Pleasant Memories of Henry Bruce Boreham

H. Bruce Boreham, Downs Director of Public Relations. (Manitoba Curling Hall of Fame)

By Track Historian Bob Gates

On June 1, 1959 Assiniboia Downs General Manager, A. G. “Scotty” Kennedy announced that the Downs had appointed its first Director of Public Relations. What most didn’t realize was just how fortunate the Downs was to have a man with Mr. H. Bruce Boreham’s qualifications.

When Boreham took the Downs posting, he was a soon to be 69-year-old Winnipegger who had fashioned a lifelong career from newspaper and public relations work. The Downs had been in operation for barely a year and had come to learn that it needed a public relations person. It was a position that he would hold for more than a decade.

Bruce’s business card was the inspiration for our story this week. The card was affixed to the back of the win photo of All Shine with Tom Dean in the irons. The media relied on Bruce for everything from soup to nuts. He was the Downs “go to” guy. His official title was Director of Public Relations, but the media types knew him as the “facts and figures guy” and the man who “beat the drum” for Assiniboia Downs.

So if you’re wondering what it was that prepared Bruce for his position at the west end track, how’s this for a resume:

• Enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914 and served overseas until 1918, rising to the rank of Captain.
• After his military discharge he joined the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa.
• Sports editor for the Winnipeg Tribune in the 1920s.
• CNR western region Public Relations Officer from 1929 to 1956 when he retired at age 65.
• President of the Manitoba Golf Association 1944-45.
• Board member of the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children of Winnipeg for 18 years, serving as secretary for 15.
• Potentate of Khartum Temple in 1951.
• Inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt in 1957.
• Honourary member of the Governor General’s Curling Club of Ottawa in 1967.
• Recipient of the Manitoba Historical Society’s Manitoba Centennial Medal in 1970 for his “outstanding community service in the public relations field beyond his vocational interest.”

Bruce had close ties to the sport of curling. He was the MacDonalds Brier director from 1940 to 1979 and was one of the founders of what was to be known as the Canadian Curling Association. He was elected to the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1975 and was considered the official Brier historian.

In July 1967 Bruce penned a full-page article in the Winnipeg Free Press on the Manitoba horse racing scene from 1870 to 1970. He did a masterful job telling of racing’s, cast of characters and its colourful past. The feature included a tribute to one of western Canada’s most popular and courageous thoroughbreds, Joey the “Toytown Express” a horse that ruled the Canadian Prairie Circuit in the 1930s.

Bruce was from the age where letter writing was the way to communicate. He had a regular stream of mail from old friends who shared stories or news to keep Bruce “in the loop.” This practice continued even after he retired from his post at the Downs. It was a different time, and Bruce was one of the most loyal to the “old ways.”

He was at his best when organizing special race days for our friends south of the 49th parallel. Remember when there were as many vehicles with American licence plates in the Downs parking lot, as there were from Manitoba?

In 1965 Mayor Steve Juba presented Bruce with a City of Winnipeg Honourary Citizenship scroll in recognition of his “role with the Downs and his contributions to good citizenship.” The award acknowledged his efforts in promoting Winnipeg and Manitoba in the north central United States through the organizing of dozens of special “American Days” at the track.

These included an August 1964 visit by 1,200 Fargo folks and the July 1966 and 67 trips by more than a 1,000 people from the Grand Forks area. Bruce wasn’t one to look for rewards, but the good people from the old U.S. of A. saw to it that he was made an honourary citizen of Grand Forks! Trips from race fans south of the border were common during Bruce’s tenure.

You may have noticed a certain lack of information relating to his work at the Downs and there is a good reason for this.  Bruce never sought the limelight; he worked in the background making sure everyone had a good time at Assiniboia Downs and that the media got what it needed. He didn’t look for a “photo-op,” choosing only to ensure that people, like those in the All Shine photo got looked after. It was never about Bruce, it was always the Downs, the history of racing and most importantly the many guests, local or otherwise, who made their way to the Portage Avenue track.    

When Bruce put the cover on his typewriter and decided it was time to finally, and actually “retire,” he was only a few months short of his 80th  birthday. In the fall of 1971 he moved to Victoria B. C. where he passed away on January 23, 1987 at the age of 95!

Who knew? Boreham Boulevard in Tuxedo was named for Bruce after he retired from the town’s council (remember this was before Unicity times) after 12 years of service, with 10 as its Deputy Mayor.

In 2012, a quarter of a century after his death, he was inducted into the Manitoba Curing Hall of Fame.

Bruce wrote of “pleasant memories” on his business card 65 years ago, and all these years later there are indeed a lot of pleasant memories of Assiniboia Downs’ first Director of Public Relations…

Henry Bruce Boreham – we thank you for your service Sir!