david murray
Vilna is a small village 100 km north east of Edmonton. Area history includes early fur traders and forts along the North Saskatchewan River, but it became a destination for eastern European immigrants because of its similar climate to central and eastern Europe and its agricultural opportunities. 1 Vilna’s post office was opened in 1920 after the Canadian Northern Railway built a line to Cold Lake. Unlike most villages in Alberta, Vilna has not seen a significant economic decline. It is midway between the larger centres of Smoky Lake and St. Paul, and only a few kilometres from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation. With a population of less than 300, it is a significant commercial base and was the smallest community to participate in the Alberta Main Street Revitalisation Programme between 2000 and 2004. Vilna is also the repository of a significant collection of false front early-twentieth century commercial buildings that have retained much of their integrity. We (David Murray and Alan Partridge) inventoried the historic structures and began the task of restoring the façades over a four-year period. Of the many buildings we worked on, the Pool Hall and Barbershop stands out as the most significant – it is the only remaining pool hall and barber shop in Alberta. The building was probably built in 1921 – information before 1935 is sketchy. The addition of living quarters occurred very
early in the life of the building. When we found it, the building consisted of the pool hall and barbershop at the front, on Main Street, with a lean-to residence of four rooms for the owner and family on the back. John and Sandra Taschuk had moved to Vilna from a local farm when they bought the pool hall in 1935. John paid for the building and business with earnings from working on the Shandro Ferry that crossed the nearby North Saskatchewan River. The Taschuks had three children, Ann, Bill and Marie; only Marie, five years old, was living with the family at the time of the move and shared a small bedroom with her grandmother. Leo Wowk was hired as the barber; Bill worked for his father from 1937 to 1942 and then after he learned barbering skills, took over the business in 1947. Bill Taschuk married Lilly and together they ran the Pool Hall and Barber Shop until Bill retired in 1997. The Friends of the Vilna Pool Hall Society purchased the property shortly after, and applied for protection. It was designated as a Provincial Historic Site in 2007. The Pool Hall and Barbershop was the prime hang-out for men in almost any small town up until the 1970s. In Vilna, the other scene was the hotel, conveniently next door. Local workers, such as the grain elevator men, gathered here after work, and there was a residential high school in town whose young men spent many hours at the Pool Hall. It was dangerous and attractive.
15
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator