Born in Quebec in 1860, Stanislas La Rue came to Western
Canada as a young man after completing collegial studies in
Rigaud. For a time, he worked as a clerk, a bookkeeper and with
a survey crew, but eventually settled in Edmonton where, in
1889, he formed a partnership with J. H. Picard. The two opened
a general store on Jasper Avenue, known as LaRue et Picard.
Picard was also from Quebec, and like La Rue, had worked in
several fields and places before coming to Edmonton in 1887. The
general store operated successfully until 1907, after which time
the two associates continued on to other investments in Edmonton
and throughout the province.
La Rue died in 1933, but his family remained in Alberta. One
of his sons established and published the St. Paul Star, which
became the St. Paul Journal a few years later. The publication
is still an independently owned weekly, although it changed
proprietors many years ago.
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