~ from the Town of Roland sign ~ Side 1The village of Roland was named in honour of
Roland McDonald, lumber merchant, who arrived here in 1879. In 1899, two box cars were left on the newly completed Red River Valley Railway indicating the position of the town site. Th railroad scouts, who made the home of Mr. & Mrs. Roland McDonald their headquarters, named this property Roland, in honour of their hosts.
In 1889, Roland McDonald purchased the property NE ¼ 4-5-4 W and later divided it into lots. By the end of 1980, the railway station, a blacksmith shop, a post office, store and church had sprung into existence.
Roland McDonald was reeve of the municipality for the years 1890 - 1894.
Edgar Van Wyck has been hailed as the "Pumpkin King of Roland" in recognition of the ten first place records at the Royal Winter Fair and attaining the Manitoba records in 1984 and 1988. In 1976, his 423 pound pumpkin earned him a page in the Guiness Book of Records but it was in 1986 that he grew his giant squash of 560 pounds.
As well. his interest and activity in the 4-H movement in earlier years is a tribute to the community.
We commemorate this pumpkin replica in his honour. Roland Centennial 1890 - 1990.
Side 2 (very large lettering, visible from Hwy 23)
ROLAND
Home of 4-H and The Giant Pumpkin ~ from the Hampton Hotel sign ~ (
visit link)
World's Largest Roadside AttractionWorld's Largest Pumpkin, Roland, Manitoba
This 12-foot-tall, 12-foot-wide pumpkin was built in 1990 during the Roland Centennial, in honor of Edgar VanWyck, the "Pumpkin King."