A Little Bit Ritchie Episode 1 Transcript: Somethin’ About Beginnings
Hello, and welcome to A Little Bit Ritchie, the local history podcast curious about all things Edmonton. I'm your host, Lydia Neufeld. To celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the Ritchie Community League, every month this year, we'll dive into a new sector of local history to discover what makes Ritchie...Ritchie!
The Ritchie Community League respectfully acknowledges that the land on which we gather is Treaty 6 territory and Metis Nation of Alberta Region 4. This land has been a traditional meeting ground for many Indigenous peoples. The territory on which Ritchie now stands has provided a travelling route and a home to the Cree, Blackfoot, Saulteaux, Métis and other Indigenous peoples.
This podcast looks at the history of the land, and we begin with the understanding that the community, currently known as Ritchie, exists on stolen land. Throughout this year of centennial celebrations, the Ritchie Community League is working to explore what the land means to the community and how the League may create a future on this land that assists in undoing the processes of colonization.
A Little Bit Ritchie is more than entertainment and celebration; it's also a method of mutual learning. In the coming episodes, we will adapt this acknowledgement to reflect the learning and actions that have been undertaken by the League. If you, as a listener, feel that you would like to contribute to this community learning, please visit the link in our description for more information.
Today, we'll be discussing the early settler history of Strathcona, Edmonton, and Ritchie. We'll take a deep dive into the namesake of our neighbourhood—Robert Ritchie—and many of his endeavours. This will include his political efforts, position on the Strathcona School Board, and his business: the Ritchie Mill. We'll address the early food politics of the area and the evolution of South Edmonton, to Strathcona, to the City of Edmonton. We'll wrap up with a conversation about the formation of Ritchie to understand the boundaries of our community.
Before we jump in, we want to express our support for ACME Meat Market, a high-quality butchery with an emphasis on personalized service! Founded in 1921, the Meyer family now runs this historic butchery from the heart of Ritchie Market. Having just celebrated their hundredth anniversary, the Meyers are committed to providing you with premium, local meats and the know-how to prepare them. From dry-aged steak to sausage to free-range chicken, ACME has meat for you! Members of the Ritchie Crew Subscription Service receive 10% off all of their butchery needs. Pop by ACME today!
Musical Interlude
When looking at our community, it seems the best place to start is with its namesake—Robert Ritchie. Robert Ritchie arrived in Strathcona in 1892, from the township of Bathurst, in Ontario. In her book "Scona Lives," Jan Olson states that Ritchie, his wife Sarah Louisa Orsman, and their seven children settled into a large estate. It sprawled across six lots at 10323 Saskatchewan Drive and included a barn and a cow. After Robert Ritchie's death in 1932, his younger sister inherited the house. She had the estate moved to Garneau, to the corner of 84 Avenue and 109 Street, where it served as an apartment building. Although the interior and exterior of the home were modernized, it wasn't long before it was torn down and replaced with a commercial structure.
In 1893, a year after his arrival to Strathcona, Robert Ritchie constructed and opened the Ritchie Flour Mill, also known as the Edmonton Milling Company. The Ritchie Mill is the oldest standing flour mill in Alberta, and it represents early agricultural and industrial development in the province. The machinery was innovative for its time. Ritchie used steam-powered steel rollers instead of traditional stone wheels, which faltered when grinding hard prairie wheat. Ritchie added grain elevators to the Mill in 1895, which made hard work a little lighter.
Ritchie's Mill added to the prosperity of Strathcona. Milling was regarded as the base of agriculture and wealth in the district, and the Mill was viewed as "the foundation of Strathcona." As such, Robert Ritchie was respected for the prosperity the Mill brought to the town — and Edmonton as a whole.
The flour produced by the Ritchie Mill was regarded to be equal in quality to the finest imported baker's flour. In an 1893 excerpt from the Edmonton Bulletin, the flour is described as having a large proportion of Ladoga wheat, which tinted the flour slightly yellow but made for a bread "better than Ogilvie's best." In 1912, Robert Ritchie sold the Mill to the Northwest Mill and Feed Company, and in 1979 it was declared a provincial historic resource.
Ritchie wore many hats. He was President of the Edmonton Milling Co., Treasurer of Strathcona Radial Tramway Company, and a shareholder in the North West Oil and Gas Company. Ritchie was also deeply involved in local politics. He served as a trustee on the Strathcona School Board, justice of the peace, and an alderman. Additionally, Ritchie was a member of the Strathcona Board of Trade, which pushed for the construction of the High-Level Railway in the early 1910s.
He and his wife were charter members of Strathcona Baptist Church, founded by Reverend Alexander McDonald. As a side note: Robert Ritchie's daughter Alice married McDonald's son James in 1901. Ritchie also had an interest in serving as Mayor of Strathcona.
In his first campaign for mayor in 1899, Ritchie encouraged citizens to consider incorporating Strathcona into a town. He promised to expand roadways in and out of Strathcona, and improve emergency services, specifically fire protection. Ritchie pledged to construct a formal immigration hall and develop the infrastructure to support a post office and customs office. Ritchie's ideology was that establishing Strathcona as a town would expedite development and improve sanitary conditions within the area. However, Ritchie didn't win this election.
On December 3, 1900, Robert Ritchie ran again and was successful in his bid to become mayor of Strathcona. An excerpt from the Edmonton Bulletin published later that week reads:
"Strathcona has honored herself in honoring R. Ritchie with acclamation to the mayoralty. Mr. Ritchie is a successful man, but he is also a modest man, and few of the present large population of the Edmonton district know to what extent the past progress and present standing of the district is due to the enterprise of Mr. Ritchie, as the moving spirit in the Edmonton Milling Co., of Strathcona."
On one peculiar Monday in September 1901, Mayor Ritchie announced the day would be proclaimed a civic holiday. All businesses and public houses would be closed, allowing the townspeople to enjoy an open day of chicken shooting.
Ritchie served a one-year term as mayor from 1900 to 1901. He continued milling during this time.
In addition to his work in local politics and agriculture, Robert Ritchie built the Chapman Bros. Building on Whyte Avenue in 1907. This Boomtown structure housed the Great West Saddlery Company until 1912, and since then, it has seen many retail operations. In 1976, the Chapman Bros Building was declared a Registered Historic Resource by the Province of Alberta. In 1984, the Chapman Bros facade was restored to its original colour. With the help of the Old Strathcona Foundation, nearly thirty coats of paint were stripped from the exterior. Today, this iconic structure almost entirely maintains its original architecture and is home to the Canadian pizzeria chain, Famoso.
Olson notes that in 1893, Robert Ritchie purchased 128 acres of land at the Papaschase Reserve Auction for $518.40 (or $4.05/acre). He allocated this land to a large cemetery named Ritchie Cemetery. These burial grounds are still active today under the name Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Robert Ritchie, his family members, and many original Strathcona settlers are buried there.
Musical interlude
Looking for a way to support Ritchie Community League and the work we do? Look no further than the Ritchie Crew Subscription Service—an innovative way to display your community pride and donate monthly to the League's essential programs. Starting at $7/month, each tier offers a thank-you package full of RCL swag, an annual League Membership for Ritchie dwellers, and a Ritchie Discount card, including your favourite local businesses such as: ACME Meat Market, Kind Ice Cream, Longroof Brewing Co., and many more. Whether it's the Craft Beer of the Month Membership, the quarterly Coffee Tasting Package, or an exclusive culinary experience at Biera, there's a tier to suit everyone! Check out www.ritchie-league.com for all the details.
Musical interlude
Beyond serving the immediate population of Edmonton and Strathcona, the Ritchie Mill won government contracts to supply flour to Indigenous reserves. This flour was often freighted on rafts along the North Saskatchewan, Athabasca and Peace Rivers. The rafts were built by another Edmonton pioneer, John Walter. In December of 1900, the Edmonton Bulletin noted that a group of Indigenous people from the Saddle Lake reserve were collecting their annual allowance of flour from the Ritchie Mill.
This contribution speaks to the size and production capacity of the Mill in terms of the industry in the area. It also highlights that different bands had varying agreements with Indian Affairs regarding the supply of provisions. In this way, Ritchie Mill was tied to the system of colonial control of Indigenous people.
Let's talk more about this system of control along the North Saskatchewan.
Studies of skeletal remains found on the prairies suggest that in the mid–1700s, those living on the Albertan plains were "perhaps the tallest and best-nourished population in the world." This could be attributed to the abundance of the plains, the vast herds of bison who commanded the prairies, and the rivers that snaked through. However, the early 1800s saw the massive decline of the bison population, and subsequently, a devastating famine.
Neither the Dominion government nor Indigenous leaders expected or were prepared for the sudden collapse of the bison herds in the late 1870s due to disease, depleted habitat, and gross over-hunting from settlers. The bison's demise sparked a region-wide famine and triggered the spread of tuberculosis in vulnerable communities. The starvation and illness expedited the development of Treaties in the prairie provinces. The Treaties were established as a response to the threat of European immigration and significant variations to the fur trade economy in the 1870s after the charter was sold by the Hudson's Bay Company.
Chief Wikaskokiseyin, or Sweetgrass, the Cree chief in the 1860s to 1870s, saw the starvation and hardship his people were facing. He was motivated to work with the Dominion authority to sign Treaty 6 to prevent his community from starving. In the minds of the Cree leadership on the North Saskatchewan, successful negotiation of a treaty signified their best hope for survival in the new economic structure of the plains. To the Dominion authority, a guarantee of food was "too extravagant and would result in idleness among adherents to the treaty."
However, the Cree stressed that they did not want a consistent food supply, only assistance during the famine. The Cree negotiated with the Dominion to provide help in establishing farming and medical aid. Treaty 6 was signed in 1876. In addition to one square mile per family of five, Treaty 6 provided an annual payment of $25 per chief, $15 per headman, and $5 for every band member.
James Dashuck wrote a book about this time, entitled: "Clearing the Plains: Disease, Politics of Starvation, and the Loss of Aboriginal Life." In the book, Dashuck writes: "By the turn of the 1880s, dominion officials tailored their response to the famine to further their own agenda of development in the west, by subjugating the malnourished and increasingly sick indigenous population." At this time, pressure from settlers, including hunting and farming, pushed bison into extirpation from North American plains.
In the article "Reserves in Alberta," Matthew Wildcat writes:
"From Indigenous peoples' perspectives, treaties were sacred compacts that offered a way to survive, as the Canadian government promised assistance in transitioning to an economy based on agriculture. From the Canadian government's perspective, treaties were a way of enabling westward colonial settlement by taking away or limiting Indigenous peoples' rights to the land."
Under Treaty 6, a band received a twine and ammunition fund of $1500 per year. Individual families received $1000 for the first three years of farming, to be used for agriculture provisions such as gardening tools, livestock, horses, and wagons.
In the wake of the last smallpox outbreak on the plains, which killed over 3,500 people—mostly Niitsitapi, Cree and Métis—the Plains Cree insisted on a Treaty 6 clause requiring the Dominion government to provide a medicine chest for the reserve population. Following this call, a medicine chest was stored at the Indian agent's house on the reserve.
Dashuck notes that:
"During the year of 1877-78, Reverend John Hines reported that 'Indians take their ponies, dying of the effects of the mange, kill them, boil their bones in order to get a little fat, with which to grease the wheat, when roasting, in order to make it more digestible...The consumption of sick animals or those that had died of disease spread zoonotic diseases to the reserve population already weakened by malnutrition."
As a result of the government's half-hearted efforts to abolish the famine, people living on the plains starved. This illuminated the cracks in the government's call to self-sufficiency and highlighted the legal failure of the treaty's commitment to helping Indigenous people in the case of a large-scale famine.
In the final months of 1879, the government instituted additional measures to address the famine. They established a cattle industry on the land that had been previously occupied by abundant herds of bison. The bison that remained competed with these cattle herds for limited resources. Daschuk asserts that "The ecological significance of the introduction of cattle cannot be overstated."
Settlers brought between six and ten million cattle and one million horses north from Texas at the end of the American Civil War. This migration is the largest short-term geographical shift of domesticated herd animals globally. These animals introduced illnesses to the plains bison, such as tuberculosis, bovine, and anthrax. Before the migration, it has been noted that these illnesses were not present in bison. The rough winters of the northern plains magnified the severity of these illnesses for bison and humans.
As word of the devastating famine reached Ottawa, the government adopted a new approach to deal with the starvation by establishing what was called the Home Farm Program. This plan was instated when nearly 5,000 or 20% of the Indigenous people on the plains searched for food in the United States. The hastily crafted program was designed to teach Indigenous people to farm using colonial methods. In 1879, groups from Ontario travelled west to create model home farms throughout Treaty 4 and 6. The farms were near or on reserves and developed as a model of how a farm should be organized to sustain families. The model farmers were to assist Indigenous people in day-to-day farming tasks.
One of the main issues with this plan was that the farmers from Ontario had no idea how to sustain a farm in the harsh Western climate. These Eastern farmers were not knowledgeable about the soil, weather, or Indigenous cultures and needed to be accompanied by interpreters. It quickly became clear that the model farmers were not successful in developing even small farms. The farmers were not producing enough food to support themselves, let alone the people around them.
In "Lost Harvests: Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy," author Sarah Carter states: "Government defenders of the program argued that the essential problem lay with Aboriginal people, who were 'idlers by nature and uncivilized.'" In the opinion of Prime Minister Macdonald, they were not suited to agriculture, as they "have not the ox-like quality of the Anglo-Saxon; they will not put their neck to the yoke."
In the west, it was apparent the program had done little to teach Indigenous people to farm in a settler sense. This program solidified the thought that the government overly compensated Indigenous people while other settler farmers in the area were provided little government help. However, this take was based on ignorance.
Carter writes about the introduction of what we know today as the residential school system. She states: "The final demise of the home farms coincided with the inauguration of a new scheme to bring the Indians to 'civilization.' Through the industrial school system, unveiled in 1883, efforts would be concentrated on a new generation of Indians. They would be taught useful trades and English, both of which would increase their employment opportunities." By 1884 Ottawa retired the Home Farm Program.
The Home Farm Program demonstrated how settlers enforced divisions between Indigenous peoples and their traditional foodways at the turn of the century. The government did not increase the resources allocated to Indigenous people to counter the growing famine crisis of the 1880s. In response to Liberal criticism regarding the famine relief, the government stated that Indigenous people were a waste of money and made more cuts to famine relief. The finance minister at the time, Sir Leonard Tilley, remarked that "[Indigenous people] must work or starve."
In the summer of 1881, the Department of Indian Affairs created a new plan to manage the food supply for the hungry. In an attempt to preserve and encourage the local agriculture industry, people living on reserves were forbidden to purchase, barter, or trade for any food products grown anywhere in the Northwest Territories. While this was an attempt to encourage local industry, it negatively impacted the economy of the Northwest and further contributed to the famine.
The Dominion used starvation to force Indigenous people on the Albertan plains onto reserves. Wildcat notes that "By 1888, bison were extirpated from Canada. While the government offered rations to starving Indigenous people, only those whose Nation had signed a treaty were eligible to receive the food."
Musical interlude
Let's look at the actual geography of Ritchie. The early twentieth-century Henderson's Directories do not refer to Ritchie as a region. The only references to that name are Ritchie School, the Ritchie Community Playground, individuals with the name Ritchie, or businesses with the name Ritchie. While the concrete facts of the Ritchie neighbourhood's formal beginnings are blurry, this is what we do know:
The area we now identify as Ritchie was a part of the Town of Strathcona. Strathcona's conception dates the arrival of the Calgary and Edmonton Railway in 1892, which ended at the North Saskatchewan River Valley. In 1892, the community formerly known as South Edmonton adopted the name Strathcona. The community was named after Donald Smith, Lord Strathcona, a director of both the Hudson's Bay Company and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Strathcona became a city in March 1907 after reaching a population of 3,500. In 1901, the total attendance at Strathcona Public School was 293 children.
On April 4, 1900, a Low-Level Bridge connecting Edmonton and Strathcona opened. This led to the amalgamation of the two cities in February 1912. The bridge expanded the possibility of trade, transportation, and business. In 1901, Strathcona's dark evening streets, homes, and businesses were electrically illuminated for the first time. The Strathcona Electric Light Company installed electricity poles around town, much to the satisfaction of residents. Three arc lights illuminated Whyte Avenue, and the company intended to install more lights around town. Arc Lights were the first practical electric lights, named after the way the light is produced—by an electric or voltaic arc.
In "Edmonton's Urban Villages: The Community League Movement," Ron Kuban notes that "Strathcona served as the railhead for new immigrants who came by rail to settle in the area. Eight hotels in Strathcona served these new migrants in the early 1900s." The Edmonton Calgary Rail-Line and Edmonton-Yukon Rail-Line ended in Strathcona, not Edmonton. The founders used the draw of the capital "Edmonton" to attract people.
A quote from an Edmonton City as a Museum Project article by Cooper Csorba reads: "The area to the east of the rail line was supposed to be anything but a commercial hub. However, early on, the vacant area was put to use for industry, dotted with farm implement shops, grain elevators, and mills. Indeed, as pressure to stake one's claim near the civic centre grew, residences leapt over the tracks into West Ritchie."
In 1906, three named subdivisions encompassed much of the modern neighbourhood of Ritchie: Richmond Park, Irvine, and Brackman Ker; however, these do not include the entirety of what is known as Ritchie today. Some areas of West Ritchie weren't named.
While not explicitly shown within a source, the implication may be that the regions of Ritchie that lie outside these subdivisions pre-date Richmond Park, Irvine and Brackman Ker. This is especially possible because the areas lie alongside the railway tracks and station, acting as a natural landing pad for settlement.
In terms of modern boundaries, the Brackman-Ker subdivision ran just south of Whyte Avenue, from about 80th Avenue South to 76th Avenue, and then from approximately 97th street East to the Mill Creek Ravine. Irvine stretched east from 100th Street to 97th Street and south from 76th Avenue to 68th Avenue, or what was then the Edmonton, Yukon & Pacific Railway line. While the subdivision's exact boundaries are difficult to define, it looks like Richmond Park was bound by the modern borders of 76th Avenue to 68th Avenue and 97th Street to about 91st Street. Although, it is also possible that CPR tracks and 103rd Street were the division points, situating Richmond Park within a liminal space between two railway lines. Over time, the borders of Richmond Park, Irvine, and Brackman-Ker morphed until eventually, Richmond Park absorbed the other two.
Take a look at the show notes for this episode on our website to see a map of Brackman-Ker, Irvine, and Richmond Park.
Most of the known history about Ritchie manifests in accounts from Richmond Park.
Richmond Park was first mentioned as a part of the town of Strathcona in 1909. The Immigration Hall on 80th Avenue and 100th Street made Richmond Park a hub for German settlers. In fact, in 1911, German-speaking residents made up one-fifth of the area's population. This was the greatest density of non-English speakers in Strathcona. Csorba reports that "Diaries of arriving families tell that the presence of the hall encouraged them to move to West Ritchie, welcomed by German families making short stays in the hall's lodgings."
The early 1910s saw the rise of a more cohesive neighbourhood structure within the subdivision of Richmond Park, which arguably began with the construction of Ritchie School.
In 1911, over 1,200 students enrolled in public school in South Side Edmonton—almost a 40 percent increase from the year before. With enrollment numbers rising quickly, it became apparent that the South Side needed a new school. In 1913, Edmonton allocated roughly one million dollars to build schools in neighbourhoods around the city, including Richmond Park.
In 1913, the Ritchie School was erected. Situated proudly at 9750-74 Avenue, the red brick, three-story school was designed by Architect and School Board Building Commissioner George E. Turner and constructed by Pheasly and Batson. The massive brick structure replaced two wooden frame schoolhouses - built as temporary structures - and known as Irvine Estate Schools. The community upgraded many of the roads in Irvine in 1912 to accommodate the heavy construction.
The Edmonton Bulletin reports that construction of the school began on January 1, 1913. However, this date is likely a placeholder rather than an accurate date. Ritchie School was open by November of 1913, though it was still without a functioning sewer system for the first month of operation. While architecturally stunning, the school had some structural flaws as it was built on a slough. This caused the basement to descend, spurring flooding in the first year.
Ritchie school quickly became a reference point for the neighbourhood.
During WWI, potatoes were grown in the playing fields of the school. William Schmidt was the school's first janitor. He worked long days and spent his nights at the school, shovelling coal into the fire to keep the temperatures up. In 1916, Schmidt and two other school employees were forced to resign due to their German ancestry.
In 1944, the school underwent a renovation: the assembly hall was divided to accommodate extra classrooms. Ten years later, eight additional classrooms were added, and in 1957, the school added a library and industrial arts and home economics rooms.
In 1974, The Terra School for Unwed Mothers rented the school. Madeleine Cummings of CBC Edmonton writes:
"The organization that would eventually become the Terra Centre was incorporated in June of 1971 after a group of young mothers started supporting each other as they tried to finish high school and keep their babies. They came together to accomplish these two things and they got some support from a couple of social workers and other people in the community that had a belief in them."
The Edmonton Public School Board voted in 2008 to close the school. Only 89 students were enrolled at the time. In 2009, the Francophone School Board took up residence in the space, opening École Joseph Moreau, the debut francophone junior high in Western Canada. In 2017 then-premier Rachel Notley announced funding for a replacement school, and in May of 2020, the city demolished the old structure.
Musical Interlude
Thank you for tuning in to the first episode of A Little Bit Ritchie. A Little Bit Ritchie is brought to you by the Ritchie Community League Centennial Celebration Committee. The committee is chaired by Erin Fraser and Seghan MacDonald. Our primary researcher is Linnea Bell. Elyse Colville wrote this episode. A Little Bit Ritchie is produced by Castria Communications and Media Solutions. This project is supported by the Edmonton Heritage Council and the City of Edmonton. Tierra Connor created our artwork.
To see photos of the locations and people mentioned in this episode, detailed show notes, a transcription, and references for this episode, visit www.ritchie-league.com/a-little-bit-ritchie-podcast.
If you have a story you would like to share in a future episode of A Little Bit Ritchie, send us an email at community-planning@ritchie-league.com.
And don't forget to check out ACME Meat Market, our community collaborator this month, for all your local butchery needs.
On the next episode of A Little Bit Ritchie, we will talk about the people and the events that made the neighbourhood what it is today and the role and formation of community leagues.
I'm Lydia Neufeld.
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