VILLAGES AND DISTRICTS
Prior to the arrival of the Ukranian settlers the land near present day Willingdon, Hairy Hill, Two Hills, Vegreville and surrounding hamlets (known collectively in the late 1800’s as the Whitford Lake District) was range to Indian tribes, primarily the Blackfoot, Cree and later the Salteaux. These were displaced to some extent by settlers comprised mainly of farmer fur traders, ex- North West Mounted Police officers and Metis veterans of the Riel Rebellion of 1885.
For some time prior to that the North Saskatchewan River and, to some extent the Vermillion River, saw traffic in the form of fur traders, Indians and explorers- most notably of these being the North Westerners of 1812 and the Palliser expedition of 1858. The discovery of gold near the Shandro Ferry by the Palliser expedition brought in an influx of miners into the region. A Methodist mission was established at Victoria and a Hudson’s Bay post was built some 12 miles to the north. During this period buffalo were plentiful near Whitford Lake and were killed in great numbers by the settlers.
In the early 1870’s the “white man’s disease” (smallpox) spread amongst the indigenous Indian tribes, decimating their population. In their place the Salteaux Indian tribe took up settlement on the western shores of the lake, the first of these to be Frederick Desjralais. Adjacent to the Salteaux Indians a settlement began with the arrival of Philip Whitford (of the Palliser expedition) and his successors. In support of Riel the majority of the Salteaux tribe left to join him. When the Riel Rebellion of 1885 failed the Salteaux Indians did not return to the area and it was opened up to settlement. The first white settler is said to be W.R. Breton, from the Hudson’s Bay Company who was followed by John Gordon, an ex member of the North West Mounted Police. Around 1892 American settlers began to arrive in the region.
In 1895-1896 prairie fires drove out most settlers, while others were headed for the Klondike Gold Rush, which was spreading feverishly across the continent. Once again the area was abandoned except for a few die- hard settlers. It was only with the aggressive settlement policy of Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier and Clifford Sifton, and the subsequent trickle of Ukrainian immigrants that the area would finally begin to take permanent shape.
By the early 1900’s that trickle turned into a steady stream. These “sheep skinned” immigrants were met with some displeasure by the remaining locals, who initially looked down upon them as inferior and somewhat offensive. Myrna Kostash notes in her brilliantly written book “All of Baba’s Children” that in 1897 the editor of the Edmonton Bulletin speculated that:
“if only Clifford Sifton could see a photograph of a newly arrived Ukrainian in all the glory of its ultra negligee attire as it parades through our streets he would have a violent and nauseating feeling in the region of his watch pocket”.
The editor in this case could not even allow himself to refer to the Ukrainians as people and instead referred to them as “its”.
She also notes that in 1899 a writer for the Calgary Herald referred to them as a:
“mass of human ignorance, filth and mortality” and speculated they would give the rest of Canada a “bad name” because “like a hotel or other public place , a country is gauged and sized up according to the class of people who frequent it.”
Furthermore she points out that even the local press took turns at slandering these “garlic smelling peasants”. A writer for the Vegreville Observer, known only as “H.D.”, noted in the early 1900’s that:
“ The average present day Rhuthenian is a slippery proposition; his word isn’t good for much, meester; he will break his promise and go back on his agreement if he feels the least bit like it; and the eighth commandment has a very slender hold on him. With exceptions of course, a good many, particularly among the ladies, have a strong touch of kleptomania; they will commandeer the linen off your washline, annex the clothes from your wardrobe and adopt the spoons out of your drawer…They have the instincts of a primitive people and I have known them to take very mean vengeance for fancied wrongs”
Perhaps the Ukrainian population was a little too kind to this “journalist” who did not even have the courage to use his full name.
Such were the rantings of the largely White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) population of the time who felt threatened that “inferior people” might someday occupy positions considered worthy only for themselves. Such racism and stereotyping prevailed well into the century as even the children of these immigrants often suffered public racial slurs. Who amongst them was not called a “bohunk” while growing up? Some writers have gone so far as to compare them to the “American Negro”, an accurate comparison when one considers that even Canadian chapters of the Klu Klux Klan lobbied against their presence alongside other racist organizations.
Ironically however it was these very Ukrainian settlers that showed the necessary fortitude to permanently settle the region and populate the prairies with new Canadians. Furthermore they eventually occupied positions of power and prestige – through merit and not some perceived “birth right”.
The naming of many of the districts and towns of Alberta ( and other areas) settled by Ukrainian immigrants reflected regions in the "old country" of Bukovina, while others gained there names from the original family names of settlers in the regions. In many instances the names of larger towns take their name from settlers that arrived before the Ukrainian influx, places such as Andrew, Wilingdon, Vegreville, Two Hills and more. The multitude of districts reflects the inability to travel long distances to attend either church or school, buildings which, by this necessity, dotted the country side. Some districts remain, perhaps only in name, but many of the buildings still stand as a reminder of the early days.
What follows a brief overview of the history of some of the more prominent of Alberta's Ukrainian enclaves, accompanied by both historical and present day photographs taken while out on my journeys.
In 1928 the CPR tracks were laid just south of the settlement. In response the settlement picked up and moved south from the Pakan site to meet the tracks. In 1930 it was incorporated officially as a Village, which became “modernized in the 1954- 1966 period with the installation of a sewer system, water system and a Village owned natural gas utility.
Hairy Hill was established in 1907 and was named from the amount of hair shed by the buffalo along the hillsides during the Spring. Initially the village consisted of only a trading post and post office, which were located two miles from the present location of the town. In 1927, with the impending arrival of the railway, a confectionery, hotel and store were built.
Hairy Hill School was built in 1929. By 1942 this was one of the largest schools in the district of Two Hills and housed around 400 students. This prompted the later addition of an additional wing (1949) and a gymnasium and north wing (1955).
A garage was built in 1930, as was a lumber yard and a Treasury Branch. Competition for the Treasury Branch came with the establishment of a Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce branch next to the town hall. The bank was robbed in the early 1930’s.
A livery barn followed, along with a café, pool hall, bowling alley, combined barber shop & rooming house, livestock agencies, a shoe and harness repair shop, flour mill, 2 feed mills, John Deere agency, Cockshutt agency, and blacksmith shop.
Four bulk gasoline stations were set up in succession- Imperial, British American, Gulf and Shell. The owners of the Shell station also set up a fertilizer depot.
In the early 1950’s a poultry killing station was established. A Massey agency sold farm equipment and Dodge vehicles. The garage sold Kaiser- Frazer and Rambler cars, along with Allis Chalmers equipment. A curling rink was built in 1953.
A number of small dealerships and businesses have come and gone over the years. Hairy Hill is no longer the booming village it was once, abandoned for the most part and awaiting resurrection.
Ispas school was built in 1931. It was an un-insulated one room wood structure with a cylindrical heater in the center which took three foot logs for fuel.
The origin of the name of the town of Mundare seems to be under some dispute. One theory is that it was named after a French missionary- Father Mundaire, while another claims the name of the town originated from the an early railway agent assigned to the area- Mr. William Mundare. As early as 1903 the first spelling prevailed and Mr Mundare served around 1906. Prior to the arrival of the railway the area was referred to as “Monastyr”, which referred to the Basilian Father’s Monastery that had been established around 1902. The first post office was established in 1916.
Settlers of Ukrainian origin came to the area primarily from the Halychyna region, an area very similar in climate and soil conditions.
The Hamlet of Norma lies between Willingdon stretching 24 miles south towards Vegreville. Construction of roads and a rail lines began in 1927 and was completed in 1930. A general store with a post office was set up in 1929 and a grain elevator was built in 1931. Growth of the community took off rapidly- In fact the “Edmonton Bulletin” January 9, 1931 edition names Norma as the winner of the CPR Community Progress Development competition for European Settlements for the year.
A second general store was added in 1934, which included a “White Rose” service station. This station was expanded in 1935 to include a store, post office and pool room.
By the late 1930’s there were 4 general stores, 2 feed mills, a blacksmith shop, a shoe repair shop, 3 gasoline outlets, 2 grain elevators, a one room school, six houses and 2 commercial truckers. At one point train service ran 4 days per week, including a baggage and passenger car. For all intents and purposes the Hamlet has disappeared over the years as roads to larger towns improved, businesses moved, and grain elevators and railways were abandoned. Residents followed suit and all that remains now are scattered remnants- the most visible being the old Norma School which still stands at the side of the road.
The district of Pruth was named after the Pruth (Prut) River region of Bukovina by settlers arriving during the early 1900's. Until the establishment of the Pruth School District on November 9, 1909 children in the area attended the Soda Lake and Spring Creek schools. The first one room school was built in 1910. Painted white on the outside the interior was constructed of tongue and groove walls, a cedar shingle roof and fir lumber floors. The school had no insulation in the walls or roof and heat was provided by a huge pot bellied wood and coal burning heater located at the rear of the room. It opened it's doors to students in 1911.
This first school only operated for about 4 - 5 months of the year due to a shortage of teachers and a lack of funds. In 1920 a proper concrete foundation was poured under the school, and addition was added and a teacherage built. A barn was also put up to house the children's horses. By 1926 the school's increasing population required the addition of a second room. The original room served as the junior room, while the new one was designated as the senior room. The school burned down in in 1938, but was quickly rebuilt as another two room school.
With the move to centralization of district schools came the re-location of the senior grade students to Willingdon and Hairy Hill Schools. In 1952 the school was moved from it's original site to the Willingdon School grounds where it was used as an industrial arts classroom. The teacherage was also moved to the same location.
The school building was later purchased by the Luzan Ladies Club and relocated for use as the Luzan Community Center (Hall), which still hosts many functions today.
The settlement- and later town- of Vegreville was named after Father Valentin Vegreville, a French missionary who served the area between the late 1850’s and early 1900’s. Although his primary language, and the language of the colony he settled, was French Father Vegreville also spoke Cree, Assinibone and Montanege- languages necessary to convert the native population to Christianity.
The original site was approximately 7 kilometers southwest of today’s location, but was moved to link up with the railroad line as it snaked through the prairies. The settlement was incorporated as a town on August 15, 1906.
Eventually the mainly Ukrainian population surrounding the town quickly turned the demographics from a French population to what is now recognized as a Ukrainian community.
Vilna translated means "freedom" or "peace". The original site of the Vilna settlement was approximately 2 mile east of the existing village, where a store and post office had been built to serve the Eastern European homesteaders and squatters in the area. The coming of the Grand Trunk and Canadian Northern Railway necessitated moving of the settlement to its' existing location, Mile 90 (NW 20-59-13-W4), an area where the rail lines could be laid with minimal obstruction. The rail lines were in place by 1919 at which time a general store was built. This was closely followed by a hardware store, bank, butcher shop, apartment and rooming house, dance hall and a pool hall. Vilna was incorporated as a village on June 23, 1923.
Most recently the Village of Vlna has undergone a major facelift, due to it's Vilna Main Street Project, which restored or enhanced over 20 of its' historic buildings and the main street. It provides an excellent example of what a smaller community can do with the right resources and a dedicated population.
The community of Whitford moved in full force to present day Willingdon, including the buildings which were skidded to the area over frozen ground. Other businesses followed in 1928 and grain elevators were constructed to handle local crops. The village was incorporated formally in 1928. A sewage lagoon and dump were built the same year. Canadian Utilities supplied light and power beginning in 1929 and a voluntary fire department was established in 1930. The RCMP set up a detachment in 1932 which only lasted for 5 years, after which time it was moved to Andrew. A liquour store was opened in 1934. The first temporary hospital came in 1935, (a renovated house), followed by a more permanent facility in 1937.
Today Willingdon remains a healthy populated, primarily residential community with basic amenities.
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