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Alberta Online Encyclopedia

Social Life


St. Paul Hornets

Long-standing community associations, clubs and organizations are important foundations upon which the community of St. Paul rests. The French Roman Catholic Church laid deep roots in the town, and its presence can still be felt today. The parish organized many social activities and provided a common meeting place for the members of St. Paul’s Francophone population. By the 1920s, St. Paul was a thriving town with many amenities and a growing business community.

Senior Citzens' Club Executive

"In the middle twenties, the Town grew steadily and boasted in 1924, two churches, four general stores, four blacksmith shops, one bakery, half a dozen prosperous farm machinery agencies, three livery stables used by farmers who drove to town and quartered their prancing teams comfortably for the day or night, three grain elevators, two dentists, three barber shops, two banks, four doctors, one drug store, one creamery, four lumber yards, five restaurants, a newspaper, harness shop, flour mill, and the supplementary occupations necessary to exist in the still primitive surroundings." -History of St. Paul Alberta 1909–1959, Published by the St. Paul Journal, 1960

However, the clergy’s power was already declining when St. Paul was officially designated a town in 1936, and other groups emerged to occupy the spaces once filled by the religious community (although many of these groups still maintained ties to various religious orders). These groups include the Senior Citizens' Club, the Minor Hockey Association, the Knights of Columbus, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Royal Canadian Legion.

 
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