Thanks to Larry Christianson of Archerwill, we were given a unique glimpse into the past.  Larry brought into our office a copy of the January 10, 1977 Community Booster, which did a very good section of Archerwill.  

Archerwill.... Still Fighting Against the Odds.... And Still Winning!

Archerwill - 1985

When the Canadian Pacific Railway announced it would put a line through Rose Valley north to Tisdale, the people of Dahlton, about 15 miles west of the future line, decided to ask the Railway to establish a town site directly east of Dahlton to give the hamlet a close shipping point.

Chances were against this proposal being accepted because the new town site would be between Algrove and Nora, which the Railway had intended to become the major shipping points for the area. (Left: the first livery stable, post office and pool hall.)

However, the Council of the Rural Municipality of Barrier Valley, which included the hamlet of Dahlton, wrote a request to the railway.  The Council consisted of Ervie Hanson, C.B. Johnson, Archie Campbell and Secretary-Treasurer, Will Pierce.

Somehow the persuasive Council got the Railway to agree to set up the new town site about 40 miles south of Tisdale.  It was named after two of the R.M. Councilors and the Secretary-Treasurer: Archie, Ervie and Will.

Archerwill was one of the newest settlements in Saskatchewan, being established in 1924.  Most other communities originated around 1905 when Saskatchewan entered Confederation and was opened up for settlement.

Another of Archerwill's distinctive characteristics is that, while so many other communities are gradually decreasing in population, Archerwill is one of the few small communities that is growing.

Archerwill's other main distinction is its citizens' readiness to contribute toward village projects.  A new skating rink and curling rink complex is presently being constructed at a cost of $150,000.00 and is being financed entirely through donations from its 302 residents.  In 1967, several citizens contributed $200.00 each towards construction of the Civic Centre which replaced the old community hall.

The village is having water and sewer installed soon.  The $250,000.00 cost has also been covered by personal contributions.

RAILROAD
Ervie Hanson, Adolph Christiaens, Victor Johnson, Andrew Stromberg and Elias Johnson cleared the railroad right of way through Archerwill for $30.00 an acre.

The railroad was completed and the first train went through the district in 1924-1925. (Right: Ervie Hanson and family wait for the train at the station in Archerwill.)

ELEVATORS
The first two elevator agents were Ed Pederson for United Grain Growers and Ed Gullickson for the Pool.  A Searle elevator was also constructed.

The elevators burned down in a fire of unknown origin in 1937.  They were all re-built.  The Searle elevator was sold to Federal which sold out to the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.  The elevator agents now are Paul Deihl for U.G.G. and Don Larsen for the Pool.

POST OFFICE
After persuading the railway to allow a townsite, the R.M. Council set out to get permission to have a post office.

In 1924, Councillors Hanson and Campbell attended a Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention where they met with the postal superintendent.  They received permission to start a post office in Archerwill.

Einar Olafson was the first postmaster.  The post office building later became A.G. Anderson's store.  George Numeland had the post office until he sold the building to Johnny Bardwell for use as a cafe.  Mr. McElroy was postmaster for many years.  He was succeeded by the present postmaster, Les Richards.

Archerwill - 1986

INDUSTRIES
Archerwill once had a few small sawmills and planers.  There was also an egg grading station operated by Vicki Ponahychuk, Gerturde Danielson, Elsa Nomeland, Helen Gohn and Lillian Neigel.

The mills and the grading station no longer exist.  These were never major industries.  Archerwill has always been basically a farming community.

BUSINESSES
One of the first Archerwill businesses was Mr. and Mrs. Haaken Anderson's cafe.  A year after it opened Haaken Anderson and Aslak Nelson built a livery barn which was later moved to the north side of town.  Alec Tetrault was the last person to operate it as a livery barn. (Right: Mrs. Ruest's Cafe.)

Erwin Nagel bought the building and began to renovate it and use it as a storage shed.  However, he changed his mind and sold it to Clarence Pederson who moved it to its present site north of the Co-op bulk.

Victor and Victoria Johnson were the first owners of the Archerwill Cafe.  They rented it to George and Lauran Hanson, and then to Mr. and Mrs. Pearson.  The cafe was sold in 1930 to James and Gertrude Danielson who owned it until they built a garage in 1931.

They sold it to Toy Wayon who operated it until 1974 when he retired and moved to Vancouver.  He sold the cafe to Frank and Anne Kryzanowski who sold it to the present owners, Dennis and Rose Hudy.

Mr. and Mrs. Duffy had the first Archerwill Hotel.  It was renovated and changed owners several times.  Present proprietors are Warren and Doreen Harley.

Ervie Hanson rented out his homestead in 1924 and became Archerwill's first International Harvester dealer on the corner of Main Street and First Avenue.  He sold the business to Roland and Fred Lalonde in 1937.  Roland bought his brother out in 1939.  In 1945, the building was demolished and replaced with a new building which was added on to in 1948.

In 1952, it was sold to Romeo Caron and Erwin Nagel.  Nagel bought out Caron in 1956 and, in 1963, built a new building a half mile west of Archerwill where he still runs the I.H. dealership. (Left: Danielson's Garage.)

Johnny Bardwell ran a cafe in a building that had formerly been the post office.  The cafe had a succession of owners and was finally purchased by Erwin Nagel and later sold to "Bible Deliverance" for use as a church.  After a short while, it was re-purchased by Nagel who demolished the building and sold the lot to the Co-op.

George Olson began a dray business in 1924.  It was taken over by Clifford Thuen in 1953 and operated until 1970.

The first Red and White Store was opened by A.G. Anderson in 1925.  The store's last owner was Joe Pederson who went bankrupt in 1955 and sold the building to Toy Wayon.  It was used as a warehouse and later was demolished.

In 1924, Len Black had a hardware store where the hotel is now.  He sold it to John McNicol who was Archerwill's only pharmacist.  The business was moved further north on Main Street in 1934.  This building still stands and is now owned by the Co-op.  The front part is used for storage, and the living quarters in the back was rented.

Goodmans had a grocery store from 1924 until 1925 when they rented the building to the Co-op.  Goodman later sold the store to Alfred Anderson who operated a hardware store there until 1958.  He sold it to Erwin Nagel who ran the store for a year with Stanley Murias as manager.  Nagel sold it to Mike Chorney who operated it as a barber shop, shoe repair and second hand store.  The building was demolished about eight years ago. (Right: Barrier Kennels.)

Mike Puchala had a shoe repair shop, and Bruno Kellman had a cafe and butcher shop.  The village's last butcher shop was owned and run by Steve Ketchmer.  The business shut down in 1969, and the building was torn down.

Del and Einar Strand had a Gulf garage which they sold to Marceau who sold it to Rumpel who operated it for about 20 years.  He sold it to Dennis Einarson who had to re-build it when parts of it burned.  He sold it to its present owner, Lawrence Sharp.

Sig and Henry Hage took over a garage from Christianson in 1937.  Henry moved away and Sig operated the business until his death in 1955.

Mr. Sorrenson had a John Deere shop from 1931 to 1937 on the east side of town beside Eric Swahn's planer and sawmill.

Joe Hill had a Massey Ferguson dealership and BA Bulk fuel outlet from 1940 to 1970.  James Danielson had a John Deere dealership and a White Rose outlet which he ran for only a few months.  He operated gas pumps until his death two years ago.

The Echo Lake Co-operative Association Ltd. was organized at Dahlton in 1940 as a bulk petroleum plant.  In 1945, a Co-op store was opened in Archerwill in the Sam Goodman building.  A new store was built in in 1948 and still operates.  (Left: New Co-op store under construction.)

In 1953, the bulk plant in Dahlton was moved into Archerwill.  The name of the Co-op was officially changed to the Archerwill Co-operative Association Limited.  A co-op lumber yard was built in 1960 and a two-bay service station was added in 1963.

In 1973, the Co-op built a farm supply outlet with a large back shop for servicing and repairing farm machinery.  The next year, it was necessary to provide more office space as the store became too crowded.  A Ready-To-Move home was built and is being used for this purpose until the store is enlarged or a new one built.

Today, the Co-op owns a general store, bulk station, lumber yard which builds up to 20 R.T.M. homes a year, farm supply outlet, and two major machine agencies: Sperry new Holland and Morris Rod Weeder.

Stan Revoy and Raymond MacDonald also build houses.  Like the Co-op they build as many as 20 each year.

When Harvey Butler left the army in 1945, he started a trucking business in Archerwill.  He operated the business until 1961 when he got his first road-building contract.  His company is now a large contractor, building grid roads.

Bob Reed and Oliver Bernier both do custom trucking.  Cliff Nelson and Walter Cooper are also in the trucking business.

The Credit Union was started in 1945 in what is now an office in the Co-op store.  Justin Slind was Treasurer.  Rudolf Krause took it over in 1947.  In 1963 the present Credit Union building was built.  Five years later Mr. Krause retired and was succeeded by the present manager Denis Delwisch. (Right: Credit Union early 1960's.)

Paul Stensland was one of the first barbers.  He did business from 1945 to 1960.  The present barber is Orville Christianson.

The Anderson Brothers' Store was moved to Archerwill from Dahlton in 1950 and used as a grocery store until the brothers built a new store.  This was later sold and moved to Norquay.

Pederson, Bedard and Knudson were some of the first blacksmiths.  Bunz had a welding schop which he sold in 1952 to Ed Derossiers.  This building burned down as did Puchala's Shoemakers and Kerluk's and Bauer's houses.  Bill Mason operated the pool room.  Other owners were Joe Koroluk and George Derossiers.

Olga Puchala operated the O.K. Clip and Curl, and Sharon Larson also had a beauty parlour.  Both businesses lasted from 1960 to 1970.  Today, three hairdressers do business from their homes.  They are Nina Schwitzer, Betty Ann Christianson, and Sylvia Richards.

Joe and Clara Ruest had a cafe in 1956.  The building was eventually torn down.  Bill Reed moved his welding shop from Algrove in 1964 and sold it to Maurice Lupien in 1974.

The Metis Society recently bought 33 acres of woodland on the east side of Archerwill where it cleared land to build homes and a leather tannery.  A handicraft centre is also being built, and classes are being taught in sewing and carpentry.  This is a pilot project and the first of its kind.

SCHOOLS
The first Archerwill School was built in 1924 and officially opened in 1926.  Oscar Hanson was the first chairman of the school board and the trustees were E.E. Hanson and Lars Lokan.  The first teacher was Lillian Burman from Dahlton. (Right: Archerwill School, 1926.)

In 1939 a second room was built onto the one-room school.  A third room was added in 1945.  In 1947 the old Barrier Lake School was moved in to serve as the fourth classroom. 

A new school was built in 1954.  It had four classrooms on the main floor and provisions for four additional rooms in the basement if the need should arise.  The need arose! (Left: Watercolour of current Archerwill School by Laurette Pederson.)

Between 1955 and 1963, several schools in the district were closed and the children were conveyed to Archerwill by bus.  These closed schools included Everton, Port Arthur, Marneau Lake, Felton Grove, Bradgate, Loring, Echo Park, Nora, Algrove, Barrier Lake, Nobelville, Dahlton and New Gate Park.

In 1959, two country schools, Echo Park and Marneau, were moved to Archerwill to accommodate the increasing enrollment.  A new school was built in 1963.

Grades one to twelve were taught in Archerwill until 1969.  Now, kindergarten to grade six are taught in the old school, the new school has grades seven to nine, and grades ten to 12 are bussed to Rose Valley.

Archerwill School's golden jubilee was celebrated this summer with a large homecoming.  Many people returned to the village from their present homes in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba.  The person who came the furthest was a man from Quebec who made a special trip back to Saskatchewan to attend the homecoming.

CHURCHES
Church services were held in the school and community hall from about 1934.

In 1941, the St. Felix Roman Catholic Church was built.  It was named for St. Felix as a tribute to a local resident, Felix Neigel.  The priest now is Father Bordet of St. Front.

Pete Sundin was contractor for the Lutheran Church which was constructed in 1946.  The church has since been closed and is presently being torn down.

The Berggrav United Church was built in 1942 with a student minister, Rev. Roy Anderson conducting services.  Mr. Salman was in charge of construction.  A dedication service was held on August 27, 1944.  An addition was built onto the church in 1951 and on September 16 that year a re-dedication service was held.

The Apostolic Church was built in 1945.  Services are no longer held there.

The congregation of Jehovah Witnesses was formed in 1950, and meetings were held in various homes until 1966 when the former Belle's Hill School was purchased.  The building was moved to Archerwill from about 25 miles east of the village, and renovated to become the Jehovah Witnesses Kingdom Hall.

VILLAGE INCORPORATED
Archerwill was incorporated as a village in 1945.  Its overseer was Joe Hill and the secretary-treasurer was Mr. McElroy.  Since then, the village has had three other secretaries and eight different overseers.

Today, the Council includes mayor Erwin Nagel, Councilors Harvey Butler and Dave Tkatch and secretary-treasurer Blanche Thuen.

DOCTOR
There was a doctor's office in Archerwill for a few years during the late 20's and early 30's.  The doctor came to town for a couple of days each week.  Later, a registered nurse made the regular visits.

The building was later used for the telephone office and is now the senor citizens recreational hall.

TELEPHONE
A telephone exchange was moved from Dahlton to Archerwill in 1957.  Mrs. Hedin was the first operator and later Les and Pearl Richards took it over.  Automatic dialing came in five years and and Mr. Richards left the telephone to become the post master.

THE FIRE
A ground fire threatened the village for months as it burned near Archerwill in 1961.  Patrols were stationed to watch the fire for a couple of months as it moved closer to the village.  Many of the residents were packed and ready to flee at a moment's notice.  By then, hundreds of acres had been burned.

The fire swept past the north edge of town.  Bulldozers helped keep it from spreading closer, but if the wind had shifted the whole village would have been destroyed.

RECREATION
Archerwill purchased a block of land for a sports ground from Raymond Gaudreau for $30.00.  However, a new sports ground was purchased on the east side of town and the old block of land was developed for residential lots.

An open air skating rink was constructed in the 1940's.  It was replaced three years ago with a steel building which is now being converted into a new curling rink.  The old curling was built in 1951 and shut down about two years ago.  A new skating rink will be built this winter adjoining the curling rink, and both will be serviced by common kitchen facilities.

A Civic Centre was built in 1967 to replace the old Community Hall.  A library is to be set up in the Centre next year.

Archerwill is surrounded by several lakes and parks for convenient summer recreation.  Among the vacation spots that are just a few miles away from Archerwill are Marean Lake, Greenwater Provincial Park, Barrier Lake, Lake Kipabiskau, Lake Sharron and Ponass Lake.

The local senior citizens group, called the New Horizon, meets regularly at the building that was formerly the doctor's office.  There its 50 or 60 members enjoy shuffleboard, cards, dances and other activities.

Offering something for everyone from the very young to the elderly, Archerwill is steadily attracting new residents.  New houses are being built and trailer homes are being moved in.  Many young couples are settling down in the village.

Thanks to the determination and hard work of the community's pioneers and the wonderful way the present citizens and the farmers cooperate, Archerwill looks forward to a good future for many generations.