, 1975), pp. 172–173.
2. “St. Charles,” Winnipeg Tribune. 15 Dec. 1906, pp. 17–18.
3. “Views of Mount Forest,” J. T. Skales and G. F. Chapman. Mount Forest, Ontario. 1906. https://archive.org/details/viewsofmountfore00skal/page/n1/mode/1up?view=theater 
4.  “Pictorial Souvenir of Winnipeg,” Manitoba Historical Society, http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/mcintyreblock.shtml 
5. “Halsted Park: One of Winnipeg’s Most Beautiful Suburban Properties,” Winnipeg Free Press. 8 Sept. 1906, p. 11. 
6. “Street Map of The City of Winnipeg Manitoba (1961),” https://www.flickr.com/photos/manitobamaps/3922733505/in/photolist-6YD31i-564Ryi-xtupTm-ybwEcS-ybwDDN-6YCMN4-6JwxRJ-6Jxi1f-6JxwPQ-7kqjLZ-6JwJeL-6JwdeA-6YnAnv-6Jx4JA-6JvBk1-4gsTKY-UoXwZj-8Y1T5g-xWkFjR-x79DUB-5x7P4C-2m1TMB8-xnRmbw-wrMn8K-6wBoaG-wjtGGx 
7.  “Transit Service to Headingley, Manitoba,” Winnipeg Transit photo. University of Manitoba archives, https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/pics/winnipeg-headingly.html 
8. “Halsted Park has advanced in price 25%,” Winnipeg Free Press. 2 Nov. 1906, p. 3. 
9. “A Millionaire’s Counsel,” Winnipeg Tribune. 3 Nov. 1906, p. 11. 
10. “Theodore Roosevelt Advocates Simplified Spelling and Judicious Investment of Money,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 Nov. 1906, p. 3. 
11. “Who Can Doubt?” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 Nov. 1906, p. 6.
12. “$$$$$$$$$$$$ Halstead Park,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 Dec. 1906, p. 49.
13. “McPhillips Bros’ Outline Plan of the City of Winnipeg and Suburbs Manitoba,” Winnipeg Tribune, 14 Dec. 1906, p. 15. 
14. “Halsted Land Co.,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 Dec. 1906, p. 18. 
15. “Halstead Park,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 May 1910, p. 16. 
16. “Halstead Park,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 May 1910, p. 3. 
17. “Halstead Park,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 May 1910, p. 3. 
18. “Halstead Park: A Great Investment,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 May 1910, p. 20. 
19. Halsted Park,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 June 1910, p. 3. 
20. “Halstead Park, St. Charles,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 May 1911, p. 22. 
21. “West-End Suburban Home at Halstead Park, St. Charles,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 Feb. 1913, p. 3. 
22. Alan F. J. Artibise, Winnipeg: A Social History of Urban Growth 1874-1914 (Montreal and London McGill–Queen’s University Press, 1975), p. 283. 
23. “News Around Town,” Durham Chronicle, 3 Sept. 1914, p. 1. 
24. Stephen Edward Thorning, Hayseed Capitalists: Private Bankers in Ontario (McMaster University, 1994), p. 427. 
25. “Views of Mount Forest,” J. T. Skales and G. F. Chapman. Mount Forest, Ontario. 1906. https://archive.org/details/viewsofmountfore00skal/page/n1/mode/1up?view=theater 
26. Westwood Lands Ltd. advertisement, Winnipeg Free Press, 8 September, 1962, p. 13.
27. Bill Rose, Westwood (looking west) 1961, Winnipeg Free Press photo archives, https://store.winnipegfreepress.com/photostore/photo-details/296243/#order 

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