Kayville Timeline 1930’s

The 1930s were a defining decade for Saskatchewan, profoundly shaped by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, which together triggered widespread economic hardship, social upheaval, and significant political changes.

The 1930s saw Saskatchewan, a province heavily reliant on agriculture, hit hard by the Great Depression. The collapse of global grain prices devastated the economy, leading to widespread poverty among farmers. The situation was exacerbated by severe drought conditions throughout the decade, part of the Dust Bowl that affected much of the North American prairies. These environmental challenges led to crop failures, dust storms, and the abandonment of many farms, pushing rural populations into deep distress.

The economic crisis of the 1930s led to significant social consequences. Unemployment soared, and many families faced extreme hardships with little government support initially available. Migration increased as people left the province in search of better opportunities elsewhere. These conditions also sparked a rise in social activism, as people organized to demand more effective responses from the government.

The dire economic and social conditions led to political upheaval in Saskatchewan. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), a new political party founded on socialist principles, grew in popularity by advocating for radical economic reforms and social welfare programs. In 1933, the CCF formed the first socialist government in North America under the leadership of Tommy Douglas, beginning in the subsequent decade. Their platform addressed the immediate needs for economic relief and proposed long-term reforms to prevent future crises, such as public ownership of key industries and social security systems.

The response to the crisis involved both community-level and governmental initiatives. Communities often banded together to provide mutual aid, while the government, under both Liberal and later CCF leadership, implemented new programs for economic relief, agricultural support, and infrastructure projects that provided employment and aimed to stabilize the economy.

The adversity of the 1930s also influenced Saskatchewan’s cultural landscape, with increased advocacy for workers’ rights, unionization, and cooperative movements. These changes reflected a broader shift towards more progressive and collective solutions to economic and social issues.

Kayville Timeline (1930 – 1939)

1930

• (abt 1930) A house, flour mill and bakery was built on the east side of town by Mike Majeran (southwest corner of SW 13-09-24-W2).  They had a contract with the federal government to supply flour during World War II.  The house, bakery and mill were destroyed in a fire in 1957.¹
• Newspaper stories voicing concern about the damage being caused to crops due to cutworms begin to appear. Cutworms do most of their damage in the spring.  It had been a dry spring and the belief was that more rain would be the futile wish of farmers. Little did they suspect at the time that the traditional farming practice of deep tillage was making both the affects if the drought and the infestation of cutworms worse.  By the autumn crop yields would be down between 20% and 30%.²
• Fred Schmidt Sr. moved to Kayville from Dahinda where he had been operating a blacksmith shop (and before that in Ogema) and purchased the blacksmith shop from Mr. Farley.  Fred ran the shop for thirteen years until 1943.^1,3
• Fred Schmidt Sr. who was the town blacksmith also ran a butcher shop which he operated for thirteen years until he left town around 1943.¹
• Saskatchewan experienced a second year in a row of crop failure due to drought.⁴
• A flour mill was built and operated for a few years by John Frank and his brothers who had moved from the Lipton area.¹

1931

• Saskatchewan Liquor Board store which opened about four years earlier in 1927, closes¹

1932

• Saskatchewan experienced a third consecutive year of crop failures due to drought.⁵

1933

• The ‘Great Depression‘ was in full swing.  30% Unemployment. One in five Canadians require government relief.  The people of Kayville are no exception will many leaving to find work in eastern Canada.  Many who stayed needed to apply for a share of government shipments of food and clothing.⁶

• After three years of punishing drought and crop failures rain returned and crops finally grew with the moisture they needed.  The crops were instead ravaged by a massive hatching of grasshoppers who must have been waiting for the rain to return along with the farmers.⁷

1934

• Summer heat was dry and scorching.  Exposed soil dried and winds began to blow it into the swirling dust storms that came to visually represent the hardships of being a farmer during the decade. It was clear that farming practices were going to need to adapt.⁸

1935

• Despite the crushing challenges of the ‘Dirty Thirties‘ the people of the area banded together to form dance troupes who performed traditional Romanian dancing and music.  This was likely a way for immigrant parents to keep Romanian cultural traditions alive for their children, many of which were born in Canada.⁹
  • Read more in Arcaşul Romanian Dance Troupe (1935) and Arcaşul Romanian Dance Troupe II (1935).
• Civil unrest caused by the poor economy causes unemployed men in the west to organize and plan a demonstration in Ottawa.  They climbed aboard trains, riding atop and within rail cars travelling east across the western provinces.  At first, governments dismissed the protest but the numbers of the participants continued to grow with every mile.  On June 14, 1935 the contingent reached Regina.  Estimates said that that there were about 300 men on the trek by this time.  The governments tried to negotiate with the protesters but it all fell apart during the Dominion Day celebrations on July 1.¹⁰
  • A riot broke out when police arrived in the Market Square and began arresting protesters. Read more about the “Regina Riot” on Wikipedia.  There were maybe 2000 Dominion Day celebrants in the area when the riot kicked-off and tear gas choked the air.   Romanians were definitely at the riot, not only because they may have been attending the Dominion Day festivities, but the square where the riot began was less than 200m NW of St. Nicholas Romanian Orthodox Church and a lot of families lived near their church.  Luckily the riot seemed to boil westward into the city centre. Read the July 2, 1935 issues of The Leader Post.

1936

• A poolroom is operated by Mike Juravle for two years¹
• The punishing heat soared again in the summer and the dust storms of the past two years continued to strip the land.¹¹
• Romanian Orthodox Bishop Policarp Morusca visits the Orthodox Churches in the Kayville region to sanctify them and to work to mend relationships between the parishes and with the Romanian Orthodox Church.¹²
  • Read more about his visit to Saint Mary’s Romanian Orthodox Church in the article 1936 Saint Mary’s Church Group.

1937

• On the morning of March 17 Excelsis School burns down.  The John Silverson building in Kayville (across the street east of the present hotel) was initially used as a classroom before space in Eftim Ritco’s poolroom and bowling alley was used.¹¹
• Another year of heat, dust and failed crops.¹³
• July 1937, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Saskatchewan was +45°C in Midale (~130km southeast of Kayville) and Yellow Grass (~71km east of Kayville).¹⁴
• Kayville Co-op Association is created and initially sold petroleum products and coal.  The Association was run from a small house on the southwest corner of the main intersection which served as the office, store and living quarters for the manager and his family.  The first manager was Sigmund Brandt.¹

1938

• (maybe 1939¹⁴ or 1937¹⁾ Dan Popescul buys a poolroom in the building on the southeast corner of the main intersection which was previously used by Joe Surdu beginning around 1925 for his Chevrolet Dealership and Mechanic’s garage.^1,15
• Mike Juravle closes the poolroom which he operated for the last two years since 1936.¹
• Rain levels required for proper crop success returned and new farming practices came together to reward farmers with the best crops in eight years.¹⁶

1939

• Rudy “Big Rudy” Ursu opened a mechanic shop which he operated for 38 years until his death in 1977.  Rudy also operated a Massey-Harris equipment dealership.^1,10

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1. “Kayville”, Pages 30-33, Karl R. Jackle, “Prairie Grass to Golden Grain:  RM 70 Ogema & Surrounding Areas” (1982), ISBN 0-919-533-10-8, Ogema and District Historical Society ↩︎
2. Needs citation ↩︎
3. “Dahinda Village”, Pages 22-25, Geoff Bywater, “Prairie Grass to Golden Grain:  RM 70 Ogema & Surrounding Areas” (1982), ISBN 0-919-533-10-8, Ogema and District Historical Society ↩︎
4. Needs citation ↩︎
5. Needs citation ↩︎
6. Needs citation ↩︎
7. Needs citation ↩︎
8. Needs citation ↩︎
9. Needs citation ↩︎
10. Needs citation ↩︎
11. “Excelsis S.D. Excelsis School No. 2994”, Pages 308-309, Karl R. Jackle, “Prairie Grass to Golden Grain:  RM 70 Ogema & Surrounding Areas” (1982), ISBN 0-919-533-10-8, Ogema and District Historical Society  ↩︎
12. Needs citation ↩︎
13. Needs citation ↩︎
14. Wikipedia contributors. (2024, June 4). ‘Saskatchewan’. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:21, June 12, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Saskatchewan&oldid=1227153480 ↩︎
15. “Dan and Rose Popescul”, Page 326, George Popescul, “Prairie Grass to Golden Grain:  RM 70 Ogema & Surrounding Areas” (1982), ISBN 0-919-533-10-8, Ogema and District Historical Society ↩︎
16. Needs citation ↩︎