Underneath the splintered boards and dust that now occupies 306 Connaught Dr. lies a building steeped in history.
Erected in 1926, it was one of five general stores established in Jasper during the 1920s and 30s.
With a population of about 300 people to service, the stores were hoping to cash in on the western expansion of the railway and the creation of the Canadian National Railway Company incorporated in 1919.
The building was first owned by Frank Seager, whose family originally owned a general store in Lucerne, B.C., a small mountain town once located just west of Jasper National Park. Today Lucerne is a small campground along the shores of Yellowhead Lake and Highway 16.
After CN Rail took over the Canadian Northern and Grand Truck Pacific railways, Jasper was chosen as the new “railway divisional point,” and the terminal in Lucerne was closed, causing many of the town’s residents to pack their bags and relocate to Jasper.
That mass exodus included the Seager family, which set up shop, offering the community groceries and household items.
“When I was a kid we used to go there and get whatever we needed,” recalled Alan Brady, who was born in Jasper in 1933 and now lives in Valemount, B.C.
Despite surviving the Great Depression, the general store closed prior to the end of Second World War.
“It was tough to make a living those days,” recalled Sandy Robinson, who’s grandfather built one of the first general stores in Jasper in 1923.
After the store closed, the Jones family opened a southern fried chicken restaurant in the building.
“She used to make the best fried chicken and sweet potato pie,” said Brady with a chuckle. “We used to go in there quite often.”
It’s difficult to nail down the history of the building after the restaurant closed down, but it likely sat vacant for a number of years before it was rented by a group of Jehovah Witnesses and used as a Kingdom Hall.
Prior to renting the building in Jasper and turning it into a hall, many Jehovah Witnesses were persecuted by the government for their open opposition to the Second World War.
“In July 1940 the Government of Canada banned the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” wrote William Kaplan, in his book State and Salvation. “Overnight it became illegal to be a member of this sect. The law, passed under the War Measures Act, was vigorously enforced. Beatings, mob action, police persecution, and state prosecution confronted the Jehovah’s Witnesses as they ignored the ban and continued to go about their work spreading the word of God.”
According to Kaplan’s account, men of military age that refused to fight were sent to alternative service work camps, including in Jasper National Park near Pyramid Lake, for the duration of the war as conscientious objectors.
Based on photos, when the building was rented to the group, it was fitted with a large white “Kingdom Hall” sign.
It’s unclear how long the building remained a Kingdom Hall, but later it was transformed into Women’s World Beauty Salon and Kiyook Gifts.
“It was a very colourful place,” said Glenda Cornforth, a former employee with the Jasper-Yellowhead Museum and Archives and long-time resident.
Then in 1976, Shirley Davis and her husband Cliff took over both stores, renaming the beauty salon Headliners and turning the art gallery into a small boutique retail store.
During it’s heyday, the Davis’ employed seven hairdressers to keep up with demand.
Despite renting the building for nearly four decades, Davis said she never met the owner, Dr. Varvas, who lived in Edmonton.
Overtime the Davis’ eventually started renting the second floor of the building as staff housing.
In 1986, the store evolved and became Everything But, selling everything from clothing to tourist knick-knacks. Today that store still exists, now located at 402 Patricia St.
In recent years, the building became an eyesore as it fell into disrepair.
In 2014, the building was sold to Ray Robinson, owner of Robinsons Foods, and it sat empty until last month when it was torn down.
Robinson and his partner Diana Laarz plan to build a brand new building on the lot with commercial space on the main floor and residential space on the second floor.
“The project will hopefully be completed by May or June of next year,” said Robinson.
He declined to go into detail about what might move into the new commercial space, but said there will be a retail component.
“We’re still investigating options for that space,” he said.
Reflecting on the old building, Robinson said there was “nothing really endearing about it.”
“The only thing you could say was that it stood for quite a long time, but in terms of aesthetics or condition it certainly didn’t warrant existing any longer, so it had to be taken down.”
In its place will soon be something new.
“Hopefully it will stand as long as that one did,” said Robinson.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
