Nothing in Stonewall? Think Again
Last week in CreComm, I did the famous first year assignment called the Manitoba Travel Project. This assignment allows students to visit a rural Manitoba community.
The project is divided into two parts; Advertising and Journalism. In the Advertising portion I must create an ad that will attract Winnipeg tourists to the specific town. For the Journalism section, I had to find a travel story within the town and write a 500 word article.
This is my journalism article on the town of Stonewall.
“The teacups are growing in our basement so we’ve actually had to tell people that we can’t take anymore,” says Leanne Stewart, owner of the McLeod House Tea Room and Gift Shop.
The McLeod House offers fresh homemade sandwiches, salads, dainties and of course teas in its restaurant menu. The second floor of the house is dedicated to rooms filled with teas, giftware, and home décor that Stewart buys from trade shows across Canada.
“Our tea cups were donated to us from people in the area,” says Stewart. “When people come here, they love drinking out of the teacups.”
Stewart plays with a teacup between her fingers and smiles. “It’s funny seeing people trading teacups with each other so they can drink out of the ones they like best,” she says.
Kenneth Muranski, a first-time-customer says, “The tea house is wonderful, I really enjoyed their large selection of teas and the various trinkets in the gift shop that you wouldn’t usually see in big chain stores in Winnipeg.”
The tea gift shop
The McLeod house is the oldest remaining house in Stonewall Manitoba. It was built by Dr. Alexander McLeod in 1898 who also served as the Mayor of Stonewall for two years.
“His wife, Margaret Arnett McLeod was a writer,” says Stewart as she reaches to grab a book off of a display shelf.
Flipping through the thick pages of a faded red book she says, “People have donated some of her books to us. Some were used to teach songs in schools.”
The McLeod family had three children. The only son, Alan McLeod, was the youngest Canadian to acquire the Victoria Cross in World War I.
“Within the first week we opened, a tall gentleman with a cane, walked into our house and said ‘I have a story for you,’” says Stewart.
“He told me that his name was Alan McLeod and that he was named after Alan in honour of the Doctor’s son.”
The floor boards creaked beneath her as she shifted in the chair.
“He said ‘I have something to show you’, so he went in his bag and unravelled a silver baby cup with the name Alan McLeod engraved in it.”
“He told me that Dr. McLeod’s family gave it to his family as a gift in appreciation for naming him after their son,” says Stewart. “He actually gave the cup to us and we had it on display here.”
When Alan passed away, Stewart returned the cup to the Woodlands Pioneer Museum in his home town.
My classmate Megan Funnel
The McLeod House is celebrating their 10th anniversary this June. They are a 40 minute drive out of Winnipeg and are located on 292 Main Street, Stonewall Manitoba.
The drive is easy because the majority of the drive is straight on the Perimeter Highway.
The McLeod House is open from 10 a.m.-5p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and until 4p.m. on Saturdays. Their menu reaches up to $10.25. For more information, please visit mcleodhousetearoom.com or urbanspoon.com.