Wakopa Store Museum a worthwhile visit
Take a step back in time with a visit to brothers Charlie and Jim Baldock’s store located in Lena, Manitoba.
The history of the brothers’ store in Lena starts back in Wakopa with a store that had been owned and operated by the Morgan family from 1905 until 1966.
Charlie and Jim’s parents bought the store in 1966 from the Morgans and operated it until 1969. That was when Canada Post left Wakopa.
Unable to sell the store, the furnishings and equipment, including the counters were placed in storage.
Charlie admitted that he and his brother Jim always, “had it in our minds that we would build something and set up everything we still had in storage.”
Years passed, and the idea remained steadfast in their minds.
Finally three years ago they had the time to build a space, and their idea slowly turned from a dream to reality with a building that was the perfect backdrop for the items so carefully stored for many years.
On the outside it looks like it could be a storage building like so many others, but when you move to the front, you quickly realise this building is quite different.
An open western style deck and overhang warmly greets you.
As you ascend the steps and open the door, you enter another time.
The wooden floors creak as you walk over them, and in the middle of the store is a wood stove, perfect to gather around on a cold winter’s morning to share stories and camaraderie, standing at the ready.
The room is a step back in time, back to the old General Store that had been so long ago, the lifeblood of all small towns.
Everything is frozen in time.
The walls are lined with history.
Long grand counters line one side of the room, filled with framed memories and equipment from years ago.
A thick aged phonebook lays open, showing endless columns of names and numbers.
A large scale holding its place on the end of the long counter, waiting for the next item to be weighed, with the roll of brown paper hanging in the dispenser ready to wrap the order.
The drawers under the counters that decades ago had held beans, peas, flour and other needs, are still intact and fully functional, but now sit empty.
Along the back wall of the room stands the doors from the old Killarney Jail, a place that briefly housed Earl Nelson, a serial killer from the United States on the run for killing almost 30 women and trying to evade capture by hiding in Canada.
So much history to take in, and so many stories to enjoy.
Here, everyone is welcomed into the fold and becomes a friend.
Charlie and Jim welcome visitors to their mini museum, they just ask that you call ahead.
If you would like to step back in time, call Charlie at 204-523-8497 and set up a time to visit.
PHOTO CAPTION: Brothers Charlie and Jim Baldock show the “cash register” in front of them in their “Wakopa Store Museum” located in Lena, Manitoba. PHOTO BY SUZANNE PADDOCK
