Sacred Heart College - Stella Oriens Yearbook (Regina, Saskatchewan Canada)

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TOP —Regina in lOOo, 12th Ave. and Cornwall St., showing in the foreground the first Catholic Church in Regina. Graton School. Victoria Square; at extreme left, the newly erected St. Mary ' s Church. BOTTOM —Scarth St.. Regina, IDO. ). Visible in background, the steeple of first Catholic Church and Knox Presbyterian Church.

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THE QUEEN ' S DIAMONDS The year 1942 marks the diamond jubilee of the founding of the city of Regina, therefore we think it appropriate to give a sketch of the origin and growth of our capital city. To anyone viewing the fine modern city of Regina today with its hand¬ some tree-lined streets, modern buildings, network of railways, large and im¬ portant wholesale district, it would seem almost incredible that well within the memory of people still living, the site of this prairie city was far in the wilderness and furnished pasture grounds for the herds of wild buffalo. These sixty years that have elapsed since the first foundations were laid have been full of destiny and have witnessed a development in the city and region seldom equalled in the story of North America. In 1881, the Regina plains lay as they came from the hands of God. There was then neither the house of a white man nor habitation in all the hundreds of miles that extended from Fort Qu ' Appelle to where the Bow River poured its flood through the foothill ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The new Trans-Canada Railroad had reached the Assiniboine river in the vicinity of the modern town of Brandon, and was making preparations to throw its shin¬ ing steel rails into the limitless prairies. In the spring of 1881 took place the last great buffalo hunt. In 1882, 480 miles of road bed were constructed and prepared for the locomotive before the freeze-up,.at that time a feat un¬ equalled in railway construction. Battleford had been declared the capital of the N.W.T., but when it was seen that the railroad would pass far to the south of it, preparations were made to fix a new capital. Matter of the selection was left to Edgar Dewdney, the Lieutenant-governor of the Territories and after much consideration, he fixed on the location of Pile o ' Bones Creek. It is interesting to note that Sitting Bull, the famous Sioux warrior had, after his massacre of the American army en¬ camped on the banks of the Oskana Kasasteki , so named because of a pile of buffalo bones which were noticed there. The first settler in the vicinity was the late Edward Carss, who in Sept¬ ember 1881 picked a fine location at the junction of the Qu ' Appelle and Was- cana. However, the honor of being the first man on the Regina townsite went to the late Demetrius Woodward. There was a letter dated 1882 from the banks of Pile o ' Bones addressed to his wife in Ontario. It is interesting to note that some survivors of Mr. Woodward ' s family, who still live North on Albert are still in possession of the letter. Mr. Woodward died a number of years ago, but his wife, a grand old lady, lived long and passed away two years ago. Shortly before her death she said, My husband always had the TWENTY-SIX

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wandering foot. He had pioneered on the West Coast of British Columbia and then when the building of the C.P.R. began, he was first in the crowd. He would build a good home and then send for me and the rest of the family. Do you know, she continued, it is difficult for me to think of him as dead. I think he has gone to some new, far country where there ' s no more travelling, and 1 think he ' s waiting for us there. In 1882 a French-Canadian named Pascal Bonneau had a sub-contract on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and found himself camped on the site of the new capital. At the request of Mr. Bonneau, Father Hugonard came from the Ou ' Ap- pelle Mission to celebrate Mass for him and his workmen, who were for the most part of the same nationality as their chief. This Mass was celebrated in a tent and was the first ever said on the very spot where Regina now stands. One matter here connected with Regina ' s first season of ' 82 deserves perhaps more than a passing interest. All our early settlers agree that the adequate moisture of our soil, the abundance of water in the sloughs, and the luxuriant grasses and herbage which everywhere met the eye in 1882, could only have been produced by a succession of moist seasons. The Wascana, south of the town was then a creek expansion of fair volume, which exceeded a stone ' s throw in width. Early prices in Regina may be of interest. Wood fetched $12 a load; creek water sold at 50c a barrel; bread sold for 25c a loaf; teamsters got $16 a day, or $1.50 a half hour; carpenters got $5 a day, and tinsmiths made little fortunes. Money circulated freely, and everybody rode the horse of high hopes and great expectation. Carpenters and tinsmiths did not come in for the lion ' s share of circula¬ tion capital in those pioneer days. The hotel keeper was around and pegged his tent wherever a good opening occurred for the disposal of bacon, beef, bunks and beer. At 9 o ' clock on 23 of Aug., 1882, the C.P.R. reached banks of Wascana. A large party assembled in Mr. Van Horne ' s special car with much enthusiasm. Among those present Lieut.-Gov. and Mrs. Dewdney, Hon. Judge Johnson, Mr. D. McIntyre, Vice President of Railway, Hon. A. Smith and Miss Smith, General Manager Van Horne. The christening took place that day and Regina, Queen City of the Plains came into being. The name was chosen by Princess Louise, Great- Aunt of His Majesty King George VI, who was at that time in Canada with her husband, the Marquis of Lome, then Governor-General. Princess Louise died December 1939. D. L. Scott, Q.C. was the first mayor. TWENTY-EIGHT