Do you remember when Steinbach looked like this?
I think I might remember angle parking. When did that go away?
Did you ever shop at the Reimer store (pictured on the left side of the mural)?
How about the Kornelson School, pictured below? I think that was located where City Hall is today.
Often when I walk around, I try to imagine Steinbach as it was back then. And I try to remember what it was like in the 80’s, which would be about as far back as I would be able to recall. I was born in the Bethesda Hospital in the late 70’s… but thankfully that memory escapes me entirely.
The plaque on the wall says: “Steinbach circa 1950. This mural commemorates historical downtown Main Street, our Town Office and the Kornelson School in this era. Donated by the Robert D. and Joanne S. Banman Heritage Foundation 2007.”
It was painted by Davey B. Penner.
I remember what that wall looked like before the mural. It was very plain and grey and ugly. I think just flat grey stucco. I was so happy when I saw it was being painted, and depicting something that I find very interesting, too.
I also appreciate the brown and yellow horizontal striping. Do you know what that commemorates? There’s no mention of it on the wall, but I’m pretty sure that’s what the outside of Penner Foods used to look like. Well, I guess all of Clearspring Centre used to look like that. But to me, these thick brown and yellow lines are reminiscent of Penner Foods specifically. I miss Penner Foods.
There used to be another mural… I think it was on the side of Eastman Feeds by Friesen Avenue, and that it had depicted pictures of the original settlers of the area. It’s gone now… and I sometimes wonder if I had imagined it.