CBC’s St. James connections

St. James

During the summer of 2025, I was interviewed at the CBC studio at 541 Portage Ave. about restoring proper bus service to the Grace Hospital. I immediately thought of the many St. James connections to our national broadcaster.

CBWT television went on the air for the first time on May 31, 1954, and many residents of St. James-Assiniboia have worked there over the years.

The first weather man was Ed Russenholt. For the next eight years, Ed became famous for concluding his weather report by drawing a heart over Winnipeg in the middle of Canada on his weather map. In 1968, Ed wrote The Heart of the Continent: Being the History of Assiniboia – the Truly Typical Canadian Community, which detailed the history of Assiniboia from 1811-1945. Scott Oake a Gemini Award-winning sportscaster, his late wife Anne and son Darcy spearheaded the construction of the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre on Hamilton Avenue The facility is named in memory of the Oakes’ oldest son, Bruce, who died of a drug overdose.

During the 1940s, Gladys Whitehead sang as a soloist with Geoffrey Waddington’s CBC Orchestra. Ernie Mutimer produced the Red River Jamboree in the 1950s. Donna Andert was a singer on radio and TV who was often featured at Chan’s Moon Cabaret on Main Street. Howie Swan performed on a CBC Radio show called the Red River Barn Dance.

Jack Wells, Bob Moir, Don Wittman and John Wells were career sportscasters, and all four became members of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Silver Heights’ George Kent, a CBC producer, worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that Western Canadian CFL games had no technical problems. George also invented the telestrator and is also a member of the CFL Hall of Fame. Lynne Kellner was CBC’s first female sports producer. My former Mandeville Street neighbour, Nils Ling, has worked with CBC in both Winnipeg and Prince Edward Island. Nils wrote the book True Blue: The Inside Look at a Championship Season about the 1984 Grey Cup-winning Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Lorne Wallace, a St. James Collegiate Institute grad in the 1940s, worked for 20 years at CBC where he hosted Spotlight and co-created 24 Hours. The first co-hosts of 24 Hours, Gerry Haslam and John Harvard both lived in the Assiniboia area. Prior to working on 24 Hours, Haslam served as executive assistant to former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. Harvard later became an MP and Manitoba’s Lieutenant Governor. During the early 1970s, Peter Mansbridge worked at CBC Winnipeg and resided on Amarynth Crescent. Mansbridge hosted dozens of CBC federal election-night specials on CBC’s national network, and he did his first on Oct.30, 1972, when he co-hosted local federal election coverage with Bill Guest.

Fred Cleverley was a long-time political commentator who worked at both CBC Toronto and CBC Winnipeg.

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March 2026 is the 70th anniversary of the formation of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church. I am asking for suggestion as I compile a list of 70 notable members of St. Stephen’s. Please email me for details.