Museum Musings: A local character

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: A local character

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

Each community has its local characters. They are the people who provide colour to the community, who provide the community its distinctive flavour.

Looking back on Prince Albert’s past, I could identify several such characters, most of whom have enhanced our history.  One such character, whom I believe contributed positively to Prince Albert, was Frank Chester.  It is apparent that others also recognized Frank’s beneficial contributions to the community, as he had a seniors’ complex named after him, as well as a city street.

Born in Weyburn on March 15th, 1908, Frank moved to the Paddockwood district with his parents in 1917.  Living there until 1942, Frank’s early years as a farmer presaged his later character-filled years.  He did not have horses, so he broke a cow and a steer to pull his plough!

Still living on the farm, Frank joined the staff of Saskatchewan Penitentiary in 1939, employment he held until 1964.  In 1950, with his son Arnold, he also bought West End Auto Wreckers.  They ran that business together until selling it in 1976.

Always active in the community, Frank was involved with the local Mental Health Association, was a member of the board of directors of the Prince Abert Housing Authority, participated in the committee which founded the Indian-Metis Friendship Centre, was a member of the Kiwanis Club, and sat on the Exhibition Society board.  Although he often appeared feisty, all of these memberships were indicative of Frank’s caring nature.  Perhaps his background, indicative of an under-privileged nature, led Frank to fight diligently on behalf of those he perceived to be the underdogs.

In total, Frank spent eighteen years on City Council.  It was during those years that he displayed his fiercest support of individuals whom he perceived to have been given a raw deal. Although often seen to be on the wrong side of Council’s decisions, Frank actually led the polls for four elections in a row.

One of the situations where Frank refused to back down to his fellow alderman occurred when the city wanted to extend the back alley across the property behind the West End Auto Wreckers. Frank refused to gift the property to the city, offering instead to sell it to them.

Council was unwilling to purchase the property, worrying that such a deal would set a precedent. Frank openly agreed to donate the land provided “the other fellows” would do the same. When this offer became unacceptable, Frank proceeded to fence the property in question which resulted in the city, much to the annoyance of his nearby neighbours, being unable to extend the back alley.

It is interesting to review the newspapers from the years during which Frank served on Council. The editorial pages frequently served as an opportunity for Frank to explain his actions. It became obvious that Frank was not impressed with the coverage provided by the City Hall reporter, and that he felt the need to provide his side of the story. This led me to wonder if the publishers of the Daily Herald did not recognise the positions which Frank took, or whether they knew that they were on to a good thing. They would report the story, Frank would respond with a letter to the editor, which in turn generated more letters to the editor, either in defence of the newspaper or in support of Alderman Chester.

On the day of Frank’s funeral, the editor of the newspaper wrote about Frank’s impact on the community. He referred to Frank’s projects, not buildings but people, and suggested that Frank was “a common man in every good sense of that description.  He was a person with a lot of common sense…not particularly tolerant of bureaucracy, preferring to get the job done.” 

Dick Spencer, who worked alongside Frank as an alderman and as the mayor, called Frank the “last of the real individuals in civic politics.”  Frank was seen to have represented the West Flat when no one else would do so. Spencer also referred to Frank’s work with penitentiary inmates and with underprivileged kids. Spencer called him canny and wise, not one who would ever “buy the Brooklyn Bridge.” 

 Others, such as Larry Zatlyn who had worked on the Housing Authority board, called Frank a “very balanced person.”  Zatlyn saw Frank as a strong supporter of the tenants and those awaiting placement in social housing. 

It is, perhaps, shameful that a man who spent so much of his life and energies supporting the underdog should be referred to as a “character”.  It might be the methods which Frank employed.  But whatever the methods, the results were of importance to Frank.

And maybe it was not Frank’s position on matters of civic policy, or his efforts on behalf of the underdog which led me to consider Frank to have been one of Prince Albert’s characters. Perhaps it was his appearance in the Hollywood movie Alien Thunder (alongside Donald Sutherland).  Or his sidekick in that movie, Snoopy the bear.

Frank was known for his pet bear, Snoopy, who would stand on his hind feet and nibble sugar cubes from Frank’s lips.  Perhaps that is what made Frank a character.  This is not the sort of behaviour which one would accept from your normal member of City Council, and it took quite an effort to encourage Frank to allow Snoopy to be transferred from his auto wrecking yard to the zoo in Moose Jaw.

Regardless, when Frank died on October 2nd, 1995, Prince Albert lost a real character.  He was one of a kind, one who will never be replaced.  A man who did not just talk about problems, but one who worked to resolve them.  He was a man who provided Prince Albert with its local colour, and gave this city some of its distinctive flavour.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: Manipulative inmate

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: Manipulative inmate

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

I was actively researching something from 1968. I turned to page three of the September 27th issue of the Prince Albert Daily Herald, and there he was, smiling up at me over the headline “Pen Inmate’s Freedom Bid Short Lived”.

At the time, I was still a senior in high school, and far from realizing that I would be dealing with him in a professional capacity less than a decade later.

The story related how the inmate, who was serving a ten year sentence for numerous charges ranging from break and enter to robbery, had been escorted to the Medical Clinic on Central Avenue for a treatment of an infected eye. While at the doctor’s appointment, he fled from his escort, managing to gain less than an hour and a half of freedom.

The inmate managed to enter the basement of the Holmes Block (which was kitty-corner from the police station on the corner of 1st Avenue East and 8th Street).  A passer-by noticed him and brought his whereabouts to the attention of the police and a Penitentiary officer.

It was not this story which, as that senior in high school, which I remember. It was the follow-up story which impacted me.  The inmate (as a former employee who served over thirty years in federal corrections I am not allowed to identify him by name) was subsequently brought to court to face a charge for his recent escape.  At that time, court was held in the former police station on Avenue B between 10th and 11th Streets East (where the current City Hall stands).  Prior to entering the court room, the inmate asked to be allowed to use the toilet. This he was allowed to do. When he did not come out of the toilet, the escorting officers tried to enter the room. They found the door locked. When the door was forced, they discovered the room empty, and its window wide open. The inmate had climbed through the window, dropped to the ground below, and escaped one more time.

His time at large was longer as a result of this second Prince Albert escape, although it did not last beyond late afternoon.

On this subsequent escape, the inmate managed to get beyond the Holmes Block and as far as Riverside Collegiate, where he attempted to blend in to the school’s activity. The Daily Herald story was, as far as I can determine, quite accurate (although not a student at Riverside, I heard the story first hand from a teacher whose yard I used to look after during the summer months).

Two articles appeared in the Daily Herald, one on October 18th and the second on October 19th.  The first story was headlined “Inmate Escapes For Second Time”.  It outlined his escape from the second-floor bathroom, which had no bars in the window, and jumped into the alley between the old police station and the Pineland Chrysler building eight feet away. Described as dangerous, his escape resulted in road blocks being set up within a matter of ten to fifteen minutes, with all off-duty city police officers being called in to help in the search.  One error occurred in the story – the building was described as being two storeys when in fact it was three storeys.

The October 19th story was headlined “Escapee Made Rounds During Brief Freedom”.  It assured its readers that the inmate was back in custody after five hours of freedom, the majority of that time being spent amongst students and teachers of Riverside Collegiate. 

Initial efforts to locate the inmate were unsuccessful.  But a 2 p.m. call from Riverside Collegiate to the police resulted in his eventual recapture.  The call, from a staff member, noted that a man answering to the inmate’s description had been seen loitering in the school’s hallways.  Police entered the school, but the inmate left by another door.  This led to a chase which covered approximately 26 blocks before the escapee was taken into custody on the second hole of the Cooke Municipal Golf Course an hour later.

While at Riverside, the inmate had mingled with students and staff before suspicions were aroused.  Teachers apparently thought that he was a typewriter repairman, or else someone who had been called in to do something along a similar line.  Students apparently did not give him a second thought.

After his recapture, the inmate advised that he had gone to the school with the intention of boarding a school bus and being transported out of the city with the students.  He indicated that at one point, on meeting a teacher in the hallway, he picked up a book or some other object, such as papers, and as greeted by the teacher with a “Good morning” and a question about how his health was. He listened in on a mathematics class, and watched a physical education class.  At noon, he sat in a lunchroom and watched the news report which displayed his picture.

After his recapture, the inmate was taken to the police station and then to court where he asked to be remanded without plea, indicating that he would likely enter a guilty plea once he had had an opportunity to consult with a legal aid lawyer.

He was remanded until the following Monday, but did not enter a guilty plea.  As a manipulative individual, he made every effort to spin out his court case, likely hoping to find another opportunity to escape custody once again.

The inmate finally completed his sentence and returned to his home province of British Columbia.  He did not return to Saskatchewan, and Saskatchewan Penitentiary, until the mid-1970s when he was serving a new sentence.  This is when I came into contact with him. I found him to be an extremely manipulative individual, one who was always attempting to beat the system. I was not unhappy to see him released on mandatory supervision and return once again to British Columbia. It was the last time I had personal contact with him, but not the last time I was aware of him.

After this release, the inmate went on to become one of the most hated serial killers in Canadian history. I often wonder how many of the students and staff of Riverside Collegiate realized just how close they had been to this detestable individual.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: John E. Sinclair

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: John E. Sinclair

As the Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay fades relatively quietly into that still night, it seems appropriate to look back on the fur traders who were instrumental in the early development of Prince Albert and area. One of those individuals was John Edward Sinclair.

Born July 11th, 1855 at St. Andrew’s, Manitoba, Sinclair’s Canadian ancestry extended back to 1790 when his grandfather came to Canada with the Hudson’s Bay Company.  William Sinclair, a lineal descendant of the Earl of Orkney, became the chief factor of York Factory.  His marriage to the daughter of the governor of Fort Churchill resulted in four sons and six daughters.  The third son, Thomas, was the father of John Edward.

Sinclair received his early education at St. Andrew’s school, before attending St. John’s College, Winnipeg. At St. Andrew’s, he received some of his education from John Alexander MacKay (who later became principal of Emmanuel College in Prince Albert).  The Reverend Samuel Pritchard, S.B. Matheson (later the archbishop of Rupert’s Land and Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada) and John McLean (the first bishop of the Diocese of Saskatchewan) were some of his teachers at St. John’s College.

After completing his education at the age of seventeen, Sinclair farmed for two years before, as had his father and grandfather before him, accepting an appointment with the Hudson’s Bay Company.  Sinclair worked for the Company of Traders for four years, serving at Fort Francis, Kettle Falls, Northwest Angle of the Lake of the Woods, Rat Portage, Leseul, and Trout Lake.  While at Rat Portage, he became acquainted with another fur company, William Stobart & Company.  This led to his eventual termination of employment with the Hudson’s Bay Company and his appointment as Stobart’s agent in Prince Albert which for years had been a fur trading post.

Sinclair made Prince Albert his headquarters, acting as manager for Stobart & Company throughout the northern portion of the Saskatchewan district.  At the end of ten years, he bought out the Prince Albert interests of the firm and became an independent operator for the next fourteen years.

Sinclair is credited with being the first to open the route north of Prince Albert into the hinterland, extending his trading posts up to the Churchill River and Reindeer Lake.  At a meeting of the Prince Albert Historical Society in January, 1924, Sinclair stated the following:

“In the month of October, 1883, I was sitting on the platform before the store of William Stobart & Company, general merchants and Indian traders, conversing with an Indian, Nesscheatch. of Sturgeon Lake.  At that time there was a large bush fire raging in the north:  immense clouds of black smoke could be seen directly to the north of Prince Albert.  I asked the Indian if he knew about where that fire was and he said that he was well acquainted with that northern country and was pretty sure that the fire was between the crossing of Red River and Red Deer Lake…I became deeply interested in the Indian’s description of the country and asked him if that part was a good fur bearing country.  He said that it was for fine furs such as beaver, bears, mink, marten, otter, lynx, and fox, and that the Hudson’s Bay Company had a monopoly of the fur trade there, being no free traders in there.  I then made up my mind that I was going to get a share of those furs.”

Sinclair’s first trip in, accompanied by John Saunders and James Stevenson, with Nesscheatch as a guide, took six days.  A store and trading post was established on the Narrows of Red Deer Lake (we know it as Waskesiu), and Sinclair took a major step towards becoming, as Agnes Laut referred to them, one of the Lords of the North.

As he had decided, Sinclair did get a good share of “those furs”, and made many friends amongst the First Nations people, whom he found “honest, hospitable, truthful, and good Christians” He traded throughout the first winter, eventually travelling as far as Stanley Mission where he encountered Chief Trader John McCauley (also known as John Macaulay).  In his reminiscences, Sinclair would tell of the time a member of the First Nations arrived when Sinclair was visiting McCauley.  The new arrival tricked McCauley into leaving him alone with Sinclair, at which time he asked Sinclair to follow him across the river.  When they got there, he showed Sinclair some very fine furs. Trading them to Sinclair, he advised him that he was willing to trade whatever furs he was able to secure.  He trusted Sinclair.  He no longer trusted McCauley.

Sinclair managed Stobart’s company for ten years, after which he bought out the operation, acting as an independent fur trader for fourteen years. For the next three years he worked for Revillon Freres, building up that company and establishing ten posts throughout the north for them. After that, he acted as an active factor for two years while founding the Veteran Trading Company. For another three years, he was a buyer for the MacMillan Fur and Wool Company of Minneapolis, prior to ending his fur trading career with a final two years buying for R.S. Robinson of Winnipeg.

In 1912, Sinclair went into the real estate business with a man named Weaver but, although he was highly successful to begin with, the depreciation of land resulting from the La Colle Falls debacle and the beginning of the Great War, resulted in heavy losses for Sinclair.  This difficulty was offset by his appointment in 1914 as an inspector for the Dominion Fisheries branch.  (Some records suggest that this appointment occurred in 1911).  This was later followed by an appointment as a ranch land inspector for the Dominion government. Sinclair retired in 1924 after what can only be deemed to be a varied and interesting career which also included holding the appointment of Justice of the Peace, an office which he held under four lieutenants-governor.

Sinclair, known to many as Jocky, was twice married.  In 1883, he married Miss Lydia McKenzie in Prince Albert.  Three sons and two daughters resulted from this marriage.  After his first wife’s death in 1892, he married again, this time to Miss Myrtle Armstrong.  One daughter and one son were born from this union.

After being seriously ill for about a week, Sinclair died at home at 7:00 a.m. on March 24th, 1933.  His funeral took place at St. Alban’s Cathedral on Monday, March 27th, with Archdeacon Hedley Holmes and Canon Strong officiating.  The pallbearers were Mayor Hugh Sibbald, William Traill, George Will, Harry Ross, Angus McKay, and Fred Wright.

John Edward Sinclair is buried in the family plot at St. Mary’s cemetery.  His wives, Lydia and Myrtle, as well as his niece, Muriel, and her husband, George Powles, are also interred in that plot.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

The year Saskatchewan burned

Fred Payton
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The year Saskatchewan burned

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

SPRING !! proclaimed the headline on page one of the April 2nd, 1919 Prince Albert Daily Herald.  Underneath two signs of spring were detailed.  L.R. Peters of Canwood told of seeing gophers on the road as he travelled into Prince Albert, while many local people were reported to have seen crows flying around the night before.  “Has spring arrived”, the newspaper queried, responding to its own question with, “So it would seem.”

Just a few days before on March 31st, in its page three Local and General column, the paper had quoted S.W. Thompson of the Forestry Department, who stated that all the fire rangers “will be out patrolling their usual beats in about two weeks.  There will be about twenty-eight men sent out, some of them old hands and many of them returned soldiers.”

Few, if any, would have predicted the outcome these two stories presaged.  The early spring, following a winter of low snowfall, led to dry conditions along the forest fringe of northern Saskatchewan.  The twenty-eight men would certainly have their hands full, old hands or not.  The month of May would see what has led people to refer to the year of 1919 as the Year That Saskatchewan Burned.

When Saskatchewan and Alberta became provinces in 1905, they received nearly equal powers to all the existent provinces with the exception of natural resources, including oil, gas, coal, and forests.  As a result, control of forest fires remained the responsibility of the federal government’s Department of the Interior, Dominion Forestry branch.

Saskatchewan’s forest fringe had become home to many settlers, looking for a new life farming on their homesteads.  More men, returning from fighting in the Great War, were being provided with lands on which to settle.  The practice of burning brush as they cleared land was common and had, previously, not caused a problem.  But in this unusually dry time, this practice became a hazard.  Fires would get away, and burn more than had been intended.

Combined with this was the practice of those lumbering in the Sturgeon River Forest Reserve who would cut and slash, take the timber they wanted and leave behind those parts of the trees which were not useful to them.  As Merle Massie points out in her book Forest Prairie Edge, “the rotting slash, change in forest canopy, and new rank growth of leaf-producing aspen, set the stage for a disaster of near-epic proportions in the spring of 1919.”

Dry conditions north of the North Saskatchewan River resulted in bush fires breaking out throughout northern Saskatchewan and Alberta.  By May, the region was devastated by wildfires.  The Daily Herald later pointed out that “once the blaze develops into a conflagration, Hades is loose, and little can be done to check it.”  What became known as The Great Fire spread from Lac la Biche in Alberta, east across the Saskatchewan forests, through Green Lake and Ile-a-la-Crosse in Saskatchewan and much of the boreal plain.  Farms burned, livestock was killed, and homesteads were devastated.  Fires endangered communities across the area, including Big River and Montreal Lake.  Nearly three million hectares burned, and three hundred people were left homeless.

The June 12th edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald carried a story about Bishop Newnham’s trip with Mr. Barker of the Hudson’s Bay Company as they travelled to Montreal Lake.  The fire crowned at one point, resulting in having to turn back their team to avoid the flames.  Five minutes later, they travelled through what had been a green bluff but was now a blackened patch of charred tree stumps.  The ecological devastation noted by the bishop included the soil and even muskeg having burned, game suffering heavily, with young birds and eggs being destroyed.  Even the roads suffered, with bridges being destroyed and dams built by the lumber companies being burned.  The Bishop also noted that for a week, thirty of the indigenous men worked virtually day and night under the direction of the rangers to fight the fire and assist in repairs.

On June 17th, a letter appeared in the Daily Herald.  It was signed by a number of citizens of Big River, and expressed their appreciation for the loan by the city of Prince Albert of a fire engine and hose, and the work of Fire Chief Smith and his men who had been transported by a special train to “soak parts of the town likely to be fired from the forest conflagration,”  The women and children of Bog River had been evacuated by train and scow, leaving behind about four hundred men who worked industriously to save the town and the saw mill, apparently with the aid of some of Prince Albert’s fire department.

Although the Daily Herald suggested that the fires had started in the forest reserves, scientists and historians have pointed the finger at homesteaders and settlers and their increasing agricultural expansion on the southern forest edge.  Eager to clear the land for farming, they continued to employ extensive brush burning even during the dry conditions of the spring of 1919.  A story in the Daily Herald of June 17th that year would appear to confirm that the settlers and homesteaders were at fault.  The story was headlined “Twenty-three Convicted Breach Forest Fires Act”.  Issued that day by Inspector R.R. Tait, it contained the summary of cases disposed of during the month of May in the Prince Albert division of the Saskatchewan Provincial Police.

Two additional cases were heard on that same date, with farmers from St. Walburg and from Honeymoon being fined $25 dollars and costs each resulting from prairie fires, while a Kinistino man was fined $50 and costs for a similar charge.

Another story in the Local and General column on page three of the paper told of an Albertville man who had lost his house and contents, with an estimated value of $3,500.  He carried no insurance.  The story also noted that a number of other settlers in the area had lost buildings.  All were the result of wildfires.

The June 2nd Daily Herald carried a story on page three which suggested that the forest fire situation in Saskatchewan might be over.  “The fire situation seems to have passed the danger point as there appear to be no serious fires prevailing now.  The fire brigade received no calls yesterday.

Over the next three years, the number of ranger cabins and look-out towers was doubled.  Patrol trails and telephone line were extended and upgraded.  This was done in an effort to cover more of the timber area, and provide earlier notice and suppression of future fires.

In 1930, the Government of Canada transferred the rights to natural resource to the Province of Saskatchewan, making the province responsible for forest fire suppression.

                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

North Polls Scandal, aka the Ballot Box Scandal

Fred Payton
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North Polls Scandal, aka the Ballot Box Scandal

When I was researching my column on Samuel James Donaldson, I came across a reference to the North Polls scandal. I had never before heard of such a scandal, and determined that I would do further research on that subject when time permitted. That research would likely have still been sometime in the future had it not been for a comment in an email request which I recently received from a former Prince Albert citizen now living in British Columbia.  She was interested in a totally unrelated subject but, in explaining her interest, she included a statement that her husband’s relative had been involved in what she termed the Ballot Box scandal. Further correspondence established that the North Polls scandal and the Ballot Box scandal were one and the same.

To research this matter, I turned to some early Saskatchewan historians, including Norman Fergus Black (The History of Saskatchewan), John Black (Saskatchewan and its People), and Dr. Arthur Silver Morton (head of the University of Saskatchewan’s history department, provincial archivist, and member of the Prince Albert Historical Society).  I also reviewed a more recent history, Bill Waiser’s Saskatchewan: A New History.  Neither the North Polls scandal nor the Ballot Box scandal were mentioned by any of them. The only mention I could find was in a paper by Norman Ward, the former head of the University of Saskatchewan’s Political Science department. In an article dated May 16th, 1958, and entitled “When the Losers Won”, Dr. Ward noted that “the reason 151 votes for Tyerman were set aside was that they were recorded in three remote polling divisions where in fact no poll had been held”. 

Ward’s article indicated that the election of which he was writing was Saskatchewan’s first election after it was created as a province, an election which was held on Dec. 13, 1905. The electoral district involved was Prince Albert County, a district which did not include the city of Prince Albert, but a sprawling, lightly populated constituency to the north of our community. Peter David Tyerman, Liberal, was declared elected with 411 votes, while Samuel James Donaldson of the Provincial Rights Party had received 316 votes. Ward notes that the Saskatchewan Executive Legislative Directory includes a footnote that “On April 12, 1907. By order of the Legislative Assembly, 151 votes recorded for Peter David Tyerman were set aside, and Samuel James Donaldson was declared duly elected.”

Having determined when the election in which the scandal had occurred, I felt compelled to find out as much information as possible. 

Our archives do not have Prince Albert Daily Heralds for the period of 1905 to 1907 but, fortunately, we do have copies of the weekly Prince Albert Times.  Combined with these newspapers and the Regina Standard, I was able to piece together what likely happened.  But first, some background information would appear to be appropriate.

Two regulations governing the first Saskatchewan election are important.  The first was Section 12 of the regulations.  It stated that72 hours before nomination day the returning officer shall sub-divide the district into polling divisions and post the result of his work in a prominent place showing the boundaries of each polling division.

Section 13 read that if a demand is made by 6 o’clock on nomination day for additional polls, provided none is of those asked is within twenty miles of any other, such new polling divisions shall be established by the returning officer, provided that there are at least ten resident electors in the polling district demanded. Those requesting a new polling division must also provide a Statutory Declaration that there are at least ten resident electors in the requested division. Both candidates shall be immediately notified by the returning officer of any such changes made to the first posted list.

On nomination day, Dr. Tyerman made application to the returning officer to have polls established at Pine Point, and Sandy Lake or Bear Lake. No Statutory Declarations, as required, ever came to light.  Had such declarations been made, those making them would have been guilty of perjury as it was determined that there were fewer than ten resident electors in the requested polling divisions.

It was proven that two days prior to nomination day, four men left Prince Albert and travelled into the territory north of the city to the community of Shellbrook.  Two of these men were Dominion government employees, one a deputy Fisheries inspector, and the other a Farm Instructor to what then were known as the Indians. The other two men had no capacity with either the Dominion government or the Provincial government.  Both were, however, very knowledgeable with respect to the populace in the areas for which the additional polling divisions were requested.

These individuals left Shellbrook the evening before nomination day

According to the two Dominion government employees, they spent election day in Ile-a-la-Crosse, a community in the Battleford’s constituency.  However, even though they claimed to have no involvement in the electoral process, they returned polling books and ballot boxes for Pine Point and Sandy Lake. The ballots taken in these locations were, according to the poll books, taken the day following election day. As a result, when the two Dominion government employees were charged with failing to follow the Election Act, they pled guilty and were given an insignificant fine. The ballots, all 151 of them, were for the time being counted in the favour of Peter David Tyerman.  (The magistrate who heard the case had found that it was beyond his jurisdiction to disallow the votes.)

Interestingly, the poll book listing of those who voted contained the same names as were contained in a poll book from the Battleford constituency.  Amongst these names were individuals who had died before the election, children of an age which precluded them from voting, and man who proved that he was more than one hundred miles distant when he was supposed to have voted.

Dr. Tyerman did make an effort to resign his Legislative seat when he was advised of what proved to be electoral chicanery, but as his election had not yet been “gazetted” he was unable to do so. Interestingly, he did not make a similar effort after his election had appeared in the Gazette. It took considerable time (from December 1905 to April 1907) for him to be unseated. Tyerman’s political life continued in Prince Albert when, in subsequent years, he was elected to the Public School board.

Donaldson was finally allowed to sit in the Legislature after April 12, 1907.  He won two successive provincial elections in that seat, and was elected in 1915 to the House of Commons.

Tyerman died in Prince Albert on May 16, 1958, and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario.  Samuel James Donaldson died on March 14th, 1926, and was interred in South Hill Cemetery, Prince Albert.

Museum Musings: P.A.C.I.

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: P.A.C.I.

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

Larry from up 2nd Avenue stopped by the other day.  Although he never went to P.A.C.I., he has happy memories of riding his bike around the school grounds when he was a lot younger than he is now, and of sitting in the bleachers on autumn Saturday afternoons, watching the high school football games which were, at that time, announced by yours truly from a window (now bricked in) on the back of the auditorium stage.  After reminiscing about these things, he pointed out that I had never written a column about “the old school on the hill”.

For the most part, prior to 1888, secondary education in Prince Albert was provided by the churches, starting with the Presbyterians in 1866, the Anglicans in 1878, and the Roman Catholic sisters in the school established in the house Lawrence Clarke sold to them.  Records from 1888 indicate that the Public School Board was responsible for the High School branch of the “Union” School, and the trustees of Nisbet Academy invited the Public Board to use the Academy for high school classrooms.

Unfortunately, the Academy burned down on January 1st, 1890, and this began a series of moves for the high school classes beginning in the Club House (known as the Royal Hotel by the autumn of that year when Maud Montgomery began classes), to the Hughes building (rented to the School Board by the Masonic Lodge for $6.00 a month), to Central School (which quickly became overcrowded), and finally to the former Presbyterian church building on the corner of Avenue A and 11th Street West.

In the Spring of 1907, a public meeting was held to discuss the future of secondary education.  This resulted in the election of the first High School Board in Prince Albert.  Although D.W. Adam became the first chairman of the Board, with Sheriff Graham Neilson, Judge T.G. McGuire, The Reverend C.G. Young, and A.H. Woodman as members, it was really Sheriff Neilson who was the impetus behind the construction of P.A.C.I., and on October 14th, 1907, the Board took the necessary steps to raise $95,000 to purchase the site and build the school.

Twenty-five architects submitted plans for the High School building, some from as far away as Toronto and Vancouver.  It was an Edmonton architect, Roland W. Lines, who was selected.  Most of Lines’ work was for buildings in northern Alberta, although he designed one other Prince Albert building – the Union Bank building, which stood on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and 12th Street West.  That banking firm was later taken over by the Royal Bank of Canada, and Lines’ building was demolished in the mid-1960s and replaced with the current building (now Hope Health Centre).  Lines served with the Canadian Armed Forces during World War I, and was killed in action overseas.

The cornerstone of the building was laid on August 4th, 1908 by Mr. C.O. Davidson, the Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge of Saskatchewan.  The building’s construction did not run smoothly.  The contractor, Sam Brown of Winnipeg, was given notice of eviction in August, 1909, but after a number of fractious meetings, the Board agreed to allow Brown to complete his contract.  It is unclear if the Board’s decision to let all the sub-contracts themselves caused the initial difficulty, or if the Board gaining control of the sub-contracts during the meetings, cleared the way for them to allow the contractor to complete his task.

The Board’s pride in the new collegiate building can be seen in the landscaping which was completed.  Trees and shrubs were ordered, as was Kentucky blue grass.  The iron fountain, which still stands in the lawn to the north of the building, was ordered in 1911.  The iron balcony over the original main doorway on the north side of the building was the work of Ralph Henderson, an immigrant from Scotland who arrived in Prince Albert in 1906 and established a blacksmith shop on 6th Street East.

The original school grounds, although only approximately half the size of today’s school yard, were planned to ensure that they could be used for various athletic and physical activities.  The Board, it is said, felt that sound bodies would result in sound minds.  It was not until 1926 that the second half of today’s school grounds was added.  We have pictures in the Bill Smiley Archives to show that 21st Street originally ran straight through the school grounds, from 1st Avenue West to Central Avenue.  The portion of the current school grounds south of the street was provincial Crown property which the Province decided to gift to the High School Board in 1926.  (This was several years before the provincial Crown land now known as Kinsmen Park, previously Bryant Park, was gifted to the City.)

It was the school’s literary society, including Olive Freeman, who chose the school colours of red, black, and gold.  They also chose the school motto, “Conatu Vincimus”, which translates from the Latin as “By striving we succeed”.  The school song, “All Hail to the Collegiate” did not make its appearance until 1922.  The author of the lyrics is unknown, but the song is sung to the same tune as that of Dalhousie University.  The yearbook, “The Cynosure”  (centre of attraction) made its debut in 1934.

In 1909, P.A.C.I. was referred to simply as the New High School.  From 1911 to 1924 it was called Prince Albert High School.  From 1925 to 1974 it was known as Prince Albert Collegiate Institute, while from 1975 to 1990, when it was a junior high, it was referred to as Prince Albert Central Institute.  It has now returned to being called Prince Albert Collegiate Institute.  P.A.C.I. now has another meaning:  Pride – Achievement – Courage – Integrity.

Through the years, there have been many interesting situations and events.  In the spring of 1912, the first tennis courts were built just west of the collegiate.  The courts were fenced, the surface was clay, and the structure was still there into the 1960s.  Also in 1912, an Army Cadet Corps was established in the High School.  Two years later, some land was acquired for use as an aid in the teaching of agriculture.

In February of 1916, the City Health Officer closed the school as a result of seven cases of measles.  During the flu epidemic of 1918, the school was again closed as it served as a temporary hospital.  Many of the senior boys volunteered as porters at the hospital.

During the Second World War, the school again had an Air Cadet Corps, and eventually an Air Cadet Band.  The band played in all the Victory parades, and in 1944 played in the “Pet” parade, as well as for the annual Cadet inspection, as well as at the Sanitorium.  In addition, each class form had its Red Cross representative and a war savings stamp salesman.

The school’s population had grown considerably by the late 1930s, and an addition was built on the south side of the school in the late 1940s.  This alleviated the problem for a short time but, by June 1953 classes were staggered once again to meet the accommodation problem.  By September 1956, both teachers and students went on a “shift” system.  P.A.C.I. students attended studies during the morning, while Riverside students attended classes in the afternoon.  On February 4th, 1957, Riverside opened, and P.A.C.I. students were able to return to normal school hours from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Many and varied are the graduates of “the old school on the hill”, as are their achievements.  From leaders in the First Nations community (Freda Ahenakew, Sol Sanderson), to professional athletes (Marshall Johnston, Orland Kurtenbach), to authors (Gerald Friesen, Douglas A. Hill), to actors (Graydon Gould, Janet Laine Green), to opera stars (Jon Vickers, Lesia Zubrack), to scientists (Ron Allen, Earl A. Christiansen), to captains of industry (Ted Newall, Allan R. Taylor), in the past one hundred and fifteen years the school’s graduates have gone on to greater accomplishments.  It will be interesting to see in what professions the graduates will lead in the future.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: The Holmes Block

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: The Holmes Block

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

In the early 1900s, Prince Albert could lay claim to two buildings with the designation The Holmes Block.  One was located at 808 Central Avenue.  It was in existence from at least 1909, although by 1919 it was known as the Shannon Block.  The other Holmes Block, which still exists, was on the southeast corner of 1st Avenue and 8th Street East.  It is this latter building with which we are presently concerned.

Born on Augst 31st, 1850, Andrew Holmes lived in Heiton, Roxburgshire, Scotand, where, at the age of fourteen, he apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner.  Crossing the Atlantic at the age of twenty-three, he spent a few months at the Red River before coming to Prince Albert, arriving here in August of 1883.  He would appear to have been quite an accomplished carpenter, as Ida Clarke Thompson, indicated in her article in “The Voice of the People”, a book of reminiscences of early Prince Albert residents.  She told of viewing a sideboard which Andrew had built for his new bride:  “a beautiful sideboard,” arousing her childish admiration, “the drawers lined with purple velvet.  It was real craftmanship of which there is little today.”

Between 1883 and 1895, Holmes, in partnership with H.B. Garvin, established himself as a contractor within the town of Prince Albert and surrounding area.  Serving as a sergeant under Major Irvine during the 1885 Resistance, Holmes was stationed at Fort Carlton until its evacuation.  After the dissolution of his partnership with Garvin, Holmes became active in municipal politics, serving as a councilman in 1896 and 1897.  With Prince Albert’s elevation to city status, he served as an alderman from 1904 to 1909, and as Prince Albert’s mayor in 1910 and 1911.  It was shortly after his political career ended that Holmes began to host a levee on New Year’s Day at his newly constructed home on the corner of 6th Avenue and 19th Street East (now Killarney Kastle).  Citizens from that era would relate how everyone in the community would be invited, and those who came would enter through the front door, receive a beverage and snack, and then be escorted out the back door.

By 1904, he and his older brother Thomas were identified as the owners of a grocery and men’s furnishings store.  Andrew continued to operate his contracting and building firm, while Thomas managed the store from the premises on the corner of 1st Avenue and 8th Street East.

By 1913, the store on 8th StreetEast was listed in the Henderson’s Directory as “A. Holmes & Company Departmental Store; Fancy & Staple Dry Goods, Boots & Shoes, Groceries, Chinaware, etc.”  The following year, it was listed as “Andrew & Alexander Holmes Groceries, Provisions, Crockery & Glassware”.  Andrew Holmes’ son, Alexander George now ran the 8th Street store, while Andrew’s older brother Thomas appears to have moved on to another store within the city.

The year 1919 brought two items of note.  Andrew was now the provincial game warden, while 808 Central was now known as the Shannon Block.  The death of Thomas also occurred in that year.  On page six of the February 4th edition of the Daily Herald, was a report of the death of Thomas Holmes, brother of Andrew and general merchant.  He was described as “kindly and likeable, charitable”.

In the February 6th edition of the Daily Herald, it was announced that Thomas’ funeral would be held the next day from Howard’s Funeral Home.  Beside this brief story was an advertisement announcing that A.G. Holmes Grocery Store on 8th Street and T. Holmes, Central Avenue, would be closed from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in respect of the memory of the late Thomas Holmes.

The 1925 Henderson’s lists Alexander as a grocer occupying the premises of101 – 8th Street East, but by 1927, when the next Henderson’s was published, the occupant was listed as Prince Edward School.  Alexander had closed not only the grocery business, but had also sold the business (apparently to the Prince Albert School Board) when he moved permanently to Lethbridge, Alberta.  Andrew, his father, moved to Calgary in 1927 and joined Alexander in Lethbridge in 1946.  Both died and are buried in Lethbridge.

Reports of the School Board meetings in 1926 indicated that there was considerable overcrowding within the local schools.  As a result, two classrooms were opened after Easter that year, in an attempt to alleviate this situation.  Both classrooms, for beginner students, had at least twenty-five students when they opened, but quickly grew in size, with the enrolment in one exceeding forty students by the end of the month.  As a result, the School Board made the decision to renovate the entire building to accommodate these students, as well as those from the Ninth Street School and some from Central School.  This was the initial location of Prince Edward School, and would remain as such until the new school was built between 11th and 12th Streets East between 5th and 6th Avenue (now the location of the Saskatchewan Rivers Board office).

By 1934, when the new Prince Edward School was opened, the Holmes Bock was vacant.  The ground floor would remain so until 1942 or 1943.  Although it has not been determined if the School Board retained the property or sold it, the upper floors were returned to suites, and a resident caretaker lived on site.

By 1943, the Prince Albert Public Library had been located to the main floor of the Holmes Block.  The library had been located on the second floor of City Hall (now the Margo Fournier Arts Centre) for a number of years, but its secretary-treasurer, S.J.A. Branion (who had been mayor of Prince Albert from 1925 to 1929) and Muriel Macarthur, the librarian, wanted more space and greater permanency.  The public library remained in this location until 1950 when it moved to the former Prince Albert Men’s Club at 50 – 12th Street West.

The Holmes Block did not remain vacant for long.  The Prince Albert Health Region located to it in 1951, remaining in that location until 1955 when it became the headquarters for the Saskatchewan Power Corporation and its Gas Supervisor, J.F. Howarth.

The main floor of the building became vacant again in1960 when Saskatchewan Power Corporation move into its new building on the corner of Central Avenue and 14th Street East.  Aside from the upper floor suites, it remained vacant until Orville Hjertaas opened his Community Clinic in 1962.  It was also the home of the Prince Albert and District Community Health Services in 1963.

In 1965, Garand Agencies, a real estate firm operated by Paul Garand, filled the vacancy left when the Community Clinic moved into its new premises across 8th Street.  They remained on site for about two years, after which the main floor once again became vacant.  From 1967 until 1976, only the upper floor apartments were occupied.  During this time frame, the building was owned by various landlords, including Jack Harasyn and Len Silzer.  In 1977, Bill Wasyliw opened Riverview Agencies on the main floor, remaining there until the early 1980s.  At the same time, in 1977, Velma Ackland opened Velma’s Boutique at 820, the southwest corner of the main floor.  She lasted a couple of years before that space became vacant.  It was occupied once again in 1980 when Cliff Scott opened the Hair Fashion Salon.  This business still exists.

After Riverview Agencies moved out of the building, Custom Computing Systems, managed by Brian Walker, moved in.  In 1982, the business became known as Allied Computer Stores.  In the Henderson’s of 1983/84, this business was gone, and again the apartments on the upper floors and the Hair Fashion Salon were the only spaces occupied.

In 1986, Making Memory Photographers, owned by Larry and Mona Markwart, moved into the major main floor space.  In 1989, Larry was listed as the building’s owner.  They remained in the building until moving by 1993 to their new premises on 10th Street East, a building which was lost to fire a few years later.

With the major main floor space vacant, Markwart sold the building to Orest Rebryna, who owned the building from approximately 1995 until 1999, when he sold the building to Michael Paul.

More recent information regarding the Holmes Block suggests that the apartments have been turned into condominiums.  The main floor continues to be unoccupied.

Although occasional name changes have occurred with respect to the building (the Klein Block in the mid-twenties and the Rebryna Block in the 1990s), it retained its original name in the Henderson and similar listings through the years.  Along with the house he built at 585 – 19th Street East, this block remains as a reminder of one of this city’s early pioneers.

 fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: the 1925-26 federal elections

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: the 1925-26 federal elections

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

As the electors of the Prince Albert constituency prepare to head to the polls next week, I thought it might be interesting to look back to the three times local electors were required to cast their ballots in federal elections in 1925 and 1926.

The first of these elections occurred on October 29th, 1925.  There was really little of significance with respect to this election.  The incumbent, Andrew Knox, who had been elected in the two previous elections as the Progressive party candidate, was once again to carry their banner in this election.  The Conservatives would be represented by John Diefenbaker, while the Liberal candidate would be Charles McDonald, a former city alderman and two-time member of the Legislative Assembly.  Not surprisingly, although Diefenbaker received more votes from the city polls, McDonald displayed the strength which had powered him in the provincial elections.  He received more votes in total than Diefenbaker and Knox put together.

Nationally, the general election in 1925 had left the Liberal party with 101 seats, fifteen fewer than the number won by the Conservatives.  With support from the Progressives (24 seats), Labour (2 seats) and 2 Independent candidates, the Liberals managed to cling to power, having convinced the Governor-General, Lord Byng, that they would be able to form government.

Locally, however, the aftermath of the election was very significant.  The leader of the federal Liberal party, William Lyon MacKenzie King, went down to defeat in his constituency of York-North.  This meant that the leader of the party did not have a seat in the House of Commons.  Charles McDonald and the executive of the Prince Albert Liberal association weighed the merits and concluded that if King would be willing to agree to their requests, McDonald would resign his seat and allow MacKenzie King to run locally.  (One of these requests was that the Prince Albert area be guaranteed the National Park which they had been denied thus far by the federal government.)  Officially, McDonald justified his decision to step down based on the speech from the throne in which the newly elected government indicated that they would move quickly ahead on the completion of the Hudson Bay railway, something which had been long desired by both local residents and area farmers.

King agreed to the requests of the local Liberal executive, McDonald resigned his seat, and a by-election was called for February 15th, 1926.  The local Conservatives, after deliberating the matter, chose not to contest the election, while the Progressives made it clear that they would support the Liberals in the House of Commons and in the by-election.  However, some individual Conservatives and some individual Progressives were unwilling to see an acclamation, and a local farmer, D.L. Burgess, was nominated as an Independent candidate.  King won the by-election with an overall vote of 7,925 votes to 2,299 votes.

Following his success in the February by-election, King took his seat in the House of Commons on March 15th, 1926.  An article in the Daily Herald indicated that “pages and pages of unanswered questions have piled up on the order paper, and more than a hundred different questions, it is understood, will be answered this afternoon.”  It was expected to be a day “without parallel”, given the number of questions on the order paper.  For the time being, King was back in his familiar position, in control of the Government of Canada.

It was not long, however, before King found things going “off the rails”.  There was a scandal in the Ministry responsible for the Customs and Excise department.  Three Liberals, three Conservatives, and a Progressive member were appointed to report to the House of Commons with respect to the scandal and, upon reporting to the House, the Conservatives moved a vote of censure against the Liberal government.  MacKenzie King was determined to avoid a vote on the motion, and went to the Governor-General requesting that the House be dissolved and that an election be called.  The Governor-General refused his request and asked the leader of the Conservative party, Arthur Meighan, to form a government.  (The King/Byng crisis remains one of the most hotly discussed situations in Canadian politics and, to this date, whether or not the Governor-General’s decision was appropriate, or even legal, continues to be argued).

Meighen formed government on June 29th, 1926, but it lasted only until July 2nd when his government was defeated.  The people of Canada were once again going back to the polls for a second time within a year, and the electors of Prince Albert were returning to the polls for the third time within that year.

With the defeat of the Conservatives, the front page headline in the July 2nd edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald informed its readers that the “Local Political Bodies Will Act in Near Future”.  Dr. Thomas Robertson, the president of the federal Liberal Association, stated that their executive would hold a meeting shortly in order to prepare for calling a nominating convention.  Richard Mulcaster, the vice-president of the Conservative Association, noted that John Diefenbaker had been nominated in March, shortly after the February by-election, to once again be their candidate.  He indicated that he expected that the party’s executive would meet shortly to discuss organising their campaign.  The executive of the Progressives also indicated that a meeting would soon be called.

On the 5th of July, the probability was that a Labour/Progressive candidate would be nominated to contest the Prince Albert constituency.  Alderman Harry Davis’s name was suggested as a possible candidate.  Davis worked as a car man for the CNR and was active in their union.  Andrew Knox, a member of the Progressive party who had represented Prince Albert as its Member of Parliament twice before, indicated that he had no knowledge of any agreement by the Progressives to entertain an alliance with the Labour organization.

A meeting of prominent Liberals occurred during the afternoon of July 6th to discuss the situation.  No steps would be taken, however, until a constituency-wide convention was called and a candidate named.

It was the next day, July 7th, that it was announced that MacKenzie King would be invited once again to stand for the party in Prince Albert.  It was expected that he would accept the nomination.  (King had also been asked to accept the nomination for the Liberal Party in his former seat of York-North, and would be considered as the possible candidate in Vancouver Centre).  Should King refuse the Prince Albert nomination, there were other candidates being considered, including Charles McDonald, George Langley (a former Member of Parliament), and Harold Fraser.

It did not take King long to reply to the offer of the local nomination.  According to Harold Fraser, he indicated that, were he to be nominated, he would accept.  A nominating convention for the Liberals would be called for July 20th.

A well-attended meeting of the federal Conservative Association determined at a meeting on the evening of July 10th that they would formalize the candidacy of John Diefenbaker.  All parts of the constituency were represented at the meeting, at which they also organised a Young Conservative club, and decided that their club rooms would be in the Manville Block.

As of July 12th, there had been no decision made by the Progressive Party with respect to a local candidate.  A meeting held the previous Saturday had informally discussed and decided that they would wait until after a meeting of the provincial executive, which was to be held on the forthcoming Saturday.

On July 17th, the local Liberal Association met at the Memorial Hall to select the delegates to their Party’s nominating convention.  The meeting was chaired by Dr. R.L. King, president of the federal association, and was addressed by Harold Fraser and J.E. Lussier.  Thirty-two delegates were chosen, as well as 32 alternate delegates.   The address by Mr. Lussier praised the unity between producers and consumers which the Liberal government had managed to achieve during their recent time in power.  Mr. Fraser pointed out that Canadians wanted the Constitution to be adhered to.

The Liberals’ nominating convention was held in a packed Orpheum Theatre with Dr. Thomas Robertson presiding, and the Honourable W.R. Motherwell as the featured speaker.  MacKenzie King was not in attendance, but wired his acceptance of the nomination.  As the leader of the federal party, he would be campaigning nation-wide, opening his campaign in Ottawa where he spoke about the “illegality” of the Governor-General’s decision and of Meighen’s dissolution of the House of Commons.  He also spoke about the Customs

scandal, and declared that a Royal Commission should be called to enquire into it.

The local campaigns were well underway by July 24th.  The Liberals opened their committee rooms on 1st Avenue West, in a building which is no longer existent.  They later transferred their committee rooms to the old Royal Bank building (now the site of the Abrametz Law Office) on 1st Avenue West. The Conservatives had moved their committee rooms to the former Presbyterian church on 11th Street West.  There was still no formal announcement of a candidate for the Progressive party.

John Diefenbaker opened his campaign at a meeting at Wild Rose, and on July 28th he addressed a ‘big meeting” in Big River (reported to have been the biggest such meeting ever held there).  He dealt briefly with the “real issues of the day”.  Later that evening, he addressed a meeting of the Young Conservatives, and the next day spoke to meetings at Red Deer Hill and MacDowall.

Given his success in the city during the February by-election, Diefenbaker concentrated his campaign in the rural areas.  He spoke in Paddockwood, and at the nearby schools of Chesley and Dorothy.  He also addressed meetings at Canwood, Duck Lake, Lily Plain, and Henribourg.  Due to illness, he was unable to address a Conservative meeting at Wakaw, where he was represented by W. Franchuk and F.C. Cousins

Using oratory that mesmerized court rooms, Diefenbaker entertained his audiences with attacks on the Liberal government.  He stressed the Customs scandal which had occurred under King’s government, openly accusing them of allowing tax free alcohol to enter Canada to be consumed by Liberal cabinet ministers, and silk dresses to be worn by their wives.  He claimed that, although the Liberals had dropped the tariffs on automobiles, they had increased it on farm machinery and clothing.  He focused on old age pensions, tariff reforms, and promises made by the Liberals during campaigns but forgotten once they were in office.

Diefenbaker closed off his campaign with a rally held in the Orpheum Theatre, where he claimed that it had been the Conservatives who had built the Hudson Bay Railway.

With MacKenzie King busy campaigning on behalf of the Liberal Party nationally. the Honourable T.C. Davis spoke to the Young Liberals in Prince Albert on July 28th, and on July 29th the Liberals held a meeting in Wakaw, with Charles McDonald and Dr. R.G. Scott speaking.

Other prominent local Liberals spoke at events, including Harold Fraser, Aime Besnard, Dr. Urich, J.E. Lussier, and George Ens.  Like King, they tended to focus on the legality of the Governor-General’s decision in June, and the need for Canada to have a workable constitution.  Like Diefenbaker, the Liberals held meetings in various rural communities, including Steep Creek, Shellbrook, and Lily Plain.

King did spend a couple of days in the constituency, travelling to Marcelin, Prince Albert and Wakaw, as well as Rosthern on his way to Saskatoon.  The meeting in Prince Albert, held in the Armouries, is reported to have been attended by approximately 2,000 people.

Of interest is the fact that both parties had individuals give some speeches in French at locations where the French language was predominant, the Liberals more often than the Conservatives.

Neither the Progressives nor Labour entered the election.

The final result of the local election was William Lyon MacKenzie King as the winner, taking 8,933 votes, and John Diefenbaker with 4,838 votes.  King expended $2,819.35, and Diefenbaker spent $1,603.80.

                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

Museum Musings: R.D. Brooks

Fred Payton
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Museum Musings: R.D. Brooks

Frequently the Brooks name has been in the local news over the past few weeks.  Having been active in pursuing the history of Prince Albert and area, I was familiar with another Brooks who was often in the news beginning a century ago.  At that time, were you to hear someone speak of R.D., you automatically knew that they were referring to R.D. Brooks.  Brooks being a fairly common name, it was not until a recent conversation with Donna that I connected the two Brooks families.

Ruggles D. Brooks came to Prince Albert from a small northern Ontario settlement called Tashota, where he had operated a freighting business.  Once in Prince Albert, Brooks became active in freighting and road building.  In the 1925 edition of the Henderson’s Directory, a listing appeared for Brooks Construction and Transport at 1601 – 2nd Avenue West.  Kenneth Brooks was listed as the assistant manager.  The 1929 edition of the Henderson’s also listed Brooks Construction, which had its yards at the corner of 16th Street and 2nd Avenue West.

Brooks Construction was active in road building throughout the province, as well as building “grade” for the railway tracks.  This involved moving dirt to, or from, the potential railway line.  Tracks between Lloydminster and Unity, in Alberta (Vegreville and Two Hills areas), and in the area of Dawson Creek, British Columbia, rode across tracks which were laid on “grade” established by Brooks Construction.

It was, however, for the development of northern Saskatchewan that R.D. Brooks was best known.  He contracted to freight for the Hudson’s Bay Company and for Revillon at La Ronge and Stanley Mission, and he agreed to deliver the Lac Du Brochet trade goods at the south end of Reindeer Lake.

This was deemed to be a tremendous undertaking as Southend was ninety miles (145 kilometres) beyond the Churchill River.  It would entail a round trip from Prince Albert of 700 miles (1125 kilometres), which would take well over a month to complete.  R.D. was told that it couldn’t be done.  Even if he could haul the payloads, the men and the horses would be unable to stand the trip.

Brooks was not deterred.  He built stables large enough to hold thirty horses at a distance which could reasonably be covered by a days’ travel.  A heated tent was supplied for the men’s sleeping accommodation, and a cook and cook-car was provided.  Contracts were let for hay to be cut and stored along the way to provide for the horses.

Brooks Construction even built a road between Stanley Mission and Southend, with the rocks of the Pre-Cambrian Shield blasted out of the way, or corduroy roads being built over them.  To provide for snow removal, R.D. improved on the existing system of clearance by using a series of push-poles from one sleigh to the next, so that the lead sleigh with the plough would receive support from the horse teams following behind.  (This seems very similar to the “tush-push” used by the Philadelphia Eagles!).

Although the first attempt to haul into and back from Southend was not successful, owing to insufficient hay having been cut and the weather being more severe than usual, R.D. was known for his tenacity and did not give up.  He once again faced extremely severe weather conditions, but with twice the hay laid up for the horses and flexibility in scheduling, the return shipment, employees, and horses all returned.

Another of R.D.’s businesses was his fish business.  He ran a string of fishing camps in the north and would haul fresh, frozen fish from La Ronge into Prince Albert on his return trips from La Ronge  .This business improved considerably after R.D. began using air freight, first by forwarding cargo through Canada Western Airways and then Cherry Red Airlines.  Eventually, in 1930, he bought his own Buhl Standard Airsedan.  He began air freighting during the 1930 Christmas season and by March of 1931 more than 54 tonnes of freight were lifted into northern Saskatchewan.  This over a period of 80 days.  In addition, he sent the plane to Tashota, where he flew an additional 36 tonnes into northern Ontario and Manitoba.

R.D. used the plane to fly fresh fish into Prince Albert and Saskatoon, allowing the residents of those communities the opportunity to eat fish caught in northern Saskatchewan in the morning to be eaten for dinner that night.  He also flew fish from northern Saskatchewan into the United States, where it was sold as Brooks Flying Fish.

Brooks also used the plane for scenic tours over the Prince Albert National Park and the area around LA Ronge.  Tourists, prospectors and others were carried into the far north by Brooks Airways Limited.

After his son, Hiram, his pilot and another employee were killed in a crash at Emma Lake on June 21, 1933.  R.D. appeared to have abandoned the airline business after that.  Brooks Airways eventually passed out of northern Saskatchewan aviation on May 14th, 1935 when Wings Limited from Winnipeg leased the company’s remaining aircraft and transferred them to use in Manitoba.

During the 1940s, Brooks pioneered the change from horses to gas caterpillar tractors on the northern freight haul.  This was the final innovation implemented by R.D. Brooks before his retirement.  But what a career for which he can be remembered.  A strong personality, a tenacious individual, and so very capable of overcoming what seemed to be overwhelming odds.

fgpayton@sasktel.net

MUSEUM MUSINGS: THE MCDONALD BLOCK

Fred Payton
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MUSEUM MUSINGS: THE MCDONALD BLOCK

Fred Payton

Prince Albert Historical Society

Although we have lost many of them, Prince Albert’s downtown has many old buildings with wonderful architectural interest.  I enjoy stopping and looking at them, and thinking of how many people have walked past them, shopped in them, or worked within their walls.  Were I asked which of them is my favourite, I would be hard pressed to choose.  But amongst the top three would have to be the McDonald Block.

The McDonald Block, built in 1912, has stood on the corner of Central and 11th Street West, and watched the many changes which have occurred through the years.  It was there when the Mitchell Block burned down, when the first purpose-built police station was opened, and when the original town hall (now the Margo Fournier Arts Centre) was vacated in favour of rental space in the former Holy Family Nurses Residence, as well as when the current city hall was built.

A three-storey brick building, it served as home to the druggist and his family when he moved off of River Street.  In fact, it served as a drug store from its opening in 1912 until 1967 when it received new life as a banking financial institution called Northwest Trust.  Currently On the Avenue Art Gallery, you can still see the original drug vault which later accommodated the needs of the Northwest Trust (and, later still, the Continental Bank) for safe storage of their cash and other valuable assets.

Originally McDonald’s Drugs, it later became Liggett’s Drugs, then for a year Tamblyn Drugs and, finally in 1957, Rowe’s Drugs #2.  Apparently Liggett’s owner was not a local resident, as the store was managed throughout the years by individuals such as J.M. Deane, L.V. Dare, George G. Thompson, W.L. Giles, and George Badger.  As Rowe’s, it was managed primarily by Neil Shewchuk.

Long-time residents of Prince Albert might remember Allan Barsky’s Lady Bug store on the main floor in the early 1970s, and possibly as Gedir Consulting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, or one of the financial services companies, Beneficial Finance and Associate Financial.

Through the years, the upper floors have served as homes to doctors, dentists, lawyers, and real estate firms, as well as residential apartments.  Lawyers who have had offices in the building include Clyne Harradence, Val Longworth, Tom Ferris, and Larry Zatlyn.

On the west end of the building, in a space that opens onto 11th Street West, there have been a number of occupants.  In 1919, C.P. Erwin had a jewelry shop.  H.W. Davy opened his electrician’s business in that space in 1925, and continued in that accommodation until 1938.  Max Carment’s father shared the space with Adamson Jewelers from 1941, first as an optometrist and later as the jeweler.  Hinz Radio was in that location from 1950 until1960, after which it was the home for Fred Allen, an insurance specialist and then Blacklaw’s Agency.  Grey Cab operated from there from 1964 until1980.  Other businesses included The Diet Centre and Investors Group Financial Services.  This space actually was built over the property where Hugh John Montgomery (and his daughter Lucy Maud) resided.

It is not simply the building’s tenants, or even the grand nature of the building itself, that draws me to the building.  It is the man who had it built, and his life story, which I find compelling.

Charles McDonald was born in Meigle, Perthshire, Scotland on March 2nd, 1867, the son of George Wood McDonald and Clementine McDonald (nee: Chalmers).  His family emigrated to Canada when he was two years old, resulting in Charles being educated in Renfrew County, Ontario.  At the age of seventeen, Charles began employment in the drug industry.  In 1893, he married Florence Oran of Belleville, Ontario, and they became the parents of two daughters.  The Charles McDonald family moved to Prince Albert in 1898, with McDonald purchasing an established drug business on River Street West (likely that of Eastwood Jackson, Prince Albert’s first druggist).

By expanding his stock, McDonald soon expanded the business’s trade.  He also became active in the community, including in the Methodist church and the local Liberal organization.  He served six years on the school board, before being elected to City Council, serving for four years, including two as mayor.  In 1917, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly and, in 1921 he was re-elected by acclamation.  It was during his first term in the Legislative Assembly that McDonald demonstrated his courage (or, perhaps, his stupidity).  He joined with Inspector Sullivan of the Provincial Police in seeking two of the three individuals alleged to be responsible for the Steep Creek murders.  They were armed, and believed to be hiding in a hay stack on a farm east of Prince Albert.  On a Sunday morning, he and Sullivan walked up to the hay stack and convinced the two men to surrender.

In 1925, he sought the federal seat in the House of Commons and defeated his two challengers (former mayor William Knox and a brash young lawyer by the name of Diefenbaker).  He easily won the election, receiving more votes than both of his opponents combined.

It was in that election that the leader of the Liberal party was defeated in his riding of York North.  McDonald agreed to resign his seat to allow MacKenzie King to run in a by-election in Prince Albert.  One of the commitments which he required of King, however, was that Prince Albert should be rewarded with the establishment of a national park in the area.  King was elected in the by-election early in 1926, and the Prince Albert National Park was opened in August, 1928.

McDonald had retired from his business as a druggist and moved to British Columbia.  In 1935, when an opening occurred for a Senator from that province, MacKenzie King rewarded McDonald by appointing him to the vacant seat in the Senate.  Unfortunately for McDonald, as he was travelling by train to Ottawa, he had a heart attack and died.  It is believed that McDonald is the only Canadian to have been elected to the House of Commons and appointed to the Senate without taking a seat in either House.

                                                                                fgpayton@sasktel.net

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