October 8: Countess of Dufferin; Queen unveils Golden Boy; Lockport Dam; CJOB to 680.

October 8, 1877 – Joseph Whitehead's Countess of Dufferin arrives in St. Boniface by barge from the U.S.. She is the first locomotive in Western Canada and in thirty years of service hauled much of the infrastructure that opened up the region.

The Countess was restored in 1910 and is currently on display at the Winnipeg Railway Museum.

October 8, 1900 - The sod turning for the St. Andrews Lock and Dam at Lockport takes place. (Also see here and here)

October 8 to 9, 2002 - Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visit Winnipeg during her Golden Jubilee (50th Anniversary) celebrations. One of their duties was to unveil the restored Golden Boy.

October 8, 1871 - Not Manitoba history but considering the rivalry that would develop between the two, it was big news here. The Great Chicago Fire begins. It destroyed 17,450 buildings, killed 250 people and left 90,000 homeless.

October 8, 2010 - Businessman and philanthropist Gerry Gray dies. 

October 8, 1957 - CJOB moves to its new frequency at 680 AM.