KREW KUTS: Piecing Together Oyen’s Past – 1924

By Bernie Krewski

This is a series of news items from 1924, offering glimpses of life in this community a century ago. How similar are they to events that occur now – or how different? That is the challenge for those with historical interests.

PEOPLE

On February 26, the Calgary Daily Herald carried a featured article on Mr. and Mrs. Clifton Riel of Oyen, who were celebrating their 50th wedding in Vancouver. It included a photo of their original witnesses – Mr. and Mrs. C.P. Riel of Prince Rupert B.C. and George Riel of Oyen. The event was attended by 200 relatives and friends. Mr. and Mrs. Riel are 70. Mr. Riel is known as “Dad” among the railwaymen on the Goose Lake line. He has been operating the pumping station here for the last twelve years. Mrs. Reil is well known for her charitable work in the Oyen community.

Mrs. J.A. Robinson has just given birth to twins (December 15). She is the mother of 18 children, although not yet 34 years of age. Ten of those children were born as twins. Eleven are living. Dr. H.C. Swartzlander, who attended at her births, was more than busy. Eighteen hours later, another local mother, unnamed, also gave birth to twins. More details about the Robinson family can be found in Many Trails Crossed Here, v. 2, pp. 456-457.

Mrs. J.H. Cooper opened a general store in February 1918, selling groceries, dry goods, and boots and shoes. The Cooper Trading Company also bought wolf and muskrat skins. Harry, her husband, manages the Oyen Hotel. Mrs. Cooper and their son are moving back to Calgary in August so their son Joseph, a brilliant student, can attend Hebrew school and continue his violin studies.

In November Mrs. J. Cooper, Harry’s mother, joined them at their Calgary residence, 105 City Hall Square. She has just arrived from the city of Smolensk in the Soviet Union. Her departure, fortunately, was not questioned by Soviet authorities, a common practice. She and her son had not seen each other for 21 years. Mrs. Cooper had a difficult time during the war and was very glad to come to peaceful Canada, she said. Her son has been a resident of Calgary for 30 years. For the last seven years, he has had business interests in Oyen, where he also has a residence.

Much less joyful was a news report on the death of Bernard McCadden, a CNR employee, on May 27. A container of coal oil exploded when he was attempting to start a fire at his village residence. He was taken to hospital but died soon after. William, his brother, suffered severe burns to one hand. Bernard was a war veteran, settling here in 1911. He leaves a widow and two children, probably living on a farm.

In August, another war veteran, Sam Orpen, was reported missing from his home in the Buffalo district. He has been in poor health for some time, leaving a wife and three children feeling quite abandoned. The provincial command of the Great War Veterans Association has been asked to assist in the search.

Another terribly tragic event was the accidental death on August 3 of Roy Herbert Gripp, age 18. Shortly after midnight, Roy and his brother Clarence were returning home in a Ford run-about. The car overturned a mile south of town, and Roy was killed instantly. Clarence miraculously escaped any serious injury, simply stunned when thrown from the car. Dr. Swartzlander, in his capacity as coroner, and the provincial police visited the scene of the accident on Sunday morning. An inquest was held on Monday. The funeral held at the Union Church was filled, reaching out to the sidewalk. The pallbearers were Charles Sweeny, Charles Nelson, P.A. Watrin and Sam Bowen. Roy Gripp was born in North Dakota, September 21, 1906. His family came to this district 1910. He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Gripp, brothers Clarence and Leonard and three sisters, Helen, Leona, and Mrs. J.V. Sullivan.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

An announcement in the Canadian Gazette, the public information agency of the federal government, indicated that a tract of land in township 3, range 28, west of the fourth meridian, has been reserved by the RCMP for use as a pasture. This was not fully explained. At that time 1917 – 1932, the Alberta Provincial Police was responsible for law enforcement in many areas of the province.

The APP was indeed active here, especially because Prohibition laws were introduced in 1924. Constable Dobbin discovered a complete still and six quarts of intoxicating spirits at the home  of H.E. Saggs. He was fined $200 for operating a still and $100 for keeping liquor for sale. Unable to pay these fines, he was sentenced to a seven-month term in the provincial jail at Lethbridge.

In the spring, there was brisk activity in the search for oil south of Oyen. The location is “about 20 miles northwest of the point where the Saskatchewan River crosses the boundary between Alberta and Saskatchewan.” Geologists for the Canadian Oil and Refining Company made extensive searches last summer and located “a large uplist” exposed in the big cut banks of Saskatchewan. Drilling at another oil site, the Fuego Oil Well south of Oyen has reached 1,560 feet.

During the summer there were 85 applications for the three vacancies at the Oyen Public School (that included high school). These teachers were engaged for the coming year: W.L. Irvine, Calgary, principal; Miss Lulu Bishop, Coleman, grades 6-8; Miss Agnes Laidlaw, Claresholm, grades 3-5; Mrs. J.W. Robinson, primary school, taught here previously.

Pomeroy’s Plaza Radio Orchestra, based in Calgary, recently returned from a five-month tour of the Orient (i.e. Asia), played at Oyenon on Friday, October 11. It was greatly enjoyed by a large crowd of dancers.

Several families are under quarantine for scarlet fever and diphtheria. Opal McMurray, daughter of Charles McMurray, who was dangerously ill with diphtheria, is now on the road to recovery. There are three cases of smallpox -  a businessman at Benton, and two families in Oyen are quarantined. It is regarded as a moderately mild type. An  outbreak of measles also occurred for several weeks among children.

The annual two-day Oyen Fair on July 24 & 25 was reported to be the “Best Ever.” With a large attendance, “everybody seemed to be happy,” perhaps because “crops are a little better here than in most places. The quality of the cattle and horses exhibited would have done credit to any fair.”