Banner day for Legal

Raoul St. Jean wore a lot of hats in Legal.

"When I started in 1949, the water system was broken," recalls the long-time town employee who was the town's sole employee at the time, so it was up to him to fix the pipes. "We had a lot of trouble with main breaks."

In later years, he was also the town's policeman, garbage man, fire fighter, ambulance driver, heavy equipment operator and more.

St. Jean, known to many as "Ralph," went on to serve 39 years with the town as an employee and a further nine as councillor. Last Friday, it was revealed that his long service would be recognized on one of 16 new historic banners that will go up along Legal's main street later this spring.

St. Jean received a standing ovation when his banner was revealed last Friday at the town's 18th annual volunteer appreciation night, says Mayor Lisa Magera.

"Mr. St. Jean, he was everything from the fire chief to the police to the superintendant … he did it all for a number of years." He also hired his replacement, Robert Proulx, who is honoured on that same banner for his 25 years with the town.

"The knowledge they have of our town is unbelievable," Magera says of them. "Everything under the ground, it's all in their brains."

Banner project

The banner project is the brainchild of Legal resident Ernest Chauvet of the Centralta Tourism Society, and is meant to draw tourists and promote local history.

"One thing that we're always after is to bring the community together," he says.

This project, dubbed Ensemble-Together, picked 16 groups or individuals who demonstrated co-operation and made long-term contributions to the community.

The banners are about the height of a person, Chauvet says, and were designed by Legal native Michel Fortier. The banners cost about $1,000 each, and were funded by Centralta, the town and local community members. Fourteen of them were unveiled Friday. The Ken Kowalski and Theodore Gelot banners were held back due to organizational reasons.

This red one is dedicated to the Fête au Village celebration, Chauvet says, as he unveiled several of the banners for the Gazette prior to Friday's event. It depicts the miniature passenger train that has been a part of the event for years.

"Very few communities in Alberta have maintained local festivities for 50 years," he says, and the fête will pass that milestone this July. "It's a community celebration where a huge amount of people get involved and attend," he says. "It reflects that co-operative spirit."

Another is dedicated to the Legal junior curling team who won the 1997 world junior championship in Karuizawa, Japan. A green one is dedicated to the Legal Alfalfa plant, which is now one of the few successful alfalfa plants in western Canada. Other banners are dedicated to the town's fire and ambulance service, Liberty Tire Recycling and Legal Motors.

Longtime employees

Proulx and St. Jean names are featured on the Town of Legal banner, Chauvet says, which also depicts one of the town's murals.

St. Jean, who was born in Legal, says he took a job with the town because he needed a job after marriage. The town had just 300 residents in 1949, he recalls, and no fire department. "In those days, we hauled garbage with a team of horses. I did that for 12 years."

St. Jean helped found the town's fire and ambulance services, and served as the town's part-time constable for many years.

When he retired in 1988, he passed his job off onto Proulx — another Legal native.

"I've basically worked for the town since I got out of high school," says Proulx, who is now the town's chief administrative officer. "I just enjoy the work I guess." He says he's honoured to see his name next to St. Jean's.

St. Jean says he's glad to see his name on the banner. "It brings back memories."

The banners will likely go up in May once the brackets for them are completed.

Questions on the banners should go to Centralta at 780-460-1034.