1946 to 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow: Facelifts and complete makeovers on the ever-changing face of Main

The old-timers who were lounging in the lobby of the Tourist Hotel, back in 1954, watching television and swapping tales about the tremendous changes in the world they had observed over their past 50 years, have been replaced decades later by the coffee-shop crowd at Main Bread and Butter, who remember every store they went to with their parents as kids and how they skated on the creek, and played hockey outdoors.

But as much as the world of Steinbach has changed during the past 80 years it has been its own decision maker and tax collector, there are still some things that remain the same.

Steinbach still has its fair share of automobile dealers, though they don’t sell tractors as they did back in the 1950s. There are still a few old buildings along Main Street that have undergone a number of facelifts over the years and many others that have been replaced by multi-storied buildings in the ever-growing City of Steinbach.

It may not be long before the final traces of what used to be called the “Million Dollar Mile” will disappear altogether, replaced by what may well be termed the “Multi-Billion Dollar Mile.”

The way technology has progressed over the years, things are pretty well limited to the past and the future, for changes in the computer age are so rapid, there is little time for the present.

But the old-timers at the coffee shop will continue to reminisce about the good old days. Unlike the generations before them, they aren’t swapping memories of times when the shift was from horses to steam engines to diesel tractors.

Today, if they can put down their cell phones long enough, the topics will include the progression from party lines to digital phones that provide pictures just like Dick Tracy’s watch.

In another few years, everyone will likely be getting all their historical information on the internet. That is, except for the few holdouts at Main Bread and Butter, who will still be arguing about what car dealer was on Main Street where Giant Tiger is now, or what businesses used to be along the street where the Steinbach Credit Union occupies the better part of half a city block.

But as much as things change, some things stay the same, and a couple of businesses near Main Bread and Butter have a history that dates back to a time long before the first copy of The Carillon News came off the press in 1946.

Peter Friesen at Friesen Machine can lay claim to running the family business out of a building that was built in 1892, where he still performs his magic, repairing things that people can’t get parts for.

Across the street, Roy Bartel at Steinbach Hatchery, who says he is retiring later this year, has been around as long as Peter Friesen has.

Steinbach Hatchery and Feeds may not have as lengthy a history as Friesen Machine Shop but it has the distinction of being at the same location on Main Street ever since it was established in 1935. Over the years it has grown significantly, but in the case of the hatchery and feed mill, the growth has been more up than out and the ever-increasing cluster of towering bins have become a landmark on Main Street.

A favorite diversion for the coffee crowd at Main Bread and Butter is watching the longer and longer semi-trailer feed trucks manoeuvering their way off Friesen Avenue onto Main Street, trying to navigate a U-turn that will take them to the Steinbach Hatchery loading dock.