27

Claudette (Evasiw) Stetsko continued to recall her early memories.

"The Red and White Grocery store was built and operated by my uncle Mike Ziniuk, and was originally located where the glass shop is today. It was eventually moved onto main street and located near where the present drug store stands. The sidewalks were all wooden, and in the summer kids would fish in between the boards to retrieve any coins that rolled down there. In the summer we would also wait for the ice cream truck to come to Maskaluk's confectionery, because the excess dry ice would be tossed onto the street to melt and was a treat to play with. We learned very quickly the hard way on how to handle it. Kids had to use their imagination for play and in a small town that was easy. The field behind the post office had quite a large slough there, and we constantly looked for old boards to make a raft. One time we found a door and it was a constant contest to see who could get to the slough first to get the door. The whole town watched the children, which was positive in a sense that you knew that if you did something wrong, your parents would find out."

"Even though everyone worked hard at their jobs, they still had time for entertainment. The bowling alley was constantly busy with men and women's bowling. I can remember being paid 15 cents a game to "pin set". We would sit on a ledge just above the pins, and as one person threw their balls, we would jump down and reset the pins on the marked spots and then put the balls in the chute to return back to the bowlers. This job was quite a challenge especially when you had someone throw "speedballs" and the pins would fly everywhere.

"The curling rink was always busy, and bonspiels would draw people from all around. Dad curled for many years and his team was the first team to make an 8-ender in the curling rink. The rink had natural ice, and if we had a spring thaw outside, there was a spring thaw inside the rink.

"The people worked hard and they played hard. Kids lived their dreams in their imaginations and felt safe, even though so many new people were in town. Life was so much safer then. The blend of oil people with the farming community gave children the chance to experience both ways of life and opened up the world for us."

28

Malowany's Garage
Circa 1948
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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First Royal Bank in Redwater housed in Malowany Garage.
Circa 1948
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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The Royal Bank set up shop in Redwater in May of 1949. With no building to locate the bank they rented space in Malowany's Garage.

Norma Anderson grew up in the Egremont area and served during W.W. II in the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force. She came to work in the Royal Bank in Redwater when it opened in 1949. Ray Torguson came to Redwater from Saskatchewan to see what an oil boom town looked like. He stayed on and Norma and Ray were married in 1952. Norma recalls what it was like working at the bank during the height of the oil boom.

"The first Royal Bank was in Malowany's garage. We had a counter set up right in the main lobby of the garage. If they were full and had to repair a big truck tire they would drive right into that room, and do their repairs right in front of us. If people came in the bank they would just have to walk around them. There were only three of us working there, and on paydays it would get pretty busy. The people who were buying the Imperial Esso houses would come to the bank to borrow the money to buy the houses. That kept us busy also.

"The bank manager and teller both had guns. They would put the gun right out on the counter and nobody thought anything of it. When money would come in, the manager and I would go to the Post Office to pick it up. Jim Ewasiw (Postmaster) would wrap the money up in newspapers. The manager made sure to always take his gun with him when we went to pick up the money. One time we ran out of money. Mr. Smith, the bank manager and I had to go into Edmonton to pick up more money. We left about 7:00 in the morning so we could be back to open up at 9:00."

31

The new Royal Bank and store for sale, which became the telephone exchange.
Circa 1949
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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Norma (Anderson) Torguson continued.

"We stayed in the bank from May until September (1949) then moved to the new Royal Bank building. It was easier after we moved, and the bank hired one more employee. The Royal Bank was on the corner beside the telephone exchange, and then there was a bakery, doctor's office, and a Clothing Store. They sold out to Sather's, but they (Sather's) didn't stay in Redwater too long.

"That first winter was very cold and the temperature dropped down to -60F. I rented a bedroom in the basement of a house nearby Tartan Construction. Two girls who worked in the café, also rented a room there, one of the girls was called Bubbles. By the time I walked to work I would be so cold. After Christmas I told the manager I was going to quit if I didn't find a better place. The manager did find us a better place, so I stayed on at that job until 1951.

"In 1951, I went to work for Western Leasehold, when they first opened up, as they paid a lot more money. They paid me $125.00 a month. At the bank I was only earning $90.00 a month with an extra $5.00 northern allowance.

"Ray also worked for Western Leasehold. He also got a job there when they first opened up. After the war, Ray worked in Flin Flon for one winter, and then went to work at Lloydminster hauling oil. He came out to Redwater to see what a boomtown was like, and just stayed on. We dated for about two years before we married in 1952.

"When Ray and I were dating we went to a dance one night in the community hall. It was so funny. There was a one-man band. A fellow sat there and played his banjo and sang. But he only knew one song, and sang it over and over all night. He sang "5 Foot 2, Eyes of Blue" over and over again. He had quite long hair, and it kept flopping in front of his eyes. I'll never forget that dance."

33

View of new Redwater Royal Bank constructed in 1949
Circa 1949
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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Cpl. James S. Brandon, Royal Canadian Mounted Police head of the first detachment in Redwater.
20th Century
Alberta, Canada

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Rumour has it that with the large numbers of oil workers came the twenty-four hour poker games and a huge increase in business for the local beer parlour. The hard working and hard living oilmen added a good deal of excitement to the community. Mable commented on the "wide open boomtown".

"Redwater was a wide open boomtown, there were lots of little cafes all over town, and all of them were booming! One night we wanted to have supper at the hotel, but first Jud went in and checked it out. He couldn't take me in because there had been fighting going on inside the restaurant. Mable Lakusta had a sandwich and pie shop and I helped her - we saw a fight happening right in a truck."

The R.C.M.P., then stationed at Thorhild spent most of their time dealing with complaints in Redwater. It soon became apparent that a station was needed in Redwater. However, finding housing and office space for the R.C.M.P. Corporal and his family was next to impossible. Corp. Brandon, stationed in Thorhild had this to say.

"In fact, we used to make about three or four trips a day…..so the only thing to do was to move to Redwater. But the problem was finding suitable quarters. The quarters at Thorhild had a hand pump in the kitchen sink, no bath, an outside privy. Finally, (In Redwater) John Barbeau found an Imperial Oil house of four rooms, which he purchased. He moved a building to the back of the lot to house the office, cell room, garage, and a single man's quarters - all of which he rented to the Federal Government. And we all moved in on July 2, 1951, and were glad of it".

MEMORIES, REDWATER AND DISTRICT

36

First R.C.M.P. Detachment in Redwater.
Circa 1951
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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The first office was little more than a shack that sat in the backyard of a rented house in the Imperial townsite. Corp. Brandon, the first commanding officer, and his family resided in this home. Having the office in the back yard was just part of their life here in Redwater. The children integrated into the community and the RCMP property became a favourite hangout for the children from around town. Corp. and Mrs. Brandon became valued members of the community and joined in the local activities. Loris (Brandon) Webb recalls what it was like living at the R.C.M.P. Detachment in Redwater.

"I can remember Mum having to cook breakfast for the prisoners if Dad had put some in the jail part of the barracks overnight.
Once he was called out in the middle of the night to an armed robbery. He got home from a successful capture in the early hours and next morning when Mum asked me to check on what the prisoner wanted for breakfast, I returned to cheerfully tell her there were 3 of them. She was horrified, and turned quite white, as the prisoners were all armed yet Dad and the constable had managed to capture them.

"We kids had a great time in the playhouse we made in the other half of the office building at the back of the house. It went from becoming a theatre to a restaurant. We even hiked down to the hardware store and bought some cheap dishes so we could play with them. It was a great gathering place for all the gang."

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Brandon family photo.
Circa 1950
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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Hobo Party The wives of the oil workers enjoyed a Hobo Party at the newly built Mess Deck
circa 1951
Redwater, Alberta, Canada

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The shortage of housing was a huge hurdle and Imperial Esso saw the need to find a solution to this problem. Imperial purchased a quarter section of land on the western outskirts of Redwater. They set to building homes for their employees. Having outgrown Royers's chicken coop they also built suitable office space for their employees.

With the housing shortages being eased people were able to turn their attention to strengthening community bonds. Curling and other sports became a favourite pastime and the women in the community also formed ladies groups as a way to socialize. Mable Cook added her memories of this and how it helped her to feel welcome in a new community.

"At first I felt very homesick, and I missed the city a lot, I didn't know anyone in Redwater. Daisy Brown and Julia Hunchak started a ladies group, to play cards and socialize. A lot of women joined this group and we would meet quite often.

Mildred Cormak worked hard to help the Women's Institute, and had medical items (crutches etc.) at her home for people to use. This was very helpful as we had to go all the way to Radway for medical care."