KREW KUTS: Newspapers provide colourful details about the Goose Lake Line

By Bernie Krewski

The growth of daily newspapers in Canada was at its peak (soon facing the challenge of radio broadcasts) as the fledgling Goose Lake Line wound its way westward. The luxury of news reports from Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, and Edmonton, supplemented by weekly papers like the Hanna Herald, provided engaging and colourful details about the laying of tracks and the sudden appearance of booming villages.    

1909

On May 22nd, the Saskatoon Daily Phoenix described five rising centres within “the Goose Lake district.” Delisle was designated the “The First Goose Lake Town.” Its neighbour Tessier was deemed to be “The Heart of the Goose Lake District.” Harris was noteworthy because it housed The Goose Lake Roller Mills, producing the only local flour in that area.  Zealandia was called “The Wait and See Town.” Although the rail line had not reached Rosetown, “The Farthest Out of Town,” a group from Nebraska had already lodged the Goose Lake Grain and Lumber Company.

That summer, the people of Stettler were still hoping that the Goose Lake Line would pass through their village even though most of the construction activity was still centred far to the east.

The first freight train went through Zealandia on September 27. Expected to follow soon was a “mixed” train, carrying freight and passengers to Kindersley, the first divisional point on the route to Calgary. By mid-November, grading crews had crossed the border, and the railbed was pointing in the direction of the future village of Oyen.

1910

A reporter from The Globe, a newspaper in Toronto (forerunner to the current Globe and Mail), posed this question on August 17: “Where is Kendersley? Has anyone heard of Kendersley?” He looked at a map and found it “at the far western end of the steel” on the CNR’s Saskatoon to Calgary line. “How do you get there,” he wondered. Then he proceeded to explain.

There is a weekly train from Saskatoon, and it is packed. It stops for the night at Rosetown, where hotel accommodation is limited. “All the restaurants have tiers of bunks where you can try to get a sleep (with emphasis on try).” You may have to sleep on the floor!

This reporter was “allowed to sit up all night in the passenger coach left standing on the track.” A construction train leaves for Kendersley the next morning - all freight except for two passenger coaches. “The Kendersley Express runs when and how it feels like it – taking, as a rule, anywhere from ten to fifteen hours to make the trip of 55 miles.” He elaborates on what he discovers upon his arrival - Kendersley calls itself “The Hub of the Last Best West.”

1911

Nine months later, in April, Alsask appears in news reports. One brief reference crops up in the short-lived Edmonton Capital newspaper. It said: “A town situated within 300 yards of the border of Alberta and Saskatchewan has adopted the name of Alsask. The name sounds like a new breakfast, which may not be so far wrong, considering that they claim they can grow the best oats in the world.”

Two Saskatchewan newspapers were far more welcoming, acknowledging not only the vibrancy of this end-of-steel village but the launching of The Alsask News. Within this  newspaper were the seedlings of The Oyen News that began publishing three years later.   

An editorial in The Phoenix (Saskatoon), April 14, noted receiving the first issue of The Alsask News. “It is a good-looking paper, with good advertising patronage and full of local news. The News calls attention to the value of a good newspaper to a community and the advantages of honesty and optimism.”  The editor describes Alsask’s geographical location, pointing out “it is less than a year old, but now has 125 buildings with all the usual features of a flourishing western community.”

The Morning Leader (Regina), April 27, described The Alsask News as a “newsy sheet” which came into existence on April 6. It predicted it would “be the paper of west central Saskatchewan.” Elaborating further, “215 loads of commercial freight arrived at Alsask in the last month, 120 of these were settlers’ effects, of which fully fifty percent were from the United States. The balance consisted of lumber, coal, machinery and 26 cars of merchandise. Two ballast trains are at work west of Kindersley, preparing for a daily passenger and mail service. Although settlement here did not start until March 1910, it is estimated that no less than 10,000 acres are being seeded in country tributary to Alsask this spring.”

Next column: Imagine the voices of Anne Clemens and Burns Peacock -“The train is coming! The train is coming!”