In 1924 Alex Bodnaresk built a two storey business with a cafe on the ground floor and hotel rooms on the second floor. This was Kayville’s first hotel and first cafe!
Seventeen Kayville Area Citizens
The construction of the hotel was the project of Alex Bodnaresk who was anticipating a business opportunity in the sprouting village. The building was completed the same year as the Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) Amulet-Cardross railroad line reached Kayville in 1924. The information we have says that this hotel was built on the northwest corner of the main Kayville intersection. Is that right? The ground floor was a cafe and the second floor was hotel rooms.
Read more about the growth over time in the article: Kayville Timeline.
- What: This is a black & white photo of seventeen workmen men standing in front of Alex Bodnaresk’s newly constructed hotel and cafe
- Where: Kayville, Saskatchewan, Canada (49°43’36.0″N 105°08’53.4″W)
- When: circa 1924
- Why: We assume that this photo was taken to commemorate the end of the construction and that the men in the photo were either involved in the project and maybe some prominent Kayville citizens.
How many can you name?
I have labelled people with a number on their chest or above their heads from 1 to 17. If you click on the photo or here you can see a larger version.
Use these buttons to jump to information for each numbered person:
People in the photo
7. This guy looks pretty proud with both hands on his hips and he is standing at the center. Is this Alex Bodnaresk? We don’t have any photographs of Alex so we can’t say this with any certainty.
More
None
Evidence
- Alex Bodnaresk completes construction in 1924
- In the autumn of 1924 Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) Amulet-Cardross railroad line reached Kayville. Travellers could not only arrive in Kayville by train but they could stay in a hotel and eat at a cafe. Such luxury!
- I am not clear for how long Alex Bodnaresk operated the hotel and cafe. I found an announcement in the March 9, 1925 edition of the Regina newspaper The Leader on page 2 that Charlie Quon had purchased the Maryville Restaurant in Truax, Saskatchewan from Alex Bodnaresk. Was Alex trying his luck by setting up a series of businesses one at a time and then selling them, or was he operating multiple businesses in multiple communities simultaneously? Let me know.
- Through the 1940’s the hotel and cafe changed ownership multiple times. Owners were:
- Tom Chow
- Pete Buburuz and Eli Satir
- Pete Juravle
- Pete Morse Jr.
- George Petrescu
- George Majeran
- On September 13, 1950 the largest fire the town had ever seen destroyed the building. It was rebuilt the following year in brick.
