On September 1st, 1899 there was a letter to the Editor of the Truro news from Allan Gould of Ogilivie station: “I beg leave to send you a few lines for publication which may be of interest to Karl M. Creelman’s friends and well-wishers, we being old friends and neighbours of the family when living in Upper Stewiacke. We all took quite an interest in Karl as he journeyed west, being kept posted by our “home paper’, the Truro News. I wrote Karl in Winnipeg asking him to come and make us a visit at Ogilvie Station, and I personally was very much disappointed on arriving home the evening of August 20th to find that he had called, but his visit was only a call. But Mrs Gould had a talk to him of old times. She says she would have known him although she has not seen him for about thirteen years, so little changed was he. He was in good cheer; he says in far better condition than he was in the first part of his trip. He had gained eleven pounds in weight.” Allan Gould
In addition to Mr and Mrs Gould, there were a lot of Nova Scotians in Winnipeg keen to connect with Karl. In Karl’s letter to the Truro newspaper, he shared with the readers the news of Nova Scotians he met. “There are plenty of Nova Scotians here in Winnipeg and through the West. On arriving here I received letters from people in the West to go and stay with them for a day or so. They have invited me to their hospitable homes for a visit from one to six weeks. I can never forget their kindness. The hardest thing is to tear myself away from them and to proceed on the trip I have undertaken.”
I also left Winnipeg to travel West, but I wanted to stop first in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, as it is the home of the world’s largest Coke can! Don’t worry dear reader; a future Karl Chronicle is coming documenting all the “world’s largest” encounters I had travelling across North America, but first back to Portage La Prairie.
The origin of the name translates to “portage over the prairie”, in reference to the fur traders who carried their canoes between waterways. After my selfie with the giant Coke can, I navigated back to the highway to continue west, but noticed the Fort La Reine Museum on the outskirts of Portage la Prairie.
It was an outdoor museum, similar to Bonanzaville, with buildings, homes and artifacts of Prairie life in the 19th century. Sadly though, dear reader, it was closed when I arrived and the sign indicated it wasn’t opening for another 3 hours.
I decided to park the car and walk the periphery of the museum along the fence to assess if there was any potential connection to Karl that would justify waiting around until opening time. I saw a makeshift Portage la Prairie railway station with a bicycle parked next to a rail car. The nameplate on the rail car was non-other than Sir William Van Horne.
I couldn’t control my excitement and promptly hopped the fence!
The railway car is called “Le Rideau” and was the private business car of Sir William Van Horne that he received in 1882. In today’s workplace lingo, Van Horne worked from “home” and did his work on the railway while also having a place to sleep and rest. He used the railcar extensively while completing the railroad west of Winnipeg and even shared the space with Sir John A. Macdonald and other investors.
As I had already crossed the line and was guilty of trespassing, I took the time to roam around the five acres of the museum. With over 25 unique buildings, the museum depicts a village that illustrates what life looked like here when Karl cycled through.
The site was a former fort that operated as a fur trading post and a base location for exploration north and west of Manitoba. The museum, now a National Historic Site, showcases the fur trade history with the Trapper’s Cabin and Trading Post building and the first settlers' homes in the Canadian Prairies.
I made it through most of the museum when an employee arrived and promptly scolded me for being on the property, suggesting I go back the way I came. Which meant I had to climb back over the fence in full view of her, but perhaps the indignity was my penance for trespassing.
Dear reader, I recommend visiting here, but would suggest you do that officially during regular business hours.
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