By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

Early in October 1943, Group Captain (G/C) John C. Huggard took over the command of No. 10. SFTS Dauphin from Wing Commander C.F. Newcombe.

A veteran flier, G/C Huggard had served in the Royal Air Force in France from 1916-19. He was shot down over Belgium and became a prisoner of war on Sept.r 5, 1917.

During the peace years he was attached to the No. 112 Winnipeg auxiliary squadron and became director of the Winnipeg Flying Club.

During WWII he was responsible in opening the RCAF recruiting centre in Winnipeg, served as chief instructor at No. 4 SFTS in Saskatoon, was commanding officer of conversion training squadron at Rockcliffe, and served as commanding officer at Moncton.

No. 10 turned out to be G/C Huggard’s last posting as he officially retired on Aug. 31, 1944. It was noted that the announcement of his retirement had been received with regret by the entire personnel of the station.

“He leaves behind tangible evidence of the welfare of those serving under him.” (Aug. 31, 1944, Dauphin Herald)

A “tangible evidence of the welfare of the men” occurred on May 26, 1944, with a stage show sponsored by Coca-Cola airing from No. 10’s drill station. The Coca-Cola Company of Canada bought two half hour shows a week on CBC radio to present “Victory Parade of Canada’s Spotlight Band.”

Beginning in February 1943 and ending in December 1944, 200 programs were broadcast.

On the first leg of the third trans-Canada tour playing war camps and war plants, the show featured Mart Kenney and his Western Gentlemen performing their program for the officers, air personnel and guests at No. 10. Travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific in a private railway coach the 14-piece band also made stops in towns and cities between Coca-Cola broadcasts to play for the public.

The show was scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. with the broadcast portion going on air on CBC at 7 p.m. The concert at No. 10 was the 138th stop for the Victory Parade. At this time 300,000 sailors, soldiers, airmen and war workers had been entertained. The tour had “rolled up 36,310 spotlight miles on the musical march across the country.” (May 25, 1944, Dauphin Herald)

In many cases the show played in out of the way places where top flight entertainment seldom reached the men and women there. Many letters of appreciation were received from Victory Parade audience members.

Mart Kenney and the Western Gentlemen were one of Canada’s big-name bands and were noted for their versatility and distinctive music.

At No. 10 a capacity crowd was in attendance and most stayed for the whole evening to dance to the music of Canada’s Spotlight Band. After the dance the band members were entertained at the officers’ mess before leaving by bus to Brandon. The program was a welcome relief from the usual daily activities involved in the training of personnel participating in the war effort.

Dignitaries also paid visits to the air base. On June 1, 1944, David Wilson, the New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada and his delegation were welcomed by G/C Huggard. Wilson initially was elected to New Zealand’s Labour party. Through membership of the Legislative Council he became a minister in the first Labour government and served as High Commissioner to Canada from 1944-47. In 1944, besides visiting Dauphin’s two airbases, High Commissioner Wilson also toured units where New Zealand airmen were stationed in Canada.

Of special local interest in Ochre-River, “On Thursday, May 18, the district was honoured by a visit from Hon. David Wilson, new High Commissioner from New Zealand at the home of his brother, Robert Wilson.” (May 25, 1944, Dauphin Herald) That evening, Robert and Selina Wilson entertained 13 friends in honour of their distinguished guest.

Entertainment and visiting dignitaries were always well received by the leadership at No. 10. as further evidenced at G/C Huggard’s retirement banquet with 150 officers and 40 citizens representing Dauphin in attendance.

Just prior to his retirement, G/C Huggard’s leadership skills were rewarded with an official pennant for station efficiency. The pennant was proudly flown on the headquarter’s mast.

Parkland Campus Kids Daycare held a successful fund-raising barbecue at Dauphin Consumer’s Co-op, July 20.

The group managed to raise a total of $1,155 to go towards a shade structure for the children to enjoy at the natural play space outdoors at the daycare on the grounds of Assiniboine Community College Parkland Campus.

Regional Connections Immigrant Services hosted a beach safety evening at Rainbow Beach, July 18. After learning about drowning prevention and the Life Jacket Loaner Station, families enjoyed a swim and an evening of visiting on the beach.

While it was the first visit to Rainbow Beach for many attendees, most said they will return soon.

To learn more about services and activities for newcomers to Canada, contact Regional Connections at 204-647-0693, or follow Regional Connections Dauphin on Facebook.

By Ed Stozek
For the Herald

There was a great deal of local hockey interest as Dauphin had lost 9-7 in the opening game of the best of seven series to the Canmore Legionnaires.

The game was played in front of 3,000 fans in the Wheat City arena in Brandon.

Mayor W. L. Bullmore issued a proclamation for “Dauphin Kings Day” requesting all businesses to close at noon to enable a motorcade to form on Fourth Avenue N.E. with a departure time at 2 p.m.

“Some 1,500 hockey fans are expected to invade Brandon this Thursday afternoon to cheer for their favourite Kings in their bid for western Canada intermediate hockey supremacy.” (April 10, 1952, Dauphin Herald)

A bus carrying the Dauphin boys’ and girls’ band and four majorettes from Fork River was scheduled to leave an hour prior to the motorcade in order to participate in a parade at Brandon.

Sponsored by the Dauphin Chamber of Commerce, booster ribbons and banners were provided to the fans with proceeds from the sales going towards defraying the cost of transporting the band and the majorettes.

Released in 1949, “Mule Train” became a fan favourite to sing along to at hockey games. In keeping with the theme, an added attraction, Franko, a 13-year old mule from Onanole, was slated to participate in the parade.

It was also noted in The Dauphin Herald that Franko, a 42nd hybrid cousin of Francis, Hollywood’s famous talking mule, had predicted that the Kings would even the series.

“Franko will be on hand in the Brandon arena to bray the Kings on to victory. Owned and ‘muleteered’ by Albert Minty, Franko will ride in regal state in Frank Lampard’s mule toting conveyance in order to be on hand for the mammoth parade through the streets of Brandon.”

It was anticipated that Franko would lead the parade followed by the band and the majorettes and a sound truck playing “Mule Train.”

After Franko predicted a Dauphin win, the Kings came up with an 8-4 victory. Franko didn’t make the trip for the next game, however, his inspirational influence was also present with Dauphin winning 4-1. It was highly improbable that Franko would make the trip to Calgary, however, Dauphin fans were hopeful that “Franko's magic spell” would continue for the rest of the series.

Plans were already being made for the team’s homecoming whether they won or lost in their attempt at winning the Western Canada Intermediate finals.

It was announced that a banquet accommodating 300 people would be held in the auditorium of the Town Hall on the day that the club returned from Calgary.

Ticket prices for the banquet were set at $1.75 per plate. Town Council passed a resolution to approve an expenditure of up to $300 for purchasing a gift for each of the players.

“In addition, a resolution was drafted whereby the Council also approved the arena committee spending up to $200 for a gift for the hockey players in conjunction with the funds already allocated. A committee was appointed to purchase the gifts and to arrange for the financing of the expenditures.” (April, 17, 1952, Dauphin Herald)

Dauphin's 29 game playoff run initially began with a 15-2 win over Neepawa in the Big Six semifinals, Feb. 4 and ended when the Kings won the Western Canada Intermediate Hockey Championship.

Playoff victories also included wins over Brandon, Carmen, Pine Falls and Poplar Point to win the Manitoba crown. For the finals, the CAHA permitted Dauphin to bolster their team with two players from Brandon.

At the Stampede Corral in Calgary, Canmore beat Dauphin 9-1 and 12-9.

Dauphin’s quest for the cup was not over as they picked up a 6-4 win at 2:54 in the overtime period to force a seventh game.

In game seven Jim Mosienko scored the winning goal midway through the second period and Dauphin became the first team from Manitoba to claim the coveted Edmonton Journal trophy, emblematic of intermediate hockey supremacy.

The Kings played a total of 53 games during the 1951-52 season.

It makes one wonder how much influence Franko’s magic spell had on the outcome of the final series.

“Mule train!”

Regional Connections hosted a baking and conversation evening, June 25, with local home baker and conversational specialist Nicole Yunker sharing a recipe for her homemade granola bars.

Another baking and conversation evening for newcomers to Canada will take place in August.

Contact Regional Connections at 204-647-0693 for more information.

 A total of $7,000 in proceeds were raised from the Swan Valley Credit Union Beef-on-a-Bun fundraiser, held on Friday (July 8). The proceeds were evenly split between the Swan Valley Health Centre for a CT Scanner and the CMHA Enhanced Community Mobilization Program/Meet off Main. Kate Church and Lance Jacobson accepted the $3,500 donation on behalf of the Swan Valley Health Facilities Foundation. Stacy Grindleand Barb Lewis accepted the $3,500 donation on behalf of the Canadian Mental Health Association and Enhanced Community Mobilization Program’s Meet Off Main project.

Wade Klippenstein, left, who spent many of his school years and minor hockey days in Dauphin, got his chance to celebrate the most difficult of trophies to win in professional sports, the Stanley Cup.

Klippenstein is the director of amateur scouting for the NHL champion Colorado Avalanche and was largely responsible for Colorado’s fourth overall selection of Cale Makar in the 2017 NHL draft.

He is pictured here with the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP.

Thanks to the generosity of local supporters, 42 students were recognized with over 100 scholarships totaling over $90,000 at the DRCSS graduation last week.

Winners included Katherine Kowalchuk, she took home the Dauphin Herald's Scholarship!

Check out page seven and eight in this week's Dauphin Herald for all the winners. 

The Swan Valley Regional Secondary School Class of 2022 posed for a group photo prior to graduation exercises on Friday (June 24).

Recently, fire departments from the Riding Mountain Mutual Aid District attended a BeGrainSafe, Grain Rescue training session in Gilbert Plains.

These departments included members from Gilbert Plains, Dauphin, Roblin, Laurier, Ste. Rose, Ochre River, Ethelbert and Winnipegosis.

The course was provided by CASA (Canadian Agricultural Safety Association).

Grain entrapment is extremely dangerous for the victim and the rescuers. Training and necessary equipment make a successful rescue happen.

CASA, in partnership with Manitoba Canola, has provided our district with training and equipment. The BeGrainSafe training consists of online theory, a day of practical training and evaluation, with an emphasis placed on firefighters learning how to extract a person trapped in grain safely, using a cofferdam and auger.

A GSI RES-Q-TUBE and a Haul-All pencil auger are used, both of which are essential in rescuing a grain entrapment victim. When used in combination, the grain rescue tube creates a barrier between the victim and the grain while the auger helps rescuers quickly move the grain away from the victim.

“On behalf of canola farmers across Manitoba we would like to thank local firefighters like those from Riding Mountain Mutual Aid District for taking this potentially life-saving training.” said Corina Lepp, Grower Engagement and Extension manager with the Manitoba Canola Growers. “We are proud to sponsor the BeGrainSafe rescue training program that enables rural fire departments the ability to access this life-saving training.”

The BeGrainSafe program emphasizes prevention and raises awareness on the dangers of grain, alongside preparing fire departments for grain rescues, whether it is a grain entrapment incident on-farm or at a grain handling facility.

“Harm prevention through awareness has always been a top priority for CASA, and this is never more true than with grain entrapment. However, it’s also important that fire departments are well trained and prepared with the proper equipment in the case of an incident,” said Robert Gobeil, CASA’s Agricultural Health and Safety specialist.

On behalf of the mutual aid district, we would like to send a thank you to Manitoba Canola Growers and Corina Lepp for sponsoring the training, and Lori Derksen, director of Development with CASA, for helping with the sponsorship.

Thank you for Rob Gobeil, agriculture health and safety specialist for organizing the training, and to the instructor Tyrone Mogenson, from Melville Sask., who came out to provide the training to our departments.

Thank you to Murray Stoughton for providing the grain, and Vern Ellis and Lyle Gouldsborough for providing the training site and bin sheets.

Also, thank you to Jim Musey and Katelynn Musey for organizing the course, and bringing it to the mutual aid district.

More information about BeGrainSafe can be found at www.casa-acsa.ca/grain or by contacting CASA at 877-452-2272.