MHS Centennial Organization: Winnipeg Automobile Club / Manitoba Motor League / CAA Manitoba

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Founding Members | Executives | Sources

In 1899, the first automobile arrived in Winnipeg. The gasoline-powered, three-wheeled vehicle, steered with a primitive tiller, was owned by Dr. Edgar Kenrick of St. John’s College. The number of motorists increased quickly to the point where, in March 1904, a dozen enthusiasts met at Kenrick’s home to discuss the formation of a club, to be known as the Winnipeg Automobile Club. Its patron was to be Lieutenant-Governor Daniel H. McMillan.

Its mission made it the first of its kind in Canada: to protect the rights of those who drove an automobile. It grew rapidly, as the auto became the vehicle of choice for a growing number of Manitobans, to the point where it is considered by many to be a basic necessity of life. Decades later, the Club evolved into the Manitoba Motor League, and is now known as CAA Manitoba to reflect its federation in the Canadian Automobile Association.

An MHS Centennial Organization Award was presented to Jerry Kruk of CAA Manitoba by Gordon Goldsborough on 16 May 2004.

Founding Members (1904)

Member	Address
John Arbuthnot (1861-1931)	Armstrongs Point
Donald Henderson “Dan” Bain (1874-1962)	168 Fort Street
James “Jimmy” Boswell (1874-1944)	McCulloch & Boswell
M. Berry Bond	Berry, Pull & Bond
Victor Bouche	28 Merchant Block Building
John Rickard Clements (1838-1926)	494½ Main Street
George Carruthers	Roslyn Road
N. A. Davidson	Maw & Company
James Arthur Devine (1869-?)	268 Donald Street
Edward Lancaster Drewry (1851-1940)	Redwood
Charles Henry Enderton (1861-1920)	393 Main Street
George Erzinger	214 Donald Street
Alan Campbell Ewart (1875-?)	Fisher, Wilson & Ewart
John Crichton “Jack” Green-Armytage (1872-1943)	Bell & Armytage
Henry Sandham Griffith (1865-1943)	26 Osborne Place
C. F. Grundy	Grundy Music Store
Ogden Hinch	Clarendon Hotel
Sidney Hoover	Commonwealth
E. H. Heath	Canadian Thresherman Merchants Bank Building
R. Emmet Kelly	430½ Main Street, Box 457
Edgar Boteler Kenrick (1863-1905)	282 Assiniboine Avenue
August Leon	278 Garry Street
Bruce McBean (1873-?)	Grain Exchange
Henry McBean	Grain Exchange
A. C. McKenzie	Fort Rouge
James McIntyre	318 Kennedy Street
Russell Mackenzie MacLeod (1879-1946)	404 Edmonton Street
John K. “Jack” McCulloch (1872-1918)	McCulloch & Boswell
Joseph Maw (1854-1916)	278 Donald Street
Robert Muir (1850-1908)	376 Edmonton Street
Dr. Montgomery	313 Kennedy Street
G. M. Miller	“Rialto” 480 Main Street
W. C. Power	Canadian Cycle & Motor Company
Maurice Putnam (c1860-1907)	488 Main Street
Henry Norlande Ruttan (1848-1925)	Armstrongs Point
Arthur Stewart	Box 1461
J. E. Wadleigh	Miller, Morse & Company
William Webster (1866-1934)	151 Kennedy Street
Clayton Whipple	414 Main Street

Executives

Year	Honorary President	President	Vice-President	Secretary
1904	Edward Lancaster Drewry (1851-1940)	William Webster (1866-1934)	Maurice Putnam (c1860-1907)	Edgar Boteler Kenrick (1863-1905)
1905	Robert Rogers (1864-1936)	Donald Henderson “Dan” Bain (1874-1962)	John Crichton “Jack” Green-Armytage (1872-1943)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1906	Donald Henderson “Dan” Bain (1874-1962)	John Crichton “Jack” Green-Armytage (1872-1943)	Frank Hedley Phippen (1863-1932)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1907	John Crichton “Jack” Green-Armytage (1872-1943)	Frank Hedley Phippen (1863-1932)	Russell Mackenzie MacLeod (1879-1946)	W. C. Power & Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1908	John Crichton “Jack” Green-Armytage (1872-1943)	Russell Mackenzie MacLeod (1879-1946)	Daniel Boyce Sprague (1876-1928)	William Ernest Wright (1874-?)
1909	John Crichton “Jack” Green-Armytage (1872-1943)	Russell Mackenzie MacLeod (1879-1946)	William Richard Bawlf (1881-1972)	William Ernest Wright (1874-?)
1910	Russell Mackenzie MacLeod (1879-1946)	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919)	Daniel Boyce Sprague (1876-1928)	William Ernest Wright (1874-?)
1911	Russell Mackenzie MacLeod (1879-1946)	Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923)	William Richard Bawlf (1881-1972)	William Ernest Wright (1874-?)
1912	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919)	William Richard Bawlf (1881-1972)	Daniel Boyce Sprague (1876-1928)	William Ernest Wright (1874-?)
1913	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919)	William Ernest Wright (1874-?)	Daniel Boyce Sprague (1876-1928)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1914	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919)	Frederick John Charles Cox (1860-1939)	Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1915	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919)	Frederick John Charles Cox (1860-1939)	Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1916	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919) & Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923)	Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	Jose Alexander Banfield (1868-1937)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1917	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919) & Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923)	Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	Jose Alexander Banfield (1868-1937)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1918	Charles Henry Newton (1851-1919) & Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923)	Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	Jose Alexander Banfield (1868-1937)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1919	Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923) & Edward Lancaster Drewry (1851-1940)	Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	Jose Alexander Banfield (1868-1937)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1920	Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923) & Edward Lancaster Drewry (1851-1940)	Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	Jose Alexander Banfield (1868-1937)	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1921	Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923) & Edward Lancaster Drewry (1851-1940)	S. M. Campbell	C. L. McLaughlin	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1922	Edward Lancaster Drewry (1851-1940), Henry Martyn Belcher (1856-1923) & Fred Eugene H. Luke (1876-?)	S. M. Campbell	B. W. Thompson, F. H. Mitchell	Arthur Coates “Ace” Emmett (1872-1959)
1923-1940	?	?	?	?
1941-1944	?	Austin Lloyd Clark (1896-1945)	?	?
1944-1948	?	?	?	?
1948-1963	?	Charles Gregory “Charlie” Carter (1884-1968)	?	?
1963-1964	?	David K. “D.K.” Friesen (1910-1991)	?	?

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: A. C. Emmett and the Development of Manitoba’s Highways (Kirkella, RM of Wallace-Woodworth)

Manitoba Organization: Motor Country Club

Sources:

Winnipeg Automobile Club files, CAA Manitoba.

Page revised: 8 May 2023