December 12: Laura Secord School; Louis Riel laid to rest; Brandon's water tower.

December 12, 1913 - Winnipeg's largest elementary school Laura Secord School officially opens, though only 10 of 23 classrooms are ready for use. A portrait of Laura Ingersoll Secord is unveiled by Mrs. Isaac Cockburn, a grand-daughter of Secord.

December 12, 1885 - Louis Riel’s funeral takes place. A procession of over six hundred led by Riel's brothers brought the casket from his home in St. Vital to St. Boniface Cathedral for the ceremony. (For a media account.)

December 12, 1930 - Brandon's 625,000 gallon water tower, (a Horton Elevated Tank), is filled for the first time. The following week it was put into service and was in operation until 2005. (For more on the tower and the recent fight to save it.)