516 Stella Avenue

Source: Realty Executives First Choice

This little house at 516 Stella Avenue was constructed in 1903.

The first residents were Frederick Ulrich and family, which included his wife and at least seven children. Ulrich worked as a boilermaker with the CPR until 1912 when the family moved to a farm near Thalberg, Manitoba in the RM of St. Clements. 

Frederick retired from farming in 1941 and died in 1956.

Source: 1916 Census of Manitoba

From 1913 until 1926 it was home to the Morganstein family.

Jacob, (who appears in Henderson Directories as George), and Pearl came to Canada from Russia in 1906 with their three children. They had at two more after arriving.

Jacob started out as a peddler and worked his way up to being a delivery driver. Eldest daughter, Yetta, worked first at Woolworths then as a clerk at Max Steiman, a clothing store on Main Street.

February 2, 1916, Winnipeg Free Press

Not only did the enterprising family raise their five children here, it appears they also kept a cow on the property !

November 3, 1942, Winnipeg Tribune 

From 1929 to 1944 Mike and Sarah Sorokowski and family lived here. (Their name also appears as Sorosky and Sarkoski in various newspaper articles and Henderson Directory entries.)

Mike was a long-time city employee.

Sarah had a near death experience in 1942 when she was one of 25 people hurt in a collision between two street cars at Portage Avenue and Colony Street. She was taken to hospital for a couple of days but was not seriously injured.

It appears Mike died around 1944, after which Mrs. Sorokowski moved to Jarvis Avenue.

August 30, 1954, Winnipeg Free Press

The next long term residents were the Skwark family, starting in 1945.

Nicholas, who came from Austria around 1910,  worked at the city for many years before going into business for himself a delivery driver. Patrica raised their two children, Michael and Mary, and worked for a time at Eatons.

Michael was a law student and prominent member of the Stellars, a local amateur basketball team. In 1953 he married Ruth Jasper, a stenographer at David Cooper and Co.

Initially, the Skwarks tried to rent the house. For whatever reason that didn't work out so Mike and Ruth moved in with the Skwarks for a number of years.

Nicholas died in May 1964 at the age of 70. Mary continued to live there for a number of years after his death. She died in 1993.

The house is currently for sale. More photos can be seen at its listing page.