Museum Musings
Prince Albert Historical Society
The volunteers in the Bill Smiley Archives enjoy trying to answer the requests that they receive. Usually they can find some, if not all, the information required. Occasionally there is no information available. But a recent request resulted in perceived knowledge being turned upside down completely.
The Archives volunteers were asked for information about the Nisbet Academy. The Academy had been located at the brow of the hill, just west of where the Court House is now located. It was built in the late 1880s, and burned down just after midnight on January 1st, 1890, destroying the school which had been named after James Nisbet, as well as the archives and artefacts of the newly established Prince Albert Historical Society.
Yet something about the request did not fit. The money for the “academy” was said to have come from the wife of an R.A. Nisbet in the latter part of the 1910s. A little research showed that the information required was not about the Nisbet Academy but about the R.A. Nisbet Memorial School for Boys (also referred to as the Nisbet School for Boys, the Nisbet Home for Boys, and the Nesbit School for Boys).
This school was housed after 1918 at 302 – 20th Street West, and using the money provided by Mrs. R.A. Nisbet was a home for boys from the rural area, most of whom were Ukrainian, who wished to attend high school or normal school in the city.
The house had been built originally by Horace Ittner, owner of one of Prince Albert’s brick factories. Local buildings constructed using Ittner brick include King George School and St. Alban’s Cathedral, as well as such homes as 121 – 29th Street West, where Ittner resided until the completion of his home at 3rd Avenue and 20th Street. (I believe that the first house in which I lived as a child, 2116 – 2nd Avenue West, was also built with Ittner brick. The first occupant of the house was a brick layer, and it is likely that he worked for the nearby Ittner brick yard. The second house in which I lived, 151 – 20th Street West, was definitely built with Ittner brick).
Ittner came to Prince Albert from Omaha, Nebraska, in 1900 and established his brick factory on 1st Avenue West between 29th and 30th Streets. He lived in Prince Albert until 1918 when he returned to the United States, living in California until his death in 1969 at the age of 97.
Upon Ittner’s departure from Prince Albert, the house was purchased by Mrs. R.A. Nisbet of Thornhill, Ontario. Her husband had been a Toronto-based financier, and apparently a relative of James Nisbet, the Presbyterian missionary who settled here in 1866 and gave the community its name. It was Mrs. Nisbet’s intention to open a home for boys from the surrounding rural area who wished to further their education in Prince Albert. The first principal of the facility was the Reverend James W. McIntosh, a Presbyterian minister.
A story from the Saskatoon Daily Star, dated October 25th, 1919, relates the success of the school. A total of nineteen boys had resided in the home during its first year of operation, with fifteen of them able to complete the school year. Thirteen of the boys passed their final examinations and were promoted to the next grade. These students also finished with higher grades than the average marks received by their fellow students.
The newspaper story also included a request from the Reverend Mr. McIntosh for support to buy an adjoining property which could be used for recreational purposes for the boys, as well as for bedding and for personal items such as underwear.
A story from the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix dated August 30th, 1927, relates the further success of the school as it was about to commence its tenth year of operation. The school is described as being one of the best equipped in Canada, with a reputation for both scholarship and sportsmanship. Residents were not restricted as to race or creed, although references were required prior to acceptance. The boys had to be students in normal school or collegiate.
Also included in the story was a reference to the tennis court, which was used in the winter as a skating rink. This recreational facility was available on property which was purchased as a result of the plea which had been included in the Saskatoon Daily Star story. Apparently O.B. Manville had contributed, along with one or to other individuals for the purchase of an adjoining property for $700.
Interestingly, when the Presbyterian Church and Methodist Church (along with others) amalgamated in 1925, the Dominion Commission had, at Mrs. Nisbet’s request, passed into the hands of the United Church of Canada. As a result, from 1925 until the early 1930s, the principal was the Reverend W.H. Macdonell. His successor was the Reverend Milton W. Tyndale, who appears to have been in that position until 1942. There does not appear to have been a principal in residence after that, although Franklin Tyndale, who was a clerk at Kresge’s, lived in the building in 1943.
From 1949 until 1955, the principal was the Reverend R.J. Rainey. His wife, Reta, appears to have succeeded him, serving in that capacity until 1956. She was still resident there in 1957, although she had taken employment as a secretary with the law firm Fraser, Evasiuk, and Sanderson.
It would appear that after the school term in 1957, the Nisbet Memorial School for Boys closed. The resident listed in the Henderson’s Directory for 1958 was John Masson, who was the janitor for Wesley United Church. Masson appears to have been an interim caretaker while the United Church divested the property. It was during this time that the lot to the west of the residence was under construction. The recreation area no longer being required, a manse for Wesley’s minister was built.
This building was occupied by the Reverend H.A. Mutchmor and his wife from 1959 until he left the church’s employ. He was succeeded by the Reverend Alex J. Barber with his family living in the house from 1969 until 1978. At that time, the Reverend Ron Jevons occupied the manse, followed in 1993 by the Reverend Don Schweitzer. When the latter minister left, as a result of the United Church policy on housing their ministers, the house was sold.
In the meantime, 305-20th Street West was sold to Dr. J.B. Wallace in 1959. His family resided there until 1976. By September of that year, the house had been bought by Dr. David Crawford. The Crawford family lived there until the late 1980s. By October 1989, Bill Powalinsky and his wife had moved into the house, and Charlotte was running her business Great Beginnings: The Learning Centre for Children from it.
Richard and Nicole Stefanyshyn next bought the house, which won the Municipal Heritage Award under their ownership. They have lived there since 1993, and continue to maintain it in a manner which would make Horace Ittner proud.
fgpayton@sasktel.net