(1874 - 1962)
Known as "Danny" to his friends, Donald Henderson Bain is best known as one of Manitoba's most broadly talented amateur athletes. He is also remembered as an active Canadian business leader, a prominent figure in Winnipeg social circles, and an avid outdoorsman and sportsman.
Born in Belleville, Ontario in 1874, Bain moved with his family to Winnipeg,
Manitoba in 1880. Early signs of his athletic prowess were evident in 1887 when,
at the age of 13, he won the Manitoba provincial roller skating championship. His
best-known athletic achievement came as the captain and center with the
Winnipeg Victorias amateur hockey team,
which captured the Stanley Cup (then
awarded in recognition of amateur championship) in 1896 and 1901.
He was recognized as one of the first western Canadians, and the first amateur player,
elected to the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1949. He was elected
posthumously to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and to the Manitoba
Sports Hall of Fame in 1981.
An all-around athlete, Bain excelled at numerous other sports. At various times,
he was the Manitoba champion in roller skating, gymastics, cycling, and trapshooting.
He captured the Canadian figure skating
champion in the pairs competition in 1930. He was an active lacrosse player.
Bain was a prominent Winnipeg entrepreneur. As the president of Donald H.
Bain Ltd, a grocery brokerage firm with offices in several Canadian cities, he
amassed a substantial fortune with which he built a 4,500 square-foot,
three-storey home at 69 Eastgate in Winnipeg. Among other things, it featured a
spring-mounted dance floor.
He constructed the Mallard Lodge
in 1932 as a retreat for hunting and relaxation on his
932-hectare property on the Delta Marsh. He spent much time at Mallard Lodge,
surrounded by his cherished curly-coated retrievers.
The Mallard Lodge was also home to Bain's antique
automobile collection. He also built a hunting lodge and farm at Grosse Isle.
Donald Bain was an active member of many community groups, including the
Ancient Landmark Masonic Lodge, Prince Rupert Chapter of the Royal Arch
Masons, King Edward Preceptory Knight Templars, the Khartum Temple of the
Shrine (of which he was a member for 57 years), and the Independent Order of
Oddfellows. He was the life governor of the Winnipeg General Hospital,
president of the Niakwa Country Club and the Winnipeg Winter Club, and a
member of the St. Charles Country Club, the Motor Country Club, and the
Portage la Prairie Country Club. Recognizing his love of nature, he was a life
member of the Manitoba Game and Fish Association, and the Winnipeg Humane
Society. He was a long time member of the Westminster United Church.
Donald Bain died in his Winnipeg home on 15 August 1962 at the age of 88,
leaving an estate valued at just over 1 million dollars. A lifelong bachelor, he left
much of his fortune to charity and to former employees, with the balance
distributed among his relatives and friends. The Mallard Lodge and its
associated property became the property of the Province of Manitoba after his
death, and most of its assets were sold at public auction.
In 1965, Albert Hochbaum and Dr. Jennifer Shay negotiated with the Province to lease the
facility to the University of Manitoba for use as a field station. The University
Field Station (Delta Marsh) opened in 1966.
Donald H. Bain is interred in St. John's Cathedral Cemetery in Winnipeg.
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