Star-Phoenix from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada • 49

SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1941. SASKATOON STAIMIICENIX PAGE FIVE Dam Makes a Lake in Saskatchewan River Fisher lived in Saskatoon la 1890 when there were only three or four buildings on the West Side of the river. He came to the Saskatchewan district as a superintendent ot the Canadian Northern Railway. Settlers Sent Effects Here By River Boats Captain Andrews relates that la any pioneer country, the rivers are the main 111 I MIMJi W- "tc ir it -I i. I nM1' -a- mi si mm im vmimMKH BdMHMSMMw highways of travel until better forms of transportation can be found.

So It was that in the early days of the North West Territories, the pioneers coming to Saskatoon often shipped their settlers' effects by train to Medicine Hat and then relied upon the river boats to bring them downstream to their new home. Captain E. S. Andrews had charge of some of these boats, and in a narrative in 1912, he tells of his experiences with them. He wrote: Paid For Park When the city fathers bought the park site upon which the City Hospital and the King Edward School are now located, there was a furore, not only amongst the electors but in the council itself.

The idea of paying $1,500 for a piece of property so far out of "town" as it was at that time, was regarded as a piece of extravagance. Now, of course, the City Park is one ot Saskatoon's beauty spots, situated in the centre of a fine residential district It is an ideal location for the municipal hospital, construction of which was started in 1908. The hospital was to have been built in connection with the University, of Saskatchewan, and was to have supplied that institution with a medium for Instruction of medical students. This plan fell through, however, and in 1907, the municipal hospital was established. The first publlo money voted for construction of the hospital was $65,000.

and the original building gave accommodation to between 50 and 60 patients. It contained a well-equipped surgical department and quarters for the nursing staff. It was the first municipal hospital to be erected in Western Canada, and so far as is known, the second such hospital to be constructed in Canada. 'j x. 1 5 there was little cash in the country in those days.

"The year after the rebellion I got a Government cheque for $20 and there was not a person in the whole ssttlbuieat who could cash it. I had to keep the cheque till the next spring when I went to Moose Jaw." Getting married in the early days was an ordeal, Captain Andrews related. He was engaged to Mary Ellen Thomson, and they decided to go to Prince Albert to get married by a Protestant minister there. The trip, made in the early spring, took four days, and when they arrived at Prince Albert, it was 60 degrees below zero. "I gave the pastor (Mr.

Williams of the Presbyterian Church) a ten dollar bill but it grieved me very much," Captain Andrews related. He explained that the wedding ring was made from a $10 gold piece contributed by a man named Malloy, and that the other wedding presents were numerous and costly mainly kitchen utensils." SLEPT IN SNOW "Let me tell of a trip to Bat-tleford," says Captain Andrews. "It was in the winter time and there was no train service then. We didn't have the best of clothing, no fur mitts or fur overcoats as we had not expected to stay the winter. We slept in the snowdrifts, putting our canvas down on the snow and wrapping it around us.

In the morning we poured the balance of the tea on our mitts to keep them frozen so that the wind could not freeze our hands. "When we got up in the morning there would be wolf tracks all around. All we had to eat was hardtack and pork which we cut with an axe." Because he was the only man in the settlement who knew how to splice wire ropes, he was a valuable man, and when the rebellion broke out in 1885 he went to Clark's Crossing to offer his services with Middleton's army. "They wanted to take me on by day, but if I was to follow the army, I wanted a better position. As they had no one else to splice their wire ropes they took me on as a combatant, and I took part in the expedition of the S.S.

Northcote against Batoche," Captain Andrews has written. The South Saskatchewan River, until a dam was built toward the north end of the city, was highly dangerous to boaters but the dam has made a fine lake right in the centre of the city and as you can see, sport enthusiasts are taking advantage of it rfyTTK fv yvSkv sf poster In the Gateway City showed the six mills and the houses. The company, he said, was afraid someone would have the law on them, so they sent a sawmill to Saskatoon. It was erected in Idylwyld, and the foundation was just large enough for the engine. It was about 12 feet long and five or six feet wide.

However, there was not enough lumber to cut It took about two months to saw enough lumber to put a roof on the mill, Captain Andrews recalled. The sawyers used to get lumber from Yorath Island and from Beaver Creek. SOME COOKING The "May Queen" did not make another trip. It was drawn up on the river bank and the engine was taken out and sent to Prince Albert The hull at last broke away from the bank and floated down the river. In 1883 and 1884 there were other boats on the Saskatchewan.

The "Northcote" parUcipated In the rebellion of 1885 and it had a sister ship, the "Marquis." In addition, there was a freight boat named the "Baroness." The cooking, says Captain Andrews, was something to talk about. A half-breed named Andy La Plante, who had been on the Franklin Relief 'Expedition, arrived in Medicine Hat and was taken aboard one of the steamers as and it was some cooking, according to the navigator. LAND ATTRACTED HIM Most of the men who travelled on the "May Queen" did so as a result of the publicity given Saskatoon by land companies in Winnipeg. The men were carpenters and tinsmiths, and expected to get work in constructing the 200 houses which were supposed to be built that year. Captain Andrews came because he wanted to see the country and to navigate the river.

He was stranded at Saskatoon after the "May Queen" was dismantled. He could get no money from the Temperance Colonization Society and so was obliged to spend two or three months In the vicinity of Saskatoon. The land attracted him, so he stayed and became one of the pioneers. A NICE LITTLE BOAT "I was hired by the Temperance Colonization Society in the spring of 1884 to bring: a steamer, the 'May down the Saskatchewan from Medicine Hat to Saskatoon. The boat was bought at Selkirk in Manitoba.

It was a nice little boat more like a pleasure yacht. It was 35 feet over all arid was decked over. It was sharp-bottomed and drew about four feet of water five when loaded. It was shipped on a flat car from Selkirk to Medicine Hat where it was put into the water. "The names of the men who came down on the boat in my charge along with Louis Gougeon, the engineer, were: Sam Kerr, Sandy Marr, Fred Kerr, Fred Smith, Mr.

Hattie, Ed. Maxwell, Ted Keyworth and George Hil-liard. We also bad Fred Sissons, a merchant of Medicine Hat, with a supply of groceries with which he had intended to open up shop. TRIP TOOK TWO WEEKS "We left Medicine Hat on the seventh of May with a little coal on board. The trip took us two weeks and we had no sickness.

The distance was about 400 miles by river. We saw lots of game on the trip down, beaver, antelope, etc. We would hear the beaver at night, slapping the water with their tails. There were lots of mosquitoes. There were no houses to be seen between Medicine Hat and here, not even a shack.

We saw a few surveyors' tents. We did see a store, a couple of houses and a ferry at Swift Current crossing. Although there was only an average of about four feet of water in the river and our boat drew four feet, we succeeded in reaching Saskatoon chiefly because we had the stream behind us. When we got as far as Saskatoon we knew the steamer was not suitable to the river." NOT ENOUGH LUMBER Captain Andrews tells of the disappointment he and the others felt when they reached Saskatoon. They had understood in Winnipeg that 200 houses were to go up that summer and that there were six mills here.

A i S.J 1 1 J'1 sil I J' iiV TOM HAMILTON HAM ILTON ROCK It 728 7th Ave. RUSSELL REID SASKATOOX GROCERY 200 28th St, W. ARCHIE MIDDLETON MIDDLETON'S GROCERY 156 Znd N. E. H.

CRIMP CRIMP'S GROCERY 402 27th W. CLIFF McCLOCKLIN McCLOCKLIN'S GROCERY AND MEAT 401 6th Ave. THE FIRST SALE C. D. Fisher, one-time real estate agent in Saskatoon and later manager of the Saskatoon Industrial Exhibition, is reported to have negotiated the sale ot the first town lot, which was on First Avenue, to Mr.

Kusch. Mr. hi 1941 1 32 YEARS 1909 mi, km. In The Same Location BUILDERS OF SASKATOON THE convenient location of the 15 United Stores in Saska toon makes each one of these stores popular shopping centres in the various communities in which they are established. As purveyors of quality food lines, the United Stores organization in Saskatoon has earned a reputation throughout Western Canada.

Each store is kept bright and clean and offers a complete selection of nationally-advertised lines of groceries as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. Shopping at a United Store takes on added pleasure for many residents in that each of these stores is owned and operated by citizens of Saskatoon men who, like their customers, have a definite interest in Saskatoon, men who have made an investment in their properties, most of them owning their homes here. The profits from their individual enterprises apart from such monies allocated for store improvement have been reinvested in Saskatoon. It may therefore be said that the monies expended with the United Stores stay right here in Saskatoon. Although each United Store is operated individually, the owners make their purchases collectively and through this plan are enabled to effect savings, which by reason of today's competitive marketing and as a matter of policy are passed on to their customers.

The slogan of the United Stores. "Your Dollar Buys More at a United Store," is already well known to Saskatoon. 0. DICKSON MAGNET GROCERY 617 Ave. 1L So.

WES. EMBURY T1IE LORNE GROCERY 1816 Lome Ave. 1 I 'P 'i fj TTTT -ji MIKE CAMPBELL CAMPBELL'S GROCERY K39 Ave. 1), o. ED.

HAMBLEY BEX GROCERY Ave. ho. SASKATOON'S PIONEER SEED AND FEED HOUSE WE HAVE SEEN SASKATOON GROW AND WE HAVE GROWN WITH IT! Thirty-two years is a long time yet a short one, when you consider the progress that has been made in that time. With Saskatoon and adjacent territory as our first field of outlet, our business has grown and flourished till today our products are used in every portion of the world. Truly, our faith in our location has been justified.

Saskatoon we calute you! CONGRATULATIONS SASKATOON ON THE OCCASION OF YOUR 35TH ANNIVERSARY J.H.SPEERS&CO.,LTD. SEED, FEED AND GRAIN MERCHANTS 238 1st S. SASKATOON Phones 4989-5412 i la. 1 i R. H.

MABER JLBER'S VNITED STORE 1300 7U Ave, N. JAKE FRIESEN COMET MEAT AND GROCERY 107 Mth St, W. GEORGE IRVINE IRVINE'S GROCETERU Ml 20th St, W. GORDON E. NOBLE WESTMOfNT GROCERY Ave.

Mo. WILLIAM McKAY X. L. GROCT.UY 901 Ave, No..