Wakamow Heights Bed & Breakfast - Moose Jaw

The Whites

Wellington White was born in Erie, PA of immigrant parents in 1867. James White had immigrated from County Down Ireland in 1842. Brick making had been in the White family for generations and when James had the opportunity to manage a yard in Erie he grabbed it. In 1874 the family moved to Owen Sound, ON and opened their own brick yard. After both parents passed away, Wellington took the CPR to Prince Albert in 1893 where he developed his own brick plant. A few years later, when the railroad was snaking its way across the prairies further south, this ambitious man moved to Moose Jaw where good brick clay was plentiful and business and houses were in great demand for the growing population. He formed the Wellington White Moose Jaw Brick Company.

Wellington was a handsome young man, heavy set, with a head of thick black hair and lively blue eyes. Charming and self assured, he became the darling of the social set and naturally, because he was a man who always did his duty, he helped round up some rampaging Indians from the Swampy Cree of the One Arrow Reserve and hailed as a hero when the battle was over. When an astonishingly beautiful woman beckoned he jumped into her wagon.

Olive Louise "Ollie" Brooks stood almost 6 feet tall, just a bit shorter than Wellington. She had beautiful auburn hair, huge brown eyes and an expressive mouth. She was vivacious! All eyes turned when she entered a room. Ollie's father had immigrated from England years before. He hauled the family's goods in a Red River cart from eastern Canada to a homestead on the Prairies. His beautiful daughter Ollie Brooks, at the age of 18, became the wife of Wellington White. They were considered the most glamorous couple in Moose Jaw.