I Like Winnipegers Because of All the Characters – Especially in the North End
There was a Kissick (Kissick {Ukraine/Ukrainian}, and not Kissack {Isle of Mann/Manx})family in Winnipeg’s North End during the 40s, 50′s and beyond who operated a cartage company—More notorious they were however for their activities as bootleggers and operators of moving crap/gambling games. Stanley Zedd (http://www.attheplate.com/wcbl/1950_1g9.htm), and (http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/fyi/the-mosaic-village-96203859.html).’
IN the decades before Manitoba’s gambling laws were liberalized, the only legal form of gambling centred on horse racing at Polo Park Race Track. This meant that most of the gambling in the province took place illegally.
In the North End, Selkirk Avenue was the site of numerous card games in various businesses over the decades. Manly Rusen recalls that several “clubs” on Selkirk near Salter had ongoing card games.
Probably the best known of all North End gamblers was Stanley Zedd. Born in Ukraine in 1899, Zedd (whose surname was anglicized from Zarawiecki) organized floating craps games throughout Winnipeg and surrounding rural areas during the 1940s and 1950s. Zedd generally rented private homes or empty garages as one-time-only locations for gambling activities. Gambling tables were set up during the day and quietly taken down and carried away when games ended in the wee hours of the morning. Prospective players (who were often prominent city businessmen and lawyers) were directed to specific locations (the White House Restaurant on Selkirk Avenue was one of the most popular) and told to wait for cars to pick them up. They were kept unaware of their destinations until they arrived.
Stanley Zedd became somewhat of a folk hero, a Runyonesque character who wore dapper custom-tailored suits and stylish fedoras. He smoked and handed out the finest of cigars and was often chauffeured around in a black Cadillac. Zedd was respected for the honesty of his games, and the police left him alone unless they felt pressured by complaints from the public. Winners were paid immediately and were free to leave when they wished. Losers were given a few dollars and transportation home. His Osborne Street business, the Margaret Rose Tea Room (named for Princess Margaret), served as a front for his operations.
A boxer in his younger days, Stanley Zedd supported local sports and was instrumental in setting up the ManDak Baseball League, using some of the profits of his gambling operation. His own team, the Winnipeg Buffaloes, was made up entirely of players from the disbanded Negro League in the United States.
Similarly, until Manitoba’s liquor laws were liberalized in the 1960s, bootlegging took many forms throughout the province. Restaurants provided “setups” of ice and mix to complement brown-paper-bagged bottles stashed under tables. Many houses, particularly in the North End, were open for drinks on the premises or provided bottles to go after the dingy, men-only beer parlours closed. And millions of gallons of homebrew were distilled for home consumption or sale.
Excerpted from The Mosaic Village, by Russ Gourluck
Furnasman One Hour Air Conditioning
Canadian Museum Human Rights Hotel
Welcome to the North End People Before Profit
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