We were saddened to hear the news of the passing of Bill Argan, a long-time friend of the Prairie History Room. (read his obituary at saskobits.com)

Bill was a gifted artist and tireless researcher. His many projects included finding information and images for his Regina history books. We were always glad to see him, to visit a bit and to find out what he was working on.

Here is a list of the library holdings of Bill's books:

Knights of Columbus in Saskatchewan 1907-1982 : a history of achievement . (cover title: Columbianism in Saskatchewan) / William Argan.
Saskatchewan : Saskatchewan Knights of Columbus Historical Commission, [1982?].
267.242 ARGAN

Wetmore school daze / William P. Argan.
Regina, Sask. : W. P. Argan, 1985.
372.971244 A

Wetmore reunion '85
Regina, Sask. : [Wetmore Reunion Committee], 1985.
372.9712 44 WETMO

Saskatchewan curling : heartland tradition
Regina : Saskatchewan Curling Association, c1991.
796.96 SASKA

The spirit of patriotism : Father Hugonard General Assembly No. 1064, 1923 - 1998 / William Argan.
Muenster, Sask. : St. Peter's Press, c1998.
267.242 ARGAN

Cornerstones : an artist's history of the City of Regina / by William Argan ; with Pam Cowan.
Regina : Leader-Post Carrier Foundation, 1995.
971.2445 ARGAN

Cornerstones 2 : an artist's history of the city of Regina / William P. Argan with Pam Cowan.
Regina : LeaderPost Carrier Foundation, 2000.
971.2445 ARGAN

Regina, the first 100 years : the history of Regina told through its buildings and monuments / William Argan ; with Pam Cowan and Gordon W. Staseson.
Regina : Leader-Post Carrier Foundation, 2002.
971.2445 ARGAN

From time to time, even the Prairie History staff is stumped by a research request. Recently, we received a letter from a woman in Calgary asking for more information about the event depicted in this photograph taken at the Regina Airport. Supposedly, this event ties in somehow with the Regina Airport and the Trans-Canada Airlines (pre-cursor to Air Canada).

Note: click on image for a slightly larger view!

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Here's what we've found out from newspaper articles and the pamphlet Regina Airport: A History in the PHR vertical files Regina - Airports:

The building in the background (the administration building) was new in 1940.
Trans-Canada Airlines (printed above the airplane door in the photo) was formed in 1937)

Conclusion: the photo was taken in 1940 or later.

Apparently Trans-Canada Airlines stopped running planes into the Regina Airport in 1948 (length of runway was a problem) and didn’t resume until about 1960.

Conclusion: the photo was taken in 1948 or earlier.

The clothing of the people in the photo was somewhat helpful.
The stewardess uniform (shirt collar) is similar to a c1947 photo in the book Flying Colours: A History of Commercial Aviation in Canada (page 125)

We tried to find a similar photo in the vertical file or in the Leader-Post (using the Saskatchewan Newspaper Index) or in the book National Treasure: the History of Trans Canada Airlines so we could identify the event and were unsuccessful.

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Any information about the identity of this event, people or time period, please contact the Prairie History Room by email. Thank-you!

A fabulous set of walking tours exploring Regina's history will be taking place this weekend. Jane's Walk is a series of free neighbourhood walking tours that helps put people in touch with their environment and with each other, by bridging social and geographic gaps and creating a space for cities to discover themselves.

Walks in Regina will feature the downtown, the Cathedral Village, the Core, Germantown and even Whitmore Park. The topics will cover: A critique of public art; The history of the 1912 Tornado and how it shaped the city; An exploration of Modernist Architecture; Even a walk covering all of the apartment buildings that one volunteer has lived in and the seedy stories that accompany them!

To learn more about each of these walks, check out their website. For more information, contact: Laura Pfeifer or phone (306) 737-7185.

Launched this past Tuesday at 1:30 pm, there is a new exhibit Regina Site Lines: A Path Down the History of Regina currently on display at the Regina Plains Museum until the end of this year. The exhibit features a timeline of events, important figures in Regina's history, and city buildings that have endured time.

For more information about the exhibit or to find out when the museum is open, check out the museum's website at www.reginaplainsmuseum.com

For the seventh consecutive year, ghost tours of Regina are being offered until October 31. This year, CNT Management Group has added new locations and stories to its annual ghost tour by exploring Regina's medical history through Influenza, Thyphoid Fever and Tuberculosis.

Departing from St. Chad's on 1601 College Avenue, participants will tour the city in deluxe motor coaches. At selected sites, participants are invited to step off the coach where the ”doctor of the day” will educate them on paranormal activity.

For more information or to reserve a ticket, visit their website: www.ghosttoursofregina.ca or phone 306-584-3524.

The Sun Never Sets: Victoria Park in Context
exhibit by Rachelle Viader Knowles and Don Gill in the Dunlop Gallery at Central Library (2311 - 12th Avenue), July 25 - September 14.

Click here for the description of the exhibit from the Dunlop Gallery web pages.

If you are interested in the history of Victoria Park and the buildings surrounding it, the exhibit contains architectural drawings and old photographs.

View the process of Don Gill’s ongoing Erratic Space project at http://erraticspacevictoriapark.blogspot.com

Birds'-eye view of Victoria Park.
Victoria Park looking south towards Victoria Avenue, circa 1920. Baptist Church and Land Titles Building visible.
This photograph is part of the collection A History of Regina in Photographs. You can view this collection any time through the Prairie History Room main web page by clicking Photo Slide Shows.

Canada Day in 1912 was spend cleaning up after the tornado that hit the city the day before.

Click here to see the blog post from last year with links to books and online photos.

Drop into the Prairie History Room (not on July 1 - the library is closed) to see the panarama photograph of Regina taken just days after the 1912 Tornado.

For a "you are there" feeling, drop by the Prairie History Room and look through the Morning Leader (Regina's daily newspaper of the day) for the days after the tornado struck.

Saskatchewan War Memorial Project: Phase One

Saskatchewan World War One Memorial (the Saskatchewan War Memorial Project: Phase One) was dedicated in 1995 in memory of 5,348 young men and women from Saskatchewan who were killed in the First World War. This memorial is located just west of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building in Regina, near Wascana Lake and the Albert Memorial Bridge.

Links:

Bill Barry's site People Places.
Click on Veterans I or Veterans II on this site to see lists of names Bill couldn't match up to the Official Casualty List.
Bill is co-author of the book
Age Shall Not Weary Them: Saskatchewan Remembers Its War Dead

The section of the People Places site titled the Saskatchewan War Memorial Project has an alphabetical list of the names inscribed on the World War II memorial of the Saskatchewan War Memorial Project.

The Canadian Virtual War Memorial site maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada contains a registry of information about the graves and memorials of more than 116,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who served valiantly and gave their lives for their country. Included on this site are the memorials of more than 1500 soldiers who died in service to Canada since the Korean War, including peacekeeping and other operations. The site also contains digital images of photographs and personal memorabilia about individual Canadians.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission site has an online database listing the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died during the two world wars and the 23,000 cemeteries, memorials and other locations worldwide where they are commemorated. The register can also be searched for details of the 67,000 Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action in the Second World War.

Saskatchewan's War Memorials site has information and photos of many cenotaphs, plaques, memorial halls, walls of valour, etc. in Saskatchewan.

The Saskatchewan Geo-Memorial Project. This web page was created on November 10, 2006 and honours those Saskatchewan residents killed in service of Canada during WWII and Korea. In addition 11 who received the Victoria Cross are also honoured. Click on any name on this list to get a on-line map of the Saskatchewan site named for this person.

Related posts:

Albert Memorial Bridge 77 Years Old

Program Finding Canadian Military Records, Central Library, November 14, 2007, 10:00 a.m. - noon

What we now call the Albert Street Bridge was originally named
the Albert Memorial Bridge, in honour of those who died in
the Great War (1914-1918)

Opening ceremonies program

The opening ceremonies took place November 10, 1930. Part of the speech by Saskatchewan Premier J. T. M. Anderson mentioned that the bridge was symbolical of the province's honest attempt to assist those warriors who had returned and the kin of those who had not... It was also the government's first war memorial, erected on the behalf of the people of Saskatchewan. Leader-Post 11 November 1930

closeup of a pillar closeup of a bison head, detail on the bridge photos by smaier

The pastel-coloured terracotta balusters were inspired by the enormous interest shown in the discovery of King Tut's Tomb in 1923. Two Egyptian symbols, the lotus flower and the papyrus plant appear on the balusters and lamp posts. Leader-Post 24 September 1988 The pillars and ornamentation were designed by Joseph Lee-Grayson, a Saskatchewan government employee, and artist. For more information about the bridge, click here.

The bridge was designated a Municipal Heritage Property in 1984.

source material:
PHR vertical file Regina - Bridges, Albert Street

Related posts:

Saskatchewan War Memorial Project

Program Finding Canadian Military Records, Central Library, November 14, 2007, 10:00 a.m. - noon

Today is the 95th anniversary of the Regina Tornado.

Facts:
- The tornado struck the city at 4:50 p.m. June 30, 1912
- It passed through the city in 3 minutes
- 28 people were killed, out of a population of about 40,000
- 2500 people were left homeless
- 500 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including Knox Church, Metropolitan Church, YWCA, YMCA, the Telephone Exchange and the Public Library
- It left $4 million damage, the equivalent of at least $76 million in the year 2007 (according to the Bank of Canada inflation calculator)
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Regina's Terrible Tornado by Frank W. Anderson (Calgary: Frontiers Unlimited, 1964)

Scroll down The History of Regina in Photographs to the section "Matters of Interest" for a view of two photos after the tornado.

For more photos, have a look at the City of Regina Archives virtual exhibit
"Regina The Early Years : Cyclone of 1912". (This is part of the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists Virtual Exhibits and Digital Projects website.)

Regina Tornado June 30, 1912 (Regina, Sask. [s.n., 191-])