Today, the ornamental crabapple trees along Garden Road, Riverbend Crescent, and Parkside Drive provide a spectacular display of scenery and scent, with the abundance of blooms in the spring, and the abundance of apples in the summer. It is a hidden treasure in Winnipeg and especially important to the residents of the area.

This neighbourhood, a building project of Frank and Bill Lount of Frank R. Lount and Sons Ltd., was completed at the end of WWII in 1947 and consisted of about 100 homes at that time.

Mr. Lount, the developer, opted to extend the front lawn area instead of installing sidewalks. Through an arrangement with the Dominion Experimental Farm at Morden, Manitoba, at least one ‘Almey’ flowering crabapple tree was ordered for each home – about 200 trees in total.

The majority of residents at that time were veterans just out of the services and were conditioned to receiving and following orders to the letter. So when instructions were provided to the homeowners on how to plant the trees, the instructions were followed with military diligence! On each property, a hole was prepared, measuring 30" x 30" to a depth of 36", and the soil mixed with a liberal amount of peat moss. Assuming the trees would be of a size proportionate
to the holes that had been dug, it was decided that at least 10 cars would be needed to transport the trees from Morden to Winnipeg.

Sure enough, the convoy set out for Morden at 0600 hours and was described as “by the numbers” and very military-like.

Upon arriving in Morden, they came to realize that a key detail had been omitted -- that their "trees" were merely small cuttings! All 200 trees could have fit into the trunk of one car. Back to Winnipeg they went, greeted with eager family and friends equipped with brand-new wheelbarrows and rolling flatbeds expecting to receive large, heavy trees… only to be handed a small twig!

Despite the hilarity of the event, their work and dedication to the project paid off and many of these original trees still line their streets to this day.

It's estimated that about 28 of the boulevard apple trees on Garden Street and Riverbend Crescent remain standing, and about 5 trees remain on Parkside Drive.

History provided by Currie McMillan in a letter addressed to the residents of Parkside Drive, Garden Road and Riverbend Crescent in the spring of 1988 in honour of their neighbourhood's 50th anniversary. Special thanks to K. Thiesenhausen for sending us the story and pictures!

Today, the ornamental crabapple trees along Garden Road, Riverbend Crescent, and Parkside Drive provide a spectacular display of scenery and scent, with the abundance of blooms in the spring, and the abundance of apples in the summer. It is a hidden treasure in Winnipeg and especially important to the residents of the area.

This neighbourhood, a building project of Frank and Bill Lount of Frank R. Lount and Sons Ltd., was completed at the end of WWII in 1947 and consisted of about 100 homes at that time.

Mr. Lount, the developer, opted to extend the front lawn area instead of installing sidewalks. Through an arrangement with the Dominion Experimental Farm at Morden, Manitoba, at least one ‘Almey’ flowering crabapple tree was ordered for each home – about 200 trees in total.

The majority of residents at that time were veterans just out of the services and were conditioned to receiving and following orders to the letter. So when instructions were provided to the homeowners on how to plant the trees, the instructions were followed with military diligence! On each property, a hole was prepared, measuring 30" x 30" to a depth of 36", and the soil mixed with a liberal amount of peat moss. Assuming the trees would be of a size proportionate
to the holes that had been dug, it was decided that at least 10 cars would be needed to transport the trees from Morden to Winnipeg.

Sure enough, the convoy set out for Morden at 0600 hours and was described as “by the numbers” and very military-like.

Upon arriving in Morden, they came to realize that a key detail had been omitted -- that their "trees" were merely small cuttings! All 200 trees could have fit into the trunk of one car. Back to Winnipeg they went, greeted with eager family and friends equipped with brand-new wheelbarrows and rolling flatbeds expecting to receive large, heavy trees… only to be handed a small twig!

Despite the hilarity of the event, their work and dedication to the project paid off and many of these original trees still line their streets to this day.

It's estimated that about 28 of the boulevard apple trees on Garden Street and Riverbend Crescent remain standing, and about 5 trees remain on Parkside Drive.

History provided by Currie McMillan in a letter addressed to the residents of Parkside Drive, Garden Road and Riverbend Crescent in the spring of 1988 in honour of their neighbourhood's 50th anniversary. Special thanks to K. Thiesenhausen for sending us the story and pictures!