Lafleche, Saskatchewan

Lafleche is a small community in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. The population of Lafleche is approximately 500.

Community profile

In 1913 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) came to Lafleche. In 1937 after eight consecutive crop failures, the once prosperous Lafleche district was near rock bottom. In dire need of credit, farmers and small businessmen found the bank and other financial institutions had no confidence in their ability to repay. Within a year the people of Lafleche launched the first rural community credit union in the province. [http://www.laflechecu.com/ Lafleche Credit Union] received its charter on April 19th, 1938. In 1956 sewer and water lines were installed. In 1972 with the result of 237 to 37 in favor of building a new rink, on March 9, 1972 Lafleche started construction on a new rink, with donations of $28,539.40 from citizens, $3,500.00 from the TM, a federal grant of $35,907.25, a provincial grant of $41,923.32 and the town borrowing $5,000.00 for a final building cost of approximately $165,000.00. The official opening was held on February 25, 1973. In 2005 Lafleche celebrated its centennial.

Early settlement

The arrival of squatters from 1905 to 1907, followed by the arrival of homesteaders in 1908, caused for a central point for trading and to attract new comers. A village started to form, one and one half miles east of the present townsite. The village was called Buffalo Head, this name was changed in honor of a famous missionary of the northwest who later became bishop of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Most Reverend Louis-Francois Richer Lafleche.

The first known Catholic priest of Lafleche was Father Alphonse Lemieux, parish priest of Willow Bunch. Then the names of Father Gravel and Father Royer appear. Father J. A. Magnan, parish priest of Gravelbourg, attended to the religious services from 1908 to 1912.

The first pioneer to come was Ferdinand Marasse from Portneuf, Quebec. In 1906 he built the first house in which also Mass was celebrated for the first time by Fr. Magnan, April 5th, 1908.

Among some of the first businesses were a post office headed by Postmaster Tom Murphy, a barber, Dick Metcalf, a grocery store and other necessities from Groulx and Lizee store or A.N. Bourassa and Son Store, financial issues were brought to H.R. Forfar, who was the first manager of the Bank of Toronto, repairs and purchases of wagons, binders, and plows were done at Massey Harris or International. Ben Lloyd was the blacksmith, and there was even a pool hall called Denny Murphy's Pool Hall. William Grieg opened the first butcher shop in Lafleche.

Building a school was also important to the citizens of Lafleche. In 1910 a school district was formed and a school was built at the corner of four townships on a quarter of land owned by Mr. Belisle.

In March 1912, there was already a hamlet set on a piece of land owned by F. X. Brunelle. There were a bank, two stores, blacksmith shops, a school district and a school house. The schoolhouse was built on the corner of four townships on a quarter of land that was the property of M. Belisle. In 1912, the railway was built to Expanse,then in the fall as far as Assiniboia. When the CPR line came through, in 1913, lots were divided and businesses in no time opened their shops. Since the rail line did not pass through the hamlet, the houses of the hamlet were moved to the new site on the SE of 2-9-5and soon another village with spacious streets and avenues sprung up and developed rapidly. The streets and avenues were given meaningful names such as Montcalm, Cartier, Papiniau, Brunelle, Frontenac, Laurier, La Salle, and Champlain.

By 1913 there was the following businesses, Square Deal Store, Harness, Palace Livery, Beaver Lumber, Coal, Lafleche Cafe, Murphy's Pool Hall, Metropole Hotel, The Western Trading Co., Lafleche Meat Market, City Dray, City Garage, City Restaurant and Bakery, Glenholm Farm, Chopping, The Lafleche Blacksmith.

Incorporation

Growth was so rapid that a petition was made so that Lafleche be incorporated as a village. The original signers of the petitions were:

* Wm Begin
* Tom Murphy
* Arthur Brunelle
* Hubert Brooks
* D.J. Toland
* J. Bourke
* T.H. Bourassa
* John Dengler
* Louis Renville
* Jos. Delgatty
* George Lonsbury
* Henri DuChesne
* Chas. Brunelle
* Royden E. Greig
* C.R. Racine
* Oscar Ball

Religion

The first church in the community was known as the "First Presbyterian Church" and was built by the areas Protestants. Services were first held in the early winter of 1913 and were conducted by a lay minister, F. W. Therrien.

In the fall of 1913 plans were also laid out for a Catholic church and a rectory, and excavation of the church basement was begun immediately. From France, Father Emile Bubois arrives at Lafleche in May [1914. Appointed pastor, November 22, 1914, he actively helped pioneers to establish in the vicinity and with in five years the population increased from 300 to 600.

Professionals too were soon attracted to Lafleche. Among them we find the following names: Doctors Trudel, Lavoie, Belcourt Sr and Jr.; the pharmacist Adrien Belcourt; the lawyers Cacoursiere, Beaubien, and Colpron.

Telegraph service was established in Lafleche on December 1, 1913. By 1914 the village was composed of twelve blocks.

On August 27, 1915 the Daughters of the Cross accept a new foundation and three Sisters are welcomed in Lafleche to teach first in the public school. Even though a petition was signed requesting the Sisters to remain as teachers of the public school, the Catholics, in minority, and with the consent of the Sisters preferred to ask for a separate school which was granted January 3, 1916.

The construction of the convent was started in July 1916 and finished for Christmas. In January 1917, forty boarders, boys and girls, are accepted. As for day students, their number climbed in less than five years from 40 to 130.

Under the supervision of Mr. O'Leary, Mr. Prichard, contractor from Moose Jaw and Mr J. Fortin architect, began construction of the church on May 3rd, 1922. It was as 56' x 102' brick structure with a seating capacity of 650. There were not five other churches as beautiful in the archdiocese of Regina and its gothic steeple was the nicest in the West.

Economic development

In 1915, many new businesses opened up, Cockshutt Plow Company, a jewelry store, Wyman and Ball (clothing store), a drug store, three lumber yards (Security Lumber, Beaver Lumber, Citizens Lumber), the Lafleche-Meleval Farmers Elevators, Purity Oil, Kennedy Grain, a livery and feed barn, Real Estate and Loan Office. In 1916 a millinery was opened up which made fur hats to order. Two other private millinery stores were opened, one which became a regular was called Ladies Ready-to-Wear. Leo Brunelle, operated a grocery store but also began to take measurements for men and had a complete line of samples from which to choose. Adolphe Campeau took orders after Leo Brunelle left.

In 1919 water had to been hauled to town from the Rosy farm, professional nursing services were available by Nurse Noble. In 1921 all school children were inoculated for typhoid fever.

It was becoming clear that the Catholic Church that had been built was quickly becoming too small for the growing congregation so a new on was designed. Under the supervision of Mr. O'Leary, Mr. Prichard, contractor from Moose Jaw and Mr J. Fortin architect, began construction of the church on May 3rd, 1922. It was as 56' x 102' brick structure with a seating capacity of 650. There were not five other churches as beautiful in the archdiocese of Regina and its gothic steeple was the nicest in the West.

In 1922, it was the year of the Big Bank Robbery. On May 24, thieves broke into the Bank of Hocheloga, blowing the safe but were unsuccessful in opening. Constable Pete Whitelaw was shot in the thigh while trying to apprehend the culprits. As a result, spent two months in a Moose Jaw hospital. In September, robbers once again visited the village. Telephone wires were cut and shots were fired at Mrs. Vick's(telephone operator) and Chas. Chan and Alex Stewart's. No money was taken and the robbers fled by car.

In 1927, trees were planted on both sides of Main Street. A fire brigade was organized, with Nap Deuast as fire chief. Cement sidewalks were built in September of that year. Rest Rooms were opened for women also at this time.

In 1927 or 1928 a Men's Ready-to-Wear store was opened by Lawrence Lazure, next to the Globe Theatre. His office was shared by Mr. A Tissot, who was Lafleche's first photographer. The Globe Theatre began to show "sound" movies. This theatre was operational till about 1942 by Mr. Passmore but he sold it to Mr. E. Flynn. The theatre building is presently the Club 50. Before 1927, the people would watch silent movies in the basement of what is now the Legion Hall.

In August of 1928, the Shaunavon Electric Company furnished electric lights and current to the village of Lafleche. By November 1929, street lights outlined Main Street.

The thirties saw hard times in the community of Lafleche. People worked for twenty cents an hour and team and man for sixty cents an hour. Rent was three to five dollars a month. Despite the drought, Lafleche was to become a village of cleanliness and beauty. Boulevards were laid out on street adjacent to Main Street and trees were planted. Ernest Colpron planted trees that was once an empty lot and is now the site of Lafleche and District Health Center.

Many of the buildings were built of lumber and with unsafe heating furnaces, many fires were reported. Lafleche did not have very good fire preventive measures, with only two teams of horse and two water tanks. Many of the first building were destroyed by fires and most of the livery and feed barns were burned. In 1948 a fire destroyed a third of the buildings on the east side of Main Street which led to the purchase of a fire truck and equipment, and a siren alarm.

Dick Metcalfe, was the first known barber of Lafleche and began business in 1910 to about 1920. Due to a heart attack, Metcalfe was replaced by many other barbers over the years. Azarie "Joe" Campeau worked there throughout the twenties. He built a new brick shop up on Main Street but later returned to the old barber shop for his business. The brick house was taken over by his brother to be used as a liquor store.

Women could also get their hair done in beauty salons. Mary Bacon had her "Beauty Shop" over the first pharmacy in Lafleche in 1928. Grace Whitman had her "Beauty Parlor" located in her house until she left. Mrs. Bogdan operated her beauty salon in the forties, and later Kay Dandurand continued here until the building burned down. Mrs. Campbell began hairdressing in her home, but later moved to a building on Main Street.

Lafleche survived the thirties and the early war years of the forties. In 1943, Dr. Belcourt was appointed the first Municipal doctor, and Lafleche took over the operation of a hospital in 1944, establishing a hospital district in 1945.

In 1947 Saskatchewan Power signed an agreement with Lafleche to supply electrical energy.

Town

The Village of Lafleche applied for Town status on June 1, 1953 because of the ever growing population. Lafleche became a town with C.P. Dewulf as the first mayor.

In 1954 vapor lights were installed for the town by Saskatchewan Power Corporation and in 1956 the town received water and sewer in it. The sewer main construction began in 1957. A big event was in June, 1958 when the Town Water Sewer Plant was officially opened.

In 1960 a piece of land was bought for the purpose of a landing strip for light airplanes. In 1961 Saskatchewan Government Telephone constructed a new dial office and telephone. Water meters were installed in residences and business places. Automatic telephones came in operation on July 5, 1962.

In November, 1961 a curling rink with three sheets of ice came into operation.

As a tribute to Saskatchewan's 60th anniversary the town of Lafleche built self-contained housing units for senior citizens. The Wood River Centennial Home was opened on July 8, 1967.

In 1969, streets were paved in Lafleche. 1971 was the Homecoming Celebration. 1973 saw the opening of a new skating rink. On October 24, 1977, the Wheatland Lodge was opened as an eighteen suite, senior citizen low rental housing building.

Mail service

From 1909 until the railway came, mail was delivered to Lafleche by horse and buggy or sleigh from different points on the main line. However, once the railway was built, mail came regularly. Mail was sorted on the train as it went along. Mail was taken aboard and dropped off at each stop all across Canada. Tom Murphy was the first postman in Lafleche, and held the position until July 26, 1912. Mr. Edmond Bilodeau became postmaster in 1927, a held the position for twenty seven years. He retired on April 25, 1955. On July 31, 1958 the train service was discontinued and mail trucks took over the business of mail service to Lafleche and surrounding towns.

Grain

Following the arrival of the railway in 1913, construction of grain elevators came about. The first elevator was built in 1912 by M.B. Lyttle. The capacity of elevators built at this time was 25,000 to 35, 000 bushel capacity. Some of the first grain elevator businesses in Lafleche were: Shepard Grain Company, Saskatchewan Co-op Elevator Company which were both built in 1914. In 1915 the Shepard Company sold to Alberta Pacific Grain Company. In 1916 the Lafleche Meleval's Farmer's Elevator Company, McCabe Brothers Elevator Company and the Imperial Elevator Company were built. Some of these elevators did not last around too long and others changed hands many times.

The Lafleche Flour Mill was built in 1914 by Paul Bourdy. The mill was operated for a few years, then operations were suspended until 1920. In 1921, Fred Anderson rented the mill. He was soon joined by E. Olsen. Mr. Olsen became the manager and hired Herb Husband to run the mill at night and later hired Jim Clark. During the winter the mill ran day and night for five months. The flour went to retailers and bakers around Lafleche. In the late 30's mill work became limited and by 1940, only custom grinding was done. Operations stopped in 1941, when the owners moved away. In 1952 the building was bought and converted into a seed cleaning plan. This operation kept going until 1974, when the owner died and operations ceased. It was sold in a public auction, dismantled and removed from the site.

Financial services

The Bank of Hochelaga was established in 1920 until 1924. Though not in operation for very long, it gave the townspeople excitement, when an attempted robbery occurred on May 24, 1922. On March 13, 1924 it was reported that the Lafleche Branch of the Bank of Hochelaga would be closed and accounts would be transferred to the Bank of Hochelaga in Gravelbourg. The closing of the Lafleche branch corresponded with changes that were occurring in Montreal at the time.

The Bank of Toronto began doing business in 1913. In 1955 the name was changed to Toronto-Dominion when the Bank of Toronto and the Dominion Bank amalgamated. H.R. Forfar was the first manager of the bank in 1913 and held the position until 1914.

In 1937, after eight consecutive crop failures, Lafleche's district was hitting a financial low. Banks did not have faith in farmers and small businesses to repay loans, so a few local residents explored the idea of a credit union. On April 19, 1938, charter No. 12 was granted to the Lafleche Credit Union Limited which then became the first rural community credit union in the province. Starting with assets valued at $52.50 and twelve members, the company grew to have $10, 994 assets and about two hundred members after the first year. In 1948, there was 1087 members and assets reaches $518,000. This helped put the Lafleche district back in prosperity. The Lafleche Credit Union Limited is also known for having granted the first credit union loan for the purchase of farm land. In 1954, the Fir Mountain Savings and Credit Union amalgamated with the Lafleche Credit Union and in 1971 Glentworth Credit Union amalgamated too. A branch office is maintained in Glentworth.

Al Charbonneau, an early employee of the credit union, went on to a distinguished career, first as manager of the Saskatchewan Credit Union League in 1959, and later as CEO of the World Council of Credit Unions from 1981-1993. One credit union historian states that " [p] artly because he came from a francophone background in Canada, Charbonneau had a deep understanding of the cultural dimensions of credit unionism. ... He would provide considerable leadership in expanding the linguistic capabilities of the World Council and in expanding contacts with European movements." [Ian MacPherson, "Hands Around the Globe: A History of the International Credit Union Movement and the Role and Development of the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc.". Horsdal & Schubart Publishers Ltd. and the World Council of Credit Unions, 1999, p. 136.]

Utilities

In 1922, a power plant was operated by Zotique Raiche to operate lights in the Village of Lafleche. It was called the Lafleche Light Company and was powered by a 50 H.P. engine. It operated from dark until eleven o'clock, Monday and Tuesday mornings and also by special arrangements for dances. The first street lights were installed in 1923. In 1933, only two street lights were left in operation due to the depression. In September [1936, a request for more street lights was requested by Lafleche. The total cost of running eight lights was $15.00 per month. In 1947, it was bought out by Saskatchewan Power Commission. In 1949 the voltage of the town was increased from 2300 volts to 4600 volts.

Medical services

Before Lafleche had a doctor, their needs were met by Dr. Gravel from Gravelbourg. Lafleche had its first medical doctor in March, 1913. Dr. DuChene did not last long because of an unfortunate accident. Gangrene set in and he died on December 9, 1913. Other doctors came and went between the years 1914 - 1916. In September, 1916, Dr. Louis-Emile Belcourt took over the position and held it for thirty-two years. He was truly a pioneer doctor, for her traveled many miles in a wide area surrounding Lafleche to meet people's needs. He purchased a snow-plane during the thirties with speeds up to fifty miles an hour to reach more people in less time. Dr. Belcourt opened the first hospital in 1941. Dr. Belcourt assisted in over 3000 births and assisted at and performed over 1500 operations. In 1948, Dr. Belcourt left to practice medicine in Moose Jaw.

The doctors that have served in Lafleche from 1948 to the present are

* Dr. Max Minuck 1948-1950
* Dr. Ted Brokovski 1950-1955
* Dr. J.M. Morin 1950-1962
* Dr. M. Roberts 1955-1961
* Dr. D. Hennessey 1962-1967
* Dr. L. Draper 1967-1976
* Dr. D. Coneys 1976 to the present

In 1913, a drugstore was opened. Adrien Belcourt took over the drugstore in 1919. He sold the original building in 1942, and moved it into the Liquor Board Store, which has housed the Lafleche Pharmacy since. Adrien Belcourt ran the drugstore for forty-five years, from 1919-1964, when he retired. The store has since then been managed by his son, Edmond.

Lafleche had one of the first dentists to practice in southern Saskatchewan. Dr. W.G. Wallace, first started in 1913, working two days a week in Lafleche and two days a week in Gravelbourg. In 1916, he worked solely out of Lafleche. Dr. Kestrel replaced Dr. Wallace in May, 1929.

From 1918-1942, Mrs. Cameroon operated a private nursing home. Mrs. Margaret Douglas provided nursing services from 1916-1926. Mrs. Noble came to Lafleche from England and was a trained nurse. Mrs. Deluge also operated a nursing home. Mrs. Bola Boyd was a midwife and nurse in Lafleche for twenty-four years. Mrs. Boyd ran a licensed nursing home for close to fifteen years. She was the matron at the hospital for over nine years. Mrs. William Klein the matron at the hospital before Mrs. Boyd and was sometimes called upon to help assist in operations.

Dr. L.E. Belcourt opened the first hospital in 1941. The R.M. of Wood River took it over in 1945. In 1957, a new hospital was built.

Members of the first Lafleche Hospital Board were:
* Thomas Bourke
* Mrs. Thomas Bourke
* E.H. Bilodeau
* Mrs. James McQuistin
* Mrs. D.M. Johnston
* Mr. D.M. Johnston

The Hospital Matrons were:

* Miss Jessie Jackson 1941-1943
* Miss Daniels 1941-1943
* Margaret Dumelie 1945
* Mrs. Lola Boyd 1945-1954
* Mrs. Jean Passmore 1954-1956
* Iva Gavelin 1956-1958
* Marie Corkery 1958-1960
* Mrs. Doris Silzer 1960-1965
* Mrs. Margaret Klein 1965-1968
* Mr.M.A. Thomas 1968-1987

Other long time nurses were Frances Perigny, fourteen years; Thersia M Thomas, twenty years; Julie LaBlanc; twenty-one years; Mae Wensel, twenty-five years.

Current businesses

Within the Town of Lafleche and the R.M. of Wood River No. 74 there is an exceptional range of business people and trades persons ready to serve you. The majority of businesses right in town are open Monday to Friday with several of the retail outlets open Saturday as well. (Co-op gas bar is open 7 day a week.)

In addition to providing the community with excellent service our business people have formed the "Lafleche and District Chamber of Commerce". This association is an active organization that promotes business in the area. Anyone interested in promoting growth, and the well being of the community as a whole, is welcome to join the Chamber. Contact President Wayne Engel at 472-5785.

References

External links

* [http://www.town.lafleche.sk.ca/ Town of Lafleche]
* [http://www.laflechecu.com/ Lafleche Credit Union]

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