Update on the St. Albert Historical Society Photographs

The archives has been working at having over 1000 photographs donated by the St. Albert Historical Society available for viewing online.  We are excited that we will have these photographs up in March.

While working on the St. Albert Historical Society's photographs, we found that there are four photographs with a backdrop and the same car. Each image has different families or friends in the car.  On the back of one of the photos someone wrote "Picture taken at Exhibition".  We are curious to know at what exhibition these photographs were taken.

Below are the photographs from the St. Albert Historical Society fonds with the similar backdrop as well as information about each image. Enjoy! 

Laura, Joseph, Pete and Yvonne Delisle, ca. 1917. 2003.01Delisles

 Brenneis and Kluthes in car, 1916 - 1917.  2003.01.992

Matilda Dalton and friends, 1910s - 1920s. 2003.01.1684

Tena Perron, Alex Perron, Chick Harnois, Mrs. Harnois and others, 1910s - 1920s. 2003.01.1732

St. Albert Drive-In Theatre Company

It has been a long time since our last post.  Apologies and Happy New Year!

This post is a call-out to the community.  The archives has had a few requests for information on the drive-in theatre that existed in St. Albert.  Additionally, our next exhibit is on Eastern European immigration into St. Albert.  From recent research for the exhibit, we discovered that one of St. Albert’s Eastern European immigrant families ran the theatre.  Here is information from a recent report:

Opened in May 1953 near a slough off Grandin Road, it was called the St. Albert Drive-In Theatre Company. This was only the third drive-in business in the Edmonton region. With the strong emphasis on family after the War, the drive-in concept became more popular, and it was a popular choice for parents to take their children out without necessitating the costs of a babysitter, as the children could play in a playground built in front of the screen until darkness fell and the film began. It was considered ultra-modern for the time and boasted $100,000 of the newest projection and sound equipment and the largest screen in the Edmonton region. The Drive-In provided spots for 560 cars in addition to seating room for people without vehicles. In addition to Stan Hauptman the other directors of the Theatre were George and Nick Kozub, Frank Ball, Joseph Nimchuk and Walter Swane. The drive-inn remained a popular local attraction until it was closed in 1990.[1]

The Musée Héritage Museum has little information on the drive-in theatre and we are wondering if anyone in the community may have photographs. Leave a comment or send us an email and we would be happy to see what you have.

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[1] Michal Mlynarz, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian Immigration into St. Albert Research Project, Musée Héritage Museum, St. Albert, Alberta. Interim Draft Historical Summary Report, (unpublished, 2011).

Happy Feast Day for Saint Albert of Louvain

Albert Lacombe, OMI, early 1900s.

November 21 is the feast day for St. Albert of Louvain, the patron saint of Father Albert Lacombe, OMI. Lacombe began the mission of St. Albert in 1861 and the City of St. Albert is named after Lacombe’s patron saint.

Who was Albert of Louvain?

Albert of Louvain was born ca. 1166 in Brabant which is in modern day Belgium.  At the age of 12, he was appointed canon of the city of Liege in Belgium.  By the age of 21, he became a knight but later wanted to return to a religious vocation so became canon of Liege again. He was named Bishop of Liege in 1191; however, Albert of Lethel, who had connections with Emperor Henry VI, wanted the episcopacy.  Albert of Louvain asked the pope of Rome for help and he was granted the appointment. Archbishop of Rheims ordained Albert of Louvain bishop but Emperor Henry VI had him murdered. 

St. Albert’s relics and St. Albert, NWT

In 1878, Bishop Vital Grandin was the bishop of the See of St. Albert mission in Northwest Territories (today’s Alberta).  He was given a letter from the Archbishop of Malines to take a holy relic from St. Albert of Louvain to Canada.  Bishop Grandin successfully brought to Canada what was believed to be a bone of St. Albert of Louvain; however, the relic he brought back did not belong to St. Albert of Louvain as was discovered years later. 

In 1919, the cathedral of Rheims was being cleared of debris after a German bombardment.  A tomb was opened which was believed to be that of Odalric, a 10^th century archbishop.  After medical and archeological examinations, it was discovered that the body was actually St. Albert of Louvain. Odalric’s body was buried where St. Albert was believed to be buried and St. Albert’s body was buried where Odalric’s was thought to have been. Thus, the relic brought back to Canada in 1878 was not that from St. Albert’s body.

Information for this blog post comes from:

Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton Archives

Hebert J. Thurston, SJ & Donald Attwater, eds. Butler's Lives of the Saints. Complete Edition. London: Burns & Oates, 1956.

Upcoming Exhibit, Take Your Best Shot

The Wonders of Nature - Photographer Lillianne, age 14

The curator at the Musée Héritage Museum is preparing for our next exhibit, Take Your Best Shot. The exhibit will show the photographs submitted for our youth photo contest and will open on November 22, 2011. The theme of this exhibit is favorite places in St. Albert and all the photographs were taken by youth photographers.


The winners from the contest are:

Age group 8-12:
1st place – Alec age 8 – Trestle bridge
2nd place – Maya age 9 – St. Peter Lutheran
3rd place – Isabella age 12 – River Valley

Age group 13-15:
1st place – Evan age 13- Fireworks
2nd place – Carter age 14 – École Sir George Simpson
3rd place – Nicholas age 13 – Mission: Fun and Games

Age group 16-18:
1st place – Domonique age 16 – Candy Store
2nd place – Shelby age 17 – Farmer's Market

Happy Archives Week!

The province of Alberta is celebrating Archives Week this week until October 8.  Various events are occurring at archives across the province which are listed here:

http://www.archivesalberta.org/default.asp?V_ITEM_ID=169

The Musée Héritage Museum is participating by having the archivist in the lobby of St. Albert Place this Saturday, the last day of the St. Albert's Farmers' Market. We invite you to visit us to learn about what projects we are working on and/or to ask any questions you may have about our services or about St. Albert's history.  You will also have the opportunity to purchase a 2012 Archives Calendar with images from many of Alberta's archives.