Fifty years ago yesterday — June 17, 1961, a Saturday — St. Albert residents got their first look at a newspaper that, unknown to them at the time, would go on to serve the community well into the next century.
It was a small paper at the time, measuring 11 inches x 8.5 inches, containing 28 pages. The St. Albert Gazette was launched to coincide with the New Town of St. Albert’s centennial. The front page reflected that link, with the words “St. Albert’s 100 Anniversary” written near the top of the page in a cursive font. Beneath the flag of the first edition, notated as Vol. 1, No. 1, was a hand-drawn illustration of Father Albert Lacombe, carrying a walking stick and standing beneath a tree, surveying an expansive swath of land with small rolling hills. Typed beneath the drawing were the words, “THIS IS THE PLACE” followed by the remark, “Thank you Father Lacombe!”
The Gazette was the creation of Wim Netelenbos, who partnered with John Vandenboomen and Ronald Harvey in a small office on what was then called Piron Street in downtown St. Albert. The bulk of the paper’s original staff were volunteers and the newspaper, after it was pasted together, was run off a hand-powered platen press. Copy deadlines were the Saturday preceding the next issue.
The paper was a scattering of what we would now call ‘hyper-local’ news, interspersed with a smattering of ads from local businesses congratulating the town on its centennial and the Gazette on its launch. The second page was merely a listing of “Remarkable figures of the New Town of St. Albert,” including the number of residential building permits issued from 1957 to May 30, 1961, the length of infrastructure installed since 1957 and the members of the board of administrators responsible for running the New Town. The first actual written item was penned by board of administrators’ representative and Vital Grandin School principal V.J. Maloney, reflecting on the difficulties the early missionaries experienced and how they might laugh at what modern residents of St. Albert complained about.
The first actual story was written by volunteer reporter Pauli Keats, who interviewed Louise Belcourt (nĂ©e Rowland), who was 83 at the time and had witnessed the growth of the town firsthand. Belcourt remembered her school years at the old St. Albert School (“We had three ‘bad boys’ and they were continually being locked in the basement.”), what residents did for fun (dogsledding, tobogganing and jig dances) and receiving Christmas gifts from Father Lacombe himself.
Netelenbos himself wrote directly to the people, thanking the community for picking up the paper and emphasizing the need for more local communication within the town. “Our main task will be to serve the people of St. Albert and District by bringing news ….” He stated the Gazette would be non-denominational, non-political and independent, free of influence from any government, business or person. He also stated there would be no charge for the paper, but asked readers to “remember your paperboy for his service.”
The rest of the issue was predominately filled with columns of congratulations from significant individuals and clubs throughout the town, such as Father Emile Tardif (OMI), the board of the St. Albert Community League and the Lions Club. Other items noted the Little League Baseball standings and an upcoming Roman Catholic Church program, which featured presentations from Anthony Jordan and J.H. MacDonald, then-archbishops for Edmonton. The centrespread, one of the most valuable pieces of advertising real estate, featured a map of the upcoming parade that was part of the town’s centennial celebrations.
And what celebrations they were going to be! According to the Programme of Events printed in the Gazette, June 17 was going to be a banner day. The festivities kicked off with soapbox derby races on St. Vital Avenue. There were little league games at Mission Park, a picnic with “free wieners and ice cream for children,” pony rides, aerobatic flying courtesy of retired RCAF pilot D.J. Barker, known as “The Red Knight.” The Minister of Highways Gordon Taylor officially opened the new town hall, followed by a banquet at the community hall, a street dance and then a bonfire, singsong and firework show on the Mission Park Picnic Grounds to wrap up the evening.
By today’s standards, this small newspaper might not have looked like or contained much in the way of actual news. But it was the start of something special, a newspaper that would grow with the community for the next 50 years.
Visit www.stalbertgazette.com to read the very first issue of the St. Albert Gazette.
Peter Boer is an editor at the St. Albert Gazette.
