WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.040 I want you to picture a very specific scene for 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:05.440 a second. Okay, set the stage. Imagine you're 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:08.400 walking through a vast, quiet, just completely 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:12.199 rural farm field in Manitoba. Just waist -high 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:15.599 grass and wind. Exactly. The grass is waist -high. 00:00:16.109 --> 00:00:18.910 The wind is sweeping across the plains, and you're 00:00:18.910 --> 00:00:21.649 out there on a very distinct mission. You're 00:00:21.649 --> 00:00:24.570 hunting for classic cars. Like old farm trucks 00:00:24.570 --> 00:00:27.469 or coupes. Right. Specifically, you're hoping 00:00:27.469 --> 00:00:30.730 to find the resting chassis of an old Studebaker. 00:00:30.870 --> 00:00:33.670 So you're scanning the tree lines, peering into 00:00:33.670 --> 00:00:36.149 dilapidated barns, just looking for that distinctive 00:00:36.149 --> 00:00:39.609 automotive silhouette. But instead of a classic 00:00:39.609 --> 00:00:43.500 1950s coupe, you stumble upon something completely 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:46.100 surreal. Sitting right there, sinking into the 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:47.979 earth in the middle of this isolated farm field 00:00:47.979 --> 00:00:51.679 is a massive piece of forgotten urban infrastructure. 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:54.560 Which is just so out of place. It's an old electric 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:57.119 streetcar, just sitting in the grass, miles away 00:00:57.119 --> 00:00:59.679 from any pavement, completely severed from the 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:01.719 power lines that once gave it life. It really 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:03.259 does sound like, you know, the opening tracking 00:01:03.259 --> 00:01:05.760 shot of a film. Yeah, it really does. But that 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:09.180 is the precise, real -world inciting incident. 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:11.379 for the history we are exploring in our deep 00:01:11.379 --> 00:01:13.659 dive today. We're looking at the archives of 00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:15.959 the Manitoba Transit Heritage Association or 00:01:15.959 --> 00:01:20.120 the MTHA. And their story is just wild. It is 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.719 because what begins as a bizarre kind of accidental 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.900 discovery in a farmer's field evolves into a 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:29.819 massive decades -long preservation effort. This 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:32.180 isn't just about old buses. It's a story about 00:01:32.180 --> 00:01:34.219 the mechanics of volunteerism. It's a look at 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:37.260 how a dedicated group of people decided to capture 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:40.739 the physical veins of a city's daily life, literally 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:43.640 dragging these massive multi -ton machines out 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.680 of the weeds before they just, well, oxidized 00:01:46.680 --> 00:01:48.560 into nothing. Okay, let's unpack this because 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:51.000 the origin story relies on such an unlikely string 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.219 of events. Oh, entirely. It was the summer of 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:56.159 1987. Two retired Winnipeg Transit employees, 00:01:56.579 --> 00:01:59.219 Ron Alexander and John Kapusta, were the ones 00:01:59.219 --> 00:02:01.579 out in rural Manitoba looking for those Studebakers. 00:02:01.799 --> 00:02:04.019 And they weren't they weren't preservationists 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:05.980 at the time. No, not at all. They had no grand 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:08.139 visions of starting a historical society or a 00:02:08.139 --> 00:02:09.879 museum. They were just hobbyists looking for 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:12.560 a weekend project. Just out for a drive, basically. 00:02:12.580 --> 00:02:15.719 Yeah. And then they find that streetcar. What's 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:18.860 fascinating here is the psychological shift that 00:02:18.860 --> 00:02:21.199 occurs in that specific moment. The light bulb 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:24.879 moment. Exactly. Finding that streetcar triggered 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:28.039 a profound realization for them. These were men 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:30.180 who had spent their entire professional lives 00:02:30.180 --> 00:02:32.419 working within the transit system. They lived 00:02:32.419 --> 00:02:34.800 and breathed it. They understood better than 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.479 anyone how these vehicles serve as the absolute 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:40.520 heartbeat of a municipality. Seeing one of those 00:02:40.520 --> 00:02:43.270 machines. A machine that probably carried thousands 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:46.389 of commuters, workers, families just discarded 00:02:46.389 --> 00:02:49.289 and rotting in a field. It shifted their perspective. 00:02:49.590 --> 00:02:51.250 Because it's like seeing a piece of your own 00:02:51.250 --> 00:02:54.229 life just thrown away. Right. They realized that 00:02:54.229 --> 00:02:56.889 if someone didn't actively step in, the entire 00:02:56.889 --> 00:02:59.409 physical record of public transportation in their 00:02:59.409 --> 00:03:02.189 region was going to be lost to scrapyards and 00:03:02.189 --> 00:03:04.310 farm fields. So they mobilized. They didn't just 00:03:04.310 --> 00:03:06.590 take a neat photo for the scrapbook and drive 00:03:06.590 --> 00:03:10.810 home. They got to work. By July 21st, 1989, Alexander 00:03:10.810 --> 00:03:13.590 Capusta and a group of other current and retired 00:03:13.590 --> 00:03:16.509 transit employees officially formed the Manitoba 00:03:16.509 --> 00:03:19.189 Transit Heritage Association. And they made it 00:03:19.189 --> 00:03:21.389 official right away. They did. They established 00:03:21.389 --> 00:03:24.789 themselves as a nonprofit tax charitable organization. 00:03:25.509 --> 00:03:28.710 And looking at their official charter, they laid 00:03:28.710 --> 00:03:31.590 out a very specific roadmap for what they wanted 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:34.580 to achieve. The charter is crucial. because it 00:03:34.580 --> 00:03:37.139 dictates the philosophy behind their entire operation 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:39.840 for the next 30 plus years. It wasn't just about 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.159 hoarding. No, the goal was never to just hoard 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:46.039 old buses in a massive garage and throw a tarp 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:49.699 over them. The core mission was historic display 00:03:49.699 --> 00:03:51.979 and active community integration. They wanted 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:54.120 people to actually interact with them. They wanted 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:56.560 to create a proper transit museum, yes, but they 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:00.419 also mandated the practical, real -world use 00:04:00.419 --> 00:04:03.020 of these vehicles. Which is such a massive undertaking. 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.099 It is. The charter specifically outlines their 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:08.979 intention to transport senior citizens, disabled 00:04:08.979 --> 00:04:12.169 persons, and school— children for tours and outings. 00:04:12.169 --> 00:04:14.629 That's amazing. And they also mandated participation 00:04:14.629 --> 00:04:17.370 in public parades. They fundamentally believed 00:04:17.370 --> 00:04:19.430 these vehicles needed to live and breathe in 00:04:19.430 --> 00:04:21.750 the community again, rather than just serving 00:04:21.750 --> 00:04:24.230 as static monuments behind velvet ropes. Putting 00:04:24.230 --> 00:04:26.389 a vintage bus back to work is a great philosophy, 00:04:26.589 --> 00:04:28.829 but the logistics of actually executing that 00:04:28.829 --> 00:04:31.649 are staggering. Oh, a total nightmare logistically. 00:04:31.910 --> 00:04:34.810 Right. Before you can drive a 1940s transit bus 00:04:34.810 --> 00:04:37.189 in a parade, you have to physically locate one, 00:04:37.310 --> 00:04:40.170 acquire it, transport it, and rebuild it. And 00:04:40.170 --> 00:04:43.069 pay for it. Exactly. That brings us to their 00:04:43.069 --> 00:04:45.129 acquisition records, which read like bizarre 00:04:45.129 --> 00:04:48.610 treasure hunts. Looking at the MTHA's very first 00:04:48.610 --> 00:04:52.970 restoration project, it was a 1941 Twin Coach. 00:04:53.389 --> 00:04:56.370 30 GS. A beautiful machine. Yeah. And they found 00:04:56.370 --> 00:04:58.930 it abandoned in a farmyard in Grand Marais, Manitoba. 00:04:59.250 --> 00:05:01.509 But the detail that jumps out from the archive 00:05:01.509 --> 00:05:03.790 is the acquisition cost. This is my favorite 00:05:03.790 --> 00:05:06.810 part. They purchased this massive, historic 1941 00:05:06.810 --> 00:05:10.449 commercial transit vehicle for exactly $1. A 00:05:10.449 --> 00:05:13.189 single dollar. A loonie. It's a detail that tells 00:05:13.189 --> 00:05:15.029 you everything you need to know about the perceived 00:05:15.029 --> 00:05:17.930 value of these machines at the time. To the person 00:05:17.930 --> 00:05:21.189 who owned that farmyard in Grand Marais, a 1941 00:05:21.189 --> 00:05:23.980 twin coach. wasn't a precious piece of urban 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:26.860 history. It was trash. It was a giant, cumbersome 00:05:26.860 --> 00:05:29.959 piece of scrap metal taking up valuable acreage. 00:05:30.379 --> 00:05:32.639 In rural areas during the mid -20th century, 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.620 it was often too expensive to tow heavy machinery 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:38.339 to a proper scrapyard. So they just sat there. 00:05:38.750 --> 00:05:41.290 Exactly. Old buses just became de facto storage 00:05:41.290 --> 00:05:44.209 sheds or chicken coops. Getting a dollar for 00:05:44.209 --> 00:05:47.410 it was essentially just a symbolic legal handshake 00:05:47.410 --> 00:05:50.250 to transfer the title. Right. The real cost for 00:05:50.250 --> 00:05:53.910 the MTHA was the. And the turnaround time on 00:05:53.910 --> 00:05:57.009 this specific bus was incredible. They got it 00:05:57.009 --> 00:06:00.389 from the welding yard in October 1990 and actually 00:06:00.389 --> 00:06:02.790 unveiled the fully restored vehicle to the public 00:06:02.790 --> 00:06:06.269 on November 2nd, 1991. Taking a vehicle from 00:06:06.269 --> 00:06:08.569 a dormant shell in a welding yard to a fully 00:06:08.569 --> 00:06:12.250 restored operational state in just about 12 months 00:06:12.250 --> 00:06:15.689 is a monumental achievement. It's unheard of. 00:06:16.029 --> 00:06:18.189 Especially when you consider this is a completely 00:06:18.189 --> 00:06:21.290 volunteer run organization operating on a shoestring 00:06:21.290 --> 00:06:23.800 budget. But looking closely at the broader archives, 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:27.079 that rapid success story with the 37 twin coach 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:29.819 was definitely the exception, not the rule. Oh, 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:31.660 for sure. The deeper you go into their fleet 00:06:31.660 --> 00:06:34.000 roster, the more you see the incredibly harsh, 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:37.180 demanding realities of volunteer historical restoration. 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:39.180 Here's where it gets really interesting, because 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:41.319 the contrast between that first quick win and 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:44.220 their long -term projects is staggering. Let's 00:06:44.220 --> 00:06:47.019 look at the timeline for their 1946 Ford Transit 00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:50.220 69B. What's fascinating here is the sheer endurance 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:51.839 involved. This is the Fisher Branch discovery, 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:54.620 right? That's the one. They located this 1946 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:57.860 Ford Transit bus out in Fisher Branch, Manitoba. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:01.839 The group started restoring it in 1990, the exact 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:03.920 same year they bought the bus from the welding 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:06.920 yard. Okay. According to the internal records, 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:09.199 the work on this Ford was deemed substantially 00:07:09.199 --> 00:07:13.040 complete by 1992. Substantially complete? Right. 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:15.879 But it wasn't actually fully operational and 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.680 ready for the public until 2018. Wow. If we connect 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.680 this to the bigger picture, a 28 -year timeline. 00:07:23.290 --> 00:07:26.550 is the most honest representation of non -profit, 00:07:26.670 --> 00:07:29.410 volunteer -driven preservation. It's the reality 00:07:29.410 --> 00:07:31.350 of the work. Think about the mechanics of what 00:07:31.350 --> 00:07:33.709 they are actually trying to do. You cannot just 00:07:33.709 --> 00:07:35.889 run down to a modern auto parts store and purchase 00:07:35.889 --> 00:07:38.610 a replacement carburetor or a custom pneumatic 00:07:38.610 --> 00:07:41.829 door valve for a 1946 Ford Transit bus. No, the 00:07:41.829 --> 00:07:43.310 guy behind the counter would just laugh at you. 00:07:43.449 --> 00:07:45.389 Exactly. Those parts haven't existed for over 00:07:45.389 --> 00:07:48.189 half a century. These volunteers are either hunting 00:07:48.189 --> 00:07:50.670 down incredibly rare salvage parts from across 00:07:50.670 --> 00:07:53.089 the continent, or they are having to reverse 00:07:53.089 --> 00:07:55.550 engineer and fabricate them entirely from scratch 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:57.870 in a machine shop. Which takes so much time. 00:07:58.069 --> 00:08:00.250 And they are doing all of this on their weekends, 00:08:00.410 --> 00:08:02.910 balancing it against their actual careers, their 00:08:02.910 --> 00:08:06.470 families, and the organization's constantly fluctuating 00:08:06.470 --> 00:08:09.649 funding. A 28 -year restoration period means 00:08:09.649 --> 00:08:11.310 you could have started turning wrenches on that 00:08:11.310 --> 00:08:14.250 Ford chassis in 1990 when you were 30 years old, 00:08:14.350 --> 00:08:16.490 and you wouldn't see it drive under its own power 00:08:16.490 --> 00:08:19.430 until you were nearly 60. That is a literal lifetime 00:08:19.430 --> 00:08:22.470 of dedication to a single machine. It really 00:08:22.470 --> 00:08:26.129 is. The archival source explicitly mentions the 00:08:26.129 --> 00:08:28.569 Ford project was delayed due to other projects. 00:08:28.850 --> 00:08:31.500 Which says a lot. It paints this chaotic picture 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:34.559 of a dedicated crew juggling multiple massive 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:37.899 rusting buses all at once, constantly having 00:08:37.899 --> 00:08:40.500 to triage which vehicle gets their limited time, 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:43.980 money and garage space on any given Saturday. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:47.139 And that constant exhausting juggling act is 00:08:47.139 --> 00:08:49.639 what ultimately produced a fleet with some serious 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:51.960 historical pedigree. Yeah, their lineup is amazing. 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:54.799 When you review the finalized fleet roster in 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:57.840 the MTHA records, you really graph the sheer 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.139 scale of the timeline. they've managed to preserve. 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:02.820 They are maintaining vehicles that operated in 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.399 both public and private service spanning an era 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:08.860 from 1937 all the way up to 2019. It's essentially 00:09:08.860 --> 00:09:12.340 a rolling timeline of 20th and 21st century urban 00:09:12.340 --> 00:09:15.080 mobility. It is. And the geographic journey of 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:17.580 some of these machines is just as expansive as 00:09:17.580 --> 00:09:23.139 the timeline. Take the 1954 GMC TDH 4801. Ah, 00:09:23.139 --> 00:09:25.519 yes. It's what transit historians refer to as 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:28.320 an old look type bus. If you're picturing that 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.379 classic post -war rounded body transit bus with 00:09:31.379 --> 00:09:33.240 the small windows that you always see in movies 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:35.740 set in the 1950s, that's the old look aesthetic. 00:09:36.080 --> 00:09:40.009 It's iconic. the agencies this specific bus operated 00:09:40.009 --> 00:09:42.870 for before landing with the MTHA, and it reads 00:09:42.870 --> 00:09:45.470 like a cross -continent raid trip. The operational 00:09:45.470 --> 00:09:48.269 history on that specific GMC is remarkable. It 00:09:48.269 --> 00:09:50.629 started its life operating for the Los Angeles 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:52.909 Metropolitan Transit Authority. In California. 00:09:53.289 --> 00:09:55.490 Yep. From there, it went north to the Sacramento 00:09:55.490 --> 00:09:57.889 Regional Transit District. Then it crossed the 00:09:57.889 --> 00:10:00.090 border into Canada to operate for BC Transit. 00:10:00.649 --> 00:10:03.210 That's a huge move. After that, it moved east 00:10:03.210 --> 00:10:05.950 to Regina Transit before finally operating for 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:08.649 the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg. 00:10:08.730 --> 00:10:12.009 It wasn't officially donated to the MTHA until 00:10:12.009 --> 00:10:15.470 2016. Think about the mechanical endurance of 00:10:15.470 --> 00:10:18.940 that single vehicle. It has navigated the daily 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:22.799 stop -and -go commutes of sunny 1950s Los Angeles 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:25.860 all the way to the punishing, freezing winter 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:28.480 streets of modern Winnipeg. It's seen a lot of 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:31.159 pavement. It has likely carried hundreds of thousands, 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.620 if not millions, of different people over its 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.019 operational lifetime. And because it perfectly 00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:38.659 represents the old look, buses that previously 00:10:38.659 --> 00:10:41.879 operated in Winnipeg. Preserving it helps physically 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.639 anchor the story of what the city streets used 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:46.720 to look and feel like during that post -war boom. 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:49.659 Because they managed to preserve that exact old 00:10:49.659 --> 00:10:52.440 look aesthetic so perfectly, these vehicles actually 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:54.679 have a very glamorous second life. Right, they're 00:10:54.679 --> 00:10:56.799 a side hustle. Exactly. They aren't just sitting 00:10:56.799 --> 00:10:59.360 in a garage, they are active movie props. The 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:01.460 MTHA vehicles have appeared in several television 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:03.659 shows and movies filmed in the Manitoba area. 00:11:03.860 --> 00:11:05.940 That makes perfect sense. The archives specifically 00:11:05.940 --> 00:11:08.879 name the television series Less Than Kind and 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:12.080 the feature film The Don Cherry Story. Whenever 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:14.480 a production needs authentic period set dressing, 00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:17.460 there is a very good chance the vintage bus rolling 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:19.480 through the background of the shot is one of 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:22.379 these meticulously maintained MTHA machines. 00:11:22.539 --> 00:11:25.159 Which is an incredibly smart strategic asset 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:28.289 for a historical society. For sure. Renting vehicles 00:11:28.289 --> 00:11:30.350 out for film and television productions raises 00:11:30.350 --> 00:11:33.149 awareness, provides a unique revenue stream for 00:11:33.149 --> 00:11:35.330 their ongoing mission, and keeps the vehicles 00:11:35.330 --> 00:11:37.370 mechanically active. You have to keep them running. 00:11:37.570 --> 00:11:39.850 But beyond the novelty of Hollywood's green time, 00:11:40.070 --> 00:11:42.950 the MTHA fleet also holds some very specific, 00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:46.330 highly significant historical milestones. The 00:11:46.330 --> 00:11:50.070 collection includes a 1950 CCF Brill T -48A, 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:53.820 fleet number 1768. Right. And the date associated 00:11:53.820 --> 00:11:56.919 with that specific Brill T -48A is what makes 00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:00.039 it so vital. Yes. This specific vehicle was the 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:03.179 very last electric trolley coach to ever operate 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:05.919 in revenue service in Winnipeg. Its final official 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:10.080 run was on October 30, 1970. October 30, 1970. 00:12:10.220 --> 00:12:12.419 That is a massive turning point for a city's 00:12:12.419 --> 00:12:14.460 infrastructure. It is the physical punctuation 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:17.039 mark at the end of a major chapter in urban development. 00:12:18.059 --> 00:12:20.519 When that specific trolley finished its route 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:23.240 and powered down that day, it marked the absolute 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.059 end of electric transit in the city at that time. 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:29.259 It was the end of an era. It represented a massive 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:33.279 shift in urban planning, too. Cities were ripping 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:36.240 out overhead electric wire networks and transitioning 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:39.519 entirely to fossil fuel -powered diesel and gas 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.019 buses. And they saved the exact one. By preserving 00:12:42.019 --> 00:12:44.740 that exact vehicle, the MTHA has saved the physical 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:47.519 artifact of that transition. You can walk up 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.860 and touch the exact machine that closed out the 00:12:49.860 --> 00:12:52.279 entire electric trolley era in Manitoba. But 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:54.220 the MTHA archives reveal that they aren't just 00:12:54.220 --> 00:12:56.179 focused on the giant multi -ton machines either. 00:12:56.419 --> 00:12:59.419 They are equally dedicated to the tiny, tactile 00:12:59.419 --> 00:13:01.960 details of the daily commute. The smaller stuff. 00:13:02.139 --> 00:13:04.639 Yeah. Their historic collection features a massive 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:07.080 array of transit industry memorabilia. We're 00:13:07.080 --> 00:13:09.559 talking about the driver badges, the varied uniforms 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:12.200 through the decades, passes and tickets. Oh, 00:13:12.220 --> 00:13:13.899 the ephemera. They have the mechanical transfer 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:16.580 punches, the vintage fare boxes. the branding 00:13:16.580 --> 00:13:19.519 decals, and the original operating manuals. If 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.879 we connect this to the bigger picture, this raises 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:24.179 an important question about how we interact with 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:27.440 history. While a bus is the massive vessel that 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.279 moves the city, the actual human interaction, 00:13:30.539 --> 00:13:33.899 the daily ritual of the commute, happens through 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:36.259 those smaller artifacts. Right. The vehicles 00:13:36.259 --> 00:13:39.100 are the macro history, but the memorabilia is 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:41.259 the micro history. It's the physical sensory 00:13:41.259 --> 00:13:44.690 exchange of getting to work. Precisely. It's 00:13:44.690 --> 00:13:46.909 the distinct feeling of the thick paper transfer 00:13:46.909 --> 00:13:50.570 ticket. It's the highly specific mechanical sound 00:13:50.570 --> 00:13:53.649 of the driver using a metal transfer punch to 00:13:53.649 --> 00:13:56.289 validate your ride. Click, click. Exactly. It's 00:13:56.289 --> 00:13:57.950 the visual authority of the driver's uniform 00:13:57.950 --> 00:14:01.049 and the heavy metal badge. Those tactile sensory 00:14:01.049 --> 00:14:03.789 elements. are what truly bridge the gap between 00:14:03.789 --> 00:14:06.370 a museum display and lived memory. That makes 00:14:06.370 --> 00:14:08.370 a lot of sense. When a senior citizen boards 00:14:08.370 --> 00:14:10.990 one of these restored buses, it's often seeing 00:14:10.990 --> 00:14:13.110 the turning mechanism of that specific vintage 00:14:13.110 --> 00:14:14.970 fare box that triggers a flood of memories from 00:14:14.970 --> 00:14:17.610 their youth. It transforms a piece of industrial 00:14:17.610 --> 00:14:20.230 machinery into a deeply personal touchstone. 00:14:20.389 --> 00:14:23.990 And that personal, localized connection is woven 00:14:23.990 --> 00:14:26.350 into the very fabric of how the organization 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:30.360 operates today. Even the modern face of the MTHA 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:33.639 has deep community roots. Oh, the logo. Yeah. 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.200 The archive notes that their current association 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:38.960 logo wasn't just bought off a corporate branding 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:43.200 website. It was designed locally. In 2010, a 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:46.059 Red River College student named Ron Zebiero designed 00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:48.179 the logo while studying under his professor, 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:50.480 Al Guzzi. That's great detail. From the retired 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:52.580 mechanics restoring the engines to the local 00:14:52.580 --> 00:14:55.179 students designing the branding, it is a comprehensive 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:58.480 community effort. That deep commitment to community 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:01.519 integration is perfectly encapsulated by how 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:04.659 they ultimately chose to solve the biggest logistical 00:15:04.659 --> 00:15:07.279 problem any historical society faces. Getting 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:09.759 people in the door. Right. The primary friction 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:12.519 point of preserving history is getting foot traffic. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:15.059 How do you get the public to actually view the 00:15:15.059 --> 00:15:17.919 collection? The Rolling Museum. Exactly. In 1979, 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:20.639 an organization called the Vintage Railway Society 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:25.639 donated an OVI Orion I bus to the MTHA. But the 00:15:25.639 --> 00:15:28.200 association didn't just restore it to park it 00:15:28.200 --> 00:15:31.259 in a lineup of other buses. As of 2019, they 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:33.919 radically repurposed this specific Orion bus 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:36.740 to serve as a mobile transit museum. It's such 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:39.820 a brilliant solution. By turning that 1979 Orion 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:42.500 into a mobile space, they remove the barrier 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:45.200 to entry entirely. They don't have to spend limited 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:47.980 funds marketing a physical location, hoping people 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:49.820 will take time out of their weekend to travel 00:15:49.820 --> 00:15:51.620 to a static building. They bring the building 00:15:51.620 --> 00:15:55.059 to you. Instead, the MTHA literally drives the 00:15:55.059 --> 00:15:57.419 history directly into the community. They can 00:15:57.419 --> 00:15:59.440 pull up to a local school, a community center, 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:02.259 or a summer festival, and the museum is instantly 00:16:02.259 --> 00:16:04.620 open for business. Just unroll the awning and 00:16:04.620 --> 00:16:07.019 you're good. It is the perfect modern realization 00:16:07.019 --> 00:16:10.580 of their original 1989 charter to actively display 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:12.860 history and integrate it directly into public 00:16:12.860 --> 00:16:14.500 spaces. So what does this all mean for you? The 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:16.840 next time you're on your daily commute, whether 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:19.000 you take a bus, a light rail, a subway, or a 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.389 modern streetcar, Take a second to look around. 00:16:21.570 --> 00:16:24.629 Pay attention to the details. The everyday, completely 00:16:24.629 --> 00:16:27.570 mundane vehicle you are riding in today, the 00:16:27.570 --> 00:16:29.649 one you probably ignore while you scroll on your 00:16:29.649 --> 00:16:33.129 phone, is tomorrow's history. The archives of 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:35.809 the Manitoba Transit Heritage Association show 00:16:35.809 --> 00:16:37.789 us that history isn't just something that gets 00:16:37.789 --> 00:16:40.529 neatly curated by academics and textbooks. It's 00:16:40.529 --> 00:16:44.029 visceral. Sometimes history is a rusty, forgotten 00:16:44.029 --> 00:16:49.960 shell sinking into a farmer's field. incredibly 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:52.980 passionate, stubborn people decided to spend 00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:56.879 28 years of their weekends hunting down 1940s 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.659 carburetors just to bring it back to life. What 00:16:59.659 --> 00:17:02.860 stands out to you? Is it the $1 bus from Grammaray? 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:06.059 Or the 28 years it took to fix up the Ford? It 00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:08.579 forces you to reevaluate the physical landscape 00:17:08.579 --> 00:17:11.500 of the city around you. It really does. The MTHA 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:13.380 is a testament to the fact that our everyday 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:15.759 routines and the machines that facilitate them 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.299 are fundamentally worth preserving. But I want 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:19.920 to leave you with one final thought to mull over 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:22.720 straight from the MTHA's own records. When you 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:25.019 look closely at the modern fleet roster, amidst 00:17:25.019 --> 00:17:27.460 all these beautifully restored, fully operational 00:17:27.460 --> 00:17:30.079 pieces of history, there are two specific entries 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:33.359 that stand out. Which ones? There is a 1936 Dodge 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:35.240 Lorry, originally from the Winnipeg Electric 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:39.039 Company, fleet number 501. And there is a 1948 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:43.539 CCF Brill, fleet number 707. Next to both of 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:45.779 these vehicles in the notes column is a single, 00:17:45.900 --> 00:17:49.029 heavily weighted word. They're still waiting. 00:17:49.309 --> 00:17:52.309 It is a haunting, beautiful concept. Those unrestored 00:17:52.309 --> 00:17:54.309 buses are still out there, sitting in the possession 00:17:54.309 --> 00:17:57.349 of the MTHA. They're waiting for the necessary 00:17:57.349 --> 00:17:59.849 funds, waiting for the impossibly rare parts 00:17:59.849 --> 00:18:02.289 to be found, waiting for the hundreds of volunteer 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:05.309 hours required to strip away the rust. Just biding 00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:07.809 their time. It makes you wonder what other ghosts 00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:10.250 of our daily mundane routines are quietly sitting 00:18:10.250 --> 00:18:12.720 out there in the weeds right now. What massive 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:15.480 pieces of our shared urban history are just waiting 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:17.539 for someone curious enough to stumble upon them 00:18:17.539 --> 00:18:19.900 and patient enough to piece their story back 00:18:19.900 --> 00:18:20.200 together?