COLUMN: Carillon Flashback July 3, 1959 – Southeast celebrates U.S. road connection

Nearly four decades after the first motorcade shovelled and pushed their way from Piney to Winnipeg to show that a road would be feasible, residents of southeastern Manitoba and northeastern Minnesota, celebrated the opening of the first hard-surfaced connection between Manitoba and Minnesota, east of the Red River.

The official opening ceremonies in June were held at the port of entry south of Piney where Highway 12 connects with Minnesota Highway 89.

School bands from Roseau and Warroad, speeches, and prayers of dedication marked the ceremony, which, to many people, marked the end of a long uphill struggle to have a good road built to span the Southeast.

Speakers from both sides of the border waxed nostalgic as they recalled early motorcades to Winnipeg, when they shovelled, hewed and pushed their way from Piney to Winnipeg, to prove to government officials that a road here was practical and feasible. They grew slightly sarcastic when they recalled the many government promises that were made, and the little that was done to actually build the road. Yet, they said, every delegation seemed to bring the dream a little closer to reality.

The Red River flood of 1950 seems to have spurred the building of the highway, according to Minnesota district engineer Lee Boyd, who was part of the official opening ceremonies.

“The fact that Highway 75 was closed to international traffic for six weeks must have set both Canadian and American authorities thinking and made them realize the necessity of a second connection, between Manitoba and the United States.”

Eugene Simmons of Pine Creek, another veteran of the “battle for the Piney highway”, gave a brief outline of the creation of the Pine Creek port of entry. He noted that the road at this point was located on a trail used by indigenous groups moving back and forth across the border, long before the first settlers came.

Simmons recalled the tremendous work done by men on the American side, in order to get the road built, and their numerous frustrations. But gradually there had been progress, and finally, success.

Albert Thorvaldson of Piney recalled some of the difficulties and delays that had been encountered when the first real construction began in 1930. A change in government resulted in enough money being spent to fiord the first swamp south of Piney. A year later, a real honest effort was made to build the road, and a whole mile was built north of Piney, he said.

Other speakers during the opening ceremonies and the banquet that followed included Russell Lund of Badger, Minnesota, chairman of the Pine Creek Improvement Association; and Edgar Erickson, also of Pine Creek, who was one of the veterans that crossed the Southeast in a history-making trip in 1920, the first motorcade on record.

From the Canadian side, speakers included Norman Tyler, president of the Piney Chamber of Commerce; Powerview Mayor Paul Sherstone, president of the Eastern Manitoba Development Board; and Steinbach Mayor K.R. Barkman, who was the first president of the EMDB, and Armour Mackay, former highways committee chairman of the EMDB.

Mackay, who had been a strong advocate for connecting north and south in the western part of the province with the construction of Highway 10, was also one of the strongest advocates of the Piney Highway to connect eastern Manitoba and the United States.

By 1952, only 25 miles remained to complete the road, which Mackay described at that time as the most important highway in Manitoba, next to the Trans-Canada.

Highway 12 to Piney, would provide a connecting route from Winnipeg to Duluth, Minnesota and from there on to Detroit and Toronto, he said.

To a great many people in the Southeast, the celebration of this U.S. connection from Highway 12 means a “mission accomplished” that had been 30 years in the making.

Government officials from both sides of the border were conspicuous by their absence at the June opening ceremonies.

Following the afternoon ceremonies, the Piney Chamber of Commerce hosted invited guests to join them for a community banquet.