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Museum musings: bits and pieces

Fred Payton
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Museum musings: bits and pieces

Prince Albert Historical Society

I often run across bits of information which I find of interest but which are insufficient to fill a complete column.  I tend to save these pieces of local history in case they might be useful, and today I present a few of them in the following column.

The first passenger train rolled into Prince Albert from Regina on the Qu’Appelle and Long Lake Railway on September 4th, 1890.  It was a moment for celebration, but also a moment for the locals to display their ire.  Although the first train stopped at what is now the corner of 3rd Avenue and 16th Street West, the terminus of the railway was located not in Prince Albert but, gasp, in Goschen!

The little station in the west end of the town was finally replaced in 1912 by a station building just to the east of Central Avenue, about half the distance from 15th Street (then called Broadway) as the later station opened in 1959.  In the interim, the Goschen station was closed and, although the Canadian Pacific Railway had a freight office on 1st Avenue East, their passengers got off their trains at the station just east of Central Avenue which became a “Union” station.

Much of the wealth which had been accumulated in Prince Albert in the early 1900s was lost as a result of disastrous investment in the La Colle Falls project.  Nelson Morton, the mayor of the city, lost his house at the top of the hill on 2nd Avenue West (a house which was later demolished by the city when the owners kept ‘forgetting’ to pay their taxes), George Will lost his house on 6th Avenue West and 20th Street (it became known as the Colonial Apartments), and Horace Ittner lost his house on the corner of 20th Street and 3rd Avenue West.

By 1919, Ittner was living on the corner of 1st Avenue West and 28th Street in a house located near his brick yard.  His three-storey brick house became the R. A. Nisbet Memorial School for Boys, a home for out-of-town boys attending school in Prince Albert.  Although it was thought the home was named after James Nisbet, the Presbyterian missionary who gave Prince Albert its name, it was actually named after a wealthy Toronto investor of the same surname.  Nisbet’s widow established the “school” as a memorial to her husband.  Originally a Presbyterian institution, at the time of the amalgamation of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches, it became a United Church facility.  The “school” closed as a residence for students following the 1957 school term, and reverted to a private home thereafter.

A story in the November 1st, 1920 Prince Albert Daily Herald indicated that female students were not ignored.  The Board of the Women’s Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church had decided to honour the memory of one of their best loved missionaries.  A new institution on 22nd Street East was to be called The Lucy Baker School, after the first female missionary teacher who had come to Prince Albert in 1879.  The house, in a home currently with the address of 136 – 22nd Street East, began with twelve students.  Enrolment quickly increased to fifteen.  Eleven of those students attended the Collegiate Institute (now P.A.C.I.), three the elementary school (King George), and one the Business College.

Other schools which opened their doors to Prince Albert students in the autumn of 1920 included Queen Mary, Connaught, Central, Ninth Street, Twelfth Street, and the Separate school.  Connaught school was located on 1st Street East and 10th Avenue (where Chester Court is now located).  The Ninth Street school was in the 500 block of 9th Street East, and the Twelfth street school was located in the former Land Titles building at the corner of 12th Street and 4th Avenue East.

As previously noted, there is often discussion of the negative outcomes brought about by the La Colle Falls debacle. Long time residents of Prince Albert are aware of the damage caused by that failure. We seldom, however, give thought to the impact which had been created when the project was expected to have a positive impact on the community.  In 1911, registration with the Saskatchewan Association of Architects became mandatory.  Five architects living in Prince Albert registered in 1912, with three more registering in 1913.  These men were anxious to take advantage of all the work which was anticipated as a result of the growth expected to accrue in the community when the dam was constructed.  Architects such as the Dane, Hans Oluf Albrectsen, and Nova Scotian Alison Graham Creighton, were amongst the first to register.  Alfred Ernest Sidford, Frank Reaveley, and Frederick Crowther, all from England, registered in 1913. But when the project tanked, and the expected growth did not occur, there were no further local registrations in the Association until September 24, 1954 when Frank William Moore registered.

The fiscal damage Prince Albert suffered as a result of the La Colle Falls debacle has now impacted the city for over one hundred years.  Long term Prince Albert residents have certainly been made aware by both city administration and city councils of the fact that civic improvements (such as street paving and infrastructure) which might have been made were not made because money was not available.  And even when monies might have been available, the provincial Municipal Affairs ministry might not have allowed it because such expenditures might have made the city budget too tight.

In the late 1970s, the City had a developer for a mall in the east end of Prince Albert, at 15th Avenue and 15th Street East.  The mayor of the day, Mac Pereverzoff, communicated with the Minister of Urban Affairs to request approval of the re-zoning of the City owned property.  But the Provincial government refused to allow the required re-zoning as they were concerned that should this mall project proceed, there might not be the necessary incentive for the Province’s suggested downtown redevelopment plan to proceed.

In vain did Pereverzoff argue that the east end development was more appropriate.  He suggested that the site was City owned land, while the land for the downtown project would need to be assembled.  Private property would need to be acquired, and perhaps expropriated.  The site costs for the east end project would include a $2,500,000 payment to the city, while the cost to the taxpayer for the downtown project was projected to cost anywhere from $8 million to $15 million.  The east end project would inject an immediate $400,000 a year in new taxes, while the downtown project would remove $400,000 a year in taxes from the city for the three years anticipated to construct that project, after which it would inject only $100,000 per year.

In addition, the east end project was shovel ready, while it was uncertain whether the downtown project would actually occur.  And, the east end project would generate 500 new jobs in 1980, while those same 500 new jobs would not occur until 1984, if the downtown project actually proceeded.

Mayor Pereverzoff stated quite plainly that Prince Albert had already suffered a downturn as a result of the La Colle Falls debacle, and the City Council was not willing to suffer another such downturn by foregoing a project that was guaranteed to provide both taxes and employment while the city waited for something which might never happen.

The Province was unwilling to budge, the east end property was not re-zoned and the project never occurred, while the downtown renewal eventually did occur in the construction of the Gateway Mall.

These are just a few of the many stories which can be related regarding the history of our local community.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: Earl Thompson

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: Earl Thompson

Prince Albert Historical Society

An article in the July 16th, 1976 Prince Albert Daily Herald caught my attention.  Headlined “Earl Won Gold For Prince Albert”, it told the story of how Earl Thomson was, perhaps, the closest this city could get to claiming a native son as an Olympic medalist.

Like many Prince Albertans, I had grown up thinking that we had been the home to a bronze medalist in the 1964 Olympics.  Certainly, we had been led to believe that Harry Jerome, born in Prince Albert in 1940, had been our local track hero.  He won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics, and a gold medal at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.  He also set seven world records over the course of his career.  The track which circles the Max Clunie Field is named after Harry Jerome.  So, who was this upstart Earl Thomson?

A good deal of research was required to discover the limited information available on him.  First, the newspaper article had consistently spelled his name correctly as Thomson.  Yet other articles and information about him and his family spelled it as Thompson.  Was he Earl Thompson, or Earl Thomson as the article stated.  Nor did the Thomson (or Thompson) family live in Prince Albert at the time of his gold medal victory, and likely they never had lived in the city.  The closest I have been able to get to him having family living in this city was a great-uncle, Angus Thomson, a local area farmer who died in Prince Albert in 1919.

In the community history, Memories We Share – North of Birch Hills, compiled by the New F Historical Club in 1980, Mrs. Margaret Brewster Senior provided some information about the Thompson family (as the book spelled it).  She refers to the father as Captain Thompson (we later determined his first name was John, as noted in a September 13th, 1920 Daily Herald article).  According to William Larom, manager of the Saskatchewan Marble and Construction Company, the Thompson family were early settlers in the district north of Birch Hills, settling on NW 3-47A-24-W2.  Larom, a family friend and longtime member of the Prince Albert Historical Society, indicated that Earl was born around 1893 (actually it was February 15, 1895), likely at their home in that district.

I managed to find only a little more information about the family.  It appears that they originally farmed near Davis, and later operated a ranch about three miles across the river from the Puckahn post office.  Later, they moved back to the Davis area, where they again farmed until the health of Earl’s mother required them to move to Long Beach, California.  Always athletically inclined, it was there that Earl began showing great promise as a track athlete, winning the 120 yard hurdles in 1915 at the CIF California State Meet.  He also placed second in the high jump competition, and was fourth in the discus throw.  In 1916, Thompson joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, serving throughout the remainder of World War I.  He went to the University of Southern California for a year, before winning a scholarship to Dartmouth, an Ivy League college in the state of New Hampshire.

Thomson would liked to have become a member of the United States Olympic team for the Olympiad 7 games which were held in Antwerp, Belgium in 1920.  However, the family had retained their Canadian citizenship and, anyway, the United States had promising track athletes, including Harold E. Barron of the Meadowbrook Athletic Club, Philadelphia, and Fred S. Murral of the New York Athletic Club.  Still holding a Canadian passport, Thomson chose to leave Dartmouth College and attach himself to the Canadian Olympic team.  Why he decided to list Prince Albert as his home town is unknown, although having been born in the Prince Albert Census Division might have been the determinant.

The August 18th wire story from Antwerp reported that “Earl Thompson of Prince Albert, Sask., who is representing Canada in the Olympic games today won the final heat of the 110 metre hurdles”.  Not only did Thompson win the heat, but he set a new world’s record, knocking a fifth of a second off the previous Olympic and World record of 15 seconds even.  Even better, Thompson beat the two Americans, Barron and Murral, who finished second and third respectively.  It was the first time that anyone other than an American had been victorious in that event.

The following day, the wire story reported that the Canadians were “elated over the brilliant performance” of Earl Thompson of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.  Although there was little chance of Canada “figuring very prominently in the matter of points” owing to the comparatively small number of entries from this nation, the fact that one Canadian had “made athletic history” had greatly encouraged the Canadian contingent.

Thomson’s record in the 110 metre hurdles remained unbeaten until 1931, although it was equaled a number of times in the intervening years.

After graduating from Dartmouth, Thomson became a track and field coach, first coaching the Dartmouth track team, then the University of West Virginia track team, and finally the team from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland for 36 years.  In 1930, he also participated, along with Harold Barron and another individual, in designing a new and safer hurdle which reduced the danger of bad falls and injuries.

Thomson became a member of the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 1949, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1974, and the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.

Thomson died of cancer in Oceanside, California, on May 19, 1971.

Museum Musings: The “Old Public Library”

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: The “Old Public Library”

Prince Albert Historical Society

The greatest boom in the Canadian West occurred between 1910 and 1913.  Immigration to the area approached 393,000 people, world trade and investment rose rapidly, and every index of prosperity climbed annually.  Cities, including Prince Albert, were the recipients of the greater share of this boom.  In a single week in March 1910 more land changed hands locally than in the two years previous, leading to a prediction that the city would shortly equal Winnipeg in size.  It was rumoured that there were more millionaires in the city than anywhere else in western Canada.

Evidence of the city’s financial enhancement could be seen in the formation of the Prince Albert Club and the construction by the community’s nouveau riche of an exquisite building to house it.  This was not the first such club for the businessmen of the city, but by far the grandest.  In July 1882, the Kinistino Club had been founded by twenty-four members of the community’s elite.  Renamed the Prince Albert Club, and later the Saskatchewan Club, it had existed in rented premises which later became the Royal Hotel.

Erected in 1913 at a cost of about $50,000, the Prince Albert Club was a fine building of burned brick, of substantial construction, and with a well finished interior.  It had hardwood floors throughout, marble window sills, and mahogany woodwork.  The club was run on a generous scale.  Before its opening, the wine order was of such a magnitude that it put to shame “even the largest liquor house in Canada”.  Men sitting at any of the tables could order another drink simply by pushing a bell attached to the table.  Unfortunately, the club was run in such a grandiose manner that its finances weakened and finally collapsed.  The Dominion Life Assurance company of Waterloo, Ontario, which held a $30,000 mortgage, foreclosed in 1916.  The club came to an untimely end and, although a reorganized club formed in 1920 looked into redeeming the building, it was considered to be too expensive.  Altogether, including the initial mortgage, accrued interest, rates and taxes, the estimated amount outstanding that year was $40,000, although the newly organised club was advised that it would be able to purchase the property for $30,000.

It was, therefore, a considerable surprise for the local citizens when it was announced in the Prince Albert Daily Herald on January 29, 1920 that the property had been sold for $15,000.  According to the story in the newspaper, a consortium of members of the Knights of Columbus had purchased the building.  Plans for its use were indefinite, but it was understood that the building would be used as the Knights of Columbus club rooms, as they had determined sometime previously that their quarters in the K.C. building (now the Canada Building at 1311 Central Avenue) were inadequate.  The representatives of the society who carried through the negotiations for the property included J.E. Arpin, C.S. Lacroix, A.J. Reynolds, F.J. O’Leary, and F.G. Harvey acting for the Knights of Columbus.  All were officials of the local branch of the order.

The building at that time was leased to the Provincial Police for use as its headquarters for its Prince Albert division.   The Provincial Police had a lease that ran about three years from April 1918, and for which only a nominal rental was being paid.  It was unknown if the lease was subject to sale, so that it was not yet definitely known whether the police headquarters would continue there, or new headquarters would be sought. 

A continued lease of the building by the Provincial Police seemed to be the most appropriate direction for the province to take.  The ground floor included Inspector Tait’s office, the court room, the office and detachment room.  The second floor was used as living quarters.  There was a fine basement, the main room there being formerly used as a billiard room, while storage space included an area for the liquor previously sold to members of the club.  Of course, a cell in the basement for prisoners had been constructed for use by the police. 

The following day, January 30th, the newspaper carried a further story, once again suggesting uncertainty with respect to the future of the building.  The lease which the Provincial Police held on the building would not expire until April, 1921, and doubt existed whether the lease might have contained a clause rendering it subject to the sale of the property.  Copies of the lease were held at police headquarters in Regina, with a second one held by the Dominion Life Assurance Company of Waterloo, Ontario.  Locally, no one knew whether or not the sale clause was contained in the lease.  Further confusing the situation was the fact that the Knights of Columbus had already given notice of the vacation of their lease in the K.C. building, a building in which they had no interest but in which they had merely rented.

On April 26th, the newspaper reported that the final disposition of the Prince Albert club building remained in doubt.  The building, it noted, had been purchased by A.E. Arpin, C.S. Lacroix, Frank Harvey, C.A. Cooney and Frank Russell, who offered the building to the Knights of Columbus, of which society they were members, and which was in need of new quarters.

The building was considered ideal for the purposes of the Knights of Columbus, but it was not yet certain whether the society would take it over.  At present the building was being used by the Provincial Police as district headquarters.  The Provincial Police had a lease which expired the following year, but it was not definitely known whether the lease was subject to sale or not.  If the lease was subject to sale, and taken over by the new purchasers, it would be necessary for the police to be quartered elsewhere.  The Hon. A.P. McNab, minister of public works, looked into the matter when in the city the week before but made no pronouncement as to his intentions.

At the end of May, more officials were in Prince Albert on a tour of inspection seeking space

for various government offices.  The commissioner of the Provincial Police, C.A. Mahony, along  with  the deputy minister of public works and C.J. Milligan, master of titles, joined with Prince   Albert’s MLA, Charles McDonald, and Inspector Tait, to inspect several buildings, including the Bank of Ottawa building.  No decision had been reached with respect to the buildings inspected, and other premises were to be inspected prior to the three officials returning to Regina.

Interestingly, no further public information could be found after a June 2nd, 1920 report in the Daily Herald.  The story indicated that the building was still retained by the local businessmen who had purchased it, but that the provincial public works department had taken a month’s option on the building.  The option price was not made public. 

The fact that the Provincial Police remained headquartered in the building until it was dissolved in 1928 would indicate that the Department of Public Works went through with the purchase.  It would suggest that the businessmen who had purchased the building in January were now somewhat wealthier, although how much richer is unknown.  A room which had been described by the Daily Herald as “an interesting if gruesome reminder of capital crimes in the district” also remained on display:  remnants of the ropes used in the executions at the first provincial gaol covering the period from August 1919 to August 1920, a total of twelve executions, including those ropes used in the triple hanging of the Steep Creek murderers.

In 1928, the RCMP, who took over provincial policing from the provincial force, and the Prince Albert City Police, remained on site in the building.  By 1932, the RCMP were housed at their barracks building at 20th Street and 9th Avenue West, and the City Police were back in their building on Avenue B East.

Further proof that the department of public works had exercised their option on the building exists in the fact that it was the home of the Department of Natural Resources.    Provincial government offices occupied the building until 1948 when those departments moved into the newly constructed provincial government building at 49 – 12th Street East.

It was in 1950 that the Prince Albert Public Library moved into the building, leaving its location in the Holmes Block on the corner of 8th Street and 1st Avenue East.  At some point after that Prince Albert Library was incised into the space above the front door. 

By 1951, the street address for the building changed from 50 – 12th Street West to 56 – 12th Street West.  It was also in that year that the Prince Albert Public Library began to share the building with the newly created Prince Albert Regional Library (later the North Central Regional Library and now the Wapiti Regional Library).  The Regional Library moved in the early 1960s to its own building at 145 – 12th Street East, and the Prince Albert Public Library (now the John Cuelenaere Library) moved into its current location at 125 – 12th Street East in 11973.

The “Old Library” building sat vacant for a brief period of time before more provincial departments moved into it in 1974, although it again became vacant in 1975 and 1976.  From 1977 on, it served as a location for real estate agencies, school boards, and First Nations offices.  However, mostly from 1986 to the current time, it has been vacant. 

The original “good bones” of the building remain, but sadly deteriorating, with its bright red roof, moved from a demolished restaurant (the Country Kitchen) when that building was demolished.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum musings: Normal schools in Prince Albert

Fred Payton
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Museum musings: Normal schools in Prince Albert

Prince Albert Historical Society

On Saturday, October 16th 1920, the following article appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald:

“Owning to the abnormal shortage of teachers in the province the department of education has decided to issue a number of provisional teaching certificates and has decided to hold special normal schools at various centres of which Prince Albert is one, from January 3 to February 25, providing that 25 students can be assembled at each point.”

This was not the first time that the Department of Education had made such a decision. I have been able to determine that such classes were held in Prince Albert several times before the 1921 school, and again at least annually until the spring of 1927.

Normal schools, popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries, were specialized institutions designed to train teachers in educational principles, techniques, and standard practices, with the goal of normalizing teaching methods across school systems. Often two-year programs, in Saskatchewan they were later replaced by teachers’ colleges or universities.

The Saskatchewan Normal School was a publicly funded provincial post-secondary institution for the training of teachers. Such training began in Regina as early as 1890 with short courses for men and women who had completed Grade 8 and who sought certification to teach elementary school subjects, often in One-room Schools in rural Saskatchewan. The term “normal school” is derived from the French école Normale, an institution that provided instruction in the “norms” of school instruction. As well as the school in Regina, permanent normal schools were built in Saskatoon and Moose Jaw in the 1920s.

However, until the final two schools were opened, normal school classes were provided in various centres throughout the province. In Prince Albert, such classes were provided as early as 1908/09. The location of these classes is unknown. It has been suggested that they may have been taught in the classrooms of Emmanuel College, although another location might have been utilised, possibly empty space in Central School or one of the church halls.

It is possible, but not likely, that the Prince Albert Normal School of 1908/09 might have been able to grant permanent teaching certificates, but the students who attended the classes in Prince Albert between 1913 and the spring of 1927 were only granted temporary certificates. These allowed the holders of the temporary certificates the right to teach for one year. After that, if they wished to receive a permanent certificate, they would have to attend a second set of classes at one of the permanent schools in Regina, Saskatoon, or Moose Jaw. As a result, many of the teachers would obtain a temporary certificate, teach for a year, and then with any savings they might have accumulated, they would be able to register at one of the permanent schools.

Usually, the normal school classes held in Prince Albert would occur in the winter months. The instructors for these classes were often school inspectors, individuals with the knowledge and experience to know what these temporary teachers would need to know. As the winter roads were often impassable, it made sense to utilise these individuals to teach such classes, as they would not be able to travel to the schools which they were expected to inspect.

Some of the instructors for the local programme were J.A. Snell and J.F. Hutchinson in 1908/09, H.A. Everts and J. O’Brien, and D.M. Davidson at Connaught. The physical education instructor was C.F. Mephan. Inspector Harrison assisted in the instruction at Queen Mary School.

However, the best-known instructor for the Prince Albert classes was J.T. Tomlinson. He was in charge for the last twelve years of the school’s presence in Prince Albert. Jay Talmage Sylvester Tomlinson had been born in Ontario on December 29, 1882. He was a school superintendent from 1916 to 1947. A member of the Rotary Club, he was active in all Prince Albert Masonic work, and was the founder of the city’s DeMolay organisation for boys. Tomlinson died on October 27 1970, and was buried in the Prince Albert Memorial Gardens.

It was anticipated that Prince Albert would grow substantially once the La Colle Falls project came into operation. As a result, three large schools, Connaught, King George, and Queen Mary, were built and opened in 1913. When the project did not materialise, each of the schools was left with considerable unoccupied space. This left room for the normal school classes to be held, in 1913, in Connaught School, and then, when attendance increased there, in 1914 in King George School. Normal school classes were held in King George until 1919, after which classes were moved to Queen Mary School. The last such classes in Prince Albert were held at Queen Mary in the spring of 1927.

Those attending the normal school classes did not simply attend classroom lectures. They became friends, almost like family. The members of the classes would participate in out-of-hours activities including athletic events, literary clubs, and musical entertainments. These activities were often open to members of the community at large. Art Loucks wrote about how, as a Grade 12 student, he was invited by a normal school student to attend a dance at Queen Mary School in the spring of 1927.

Graduates of the normal schools appear to have been equal in ability to those who attended colleges of education. At one time, when Prince Albert had only five schools, at least four of the principals were normal school graduates. Art Loucks, a well-known educator in Prince Albert, had attended normal school in Saskatoon. Many will remember him as the principal of Queen Mary School.

As a student in the elementary, and even secondary, grades in Prince Albert, I never gave much thought to the academic standards of those who taught me. Until I reached Grade Seven, my teachers were all older women, mostly single or widowed, although some were married. It wasn’t until I came across the history of normal schools in the City of Prince Albert that I began to wonder just how many of them had actually had a university education.
fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: Tekla “Tillie” Pawluk

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: Tekla “Tillie” Pawluk

Prince Albert Historical Society

A member of the Historical Society asked a simple question on Family Day which led to the research for this column.  “Where,” he asked, “was the Savoy Café”.  That did not take long to answer.  The Savoy Café first showed up in the 1913 Henderson’s Directory, and continued through until the 1945 edition.  (There was no Henderson’s in 1912; nor was there one in 1946.)  But the question concerned the location of the café.  It stood on River Street West, with an address of 19 – 21.  A picture from 1927 showed it clearly as occupying both buildings.  Originally owned and operated by Samuel Kortas and Basil Bougeon, it was owned and operated for many years after the Great War until the mid-30s by S. H. Thoms, after which it was operated by Ray Quon, and ultimately by Fling Mah who closed it in the mid-1940s.  Long time Prince Albert resident, educator, and historian, Art Loucks, referred to the Savoy Café as being the very best eatery in Prince Albert.

Why then did this question lead to a column on Tillie Pawluk?  What had prompted the question was the fact that the Society member recalled having eaten off of Savoy Café plates when he ate at Tillie’s Coffee Bar (also known variously through the years as Tillie’s Take-out Service and Pizza House, and Tillie’s Pizza House).  And that obviously required further investigation.

The first restaurant in the building which became Tillie’s was Ching’s Coffee Bar.  Albert and Alice Ching opened it in 1951.  They ran it for a couple of years before selling it to J.J. Middlebrooks, who ran it as The Rex Coffee Bar until selling the building to Tillie in the late 1950s.  We had surmised that the owner of the Savoy Café might have passed on the china from his restaurant to the owner of Ching’s, perhaps via an auction sale.  However, the time lapse between the closure of The Savoy and the opening of Ching’s would appear to preclude this.  Regardless, the dishes somehow managed to end up at Tillie’s.

Tillie was born on July 11, 1910, in Stojanow, Austria (now a Ukrainian community).  The independent minded woman whom we knew in Prince Albert definitely displayed her independence as a young woman.  She left her birthplace and came to Canada, arriving in this country on January 10th, 1931.Unfortunately, we do not even know the name of her birth family, and little is known about her prior to her marriage to George Pawliw in September, 1935.  George worked at the Burn’s meat packing plant, and the couple lived in the 500 block of 18th Street West.  Together, they had a son William.  As a young adult, he moved to California, where he married and raised his family.

Tillie may have worked as a single woman in Prince Albert, but at what employment it is unknown.  We do know that in 1953 and 1954 she was employed by Earl Foy as a ‘presser’ at his Prince Albert Cleaners on 9th Street East.  There is no record of her employment in 1955, but in 1956 Tillie was working as a maid at the Holy Family Hospital.  In 1957, she had obtained employment at Gunnar’s Delicatessen and Take-out in the unit block on 13th Street West.  Many of the generation who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s still reminisce about spending their hot summer days swimming at the Memorial Pool and going to Gunnar’s afterwards for a bag of hot fries.  Tillie had a reputation as having a soft heart – those who did not have the wherewithal to buy fries often received a little something gratis!

It was while working for Gunnar Bjornholt that George and Tillie purchased the coffee shop at 261 – 16th Street West.  Although not a large café, much like the food available at Gunnar’s, Tillie’s drew a large and loyal clientele.  Her food was tasty, and the servings were plentiful.  Tillie mixed her own patties for the burgers (reputed to be the largest served anywhere), the fries were home grown and cut onsite, and many of the vegetables came from her own garden. 

Tillie ran her own restaurant, but continued working at Gunnar’s.  In fact, when Gunnar retired in the early 1960s, Tillie bought the business from him.  She continued to do so until the mid-1960s, at which point she sold out and Gunnar’s was replaced on 13th Street by Bud’s Men’s Wear.

It wasn’t just the food which attracted customers to Tillie’s.  In an odd sort of way, people found the atmosphere in the restaurant to be attractive.  Part of it would be the décor.  It was always clean, but certainly could not be described as fancy.  One never knew exactly what you would see there, or how Tillie would behave.  One customer, entering the restaurant in muddy boots, was given the mop and told to clean the floor.  Another, who objected to Tillie’s cat sitting on the counter, was chased from the restaurant long before his order appeared.  Tillie swung the broom at him, yelled for her waitress (the often beleaguered Doris) to grab a sharp knife from the kitchen, and advised the man that he should never darken her door again.

There was no point going to Tillie’s if you were in a hurry.  Orders were cooked one at a time, and should you try to get in and out in a hurry by ordering in advance, Tillie would still wait for you to arrive before putting in on the grill.  Oh, and don’t ask for ketchup.  Tillie seemed to find such a request to be a slight on her cooking, and even if you could manage to snag a foil package from the waitress, you were certain to be charged for it.  But regardless of what came to be considered the ‘floor show’, the food, whether burgers and fries, pizza, or Tillie’s special Ukrainian food, it would always be enjoyable.

Tillie loved to garden.  She grew most of her own vegetables, although she had to buy potatoes from local farmers.  She also loved her flower garden.  Perhaps more than her garden, Tillie also loved animals.  She seldom was without a cat, and she adopted and looked after numerous dogs through the years.  But most of all, even given her rather explosive nature, Tillie loved and had a sincere concern for people.

George died in local hospital on July 7th, 1972 at the age of 60.  Tillie carried on with the restaurant until 1987, at which time she retired.  She died in Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon on May 22nd, 1988.  She was survived by her son William of Laguna Beach, California, as well as three grandchildren, Jamie, Jill, and Terry (all of the United States) and two great-grandchildren, Jeffrey and Brittany, as well as by a brother, two sisters, and a special niece, Mary Swystun.

Her restaurant was purchased by the Kinsmen Workshop, where Meals-on-Wheels were prepared.  It later evolved into the Star Restaurant (now the 40th Street Grill) prior to being moved to 40th Street East.  Somehow, it seems fitting that Tillie’s business establishment would come to serve such a worthwhile purpose.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: The Flamingo Hotel

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: The Flamingo Hotel

Prince Albert Historical Society

When I gave my recent talk on the historical hotels of Prince Albert, some of those in attendance were disappointed that I did not mention the Flamingo Motel.  In my mind, that motel did not meet the criteria as an historic hotel.

My first home when I was a child was in the 2100 block of 2nd Avenue West.  One evening, when I was likely about six years old, my father needed to buy cigarettes.  He asked me to join him on his walk to the Flamingo Motel.  At that time, the motel was on the outskirts of the city, and it seemed to my young legs to be an awfully long walk just to buy cigarettes.  Given that the motel was located in the 2600 block of 2nd Avenue West, where the Co-op Gas Bar (2655 – 2nd Avenue West) and the South Hill Medical Clinic (2685 – 2nd Avenue West) currently are located, it really wasn’t that far.

Frank Webb was the first owner of the Flamingo.  It is believed that he came from Melfort, where he had built and operated the drive-in movie theatre.  The motel was officially opened on Saturday, September 18th, 1954.  This was a time in North America when the economy was showing improvement after the depression years of the 1930s and the war years of the early to mid-1940s.  Vehicles were much improved, roads were much easier to travel, and family vacations to the northern lakes of Saskatchewan were popular.  In addition, both the provincial and federal governments were making efforts to open the northland to development.

The motel was conveniently located at the southern city limits on 2nd Avenue West, which was also Highway 2 in the provincial highway system.  In addition to the accommodation, there was also a coffee shop with curb service, and an Esso gas bar.  The coffee shop was initially managed by Barb Blair. 

The motel was all on one level, measuring 200 feet by 36 feet (61 metres by 11 metres) and sat on a three-acre site which would allow for expansion and a trailer camp where each trailer could be hooked up to water and power lines.

The Flamingo had seventeen luxuriously appointed suites, eight of which were double and eight were single, while one was a six-room suite.  Most of the single room suites contained a shower unit, while two of the single units had a bath and could be enlarged into extra sized units with two double beds.  Each of the two rooms suites consisted of a living room, bedroom, and bath.  Roll-away beds which could be unfolded were provided by the management for single room units to accommodate family groups.

All the rooms contained modern furniture of the latest design to provide maximum comfort, and were decorated in quiet pastel shades, and had large windows which gave each room a bright and home-like appearance.

 All had central heating, had air conditioning, were equipped with showers or baths and, given the winters Prince Albert experiences, all had exterior electrical outlets so that vehicles could be plugged in during the cold winter nights.  The heating was provided throughout by a forced air, oil heat system.  A new high-pressure system for the provision of hot water circulated water ensuring each suite had hot water at all times.  There was hot water available as soon as the tap was turned on without waiting or running the water.  There was also a utility room housing a laundry with two washers and two automatic dryers for cleaning the linen utilised by the motel’s guests.

Some of the contractors and suppliers who contributed to the motel included Pete Hucul (painting),Ralph Richards (insulated chimneys), Fayerman Brothers (hardware, paints and electrical supplies), Mel Brewster (trenching, excavating and earth removal), Broadway Heating (heating equipment), Beaver Lumber (building materials), Boychuk Construction, Botting and Dent (plumbing contractors), Eaton’s (furniture, bedding, and linens), Tadman’s (refrigerators, deep freezers, and ranges), Western Grocers, Dairy and Poultry Pool, and McGavin’s Bakeries.

The coffee shop had eight booths, six large and two small, with seating for twenty-one individuals at the counter.  As the staff recognised that cuisine was important, good food was their specialty.  There was a wide variety of hot and cold sandwiches, steaks, and French fries, home-made pastries including cakes, pies and doughnuts.

Frank Webb ran the motel until selling it to George P. Mandin in 1957.  Mandin quickly sold it to Harold Ballendine who operated it until 1959 when Steve Salaga took over its management.  In 1962, Don Robson was the motel manager, and Sophie Fedoruk managed the coffee shop.  Robson continued to manage it until 1971, although Paul Zakus managed the trailer park beginning in 1966.  In 1972, with Zakus still managing the trailer park, the motel came under new management (Peter Buryniuk) and a new name – The New Flamingo Motel.

In 1973, the New Flamingo Motel was operated by Frank and Olive McDowell, and in 1974 D.R. Peck was the manager.  Paul Zakus assumed management of the entire enterprise in 1975, although in 1978 Jack Allan and Chris Lederhouse assumed the role of managers.  Jack Allan was also the manager of the Lincoln Motor Hotel in the same year.  By 1979, the motel was no longer listed, both Allan and Lederhouse had left the city, and Paul Zakus closed the motel.  A photograph in the Prince Albert Daily Herald on October 14th of that year showed one of the motel units being towed across a muddy road.  Some of the units were sold and moved to Candle Lake, while the remaining units were stored on the south side of Marquis Road on land owned by Zakus.

Such an auspicious beginning in September 1954 appears to have come to an untimely end twenty-five years later.

Although it is not clear why the motel, in which John and Olive Diefenbaker sometimes stayed when visiting Prince Albert, failed, perhaps the addition of more motels had an impact.  When it opened, the Flamingo was one of a kind, in competition with only Prince Albert’s older hotels.  But as the years progressed, other motels were added to the selection in Prince Albert.  In 1961, the Corral Cabins, the Shady Pine Auto Court, and the Southsider Motel existed.  In 1962, the M&L Motel and Lunch Bar was added to the list (although the Shady Pine had disappeared).  By 1964, the Coronet Motor Hotel had been built, and by 1968 the Imperial 400 Motel, as well as the Twilight Motel, had been added.  Later, near the end of the Flamingo’s life span, the Red Wing Motel opened (1977).

The Flamingo Motel may be physically gone, but long-time members of the Prince Albert area, and individuals who travelled through the city between the mid-fifties and up to the late seventies still remember the flamingo pink buildings which once sat on the southern outskirts of the city.

                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: Black History Month

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: Black History Month

February.  Black history month.  The month when museums and archives can expect to receive calls from the media asking for stories regarding the history of Black people and the local community.

There is a limited number of stories within the community of Prince Albert and area, at least until our most recent history.  I can recall some Black professionals from the sixties and seventies, but mostly they were just “passing through”.  People like Vibert “Vic” Stewart, who worked as a Health Care Officer at Saskatchewan Penitentiary from 1973 to 1975, before heading back to the Caribbean and its warmer climes.  Or Joe Matthew, an architect who worked on the design of a local area arena.  He once told me he had never been in an ice arena before taking on that project.  Joe left Prince Albert for a more cosmopolitan community where ice arenas would not be high on the list of architectural demands.

One of the reasons there are so few Black settlers in Canada stems from the racist attitudes of the early Caucasian settlers.  They argued that Black immigrants would be poor farmers and bad citizens.  They petitioned the government to restrict their immigration.  Frank Oliver, the Liberal Minister of the Interior and Member of Parliament for the constituency widely affected by the signators of the petition, wrote Order in Council P. C. 1911-1324, which was approved by the Laurier cabinet on August 12, 1911, under the authority of the Immigration Act, 1906. It was intended to keep out black Americans escaping segregation in the American South by stating that “the Black (“Black” substituted for the original word used) race…is deemed unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada.” The order was never called upon, as efforts by immigration officials had already reduced the number of Blacks immigrating to Canada. Cabinet cancelled the order on October 5, 1911, the day before Laurier’s government was replaced by the new Conservative government.

One family which managed approval to immigrate to Canada was that of Joseph Mayes who led a community of Black families and settled in the Eldon district, about thirteen kilometres north of Maidstone.  One descendant of the family is Charlotte Mayes Williams, who became the province’s first female Black veterinarian.  Another descendant is Rueben Mayes, noted as a member of the New Orleans Saints professional football team.  This community is also known as the builders of the historic Shilo Baptist Church.

An earlier Black settler in our region was a man named Alfred Schmitz Shadd.  Born in 1870 in Kent County, Ontario, Shadd moved from Chatham, Ontario to Kinistino, where he taught school.  He returned to the University of Toronto in 1898 to complete his medical degree, after which he practised in Kinistino before moving his practice to Melfort.  He opened a drug store, farmed and bred stock.  He also bought a share in the Carrot River Journal, which he helped edit, and served on the town’s council.  In 1905, he ran as a candidate for the Equal Rights Party, and in the province’s first election, falling 52 votes short of becoming Saskatchewan’s first black member of the Legislative Assembly.

More locally, the City of Prince Albert claims track star Harry Jerome as its native son.  Jerome was born here on September 30th, 1940 to Harry Vincent Jerome and Elsie Ellen Howard.  Both his father and grandfather were railway men (both apparently porters), and his maternal grandfather had represented Canada in the 1912 Summer Olympics.

The length of Jerome’s stay in Prince Albert is somewhat questionable.  His parents were married in Kildonan, Manitoba (Winnipeg) on August 21st, 1941.  Records indicate that the family lived in Springfield, Manitoba (east of Winnipeg) in 1945, and in St. Boniface, Manitoba (Winnipeg) in 1949.  In 1952, the family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Jerome became a noted track star, tying the world record for 100 metres in 1960 and the world record for the 100 yard dash.  He won the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 1964 Summer Olympics, and gold in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1966.

Regardless of the length of time Jerome lived in Prince Albert, the track at Prime Ministers’ Park has been named after him, and a statue of him graces the entry to the park off 28th Street East.

Another local family, the Millers, have been in the Prince Albert area since 1910.  Robert James Miller, a native of Kentucky, and his wife Luvina, a native of Ohio, brought their three young children with them and homesteaded in the Whitfield district thirteen kilometres north of Prince Albert. 

Although their daughter Olivette lived with them for a period of time, she later returned to the United States.  Their two sons, Robert and Jeff stayed in the area; Robert farming near his father’s homestead and Jeff moving with his wife from the Whitfield district to Red Wing.

Robert and Luvina settled easily into their new community and, as the years passed, became known affectionately as Grandpa and Grandma Miller to those living nearby.  When interviewed many years later as to why the Millers had chosen the Prince Albert area in which to settle, their grandson Jim claimed that Robert’s brother, a porter on the railway, had always liked Prince Albert when his work had brought him to the community.  As a result, he convinced Robert to settle in the area.

The Millers farmed until the early 1950s, turning the homestead over to their elder son.  They then moved into Prince Albert, buying a house in the 400 block of 7th Street East.  They resided in their new home until the early 1970s (Robert in died in1971, and Luvina, who died in 1975, moved out shortly after his death).

Jim, in the interview previously mentioned, noted that although most settlers moved into communities with settlers of a similar ethnicity, the Whitfield district had been settled by a mixture of ethnicities, including Ukrainians, French, English, and Germans.  Right from the beginning, he stated, the Whitfield district was integrated, including the black Miller family.

Jim Miller’s father, Robert Thomas Miller, married Helena Mayes, the grand-daughter of Joseph and Mattie Mayes, who had settled nearly 300 kilometres away in the Maidstone district.  Jim’s brother, Robin, who moved to Edmonton, had met his wife there.  She was a descendant of the Lafayette family, another Black family who had settled in western Canada (one near Rosetown, Saskatchewan and the other near Athabasca, Alberta).

The Miller family is unique in that they settled, not in a community with other Black families, but also in that they remained in the area where they had originally settled.  Although the Prince Albert area has benefitted from the presence of all the Black people who have passed through, it has benefitted most of all by the staying power of the Miller family.

                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: State Hospital and Medical League

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: State Hospital and Medical League

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

Buried deep in a box in the Bill Smiley Archives is a letter written from British Columbia to the widow of a former associate of Charles Lionel Dent.  The letter itself has little information of interest, but there is one thought contained in it which made me stop and think.  The writer indicated that “the people in Ottawa” were about to honour T.C. Douglas and Emmett Hall for the implementation of medicare, not only for Saskatchewan, but also for Canada.  Although he had no quarrel with them being so honoured, he had always thought of Charles Lionel Dent whenever medicare was mentioned, and that the origins of the programme were in Prince Albert.

Charles Lionel Dent had been born on May 25th, 1889 in Cowansville, Quebec.  His parents had immigrated from Yorkshire, England.  During the First World War, Dent had served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, including six months in Germany.  While overseas, he married Mary Curran, and they came to Prince Albert after the war.  Dent was originally employed at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary before going in to business for himself as a grocer.

Many of Dent’s customers were neighbours and men with whom he had worked at the Penitentiary.  Some of these individuals shared his philosophy with respect to medical care.  A letter which Dent wrote in 1952 to one of these individuals, Horace Darby, reminisced about their discussions “in the days when five of us used to meet in your bedroom on 15th Street West and more or less lay the foundation for the league.”  Others who were likely included in these talks were Henry Jacobs and Chuck Adams.

History suggests that these discussions began in the late 1920s or early 1930s.  At least some of the men had served overseas with the Canadian forces and, as a result, their medical care was covered.  But they understood that not everyone was so fortunate and, as the Depression left more and more people unable to afford medical care, they became more and more serious about doing something about it.

From 1931 until 1936 Dent’s initial idea was reviewed and polished.  Research into state medical plans in other countries, including New Zealand and the Scandinavian countries, were of most interest to those discussing it.  However, even by 1934, it was felt that public opinion was not yet ready to accept the movement. Finally, in 1936, it was considered that the populace was more accepting, and the decision was made to hold a public discussion.

The first official meeting of the League was held on April 24th, 1936.  Memberships were 25 cents per person and $5.00 for clubs or organisations.  Initially the League was called the Saskatchewan State Hospital and Medical League, but they soon dropped the word Saskatchewan as they became hopeful that the organisation might become a national movement.

At that meeting, the object of the League was established as an organisation which would promote in every way the socialization of the Province’s medical structure, much as education had become.  The League would gather, tabulate, and compile information derived from world-wide resources in order to assist the Provincial government in every constitutional way possible in order to promote that socialization.

Some of the slogans identified for the use of the League were “Prevention is Better Than Cure”, Adequate Medical Care for All”, and “The First Wealth is Health”.

The organisors believed that the only way to make the League a success was for the people of the province to be made aware of their goals and objectives and, as a result, they ensured that a report of the meeting was published in every newspaper in the province.

Coming from this first meeting was a decision to establish a first aid booth at the Prince Albert Fair from August 4th to August 7th.  Information would be provided to the fair-goers, and memberships would be sold.

Eventually two doctors were attracted to the idea – Dr. W.H. Setka of Prince Albert, and Dr. F.N. Moore of Regina.  Much like the eventual introduction of Medicare in 1961, these doctors were  shunned and isolated by their peers as the members of the medical profession felt that the League was attempting to limit their earning power and their income.

Dr. Moore attended a further meeting in 1936, held in Saskatoon, and was elected as president of the organisation, as were a number of other people from Saskatoon and various other parts of the province.

Support for the League came from the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the municipal councils of Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert, the United Farmers, the Teachers’ Federation, and the Federation of the Blind.

A further provincial meeting of the League was held in Regina in 1938 at a time when there was an even greater interest in the implementation of some form of socialized medicine.  Even John Difenbaker, the leader of the provincial Conservative Party had campaigned on a policy of health insurance and hospitalization coverage during the 1938 provincial election.  The successful Liberal government, under the leadership of Premier William John Patterson, implemented the Municipal Medical and Hospital Services Act.  This authorized rural municipal councils, upon voter approval, to provide, manage, and fund local medical or hospital services, permitting tax-funded healthcare.

The foregoing change of attitude could largely be attributed to Matt Anderson, the reeve of the Rural Municipality of Bulyea, who had researched and promoted a form of cooperative health care and made it a desirable and acceptable policy for both the Liberal and Conservative parties.

Although considered a step in the right direction, it was still not that for which Charles Dent and the State Hospital and Medical League was fighting.  After their 1938 meeting in Regina, they continued to push for health treatment to be a responsibility to be paid for by the government out of tax dollars.

By 1945, six cities, thirty-four towns, and 166 organisations were affiliated with the State Hospital and Medical League.  Sixteen districts had been established, with centralised health care facilities to serve as district hospitals.  Briefs were still being presented to the government, delegates met with cabinet ministers, meetings and conventions were held, and pamphlets by the thousand were being mailed, while radio and newspapers were utilised to spread the “gospel” of the State Hospital and Medical League. 

Eleven years after the League was formed, the Government of Saskatchewan announced its decision to implement a Hospitalisation Act.  It was not all that the League had asked for, but it was a beginning.

In the 1970s, efforts were instituted by the pioneer members of the State Hospital and Medical League to have the provincial government honour the work done by Charles Lionel Dent with respect to the League.  A plaque was presented to the City of Prince Albert commemorating his work, and it was placed in the Historical Museum.  The plaque read:

                                                State Hospital and Medical League

                Formed in 1936, this League promoted through the media improved medical care in the Province.  Their objective was to make available to everyone, irrespective of ability to pay, the full benefits of preventative and curative medicine, and to provide for the expansion and development of medical facilities in keeping with the needs of the people and the advances of science.  In 1947 some of these ideals were realized when the Saskatchewan Hospitalization Services Plan began.

Erected by the pioneers of State Hospital and Medical League in co-operation with the Government of Saskatchewan.

A final letter in the file, written by one of the pioneers, indicated “We did NOT plan MEDICARE…The Hospital and Medical League planned a plan which resulted in State Medicine.  Medicare came much later.”

                                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: The Avenue Hotel

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: The Avenue Hotel

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

I wonder what, if any, memories you have about the Avenue Hotel?  It was one of several Central Avenue buildings torn down to accommodate the construction of the Forestry Centre, now the Prince Albert campus of the University of Saskatchewan.

I can recall three, somewhat hazy memories of the interior of the hotel.  The earliest is of attending a banquet there, sometime in the 1960s.  The décor was certainly not memorable, but the food was plentiful and tasty.

My second memory is of visiting a room in which a guest was residing.  He had in his possession an item for which he had not paid.  The room was small, in fact tiny.  The bed, a dresser, and the few other furnishings were crammed together.  There was no sign of an “ensuite”.

My final memory was of the licensed premises.  As the Director of the Parole Office, I had received information that one of our clients was in the bar, breaking his abstain clause.  I accompanied his parole officer on a “walk through”.  If the parolee had indeed been in the bar, he had made his exit before we arrived there.

Nothing about these memories impressed me positively with respect to the Avenue Hotel, and it made me wonder why the hotel had been so popular in the early years.  This had been the hotel to which John Diefenbaker had brought back his wife Edna from their honeymoon and in which they had stayed awaiting the completion of their new home at 22 – 20th Street West.

It was also the hotel which, upon it becoming available for sale, had led Dr. Edward Trippe and his wife, Catherine, to abandon their plans for the Empress Hotel.

The front portion of the Avenue Hotel was originally built by Dr. P.D. Tyerman.  It was opened on December 17th, 1907.  In 1908, he sold it to George Dangerfield, who managed it until selling it on to Michael Tynan in 1909.  The hotel was heavily mortgaged, and when Tynan defaulted in 1916, the Trippes lost no time in acquiring it from the Great West Life Assurance Company of Winnipeg.

Prior to coming to Prince Albert, the Trippes had lived in British Columbia, where he had been heavily involved in mining.  In 1910, he decided to switch from mining to the hotel business.  They travelled extensively throughout the province before deciding to settle in Prince Albert and to build the Empress Hotel.  Their decision to settle here was primarily based upon their interest in hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities, although they also saw the economic promise of the community.

Patronage at the Avenue Hotel had increased to such an extent by 1917 that the Trippes found it necessary to rent the neighbouring St. Regis Hotel.  The upper floors would be used as an annex to the Avenue Hotel, while Dr. Trippe had a number of ideas with respect for the use of its street level floor.  This eventually led, in 1932, to Shnay and Tadman moving their business off River Street into that location, where they continued in business until 1957 when Tadman’s son, Sam, moved the business further south and on to the east side of Central Avenue.

According to a report which the Province of Saskatchewan required of all municipalities in 1917 the Avenue had the most accommodation (106 beds) of all of the local hotels, followed by the Merchants Hotel (later the Marlboro and now the Travelodge) at 75 beds.

In the autumn of 1943, the Trippes, who had owned and operated the Avenue Hotel since they purchased it in 1916, announced their retirement and the sale of the business to a consortium of local business men.  The Trippes, who had resided in the hotel during their proprietorship, would continue to live in Prince Albert and area during the summer months, but reside in Florida over the winter.  They bought a home at 359 – 10th Street East, where they would reside when in Prince Albert, although they spent most of the summer weather at their cottage at Waskesiu or their cabin at La Ronge.

Shortly after the change of ownership, on October 23rd, an advertisement appeared in the Prince Albert Daily Herald announcing that the new owners (so far unnamed) were applying to the Liquor Board for permission to sell and serve beer in the bar.

The new manager for the consortium was Ian C. McLaren who, unlike the Trippes, lived offsite at a house on 20th Street East.  McLaren remained the manager until 1950.  On August 9th, 1950, an announcement was made regarding a change in ownership and renovations to the hotel.  The building would be extended to the city sidewalk, the dining room would be moved to the southeast section of the building, and the lobby to the front portion which had, to that point, been occupied by a barber shop.  The beer parlour was to be located in what had been, until then, the lobby of the hotel, as well as modernizing the second floor rooms, adding baths to some.  The new owners were W.J. Rosenbaum and Harry Binsky.  Rosenbaum had previously operated a hotel in Port Alberni, British Columbia.  The new owners had chosen an architectural firm from Manitoba to design the changes.

Rosenbaum and Binsky did not remain owners of the hotel for long.  In 1951, another consortium, The Avenue Hotel (P.A.) Limited took over the hotel, with a man named Salaga as manager.  In 1961, Leon Roth took over the management of the hotel, overseeing a further renovation in 1966.  Another manager, Howard Schenk, was responsible for the final renovation of the building, when the front end was re-modelled. 

Photo Courtesy The Bill Smiley Archives
The Avenue Hotel in 1983.

In the mid-1980s, Alec Lucyshyn became the manager of the Avenue Hotel, staying there until the end of that decade when he moved to the Lincoln Hotel as its manager.  Still under the ownership of The Avenue Hotel (P.A.) Limited, Ernest Duby managed the Avenue until it closed for demolition in 2003.

Where Prince Albert’s largest hotel once stood, we now have the Prince Albert campus of the University of Saskatchewan.

                                                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: The Salvation Army in Prince Albert

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: The Salvation Army in Prince Albert

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

It was on August 22nd, 1892 when Major Read and Captain Littley held the first Salvation Army service in Prince Albert.  In the Army’s terminology, it was then that they “opened fire”.  Prince Albert had been established as a town just six years old earlier.  It was a pioneer community within the North West Territories, a raw community, a hard place to begin.  Yet, the December 3rd 1892 edition of the Army’s magazine, The War Cry, reported that they had had their first enrolment, with fourteen pledging themselves to be true to God and to the Army.

What good has come out of the successful establishment of the Army in Prince Albert is hard to measure, but as far as the Army is concerned their work requires no human assessment.  But members of the Army will tell you that what matters is that God and man’s needs are served through their Christ-empowered labours.  For this reason, they maintain, the Army has fought in the past and must always fight in the future, in the homes, places of work, and on the streets of Prince Albert.

The Army sees its role in the community as meeting the physical, spiritual, social, and welfare needs of society.  In order to do this, they have led both men’s and ladies’ fellowship groups, children’s groups, Bible studies, and provided counselling with respect to spiritual and moral issues.

Photo Courtesy Bill Smiley Archives
The Salvation Army Church; The church was actually the barracks, and was located at 19 River Street East.

In the early years, the Army’s officers made their visits to the lumber camps and, as now, in the community’s prisons.  On Saturdays, they would hold open-air services where as many as a hundred people would attend to watch, listen, and receive the tracts which were handed out.

In addition to these services, regular services in the early days were held in Saskatchewan Hall.  It was not until 1906 that the first Citadel was erected at 22 – 8th Street East, almost back-to-back with their “barracks” located at 19 River Street East.  It was in the basement of the Citadel that a soup kitchen was established to feed the destitute, especially in the dark days of the Depression.

As noted, Prince Albert was not an easy community in which to thrive for an organisation such as the Army.  Although the Saskatchewan Times reported in its December 21, 1892 edition that “about $15,000 was contributed to the Salvation Army during ‘Self Denial’ week in Canada, it also reported in its September 25, 1894 edition that the Army was harassed by a ‘gang of galoots’ who loafed in front of the Post Office each Saturday evening.  When the Army marked ‘Self Denial’ week in 1894 by staging a programme displaying a ‘mock barroom’ with ‘sham drinking, sham drunkenness, and sham fighting’ a band of rowdies turned the meeting into a genuine brawl.”

In a news story at the end of November 1922, it would appear that the community of Prince Albert was displaying a much more welcoming attitude towards the Army and its work.  The Army’s paper, The War Cry, was publishing three hundred fifty copies each week, with more than two hundred customers amongst the local businessmen.

In September of 1938, the Army began broadcasting the Wailly Devotional Period on CKBI radio under the direction of Adjutant C.A. Smith.  The radio station was, at the time, located on the second floor of the Sanderson Block, and the Army would stand outside on Central Avenue to deliver the message.

Some may recall the Army being involved in other activities to help the community.  I expect some of the retired Prince Albert firemen will recall the Army bringing coffee and sandwiches to sustain them when they fought major fires within the city.  There is even one story where the Army’s coffee and sandwiches arrived at the scene of a fire before the Fire Department.

Old-timers who enjoyed a beverage or two in the city’s licenced premises will also recall the members of the Army joining them in the bar, not for a drink, but to suggest that they might donate some of their pocket money to support the necessary programmes which the Army provided locally.

Alcoholism programming has certainly been a valuable resource provided by the Army.  Sometimes it has been provided within the confines of their own facilities, but it has also taken place in locations like the basement of the former CKBI building, and at The Bridge, a facility which the Army ran at 1919 Central Avenue between 1979 and the late 1980s.  Such programming included personal counselling, ‘Ten Steps to Freedom’ classes, group meetings, and even work place counselling.

Probably the best-known programme of which local people will be aware is the provision of Christmas hampers and gifts for children.  Each year, hundreds of families have celebrated a happier Christmas because the Army has mobilized the citizens of Prince Albert and area to contribute.

As the needs of the community have changed, so has the Army’s approach to their provision of service.  Through the years, they have held their Sunday services in the Citadel, moving from the original 1906 building to their ‘new’ Citadel at 163 – 12th Street East (this probably motivated by the closure of the unit block of 8th Street East).  They opened a Thrift Store at 1026 1st Avenue West in the mid-1960s and, a couple of years later, a hostel in the rooms above it.  In the late 1970s, they moved their offices into the space where the hostel had been operational.  Later still, around 1993, they moved into their newest space at 900 Central Avenue.

Photo Courtesy Bill Smiley Archives
The Salvation Army Church; The church was actually the barracks, and was located at 19 River Street East.

Originally, in addition to the Thrift Store and office space, they utilised some of the space in which to run The Outpost Restaurant.  It was envisioned that the restaurant might serve to provide additional sources of funding for the Army’s programming,  However, this never materialized, and as a result, the space was converted in May 2006 to serve one day a week as a seniors’ drop-in centre.  More recently, the Citadel building was sold, the Thrift Store was closed, and with Prince Albert’s need for a lunch programme and a warm-up centre. those were opened, with the original Outpost space serving as the Army’s room in which to hold their church services.

The building into which the Army moved in 1993 was originally built as a grocery store for C.M. Smith.  This occurred sometime between 1919 and 1923.  It later became Robert Mutchmor’s dry goods store and Paul Lasky’s restaurant, Paul’s Palace.  The end building, situated on the corner, became a Safeway store in 1929. And remained as such until 1949 when Harry Binsky opened his department store, Binsky’s.  In 1964, the National Department Stores took over the building.  They closed out in the late 1970s, and Karen Bremner opened up Karen’s Foliage and Flowers in 1979.  The last tenant prior to the Salvation Army moving in was Solo’s Restaurant, run by Maureen Mosher.

The community of Prince Albert is hopeful that the Army will rise like the phoenix and continue to serve the needs of those citizens most in need of their humanitarian and spiritual services.

                                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

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