The CNoR built two feeder lines that passed
through the municipality. One was built along the
southern border and gave life to the communities of
Rossendale, Lavenham, Ladysmith, Pratt, Gateside and
Arizona. This line was later abandoned and removed.
The other line, running northwest from Portage la
Prairie, crossed the northeast corner of the municipality
through Youill, Beaver and Katrime, on its way to
Gladstone.

These lines, whether main or feeder, were vital to
the day-to-day existence of the cormnunities along the
tracks. Eggs, cream, milk, wood and other produce
could be sent to waiting markets in all directions, while
mail, daily newspapers and retail goods came into the
municipality. Access to urban centres, for medical
appointments and shopping, was another important role
of the trains. But the railways were much more than a
means to buy and sell or to go to town. Waiting at the
station and visiting with neighbours was often a greatly
anticipated event which helped bind the community
together and increase its sense of fellowship.

The Canadian government announced the purchase
of the financially troubled CNoR on August 14, 1917,
joining it with the government’s other railway holdings
and incorporating it under the new name, Canadian
National Railways (CNR), on June 6, 1919. In mid—
1920, the GTPR announced its bankruptcy and by early
1923 the government had added it and its parent
company, the GTR, to the CNR fold, making it the
longest railway system in the world.

It is hard to overestimate the importance of the
railways. The example of North Norfolk was repeated
to both greater and lesser degrees all across western
Canada. What began as a sparsely populated, poorly
organized and isolated region was transformed in the
matter of a few months into a busy municipality, well-
connected with the rest of the country and showing
signs of social and economic growth. The railways
were a means of getting people to come, settle and
farm the land, to foster the growth of service industries
and to provide permanent, reliable access to world
markets and goods. The railways’ ability to carry farm
products to established markets — local, national and
international - was just as important. Without this
connection, the development of overseas markets for
grain and other produce would have been impossible
and the modern growth of the west would have
necessarily been delayed.

THE SETTLERS

The stage was now set for the appearance of the
final piece of the development puzzle - the settlers. The
fur trade had been the first catalyst to entice Europeans
and eastern Canadians to explore, map and on a very
limited scale, inhabit the region. The addition of the
territory to the Dominion of Canada and the creation of
the Province of Manitoba organized the land and
facilitated the granting of land to the newly arrived
immigrant families. The construction of railway lines
throughout the region assured farmers of a reliable
access for their produce to markets in eastern Canada,
the United States and Europe.

Just as each little hamlet or town grew from this
common history, so too did their developments differ.
Each had its own pioneers and leaders, its own way of
doing things and its own challenges. In the pages that
follow, you will gain a sense of the uniqueness of
North Norfolk’s people and each of its communities.
You will discover, as well, a common heritage, a
shared past that links the Municipality and its citizens
to the rest of western Canada.

In the next six hundred pages we have tried to
capture the uniqueness Murray mentions. In reality our
population represents a good cross section of the world
population and we have learned to live together in
harmony. This in itself may be unique.