THE FENTON BROS. by A. LeRoy Fenton (1967)

   William E. "Bill" Fenton was the eldest son of Dr. S.W. Fenton, veterinary surgeon, and
Letitia Chambers Fenton, of Kemptville, Ontario. He was born in Kemptville on April 7, 1885.
His mother died when he was nine years old. In 1903 he came west to Minnedosa, Manitoba on the harvest excursion. In 1907 he went to work for the Canadian Pacific Railroad - first as a
brakeman and then as a conductor. In 1912 he was seriously injured in a railroad accident in
the Minnedosa yards, resulting in hospitalization in Montreal for many months, and a lifelong
injury to his hip that he never allowed to become a disability. In 1916 he was again stationed
with the CPR in Russell, and ran a daily train to Binscarth and back. This train was discontinued in 1919. He also operated the Bijou Theatre on the Main St. location where the Lyric Theatre, and then the McLeod's store used to be. In 1923 Bill and his brother Roy opened Fenton Brothers garage on the west end of Main Street. (Central Motors later occupied the site.) They became a Ford dealership, and later on agents for International Harvester Company farm implements. In 1939 the Fenton Brothers dissolved their partnership and Bill moved the I.H.C. agency into the McRostie Hall. He did business there until 1945, when he opened Russell Farm Equipment in a new building on the corner north of the present day post office. He later went into partnership with Louis Penonzek. They sold the business in 1954, and Bill took a position as general manager of Bradley Construction of Brandon. He passed away suddenly on March 15, 1960 in Brandon.

On September 22, 1937 William Fenton married Norah Coultis, a nurse who was born and
raised on a farm in the Endcliffe district. They had three children: Nathan (wife June) of
Pinawa MB; Marilyn (husband Dr. Paul Montville) of Cody, Wyoming USA; and Tom (wife Lenore) of Russell. There are six grandsons and one grandaughter - Bill Fenton of Winnipeg, Mary Loudon of Beausejour, Paul Fenton Montville of Denver CO, Christopher Montville of Seattle WA, Andrew, Michael and David Fenton of Russell.

A. LeRoy "Roy" Fenton was born in 1889 In Kemptville, Ontario. He came west to
Minnedosa, Manitoba in 1905. In 1910 he moved to Kindersly, Saskatchewan, where he worked for several years as a mechanic with American Farm Syndicate. In 1920 he came back to Russell after "doing his bit" with the 46th Battallion in France and with the C.A.S.C. in England. In 1919
while in England he married Agnes Stratford of Cirencester, Gloucestershire. They had four
children, Bill who resides in Calgary, and Jack, Enid and Leonard, who are deceased. Bill
married Alice Brown of Binscarth and they had four children, Gordon, Brenda (deceased) Fred and Doug. Jack married Margaret Plum of Binscarth and they had three children, Wesley, Audrey and Jeffrey. Leonard married Ann of England, and they had one son Gerald. Roy worked in C.D.Sparrow's Garage and Machine Shop for three years, and then from 1923 until 1939 was in parntership with his brother Bill , doing business as Fenton Brothers' Garage. In 1940 Roy went to work for Frank Clement in No.2 garage; then for Jack Drever, and then for Sandy Craig. These men were all owners and operators of the same business for different periods of time. Roy retired from active work in the garage business in 1960.

In closing this history, Roy Fenton said: "I would like to mention the names of the mechanics and partsmen I have worked with from 1920 until 1960". They are Wes McIntosh, Roy McTavish, Austin Cameron, Gordon Clee, Morris Christie, Dubby Vinnell, George Sparrow, Alex McKinnon, John Galatuik, Ivan Haney, Jim Eshelby, Ernie Hainstock, Bud Rea, M. Mushumanski, Pete Giesbright, George DeBaker, Bing Maher, Bill Fenton Jr. (son), Jack Fenton (son), and Don
Eshelby.

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