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the village of Mountain Road used to be home to a large Ukrainian population which was served by four stores, one on each corner of the intersection which formed the heart of the town. From 1903, when residents first decided to es tablish a general store, until the last store was closed in 1989. Mountain Road area residents enjoyed being able to purchase groceries, hardware, clothing and fuel locally. The last remaining build ing which formerly housed a store was demolished in 2005, but on Aug. 8, a casin o was unveiled to commem orate the businesses which used to serve the area. The cairn sits at the site of the last demolished store on the south-west corner of the intersection. The cairn com mittee was made up of Judy Pegoski, Louise Kostenchuk, Jim Baker and Ray Minkus. ‘The inscription on the cain talks about the history and development of the stores. In 1903, the Ukrainian set ters in the area decided that they needed a general store for the growing community. The first store was opened one mile south of Mountain Road by Abraham Kopeckan. The second store was opened by Mike Zollen one mile west of the village and subsequently moved to the north-east cor ner. Zollen eventually sold the store to Tony Bilkoski. The store was destroyed by fire in the late 1940s or early 1950s and was never replaced. Victor Rudko built a store on the north-west corner which he later sold to Metro The south-east corner was occupied by a store purchased by John Yakiwchuk. Yakiw chuck moved the store to that location when he purchased the Baraniuk, Woloski and Co. Co-op Store, which was started by six area farmers. Yakiwchuk passed the business on to his son Mike and then on to his grandson Nestor Yakinchuk. During the time the store was owned by Mike, the first phone in the community was installed there. Eli Kostenchuk pur chased this store and operated it until 1955. The store at the south-west, corner, the site of the cairn, was build by Matey Baraniuk in 1921. Eli Kostenchuk purchased the store in 1956 and closed the “Yakinchuk store”. Eli and Lily Kos tenchuk operated the store until 1984 when Eli passed away. John Adamanchuk kept the store open until 1989. It remained empty until its demolition in 2005. While they operated the store Eli and his wife Lily, who lived upstairs, also oper ated the village’s post office and sold gas. During the unveiling cere mony Louise Kostenchuk recalled some of the“ good ole days” of small town general ores. She explained that gas was purchased from a manual pump for less than 50¢/gallon, pop was 8¢, and then 10¢, a bottle, candy bars were 5¢ or 10¢ each and jaw creakers sold three for 1¢. Sardines sold for 10¢ a can and 3 lbs. of good Manitoba salogna could be purchased for SI. In those days, she ex plained, the drink cooler was stocked with Wynola, Cream Soda, Jersey Cream, Orange Crush, Coke and 7-Up. The ‘bacco products were stored in glass cases and included Ogdens, Daily Mail, Vogue, Old Chum, Players and Export. On Sundays the Kosten chuk store was closed until after church services. Once the service was done, Kos tenchuk explained, “It would be filled with parishioners buying drinks and bars, so cializing and catching up on the latest happenings.” The store was also a popu lar stop for visitors who trav elled to see the big wooden cathedral. Lily Kostenchuk used to talk to visitors, asking them where they were from and where they were going. She'd even invite them in for coffee, treats or just to visit. Neepawa business men with cottages at Kerr's Lake, including Lawrence Aargreaves and Lyle Hulme, would often call in at the store on their way through mountain road addition domin ating the thriving businesses that once operated in Moun tain Road, Louise Kosten chuk said that cairn is also a reminder of the “bustling Ukrainian community” that used to call the area home. The cairn was made by Cool Springs Colony, while Rapid City Memorials made the plaque. Current and former residents erect for the unveiling of the Mountain Road St von Aug. 8.
Newspaper Details
Neepawa Banner
Neepawa, Manitoba, CA
Fri, Aug 20, 2010
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Dee K.
CA 19 Jul 2026
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