Former Morris resident Sabrina Janke celebrated her most recent success with a book reading at the Valley Regional Library a few weeks ago.
The podcaster promoted her first book written in conjunction with Alex Judge entitled Portage & Main: How an Iconic Intersection Shaped Winnipeg’s History, Politics, and Urban Life to a small gathering of family, friends, and supporters.
Originally pitched as a joke, the book about Winnipeg’s historic intersection has been in the works for three years.
“We tested the waters on our podcast first,” says Janke, sharing recent downloads for One Great History are estimated at 500 per episode. “Portage and Main is fun to explore through history, not so impressive in person, yet podcast feedback was well-received.”
The book arrived last November, following the timely re-opening of the intersection to pedestrian traffic in June for the first time in 46 years.
Janke and Judge used the famous intersection as a lens to explore Winnipeg history—from architecture to identity shifts in class structures and business as the city changed over hundreds of years.
“Winnipeg has lacked a good public square, even more so with the closure of one of the main squares in the city after the 1920 strike, and so Portage and Main became a gathering place,” Janke explains. “After World War II, many gathered to demonstrate, celebrate, or protest at the intersection. Most recently, after serial killer Jeremy Skibicki was convicted, a round dance was held.”
As both authors continue to work on new episodes for their podcast—one about a 1930s theatre troupe and the other about bison in our province—they have already started initial research for a future book on the Great Depression.
Portage & Main can be purchased anywhere books are sold, and 71 episodes of One Great History are available on your preferred podcast app.
