Marian McEwen gave this talk on the rich history of Rocky Mountain House and Memorial Church at the luncheon on Synod Weekend. Spouses of the delegates and members of our congregation enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship at the Timberline…thank you Marian and thank you to the committee for thinking of it!
I have been asked by the planning committee of the Synod meeting to give you a brief history of Memorial Presbyterian Church, but a brief history of Rocky Mountain House should come first.
Rocky Mountain House was the fur trading post built in 1799 by the Northwest Trading Company on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River and from this post, David Thompson set out to find a route for the fur traders to go through the Rockies down the Columbia River to the Pacific. The Hudson’s Bay Company also built a fur trading post on the opposite bank of the river and named it Acton House. The companies finally agreed to a merger is 1821 and there after was known as the Hudson’s Bay Company.
In 1999 there was a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Historic Site of the original chimneys. Visitors to the trading post in the early 1800’s included well known names such as Capt. Butler, and Dr. Hector of the Palliser Expedition and the artist Paul Kane. Early missionaries were the Rev. Wm. Rundle, Father DeSmet, Father Lacombe, the Rev. George and Elizabeth MacDougall and their eldest son John.
By 1875 the fur trade had declined. No one wanted the shiny high-crowned beaver hats any more. The post was abandoned and for over 25 years the area of Rocky Mountain House lay dormant.
In 1904 the first homesteader arrived – George Fletcher with his brother Fred and their mother who came from England. The best agricultural land in Central Alberta had all been taken, the farms in the Rocky Mountain House area had to be cleared with axe and grub hoe.
In 1909 there were more families settling here and a store began. It took six days to get supplies from Red Deer by horse and wagon – two days to go, one day to load and three days to return over muskeg, mud-swollen creeks and corduroy roads.
A student minister, Mr. MacDonald was sent by the Presbyterian Church to the area. Services were held in homes, in the blacksmith shop and even in the pool hall!
In 1912, another Presbyterian student minister, Mr. Thompson with the help of Mr. Hives, the local Anglican lay reader, spearheaded the move to build a Mission Hall – a 24′ x 36′ building completed in 1913. Also in 1912, the railroad came to Rocky Mountain House. The Canadian Northern Railway and the Alberta Central Railway were racing to build lines to the coal fields of Nordegg.
On May 2, 1913 the hamlet was designated a village. The early post office had been called Prairie Grange, the Railroad Station was called Lochearn, but the name Rocky Mountain House was chosen because of the historical significance. From 1914 – 1918, many of the men of the district left to fight in World War I. In 1919, plans were made to build a church and it was opened in 1922 – one big room for the Sanctuary with a small room at the back; in the basement there was an Assembly Room, two Sunday School rooms and a kitchen. There was no running water and at the church supper, the men carried a wash boiler full of dirty dishes down the street to Eric Whidden’s to be washed.
The church was called Memorial as a tribute to the men of the district who had died in World War I. After World War II, a stained glass window was installed and a plague listing the names honouring those in the community who died.
Church Union took place in 1925 but Rocky Mountain House continued as a Presbyterian Church. As the congregation grew, groups were formed – junior and senior choirs, Ladies Aid (now the Guild), Women’s Missionary Society, Mission Band, Children of the Church, Explorers CGIT, Trail Rangers, etc.
In 1936 the minister, Rev. R.K. Peck saw a notice in Glad Tidings that the WMS (Women’s Missionary Society) had money to aid a hospital building in the west. The WMH agreed to furnish and equip a hospital if the community could raise $4000. This was during the depression years but money was raised and a 10 bed hospital opened in July 1938. First Matron was Miss Irene McRae (Mrs. Bernard Killick.) The hospital was always full and in 1946 it was sold to the community and the Rocky Mountain House Municipal Hospital District was established. The present hospital opened in 1962. It is still being enlarged. It now boasts its own helicopter pad for air lifting patients in emergencies.
In 1946, a bridge across the North Saskatchewan River replaced 37 years of Ferry Service. In the 1950’s, the Presbyterian church sent out a van with two deaconesses to visit outlying farms and hold Sunday School in schools. Many stories are told of the struggles the girls had trying to get out of mud holes during the rainy season.
In 1957 the road to Red Deer was paved – what an improvement!
In 1959 the Rev. Gordon and Anna Cunningham and family moved into the new Presbyterian Manse, which had been built with the help of a lot of volunteer labour. Plans for a new church went ahead and the men of the community, using wheel barrows helped pour cement for the foundation while the women supplied lunches and helped paint. Many banquets were served as fundraisers.
In November of 1962 the new church was dedicated.
In 1974, Memorial was host to the Synod and Synodical Executive.
1975 saw the burning of the mortgage. In October of that year, there was a reunion of junior choir members.
In 1982 there was the 60/20 Anniversary Celebration. 60 years since the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in Rocky Mountain House and 20 years in the new building. Plans were begun to make the church building more accessible. September 12, 1993, dedication of the new entrance way/office and the elevator by the Rev. Allen Aicken.
November 1991, re-dedication of the memorial window by Sandra Franklin-Law.
1997 – Memorial was host for the annual Presbytery Choir Rally on Palm Sunday and host for the Synod of Alberta and the Northwest.
Rocky Mountain House must be a proving ground for Moderators of the Presbyterian Church! The Rev. Harry Lennox, student minister in 1922 became Moderator; Rev. Brown and Rev. Morris, both spending time in Rocky Mountain House went on to be Moderators. Mrs. Tam Corbett was in Rocky Mountain House as a deaconess with the famous van was Moderator last year!