Fred Payton
Prince Albert Historical Society
There was a request received recently at the Bill Smiley Archives. It concerned a man named Marcel Chappuis. Chappuis had been a constable with the Saskatchewan Provincial Police and, after the dismantling of that force, with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Chappuis’s story in itself was interesting, but a hand-written notation in the top right-hand corner of one of the documents which we reviewed to respond to the request for information on Chappuis caught the attention of the Archives’ volunteers.
That notation suggested that Constable Chappuis was married to the sister of Adrian Germiquet and an aunt Paul and George.
Who, you may be wondering, were these Germiquets? Why are they of such significance to the history of Prince Albert and area that information regarding them is held within the archives of the Historical Society?
The Germiquet family came to Canada from Switzerland and homesteaded in the Leask area. Adrian, the father, had studied art in high school in his native country, and continued to his studies in artistic drawing and drafting by correspondence after settling in Saskatchewan.
During the Depression of the 1930s, their farm was no longer able to provide support for the family and they were forced to move to Prince Albert where they could apply for “relief”, what social assistance was called at that time. After a means test, if an individual qualified, a meager amount would be paid for doing labour such as digging ditches or building roads.
Paul, Adrian’s son, was assigned to a work crew which was responsible for preparing the beach for tourism at The Narrows in the Prince Albert National Park. This entailed, amongst other duties, clearing the brush and levelling the land.
Adrian was a carpenter with artistic skills. Rather than assigning him to dig ditches for sewer lines in the city’s west flat, the programme’s administrators decided that they would have Adrian paint pictures which would depict their view of Prince Albert as well as what they expected it to look like in future years. Adrian Germiquet painted two pictures, originally done in oil. A local photographer then took photographs of them and the Daily Herald did engravings of the photographs. These engravings can now be seen hanging in the Historical Museum’s stairwell between the main floor and its basement.
When Germiquet painted these pictures he was fifty years old. He had never been in an air plane. The aerial views were simply the product of Germiquet’s imagination. And yet, his paintings display the city as if seen from the air, clearly showing the city in its current state, as well as projects which were currently under construction.
If you visit the Museum to view the pictures, you can clearly see well known locations from the city. On the south side of the river, you can see Prince Albert Collegiate Institute and Victoria Square (the site of King’s Bench Court House. Bohemian Park, the former athletic centre, is also visible, as is the location of the retaining wall which was to become the location of the proposed air harbour.
On the north side of the river, the old Highway 2, leading from the traffic bridge (the railway bridge), is discernible, as are the Sanatorium buildings and the Little Red River. Even the dam, constructed as one of the “Relief” projects, can be seen near the air port.
Adrian’s son enlisted in the armed forces during the Second World War serving with the R.C.A.F. He was killed in action when his Halifax aircraft was shot down in the Baltic Sea during a night attack on Kiel, Germany. George left behind a wife and son. They later moved from Prince Albert to Chilliwack.
His other son, Paul, also enlisted in the armed forces. He was discharged in Regina as a sergeant at the age of 27 (two months short of 28) on August 20th, 1946. He worked as a draughtsman for architects until his retirement, only occasionally doing any art work. Upon retirement, and using his father’s remaining art supplies, he turned his attention to a life of art. Eventually he moved to Vancouver but, after the death of his wife, he returned to Grenfell, Saskatchewan, where he spent the rest of his life.
Although having made a unique contribution to Prince Albert and area, there is no available information about Adrian Germiquet subsequent to his time on “Relief” in the mid-1930s. We are, however, fortunate to have two examples of his work available, work which depicts how this community was viewed during the years of the Depression.
As we approach the end of 2024, I extend my wishes to each of you for a very happy and healthy New Year.
Some of the events in 2025 which you might wish to attend include Coffee and Conversation on January 19th when Dennis Ogrodnick will present on the history of Ukrainian Immigration to Canada, June 7th when a celebration for the 150th anniversary of St. Mary’s Church and Cemetery will be held, and in the autumn when we host the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society annual gathering.