What a difference 150 years makes.
This area used to be known by the Cree as Mista-sakahikun but that all changed on or about Jan. 14, 1861. Oblate missionaries Father Albert Lacombe and Bishop Alexandre Taché were having a snowshoe stroll as they tried to decide what to do about a settlement at Lac Ste. Anne. A growing population of Métis settlers needed a place to call home.
Lacombe had been here many times, visiting Métis families who were working for the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company. He had grown to love and appreciate the beauty and fertility of this land and saw its potential.
The two men stopped atop a hillcrest overlooking the river valley and enjoyed some pemmican.
According to the 1916 biography, Le PÈre Lacombe, l'homme au bon couer, Taché suddenly stood up and remarked, "Father, this place is charming. I choose it for the founding of a new mission which you will name Saint Albert in honour of your patron saint."
Taché then planted his walking stick in the snow.
And thus, the St. Albert Mission was born. Within three years, the population reached 700 and the burgeoning centre was at the forefront of church administration and education for Rupert's Land, 30 years before Alberta came into existence. The next year it was the largest of the six colonies in the newly formed Northwest Territories. It's the oldest successful non-fortified community in the province.
Now a bustling city of 60,000, St. Albert still looks back to Founders' Day as a momentous occasion. A few groups have been working on a spate of celebrations that will last throughout the year, and they all start this weekend.
Mark your calendars
Earlier this week, Mayor Nolan Crouse proclaimed Jan. 14 as Founders' Day to commemorate Lacombe's work to build the mission and the community.
The St. Albert Historical Society is putting on a program at the Arden Theatre to continue Saturday and Sunday. These will include performances of the late local resident Jack McCreath's play Pioneerin' Spirit along with Métis dancer Jenny Trook and songs by the Edmonton Swiss Men's Choir.
Society chair Ray Pinco isn't trying to force history down anyone's throat but wants more people to recognize the roots of the city lay with the Mission.
"It's part of who we are as a community," he said. "If you're a permanent resident I think it's really something that a person should strive for, to know something about one's community. In this case, our community is older than pretty much any [place] in the province."
The society's membership has made Founders' Day a tradition for more than 20 years but has worked to preserve the past in other ways, too. For Alberta's 75th birthday in 1980 they restored the mission bells at St. Albert Parish. At one time, they were also involved with cataloguing and caring for the artifacts in the Father Lacombe Chapel — Alberta's oldest building and a provincial historic resource since 1977.
In 1985 they produced the two-volume set called The Black Robe's Vision, the most definitive and comprehensive account of St. Albert's history.
Editor Arlene Borgstede is one of the historical society's founding members, and is a student of history.
"It used to make me so angry because I grew up in Penticton and we didn't know any of the history of Penticton. We had no idea! It just seemed to me that should be one of the obvious things to be taught in schools."
Along with their ongoing work to preserve history, the society commissioned an historical outdoor public artwork to complement the $1.3-million restoration of Founders' Walk in honour of the city's founding families.
"It's nice whenever anything is done that highlights our history," Borgstede said.
Man on a mission
St. Albert wouldn't be here without Lacombe, a member of les Oblats de Marie Immaculée. This Catholic order was founded in 1816 to revive the Church in post-revolution France but then expanded its presence to North America.
Many parish priests in western Canada are still affiliated with the order and it's that tie to the past that gives life more purpose.
"The past makes us who we are in a way," explained Father Andrzej Stendzina, the current pastor at the St. Albert Parish. He's long familiar with the stories of early hardship on the unforgiving plains, including the smallpox epidemic of 1870 and 1871 that claimed 300 lives.
"As an Oblate, I'm proud of the past looking at the conditions that [the early missionaries and Grey Nuns, who started arriving at the settlement in 1863] were working with. I'm not sure if people today would dare to do certain things they did long ago."
Since the history of the mission and the city are so intrinsically tied, the parish also is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a series of monthly jubilee celebrations every month throughout the year.
To learn more about the events, please visit www.stalbert150jubilee.com.
St. Albert — the family perspective
When the city celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1986, the great-grandnephews of Lacombe and Taché conducted a re-enactment of that fateful morning atop Mission Hill.
Although Gerard Harnois has since passed, his son Phil says he and his sister were always in touch with the rich legacy that his great-great uncle Lacombe passed on to them.
"Since I was a little kid, it was always known — the connection that we had to St. Albert and to Father Lacombe," he explained.
At one time, Harnois even considered dressing up as a black-robed priest for Halloween but the costume just didn't come together.
His dad, though, was pretty close with the church, even working as the curator of the Father Lacombe Chapel during his retirement years.
Harnois said he wasn't approached to do another re-enactment this year but that's OK with him. The former Edmonton police sergeant and business owner said he's just happy to have such strong family ties.
"It surprises people when I mention my relationship. I knew the connection all the way back as soon as I was old enough to go to church. It was pretty cool. He's probably our most famous relative and he's somebody obviously to be looked up to."
What's past is prologue
While we all step back to reflect on how far the community has come, the St. Albert Historical Society is still looking forward with its ongoing projects. History never sleeps for those who strive to keep it alive.
"I think there's a renewed interest. There's still a lot of work to be done," Pinco said, referring to the involvement and participation he has seen from city council and other members of the public. "It bodes well for our community."
