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MHS Centennial Organization: Le Club Belge [The Belgian Club]
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Presidents | Sources
In 1905, Louis de Nobele and his father-in-law Theophile Elewaut suggested they form a club so that Belgians who, at that time, were arriving in Manitoba in large numbers would have a venue to meet each other. At first, members of Le Club Belge met in an old boarding house on Lombard Avenue in Winnipeg moving, a year later, to St. Boniface so it could be nearer to where most of its members lived. In 1907, they purchased land on Provencher Boulevard for $1,600 and constructed a clubhouse that is still its home today. A century later, many of the club’s 5,000 members are descendants of the founders. Still true to its origins, the club remains a cultural home for Belgians from around Manitoba, and it is an active participant in Winnipeg’s annual Folklorama festival, with such attractions as demonstrations of Belgian bowling and pole archery, and such goodies as Belgian chocolate, waffles, and, of course, good Belgian beer.
On 3 April 2005, an MHS Centennial Organization Award was presented by Lieutenant-Governor John Harvard, Jacqueline Friesen, and Gordon Goldsborough to Neil Pryce, Past Secretary and Member-at-Large of Le Club Belge, and the great-great-grandson of Edward Lammens, one of the club’s 45 original members.
Presidents
Period
President
1905-1907
Louis Joseph De Nobele (c1881-1950)
1907-1912
Pierre Bossuyt
1912-1914
August Van Horenbeeck
1914
Pierre Bossuyt
1914-1915
Emile Elias
1915-1917
Alidor Van Elslander (1879-1953)
1917
August Van Horenbeeck
1917
Anthony Hoornaert
1917-1918
Louis Joseph De Nobele (c1881-1950)
1918-1919
August Janssens
1919-1921
Anthony Hoornaert
1921-1926
Alidore Van Elslander
1926-1935
Nicolas Pirotton (1882-1943)
1935-1938
Alfred Arthur De Cruyenaere (1893-1981)
1938-1946
Theodore Bockstael (1874-1958)
1946-1972
Wilbur Van Walleghem
1972-1978
Andy Janssens
1978-1981
Jerry Van Wynsbergh
1981-1991
Jean Marie DeClercq
1991-1998
Evelyn Simoens Baltessen (1936-1998)
1998-2000
Vacant
2000-2017
Albert Delbaere
2017-?
Lorraine De Jonckheere
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Belgian Club (407 Provencher Boulevard, Winnipeg)
Memorable Manitobans: Louis Joseph De Nobele (c1881-1950)
Sources:
“Theodor Bockstael heads Belgian Club,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 May 1938, page 14.
“Theodore Bockstael dies in hospital,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 December 1958, page 8.
Obituary [Evelyn Simoens Baltessen], Winnipeg Free Press, 30 March 1998, page 16.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Neil Pryce.
Page revised: 16 December 2022
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