The fate of the school is uncertain. Inconsistent development practices threaten the integrity of the community. Residents feel that city officials are not responding to their concerns.
Sound familiar? Imagine you are going for a walk around Grovenor -- in 1917.
Probably the first thing you would notice is the muck.
It is everywhere, clogging the streets. You can see fields of it where the snow has started to melt.
There are houses, but not many. Sometimes they are a few feet apart; others are separated by gaps as long as a tenth of a mile. A few are charming and well-kept. Some seem half-built. A couple lie in ruins.
It is a very quiet place.
This is the subdivision of Westgrove, Mar. 3rd, 1917. If you stopped a local and asked about the emptiness, this is what she might tell you:
“Most of the men are gone. We’re very proud of our enlistment rate, which is more than 50 per cent. But we’re not naïve. The war has been going on for three years now. We know some of them will never come home.
“Of other things, we are not so proud. The muck is more than a nuisance, and there are no sidewalks or lights. The city doesn’t take care of these streets, not like in Glenora. And we’re worried about the school. It’s nothing more than a barn really, divided into two rooms. The foundation has started to sink. This time of the year, it’s not safe for the children to go inside.
“The first house was built over by the ravine in 1907. Things started going crazy after that. They subdivided the land. Everybody was buying and selling lots. A title could change hands three times in a day, with each speculator making a profit. Motormen even sold real estate on the streetcars.
“Our house is by the corner. We put it up in 1912, two years before the bust. The place next door was never finished. Nobody knows what happened to the owner and his wife. They just left. Probably went back to farming. A third of the people who lived in this city have left since 1914. You can see vacant properties north all the way to the tracks by 106th Avenue. People’s dreams – turned into nightmares.
“George Hall, the American from across the ravine, and his pal Brown say it’s time for positive action. The City’s got to pay attention to us while we do more to take care of ourselves. Hall goes on and on about these groups in New York, part social club, part political lobby. He wants to set one up here. Cuthbertson down the road says he’s buying into the proposal. They’re calling it the 142nd Street Community League. The gents are meeting for the first time tonight.”
Now imagine going for another walk, one year later, 1918. Pages from the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Bulletin are caught in the breeze. Some land near your feet. You pick them up and read a few lines at random:
“The president, George M. Hall, is at present on a trip through the United States, but is working hard for the league, down there, getting all the information on the social centre or community movement, and also on the Vacant Lots Garden plan…”
“Twenty-five acres of land will be put under grain crop this year by the 142nd street community league, the proceeds of this extra production to go into the Red Cross funds…. Straying cattle will get short shrift, as full arrangements have already been made for the impounding of strays…”
“Other forward moves announced included continued agitation for electric light service, with prospects of success, it was thought, during the present year, and the initial performance of an amateur community dramatic club…”
“A number of improvements have been taken up by the 142nd street citizens from time to time, including the street railway service, grading of sidewalks, erection of a new school building and the construction of an open-air skating rink…”
“The motto of the organization, ‘A community of happy homes by means of cooperative effort in work and play,’ has been lived up to…”
“The league proposes to raise a fund of $125 for the purchase of a school piano…”
“A fine publicity sign, eight feet by five, has been painted for the league by Mr. Kitchener, and will occupy a commanding position at the end of the 142nd street car line…”
“The secretary, H. P. Brown, has been busy looking for the owners of vacant houses in the district and taking steps to rent them. This will be an important feature of the work of the league…”
“The petition for a sidewalk along the Stony Plain road west from 142nd street is now well under way, and the committee expect little difficulty in obtaining the required number of signatures…”
By 1919, other neighbourhoods had begun to organize, following the 142nd Street Community League model. Two years later, these groups together formed one of the most successful volunteer organizations in Canadian history, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues.
For many years, the 142nd Street League hosted a patriotic spring festival to coincide with Empire (Victoria) Day. One programme, probably from 1919, promised maypole dances, a sack race (“Contestants will please furnish own sacks”) and a “Ladies vs. Gents” cricket match (“Gentlemen to Bat and Bowl left-handed only.”)
By 1933, the group had a new moniker, The Jasper Place, Westgrove and District Community League. Following WWII, two separate branches emerged, each bearing the new names of their neighbourhoods: Crestwood (south of the MacKinnon Ravine) and (to the north) Grovenor.
Sound familiar? Imagine you are going for a walk around Grovenor -- in 1917.
Probably the first thing you would notice is the muck.
It is everywhere, clogging the streets. You can see fields of it where the snow has started to melt.
There are houses, but not many. Sometimes they are a few feet apart; others are separated by gaps as long as a tenth of a mile. A few are charming and well-kept. Some seem half-built. A couple lie in ruins.
It is a very quiet place.
This is the subdivision of Westgrove, Mar. 3rd, 1917. If you stopped a local and asked about the emptiness, this is what she might tell you:
“Most of the men are gone. We’re very proud of our enlistment rate, which is more than 50 per cent. But we’re not naïve. The war has been going on for three years now. We know some of them will never come home.
“Of other things, we are not so proud. The muck is more than a nuisance, and there are no sidewalks or lights. The city doesn’t take care of these streets, not like in Glenora. And we’re worried about the school. It’s nothing more than a barn really, divided into two rooms. The foundation has started to sink. This time of the year, it’s not safe for the children to go inside.
“The first house was built over by the ravine in 1907. Things started going crazy after that. They subdivided the land. Everybody was buying and selling lots. A title could change hands three times in a day, with each speculator making a profit. Motormen even sold real estate on the streetcars.
“Our house is by the corner. We put it up in 1912, two years before the bust. The place next door was never finished. Nobody knows what happened to the owner and his wife. They just left. Probably went back to farming. A third of the people who lived in this city have left since 1914. You can see vacant properties north all the way to the tracks by 106th Avenue. People’s dreams – turned into nightmares.
“George Hall, the American from across the ravine, and his pal Brown say it’s time for positive action. The City’s got to pay attention to us while we do more to take care of ourselves. Hall goes on and on about these groups in New York, part social club, part political lobby. He wants to set one up here. Cuthbertson down the road says he’s buying into the proposal. They’re calling it the 142nd Street Community League. The gents are meeting for the first time tonight.”
Now imagine going for another walk, one year later, 1918. Pages from the Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Bulletin are caught in the breeze. Some land near your feet. You pick them up and read a few lines at random:
“The president, George M. Hall, is at present on a trip through the United States, but is working hard for the league, down there, getting all the information on the social centre or community movement, and also on the Vacant Lots Garden plan…”
“Twenty-five acres of land will be put under grain crop this year by the 142nd street community league, the proceeds of this extra production to go into the Red Cross funds…. Straying cattle will get short shrift, as full arrangements have already been made for the impounding of strays…”
“Other forward moves announced included continued agitation for electric light service, with prospects of success, it was thought, during the present year, and the initial performance of an amateur community dramatic club…”
“A number of improvements have been taken up by the 142nd street citizens from time to time, including the street railway service, grading of sidewalks, erection of a new school building and the construction of an open-air skating rink…”
“The motto of the organization, ‘A community of happy homes by means of cooperative effort in work and play,’ has been lived up to…”
“The league proposes to raise a fund of $125 for the purchase of a school piano…”
“A fine publicity sign, eight feet by five, has been painted for the league by Mr. Kitchener, and will occupy a commanding position at the end of the 142nd street car line…”
“The secretary, H. P. Brown, has been busy looking for the owners of vacant houses in the district and taking steps to rent them. This will be an important feature of the work of the league…”
“The petition for a sidewalk along the Stony Plain road west from 142nd street is now well under way, and the committee expect little difficulty in obtaining the required number of signatures…”
By 1919, other neighbourhoods had begun to organize, following the 142nd Street Community League model. Two years later, these groups together formed one of the most successful volunteer organizations in Canadian history, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues.
For many years, the 142nd Street League hosted a patriotic spring festival to coincide with Empire (Victoria) Day. One programme, probably from 1919, promised maypole dances, a sack race (“Contestants will please furnish own sacks”) and a “Ladies vs. Gents” cricket match (“Gentlemen to Bat and Bowl left-handed only.”)
By 1933, the group had a new moniker, The Jasper Place, Westgrove and District Community League. Following WWII, two separate branches emerged, each bearing the new names of their neighbourhoods: Crestwood (south of the MacKinnon Ravine) and (to the north) Grovenor.