Question for the Winnipeggers

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February 10, 20232 yr

So I'd say that the easy answer to who the Greatest Canadian to come from Winnipeg is of course Terry Fox. He didn't spend much of his life there, but he was indeed born there so I think that he is hands down the Greatest Canadian from Winnipeg.

Who then, would you say, gets the runner up prize and why?

I'm asking because of a research project I'm doing and I would say that it is about your 2nd greatest Winnipegger. I won't say who it is because I don't want to bias the outcome... But I'm genuinely curious on who the consensus points toward.

February 11, 20232 yr

19 hours ago, bluto said:

So I'd say that the easy answer to who the Greatest Canadian to come from Winnipeg is of course Terry Fox. He didn't spend much of his life there, but he was indeed born there so I think that he is hands down the Greatest Canadian from Winnipeg.

Who then, would you say, gets the runner up prize and why?

I'm asking because of a research project I'm doing and I would say that it is about your 2nd greatest Winnipegger. I won't say who it is because I don't want to bias the outcome... But I'm genuinely curious on who the consensus points toward.

The answer is obviously Dancing Gabe. Who doesn't like the guy ?

blue_gold_84, GCJenks, Tracker and 1 other
4

February 11, 20232 yr

Author

I'm day drunk.

But I had to report back that my research project was received very favorably and that all of my Brothers raised an enthusiastic toast to Sir William Stephenson... the Quiet Canadian... The man called "Intrepid".

GCJenks and blue_gold_84
2

February 12, 20232 yr

The term greatest can mean many things to many people. It's hard to define who is the greatest. Some people would automatically say a sports star. Othere would say a politician. Others would say a musician, doctor, lawyer or actor. So, it can't be just one name or someone from just a single profession.

Also, are you a Winnipegger if you were born here but left as a kid & all accomplishments he/she was made somewhere else?

Myself, I'd probably say Duff Roblin, the former Premier of Manitoba who had the foresight to come up with the Red River Floodway which has protected Winnipeg from devastating floods since 1968. The house in Riverview where I grew up in was flooded out in 1950 just a few months after they bought it. It was before I was born but our family had some stories about that flood & where they went to stay, Except for my dad who didn't go as he was worried about his Auto Body business that used to be on Marion Street beside the Norwood Hotel.

Winnipeg almost had another flood as bad or worse as the 1950 flood in 1966 when we had a ton of snow & a late spring. A fast snow melt & a rainy spring mde the Red River come up again. I remember the city putting up tons of sandbags on Churchill Drive. The River spilled its banks but it only flooded low lying areas. That just made the floodway such a relief when it opened.

Interesting that my son's father in law is a recently retired civil engineer who specialized in flood mitigation with the US Army Corps of Engineers. He studied the floodway in university at Washington State back in the 70's & was sent to New Orleans to repair & build up the levies after Hurricane Katrina. He told me that they should have built a floodway like we have in Winnipeg to carry high water around New Orleans instead of levies. He also felt the same way about Grand Forks, ND which has been flooded out as well more than once. He thinks our floodway is simply amazing.

Just for building the floodway makes Roblin the greatest Winnipegger ever.

Edited February 12, 20232 yr by SpeedFlex27

bluto
1

February 12, 20232 yr

1 hour ago, bluto said:

I'm day drunk.

But I had to report back that my research project was received very favorably and that all of my Brothers raised an enthusiastic toast to Sir William Stephenson... the Quiet Canadian... The man called "Intrepid".

Good addition.

I'd also add Leo Mol and Jim Peebles to my list.