Sunday, November 16

2015 Cupar buildings and business people


2015 marks the 110th anniversary of the incorporation of Cupar as a village and Saskatchewan as a province. The town, various organizations and individuals have started to make plans. July 4th has been set aside for the majority of social activities. I started thinking about how I as an individual might contribute beyond any organization I belong to.

In the early 1980's many towns across the province published history books that included family histories, but alas some families that included “founding fathers” aka business men, were missing. In 1965 for the 60th anniversary of Cupar a compilation called “Pioneer Portraits” was published on legal size paper on gestetner machines. I can't even spell it and can't find it in the dictionary but found it on google. What does that say? Anyhow there was some valuable information about the development of the town I found intriguing.

Like many small towns the physical look of our main streets have changed mainly due to fires and in our case also a cyclone in 1946. I decided to focus on buildings and businesses in Cupar over the years, how they have changed, who owned them and stories about the owners. Our museum is fortunate to have a sketch of the down town business section from 1914, Wrigley's Saskatchewan Directory from 1921 and a fire insurance map of the same area from 1929. So I have some reference to start with.


 According to Roy Pengelly in “Pioneer Portraits” Hastings and McLaughlin operated a store on the N.W. 7 Tp 22 R16 W2, and hauled this building to the new town-site to start the first general store.






 In the Cupar History book pages 254 to 256 gives a fuller account of Adam Luther Hastings who moved his store into Cupar in 1905 when the township of Cupar was established and the Grand Trunk came through. Hastings also had the first post office from 1906-08, and was elected the village's first overseer.   




 The write up portrays an intriguing man I would loved to have met.

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