Craig Baird
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As the clock hit midnight and 1966 turned into 1967, Bowsman, Mantoba started a very big fire.

This is the story of the Bonfire of the Lavatories aka The Biffy Burn!

This village, located 500 km north of Winnipeg, decided that since they had a sewage treatment plant, it didn't need outhouses.

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Craig Baird
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All the houses were hooked up to the plant, and the residents decided they would destroy their outhouses as part of a Centennial celebration.

On Dec. 31, 1966, the outhouses were decorated with toilet paper and balloons, put onto trucks, and paraded through the community to the plant.

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Craig Baird
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Once all the outhouses were put into a pile, and it was a big pile, Auld Lang Syne was sung. Then, Reverend Jim Liles, read a poem he wrote:

"The time has come to destroy friends
Who have held up their ends
Through the years."

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Craig Baird
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As the clock hit midnight, all 33 outhouses were burned in a big bonfire.
The unique nature of the celebration made headlines across North America.

In 1970, a cairn was built to celebrate what is locally called the Biffy Burn. On top of the cairn is the wooden model of an outhouse.

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Craig Baird
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📸Winnipeg Free Press files

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