OXBOW — An old railway station in Oxbow is home to the Ralph Allen Memorial Museum.
Ralph Allen might be one of the most notable people to come out of Oxbow. Although he was born in Winnipeg, his parents, William Glenroy Allen and Hattie Louisa Schram, moved to Oxbow to manage the train station.
Allen’s family, as was usually the case with train station managers, lived in the building.
When he was 16, Ralph Allen started writing for the The Winnipeg Tribune and then eventually ended up in Toronto, writing for The Globe and Mail as a war correspondent. He also reported on some of the Nazi trials.
In time, he became the editor-in-chief of the significant weekly news magazine MacLean’s, a position he held from 1950 to 1960. While there, he hired a future editor-in-chief, Peter C. Newman. Allen finished his career as a columnist for The Toronto Star.
He is also a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and wrote six books. He also appeared on the game show Front Page Challenge. As well, he’s the subject of a book written by Christina McCall Newman entitled The Man From Oxbow: The Best Of Ralph Allen.
Not a bad resume for a boy from Oxbow.
In 1973, the Oxbow train station was moved to its current location and was converted into a museum, honouring the life of Allen as well as history of the station where he and his family lived. Peter C. Newman attended the grand opening.
Inside the museum, visitors will find a desk that Ralph used, along with one of his typewriters. Pictures capture his life and writings.
There are also items like ticket counters and telegraphs – key features of railroad stations. Visitors can discover the role that the train station played in the community and see how families lived in the train stations.
It’s a museum that bears witness to several things of the past.
The museum is often open on holidays, but can be visited at other times by making an appointment.
