Memorial Hall 12-2nd Avenue NW
Carman Memorial Hall
The Memorial Hall, commonly today referred to as "the big brick building that is located on 2nd Avenue SW with the two large canons on the corners", is a description that leads visitors to the municipal offices and the stately building in the heart of Carman.
The Memorial Hall was a dream of the Town of Carman and RM of Dufferin Councils and was built in memory of the men from our community that fought in World War 1. The thought of the day, was to build a meeting place for those that returned from the war, in memory of those from our community that had fallen. It was the first war memorial of its kind in Western Canada and remains today as a monument of community remembrance. In 1919, it was estimated that the area had a combined population of less than 3,500 citizens and there was a total of 500 young men from the community that went overseas to fight for Canada and 83 that made the supreme sacrifice.
At the time, there was a discussion as to what would be an appropriate memorial for those fallen soldiers. The hall was built through a combined efforts of the citizens and municipal councils of the Town and RM at a total cost of $70,176.16, which was apportioned thus, Carman $29,548.00, Dufferin $40,628.16. Carman’s share was raised by debentures and Dufferin’s by a special levy for four years, as recorded in the history book “Up to Now” which was published in 1967.
A large crowd attended a ceremony of laying of the cornerstone of this building in the fall of 1919. Dufferin Reeve Thomas Harrison was the chairman for the event while Carman Mayor J. A. Munn addressed the crowd and offered the details on the construction and equipment of the hall. Following this ceremony and the laying of the cornerstone, the construction of the building continued. The building was constructed of red brick and Manitoba limestone. There are two stone blocks placed in the facade with the names of VIMY and MONS engraved in them to pay tribute to the Canadian soldiers who fought so valiantly in the horror of those two battles. It is noted in the History of the RM of Dufferin book that was printed in 1980 that Dr. H. C. Cunningham had been passing by when these engraved blocks were being installed and he noticed that they had placed the MONS block upside down, thus spelling “SNOW”. The contractor was contacted and the block was correctly installed. The construction was completed and the grand opening of the hall was held on May 24, 1920.
The original plan for this stately building is outlined in the 1980 Dufferin History book and is taken from The Dufferin Leader article that was printed October 2, 1919 following the laying of the cornerstone, and was to be used as follows:
"Basement - the basement will be used as a gymnasium and dance room, and will be fitted with washrooms and shower baths, and will be used as a place of recreation for the young people of the district. First floor - On this floor will be various rooms and offices. The main room on this floor will be the memorial room, in which will contain a large tablet on which will be inscribed the honour roll of the district, and will bear details of all the soldiers who left the district for overseas; this room will also contain relics and trophies of the war. The Blain Haverson Chapter of the I.O.D.E. will undertake the furnishing of the room. On this floor will also be the County Court room, municipal offices for Carman and Dufferin, council room (this room will also be used as headquarters for the local branch of the Great War Veterans' Association), there will also be a rest room, to be used as a social meeting place by the ladies of the district, and also to be a place of rest for the ladies coming in from the country. At the rear of this room will be a kitchenette. The ladies of the Homewood Soldiers Aid Society have undertaken the responsibility of the entire furnishings of this room. The top floor will be used as an auditorium for entertainments, and will be fitted with motion picture screen. The seating capacity of the room will be between 500 and 600 people. The Soldiers Benefit Society will undertake to furnish this room, and there will be 2 pianos which will be donated by the Torchbearers Club, one piano for the auditorium and the other for the basement. At the rear of the hall will be constructed a fire tower and apparatus."
For many years the basement was used as the focal gathering point for the residents of the community. The main hall served as a dance floor for many weekend dances. There was a full kitchen that provided the opportunity for many community teas and luncheons to be served from this main hall. The kitchen was equipped with English white china that had a red ring on the outer edge and edged with gold plating, which is still used 100 years later. The showers and washrooms were in the north-east corner of the basement and were used following a game of hockey when the rink had been located across Main Street. The jail cells were located in the rear of the building and the bell tower was used to hang the fire hoses after each use. The fire bell was located in this tower and was used to call the fire department to each incident and was in its place until the renovation in 2015 when it was removed and permanently placed on display in front of the Carman Dufferin Fire Hall at 197 Main Street South - a fitting resting place for the "original" siren.
Over the years the use of the basement has been transformed. Eventually the washrooms and showers were removed following the collapsing of the Main Street arena in the late 50's. Offices were built in this space and used by a number of different groups and organizations over the years, such as the Recreation Commission, Manitoba Corn Growers Association, Carman Dufferin Development Corporation’s Economic Development Officer, Emergency Coordinator, and Dufferin History Book Committee to name a few. The main hall continued to serve as a small meeting room; however with the community growing, other halls and dance areas were developed leaving this hall unused more and more. The hall did become a temporary home for a clothing store in the late 70's while a building was built up town and in the 90's was temporary housing for the two municipal offices while the main floor was being renovated. During the renovations in 2015, the area was made into a community meeting space once again, only this time a board room and offices were developed. This has given local groups and organizations meeting and office space to be used at their convenience. Storage lockers have also been developed to provide the necessary storage for municipal documents until they can be moved to the provincial archives or permanently destroyed. The Chamber of Commerce and the joint Emergency Coordinator are housed in offices located in this area. There is still a kitchen area; however no longer cooking facilities are provided. As a sign of the times, there has been a LAN room developed that houses all the servers and internet for the building.
The main floor of Memorial Hall has been a vital stop for the community for many years. The RM of Dufferin and Town of Carman municipal offices have been located on this floor since the building was finished in 1920. A Memorial Room was designed in the front northwest corner of the building and remains intact since the initial build. Renovations in 1995 updated the paint and refinished the original maple floors, but other than that, this room has been left structurally untouched. The Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 18 keep the room updated and recently installed a display case to house war artifacts. School classes still visit the Memorial Room and the hall, in general, every fall.
Besides the municipal offices, the main floor also had a committee room and a Council Chamber where both municipalities held their Council meetings. Originally the Council Chamber was located in the south west side of the building and the Committee Room was located on the south east side. With the renovation in 1995, these rooms were switched and a hallway was developed in the west room that was to eventually serve as entrance/exit from the proposed elevator at the rear of the building. Eventually the Memorial Hall Board tendered a proposal to build an elevator at the rear of the hall; however the pricing came in quite high and the Board was not fully convinced that the accessibility entrance should be at the rear of the building. The accessibility issue of Memorial Hall was not addressed until the renovation in 2015.
The Committee Room was originally built as a resting area for the women coming in from the country; however it did house the Boyne Regional Library for a period in the 60’s. There have been a number of different organizations that utilized space on the main floor of Memorial Hall. Monthly Provincial Court was always held in the Council Chamber until the accessibility issue forced its move to the Legion Ladies Auxiliary hall. Autopac and Drivers’ Testing appointments were booked weekly in this space and ratepayers were able to meet these provincial departments in right in their community. Again, with the building of the Legion Auxiliary Hall, eventually these departments moved their appointments there. At one point, a Mayor’s office was developed in the south east corner of the building and although, it was short lived as an office for the Mayor, Manitoba Corn Growers Association took over the space until they built their own building in the Industrial Park. When the Memorial Hall committee started planning in 2013 about another renovation, the committee room space was changed to house the Carman Dufferin Economic Development officer and the newly formed Carman Dufferin Planning District office.
Renovation projects did change the look of this main floor over the years. The renovation in 1995 saw the Council Chambers and Committee Room switched. The hallway was built in the new Committee Room that was to lead from the elevator that would be installed at the rear of the building. This renovation saw the original maple hardwood floors refinished and where the hardwood had been removed over the years, new maple hardwood was installed. The walls were painted to the compliment the era of the building; new washrooms were developed on this main floor, a door installed at the top of the stairs. This renovation of 1995 also cleaned and repaired the exterior brick of the building; painted the exterior trim of the building; and ensured the roof was secure by finishing off with a new roof.
The 2015 renovation of the main floor was the biggest change to this main floor. All walls were removed and the only thing left were the concrete pillars and one of the concrete vaults. Local groups (Carman Dufferin Fire Department and Carman Kinsmen) were hired to complete the demolition and used the funds raised towards community projects. The municipal offices were developed with an open area concept with both receptionists at the front in an open work space concept. In recent years the Provincial Government had forced amalgamations of municipalities under the 1,000 population threshold. The joint municipal office was designed so that should the mandate come down in future years that a higher threshold would be forced to amalgamate, it could be done with little to no expense to the ratepayers. Besides the front counters and workstations out front, there are three offices on each side of the building on the main floor. These offices provide growth room for both municipalities as we look towards the future.
In the centre of the office area is a large work space that is used for larger projects or to have a joint coffee.
Originally, the third floor of Memorial Hall was developed into a theatre and auditorium. The cement projection room was located on the north end of this room, overtop of the staircase. The slanted theatre floor and approximately 500 wooden seats allowed all patrons to view the stage without obstruction. Many theatre plays, graduations, motion pictures, and community events were held in this theatre. The raised stage was covered with rich red velvet curtains that remained in place until it was closed in the mid 60’s. One of the neatest things about the theatre and the stage was the south wall where all the actors in the productions over the decades autographed their name and character in the wall. These signatures were etched into the concrete wall and will be encased forever in the wall following the 2015 renovations.
This theatre was used by the entire community as there really was no other place to hold drama productions or graduation ceremonies, etc. By the 60’s, the councils knew that this theatre required some upgrades to continue using it for such events and functions. It was at this time that other facilities within the community took over and the third floor of Memorial Hall was closed to the general public. From that time on, the theatre became a storage area for municipal document retention. Eventually, the board was forced to look at window replacements to keep the birds out. It was not until the renovation in 2015 that this space was developed and used.
In 2015, the Memorial Hall Board was addressing the need to develop more space for offices. The municipal offices had outgrown their space; new offices were needed for the Economic Development and Planning Departments; recreation services were over at the arena and it was felt that it would be beneficial to offer “a one-stop” experience for ratepayers. Options were considered and it was originally wondered about adding a smaller version of Memorial Hall on the west side of the building. This solved the accessibility issue by allowing the general public to enter the building at street level but did not address getting the general public into the main building. Eventually a plan was drawn up to utilize the space within the walls of Memorial Hall and provide accessibility to each level of the building by installing a lift. It was this renovation project that transformed the old theatre into meeting rooms, offices and coffee room. The slanted floor was built over and the floor was raised so the offices would have the benefit of the windows. Five offices were developed on the west side of the building leaving the front northwest corner for a scenic coffee/lunch room. A new Council Chamber was developed on the east side of the building that now has a table that can be configured to different sizes and shapes dependent upon the size of the group at the meeting. Currently, both Councils have gone paperless and use a projector/screen with I-pads for meeting documents and presentation. Besides the Council Chamber, this floor has a committee meeting room that would sit approximately 10-12 people and a smaller room where 6-8 people could hold a meeting. Originally, it was felt that the 5 offices on this floor would give the community room to grow; however within our first year of being back into the offices following the renovation, we have all offices filled. Recreation Services has now relocated back to Memorial Hall and take up three of the offices with the General Manager, Programmer and Office Assistant. Carman Dufferin Planning District has one office and the Carman Dufferin Economic Officer takes up the last office.
The Royal Canadian Legion built a memorial cenotaph on the east side of the grounds in 1987. This spring the cenotaph will be surrounded with the 150th tulips in celebration of Canada’s birthday.
As described on the sign in the Memorial Room, the “canons” at the corner of the yard of Memorial Hall are “guns were used in World War 1 as the M16 and in World War 2 as the FH16 (leichte Feldhaubitze, or light field howitzer). Originally known as the M96na (neur Art, or new pattern) an Erhardt Design, it was later modified in 1917 by Krupp who had absorbed Erhardt. This modification, while still of the same general type, had a longer barrel and greater elevation, which increased its range. During the interwar years it was upgunned from 7.7 cm to the 10.5 cm howitzer. They were used by Germany in WW1 and WW2.
In 2012, the Memorial Hall Board hired Brian Reynolds to rebuild the hubs and wheels of these field guns. Originally Mr. Reynolds thought it would take him 12-14 hours per wheel to rebuild them; when in fact he spent over 130 hours rebuilding these wheels.