147 - 7th Street Bonniman House

147 7^th Street - Bonniman House 

by Fletch Manning in  2004

There is a nice old house on 2^nd avenue down by the park that has been known as “The Bonniman House”.

Mr. Chester Bonniman came west in 1883 and lived at Manda where he was Postmaster. Manda was a small settlement north east of Elm Valley. In 1900 he built this house in Reston where he and his family lived. A daughter Irene Oberlin lives in Winnipeg. Renovations were done to the home in 1931. Mr. Bonniman had the Livery Barn in Reston.

In 1960 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Blackmore bought the home from Irene (Bonniman) Oberlin. They sold to Mr. Bill Jezzard in 1972 who lived here for only a short while before selling to Sebastian, Noella and Valerie Keen. In 1996, Mr. Jeff Kirk our new postmaster bought this house and though posted to Melita, Jeff still makes Reston his home.

106 - 1st Avenue - Fraser House

106 - 1st Avenue- Fraser House

 While browsing through the online McKee Archives/ Brandon University website, I came across this picture taken in 1986 and a quick question on Facebook pointed me toward finding out more about it. It was torn down and replaced with a modern bungalow in 1989 but still holds fond memories.  As always, I'd love any additions or pictures you'd like to share.

The home seems to have been built about 1910 for George and Catherine (Katie) Fraser and their 6 children. They arrived from Lucknow, Ontario in the early 1890's and homesteaded 28-6-27 in the Kinloss district south of Reston.  They continued to farm for a living but lived in town.  I wonder if the move was made to ease the older children's attendance at Reston High School. Eldest son William was born in 1897 , then came Thomas, Hannah, Catherine, Anne Mae, and finally Lloyd George in 1917.   Katie was known to be a kind and helpful lady including being a midwife and having maternity cases live her in home.  She passed away in 1957 and George Sr. in 1963. 

Taken from Trails Along the Pipestone 1981 from page 558

At some point, the grand house was acquired by James Jago who had come to the Sinclair area with his wife Rosina from Cornwall, England in 1914. He worked at G.S. Munroe store and farmed as well. Jim and Rose had a family of eight boys and two girls.  When their son Lorne married Marina Grant, the house in Reston - contents and all - became their family home.  Changes and additions were made to the house over the years.  Starting in 1971, they lived summers on their farm home in the Stonehill district and winters in town until 1980 when they became full time residents.  Lorne and Marina Jago raised 4 children in the home - Carol, Jim, Grant and Scott.  They replaced the old house with a new RTM in 1989.  Marina passed away in 2005 and Lorne in 2007. 

Their daughter Carol has been generous with her memories of her childhood home:

There were sliding doors between the living room and dining room and two hallways made it possible to do a complete circle around the whole main floor. Large veranda on the front. My Dad nailed a piece of plywood across the front of the steps when we were younger and it was like a large play yard. Big enough we could ride our trike etc. There were 5 rooms upstairs. I remember my Dad making a bathroom in the one that was at the top of the stairs. Also remember getting running water and taps in the kitchen and also there was a old wood kitchen stove then an electric stove. We had a large lot there and lots of trees and shrubs - there was a lot of hide and seek played there. There was a garage, garden house which we used as a play house and also a outdoor toilet of course. There was a fence on the back to the north and also on the east in the early days and a few trees on the west. Not sure who is responsible for the evergreen on the corner but it has been there forever.

I can just picture kids racing around the circle on the main floor and riding trikes on the veranda!  Two more generations of the Jago  family now make this corner lot their home. That evergreen has seen a lot of changes in the years of standing across from a busy railway, threatening weather, flood waters and growing children.  We hope it continues to keep watch over this busy corner lot for a long time to come.     

March 2020 - First picture looking north and second looking east

140 Second Avenue - Archer House

140 2nd Avenue - Archer House

Another eye catching four square home finishes this block of Second Avenue in style.  Land for the home was sold to Alfred Archer in 1920 by his neigbour Robert Bulloch.  I don't have an exact date of construction but it seems Archer and his wife Eva were living in the home in the 1921 census. The former Eva Pearl Wall came from a farm near Lenore and married Alfred in Brandon on January 16, 1917.  The Heritage Manitoba website "We Made Pipestone" says Alfred Archer installed the beams himself but Boulton connection Arthur Bushby constructed the house. 
Mr. Archer is considered by many to be integral to Reston being what it is today. Both his parents died while he was young in Little Britain, Ontario and he was raised by an uncle.  He was trained in the family business of tailoring and he left for the west about 1904 in his early 20's. 

Archer's first Tailoring Shop on the left side of this postcard from Prairie Towns website

Mr. Archer was the driving force behind establishing the Reston Memorial Park in 1922 and made his living as a tailor in a shop that once stood where the Drop In is today.  His interest in plants was evident on the grounds of his home on Second Avenue with many species of plants and trees being cultivated. Alfred Archer left Reston after the death of his wife in 1967 to live with his son William in Ontario.  He passed away in 1968 and is buried with his wife in Reston Cemetery. 
The next occupants were Doctor Charles F. Wood and his wife from 1955 to 1965.  He is noted as the first doctor to have an office in the new hospital that had opened in 1952. 

David Braddell and his wife A. Irma next called the house their home.  He was a teacher of high school French as well as being very interested in nature and local history. Irma had taught before their marriage in 1951 and shared David's interest in birds and prairie flowers. They lived with their two children Kevin Roderick and Maureen Karen in the home from 1965 until Irma passed away in 2005. David died in Winnipeg in 2010.  In 2007 it was bought by another teacher Kent Schiltroth and his brother Kyle.  He and his wife Kari are now raising 2 daughters in the grand house and have created a wonderful curb appeal and beautiful yards. 

Further memories, pictures and knowledge of this house or others are welcome as always to ssimms@escape.ca  

220 - 6th Street - Sibbald House

As of today, the cozy little house that was across the back lane from us is but a memory.  In our 30 years living here, we called it "The Henderson House" but in this blog  I try to use the name of the first occupant to name the house so I believe this one should be named the Sibbald House.This style of home has a clipped gable roof and the windows looking out to the west would have been a cozy sunroom. The long carport leaning on the south of the house would have been a practical addition.

According to the local history books and online sources, it was built about 100 years ago as the home of Joseph and Maggie Sibbald.  The couple came to Canada from Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland in 1907 with their young daughter Jessie Elizabeth and were living in Reston on the 1911 census.  Two more children were born here, Williamina May (Ina) and Joseph Kay.  Census records show the family on 6th Street in 1921, the same year Joe graduated from a "practipedist” course.  This gave him knowledge in fitting shoes which made him an asset to his employer, the G.S. Munroe store.  This stone constructed business still stands as Anderson’s Fine Foods but shoes are not among their inventory!  The store was forward thinking in that employees had a financial interest and likely as a result, Joe worked there for over 35 years.  Thanks to Ancestry user Jim Davidson for these pictures of the family from July of 1939, taken on the day of the marriage of Joe Sibbald  Jr. and Mabel Stewart.  Perhaps these pictures were taken in their yard as a caragana hedge still runs south of the house.  Does anyone recognize the house in the background of the second photo with the diamond shaped window?  The Sibbalds retired to Winnipeg in about 1944 after 37 years in Reston. Joseph Sr. died there in 1968 and his wife Maggie in 1963.  

Joe Jr., Mabel Stewart, Maggie (mother), Ina and Jessie Sibbald

 

Jessie, Margaret, Joe (father) and Ina Sibbald - June 10, 1939

The  home was purchased by Harry and Margaret Winch in 1944.  He farmed land in the Kinloss district from town until 1950 when he ran local businesses including Co-Op bulk sales and the Reston Lumber Yard.  Harry retired in 1964. They had 5 children - Greta, Dorothy, Merle, Walter and Florence, who married Alvin Birnie and made their home in Reston. This picture of Harry was found in the Boulton albums. I was told that Terry Paul was the next resident before it became "The Henderson House".

John Henderson was one of 12 children born to Jack (John Alexander) and Agnes Henderson. Jack had been born in Lucknow, Ontario and  Agnes (Buckley) had come from Scunthorpe, England.  The couple met while both were working on the farm of Travers and Lauree Boulton south of Reston  in 1916.  He enlisted to join WW1 in June of 1916 and went overseas in 1917 which was surprising as his file indicates he was missing all 4 fingers on his right hand as a result of an accident with a sawmill in 1909.  He seems to have been assigned to the CASC - Canadian Army Service Corps which would have helped the troops with food and transportation.  They were married in 1919 after his release.

Jack and Agnes farmed in the Albert Municipality, 9 miles south of Reston in the Stonehill district.The home farm was N 11-6-28 was  included cattle, pigs, poultry and horses.

John Gerald Henderson was the middle child born in 1925.  He farmed as well as worked at the Pool Elevator in Reston, likely when he bought the house on 6th Street.  Being a bachelor, he didn’t need a big house but hosted family gatherings when family came back for a visit like at the 50th Anniversary celebration pictured below for Jack and Agnes. 

Picture from Reflections of Time Albert History Book 1984 (page 374)

John’s surviving siblings were Margaret (later Milner), Donald, Glen (married Eleanor Stonehouse and farmed in Kinloss,Linklater and Hillview area), Kathleen (later Oberlin), Geraldine (later Hamell), James (married Donna Duke and worked as a grain buyer), Marian (later Cronk) Kenneth (married Dorothy Shoemaker and employed in potash mine) and Ila (later Nolan). 

The Albert history book says John was a favourite uncle and played guitar in a local band.  John died in 2004 and besides short term tenants, it had not been occupied since then.  While the dust and rubble settle today, it was a privileged to tell what I have found about the house.  As always, please contact me with any further information or pictures you’d like to share.