The 31 members of Selkirk’s Dufferin Gang couldn’t have known it when they enlisted to serve their country more than 80 years ago, but their actions are still reverberating in their hometown and now, the street they all lived on is about to have an honourary street name.
On Selkirk Day (June 15), city council passed a resolution, announcing that Dufferin Avenue will receive the honourary street name WWII Memorial Drive, and directing administration to prepare a by-law to give affect to the commemorative naming. The name was recommended by representatives of the Dufferin Gang’s family members during a workshop hosted by city staff.
Preserving our past, strengthening community pride
Selkirk reserves street naming for individuals or groups that have made significant contributions to the city, province or country, said Chief Administrative Officer Duane Nicol.
“It’s a way to preserve our history and make citizens feel more connected to, and proud of, the place they call home.”
The story behind the Dufferin Gang is unique and one that Ellie Longbottom, the city’s Culture Coordinator says is important not only to tell, but to continue to learn about.
“It’s a well-known story, so we’re looking at city records from back then and connecting the dots and making sure we’ve got accurate information on the members. We want their addresses, but we’re also looking for personal information on them, what they did before the war, and for those who returned home, what they did after. We want to build their stories.”
Of the 31 members, all but five returned home from the war.
“Their commitment to their country is inspiring, and as mayor I have a lot of pride in those individuals. Selkirk is a great city and the Dufferin Gang is an incredible part of our story, and one that we’re excited to recognize with the addition of the honourary street name.”
Mayor Larry Johannson
For Mayor Larry Johannson, the Dufferin Gang is a proud part of Selkirk’s history.
“It’s hard to imagine what those young men and women were thinking all those years ago, how their lives were and how the Second World War just changed everything and they all signed up,” Johannson said.
“Their commitment to their country is inspiring, and as mayor I have a lot of pride in those individuals. Selkirk is a great city and the Dufferin Gang is an incredible part of our story, and one that we’re excited to recognize with the addition of the honourary street name.”
Piecing Together the Past
For the better part of a year, the city has been expanding the Dufferin Gang exhibits on the Selkirk Museum website (SelkirkMuseum.ca) with expanded histories and working to provide a more complete story of the veteran’s life.
Researching has been a daunting task, Longbottom says, with Katrina Eeles, the city’s Museum Programmer, cross referencing city records to confirm residences, along with numerous other resources to try and develop a more complete story of each member.
“A lot of the Dufferin Gang members were younger than 18 when they enlisted in the war, so they wouldn’t have owned the house on Dufferin, it would have been their parents, or maybe they were renting so the house was under someone else’s name,” Longbottom said.
“It was a lot of sleuthing.”
Indeed. Eeles says besides city records she searched the Library and Archives Canada Service Records, Canadian War Museum and the Fort Garry Horse Museum & Archives, various newspapers and local history books, genealogical websites and funeral homes, and Facebook groups and social media.
“I think it is important to note that each of these sources contain only a small part of the story. It’s important that the piecing together of those bits of information is done correctly, otherwise you’re telling a story that never happened. In this case, we’re sharing over 30 individual people’s stories,” Eeles said.
“If the details aren’t right, we’re not truly honouring these people, their memory, or their legacy. Connection is at the heart of collections, as it is a museum’s purpose to share stories which connect the past and present. That connection is reliant on good research practice and factual, accurate findings.”
Honouring Those Who Served
Glen Laye and Mae Gulewich had fathers and uncles who were part of the Dufferin Gang and they’ve spent more than a decade working to have the group recognized. To date, there are murals and a monument located inside the Selkirk Legion and an interpretive panel at the corner of Dufferin and Main Street, and news of an honourary street name is welcomed.
For Laye, whose father Jack Laye and uncles James Laye and Lawson Dillabough were Dufferin Gang members, it’s nice that the city is honouring the group.
“I think it’s great that they’re digging into this and trying to find out different things about every member that’s on that list,” he said.
“There’s only a few of the relatives that are still living in the area. There was talk of it before…so it’s great they’re doing it now.”
His father never spoke of the war so as a young man even Laye didn’t realize how many Dufferin residents had enlisted. Now 73, Laye said he was in his 60s before he learned just how many signed up.
“(My father) spoke of the war very little,” Laye said.
And he says his dad, as well as several of the other members that he got to know when he was old enough to get into the Selkirk Legion, didn’t talk about it either. And they wouldn’t understand what the big deal is.
“I’ve said it before, (my dad) would say, ‘Why the hell you making such a fuss’?” he said.
“Getting to know the individuals that are on the list, the Gunter boys, Henriksons, Sinclairs, as I got older and started meeting these people, not realizing that they were brothers in war at the time, that’s something I think they would all say, that it’s no big deal, why are you making this fuss.”
He said the Legion had two tables called the ‘BS tables’ and back in the day the veterans used to sit there and that’s where they’d share memories of the war. But if anyone else approached, the talk would stop.
“These guys would be sitting there telling their stories, reminiscing I guess, and there was quite a few times I’d come walking in with a couple of buddies and we’d walk by and as we got closer to the table some of them would recognize us and they would just go dead quiet,” Laye said.
“The talking would stop, and we’d say hi to this person and that person, give a pat on the back, and then as you’d walk away, you could hear them start up their conversation again. What they were talking about I have no idea, but you kind of put two and two together, and just knew that they were reminiscing about war time.”
Gulewich says she’s lucky that her dad, John V. Sinclair, did share some information with her about being injured.
“He told me one time how he got shot and who rescued him. Dad was shot twice in the leg. When he did get shot, naturally you just fall down and he was laying in the mud and the troops, the Canadians were coming home, and one of the Canadian tanks went by him and one of the fellas yelled out, ‘hey, there’s Sinclair’, cause dad just happened to move as they went by,” Gulewich said.
“They grabbed him and threw him up on the tank, and that’s how dad got home.”
After the war, her dad took her to the CN train station in Winnipeg and he showed her the exact spot in the station where he laid for three days after arriving home and awaiting proper medical care.
But that was the extent of what he shared.
“That was pretty much it. He always said so much ugliness happened there. It bothered a lot of the guys.”
He passed away at 86, and Gulewich said he had trouble walking because of his injury but he raised 11 kids all on his own, after his wife Elsie died from a brain aneurysm.
“He did pretty good…I was 10 (when mom died) and I’ve got five older than me and five younger than me and the youngest was three, and dad brought us up all by himself.”
Though her dad would agree the Dufferin Gang was just doing what was needed, Gulewich says he’d be happy that they were being recognized. She said toward the end of his life, he was reflecting and thought recognition was warranted.
“He would think it was wonderful because he was naming off the guys that went…everyone knew everyone…he said there were so many of us that went…it would be just wonderful if they did something.”
“We hope it serves as a reminder of the courage and sacrifice of ordinary people from right here in Selkirk. It also recognizes our local history and the stories that make us proud to call this community home.”
Chief Administrative Officer, Duane Nicol
Nicol said the honorary designation will help preserve the group’s legacy while reminding residents of the sacrifices made by ordinary people from their own community.
“We hope it serves as a reminder of the courage and sacrifice of ordinary people from right here in Selkirk. It also recognizes our local history and the stories that make us proud to call this community home.”
The official honourary naming of Dufferin Avenue will take place, with the installation of signs in the fall.
