KREW KUTS: Our Historical Record - 1965

By Bernie Krewski

ORAL HISTORY

“When is it too soon to write history” is the subject of a recent discussion in “The Economist,” the well-known British news magazine. This constant question arose once again following the publication of Eric Klinenberg’s “2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed” – about the arrival of COVID-19, the pandemic.

Ian Kershaw, the English historian regarded as one of the foremost experts on Hitler and Nazi Germany, offers reminders of when he was a student in the 1960s. History then was deemed to “end” in 1914. That concept was also familiar to me at that time while studying American history. As students, we were acutely aware of the unwritten “fifty-year rule.” That is, it would take at least a half-century to accumulate sufficient documentation (release of government records, publication of biographies, reminiscences, etc.) to compile the true story of most events, for example, World War I. Documentation meant researching existing paper copies.  

That began to change in the 1970’s with the flourishing interest in the merits of oral history. The CBC was the Canadian pioneer in oral history, having the largest collection of taped interviews relevant to the story of this country. As noted by the Director of the Public Archives of Canada, “oral history does not ‘create’ records, but rather it records responses available in no other form.”

Interestingly, the “fifty-year,” no-history custom fits the early history of Oyen and the surrounding villages but for other reasons – they were newly created communities. Oyen had no written history by 1965. Several communities published small booklets: “Sibbald Community History, 1910-1962” and “Esther Community History” in 1962, printed by the Hanna Herald. Bindloss and Empress did so as well, separate copies of “Golden Memoirs” in 1965. These are valuable initial resources mostly consisting of memories and reminiscences.

David Snideman recognized such historical shortcomings in The Oyen Echo on April 27, 1965: “It is unfortunate that we could only produce a sketchy outline of [Oyen’s] history. On the other hand, we hope that this might stimulate more detailed research, as…the records of the past should not be allowed to disappear as they form an important part of the heritage of Alberta.”

FIRST DRAFT

Having few resources to consult, and obviously relying on bits of information picked up here and there, namely oral history, here is what he wrote.

The settlement of the community started in 1910 and received its name from a Norwegian settler, Andrew Oyen, who sold his homestead for a townsite. The area was populated by settlers arriving from Ontario, Washington, Iowa, Idaho, and Nebraska. The end of the line was at Kindersley. The rest of the journey, close to 70 miles, was mostly done by walking the distance.

The town site was surveyed in 1912 and the same year the Mounted Police Post was established with Constable Brian Walker and Charlie Stewart riding from Brooks. The religious services started immediately and were held in the homes of settlers with the first preacher being Rev. G. Steele, and in 1915 the first church was erected. They did not neglect education and Miss Ruby Scott was the first teacher teaching in 1911-1912. The arrival of the railway in 1913 gave a strong impetus to the growth of the community. The first hotel was built in the same year and the first newspaper started by Charlie Dunford in 1914 called the Oyen news.

The recreational side of pioneer life was not neglected either and in 1912 a hockey team and ball team comprised of both American and Canadian players was organized. Despite its remoteness and isolation, the community was not separated from the rest of the world and during the 1914-18 war, 138 volunteers from the district joined, out of which 11 lost their lives in active service.

Besides the man-made calamities, the area had several blizzards and prairie fires with the most disastrous fire in 1916 which swept over 50 square miles with the resultant loss of several lives.

The community was incorporated on January 17, 1913, and formed into a village.

This brief outline gives only the highlights and mentions a few events and names at random. The true story could be arrived at only through painstaking research and imaginative interpretation and I would strongly urge that this be done as part of the Centennial Celebration.

CALGARY HERALD

The Calgary Herald published a brief news report on August 5, 1965, indicating “Oyen Applies For Town Status.” According to requirements established by the Alberta Department of Municipal Affairs, communities must have a population of 700 residents. Oyen’s then was 825. This is how the Herald reporter described Oyen:

 “Oyen was known as Bishopburg until the arrival of the railroad in 1913 when it was incorporated as a village. It is the trading centre of a large dry-farming and ranching area and is well-known to hundreds for its abundance of wild ducks, geese, partridge, and prairie chickens. At present, Oyen has six grain elevators and a municipal hospital, as well as adequate education facilities. Outside of dry-farming and ranching, the prime business of the town is greenhouse produce.”

UPCOMING

Highlighting many events and developments in 1965.