Considering the materials with which they had to work, the teaching staff at Victoria could boast of some remarkable results as well. Both Mr. McKenzie and Mr. Ira Snyder 66 were swamped with students, most of whom could soon read English more or less fluently and with considerable understanding. In 1872 Fleming noted that sixty names appeared on the school role. 67 By 1873 it had risen to seventy. 68 The teachers also took pride in the fact that many of their charges joined the Methodist Church and remained devout members until the end of their lives. Admittedly, the numbers were not large, but if 1873 can be taken as a typical year, then approximately thirty percent of the students took this route. 69

If dedication to the missionary cause was typical of most prairie clergy, so too was a resolve to resist any untoward actions on the part of the natives. A new and relatively young minister was thought to be easy prey by the more adventurous elements of the Indian population, but in Reverend Campbell even the most aggressive met their match. An example will serve to illustrate this point. Shortly after the Campbell family arrived at Victoria, Reverend Peter noticed that his precious vegetables, especially his turnips, were mysteriously disappearing from the fenced garden. It was a well-known fact that the Indians disliked fences of any kind cluttering up their free prairie, so it was obvious to the minister who had committed the crimes. To ensure that such thievery did not continue, Reverend Campbell devised a scheme whereby he disguised himself as a spirit and lay in wait for the thieves in the middle of the garden. When the intruders entered, he arose with a hearty " Ha!", and literally scared them half to death. The following day the Indians returned to collect the blankets they had inadvertently left behind in the ruckus. Reverend Campbell eventually

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acquiesced, but not before he gave them a lecture on the evils of stealing. 70

Unfortunate from the point of view of preserving Indian culture were the changing patterns of life on the prairies in the mid-1870s. The buffalo were receding rapidly to the south and more and more white- men were coming, into the territories. Consequently, the natives were forced to change their traditional habits in favour of the more sedentary existence of the newcomers. In the Victoria area this change was not brought about overnight. Successive failures in the summer hunts initially resulted in the removal of several families from the mission site. In 1873, Reverend Campbell reported that fourteen families left for the southern plains. 71 Figures for 1874 and 1876 show that this tendency continued unabated. In January 1876 there were but 203 Indians living near the Victoria settlement. 72 Two years later, church attendance figures indicate that the total native population was probably much lower. 73

For Reverend Campbell, the sight of his parishioners departing permanently from the settlement must have been a distressing experience. Years of work appeared to have been wasted and the prospects for the future were equally dismal. When he himself left the mission in April 1874, it took a full six month before a replacement, Mr. Edwards, arrived from the east; and for four years thereafter the turnover in incumbents continued at an unprecedented rate. In the spring of 1875 Reverend Edwards was replaced by Reverend Lewis Warner, who in turn was succeeded by Reverend John Walton in September 1876. In 1878 the pastorate was left vacant, but not, it should be noted, for lack of a candidate. On October 18, 1878, Reverend Skinner, a twenty-three year old unmarried minister from Toronto, was accidentally shot while on his way to the mission. 74

If the situation was gloomy, it was certainly not viewed as hope- less by those directly concerned. While A. Sutherland, General Secretary of the Methodist Missionary Society, may have had some doubts as to the mission's viability, 75 Reverend Walton was gratified with the number of converts or reclaimed souls attending services and Robert Sinclair, teacher at Victoria, shared his enthusiasm. According to the latter, affairs generally are looking more hopeful, the faithful

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are edified, backsliders are recalled, and many of the careless are crying out on account of their sins." 76 In numbers the mission may have been slightly reduced, but in spirit and determination it was as strong as it had been in 1864. As Reverend H. M. Manning noted during the slump of 1876, it was still an important and desirable station . . . ... 77

The February 10, 1879 edition of the Saskatchewan Herald contained an editorial which predicted a bright and prosperous future for the community at Victoria. The fertility of the soil, the abundance of timber, and the rich deposits of gold on the sand-bars of the North Saskatchewan River were said to be advantages the immigrant population would not long ignore. 78 The land boom and its effects on the Victoria settlement will be dealt with in a later chapter, but it should be noted here that the stabilization of population affected the operations of both the mission and the school. By 1878 most of the river lots east of the mission had been settled and we can assume that many of these settlers had children of school age. Although statistics for this period are scarce, the occasional reference in the Edmonton Bulletin indicates that average school attendance, at least in the early 1880s, was twenty-five to thirty students. 79 Enrollments must have increased. however, for to- wards the end of the decade a new school was reported to have been opened at the settlement. 80

Improved facilities and students who attended classes on a regular basis also tended to attract teachers with rather impressive credentials. Richard Secord, later of the Edmonton firm of McDougall and Secord, and Peter Erasmus, were two of the many people who devoted a goodly portion of their lives to the education of the Victoria youth. And if the students were unappreciative of their instructors' efforts, not so the Territorial Government. When Reverend Baird, Government Inspector of. Schools, visited the settlement in February 1887, he was well satisfied with the progress of the young scholars. His only com- plaint was that he found the school underequipped and slightly less than comfortable. 81

For the Methodists at Victoria, the twenty years prior to the turn of the century was a period of slow yet steady growth. As the racial mix of the community gradually shifted in favour of the whites, it was

(The picture of Rev. Lewis Warner occupies page 32.)

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naturally found necessary to moderate the "missionary" component of their work and defer more to the "religious". Under the ministration of the Reverends James A. McLachlan, W. W. Adamson, John Scott, etc., the religious tone of the community steadily improved, as did attendance at the Sunday services. By 1900, membership in the Methodist congregation totalled sixty-two. 82 Notwithstanding the disturbances of the second Riel Rebellion, the community as a whole also continued to prosper. In fact, during the height of the Rebellion in March 1885, Reverend A. Sutherland spoke of the need of new mission buildings at Victoria. 83 By 1887, community expansion was so pronounced that his concern had materialized into a new church. According to the General Secretary, the new structure measured twenty-six feet by eighteen feet, and was built entirely with local labour. 84 It was located in the upper settlement, approximately two miles west of the old mission site on the river lot ten. 85 In 1890, yet another building was added to the mission premises. On May 2, Reverend Sutherland authorized the expenditure of seventy-five dollars for lumber and hardware for a kitchen extension, and twenty dollars for a well Reverend McLachlan proposed to dig.86

While district land surveys for the 1880s and 1890s confirm that the population of the Victoria settlement was steadily increasing, the importance of the mission as a centre of Indian and Metis conversion was obviously on the wane. No longer did the natives congregate on the shores of the North Saskatchewan intent on listening to the preachings of the Methodist ministers. Most now resided on a reserve at Saddle Lake, and while they made frequent trips to Victoria, these were undertaken for the purposes of trade or medical aid, not for spiritual guidance. The move away from Victoria was also prompted by the fact that the settlement was attracting more and more white people. Middle class values such as respectability and the desire for clear social divisions were, by and large, alien to the native mind.

The changes that were taking place in the Victoria area did not go unnoticed by the Methodist hierarchy. In September 1893, Reverend Sutherland commented that "Victoria is no longer an Indian mission in the proper sense of that term . . ." 87 and in June 1897, it was further noted that a saving of four hundred dollars annually would accrue to

(The pictures of Rev. John Walton and Rev. W. A. Adamson occupy pages 34 - 35 respectively.)

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the Methodist Church if Victoria were to be classed as a Home Mission, and not as an Indian mission. 88 By the end of 1897, members of the General Board had become convinced that such a change would indeed be advantageous for their Church's work in western Canada. Accordingly, Victoria became a Domestic Home Mission under the Edmonton district, 89 and for the next twenty-four years, the religious needs of the Anglo-Saxon and Metis populations were administered by a host of different ministers. While there is nothing unique about their work, and in fact little or no information, it should be kept in mind that it was always separate from that of Dr. Lawford, whose labours at the settlement will be dealt with shortly. From 1901 until 1921, there were in fact two Methodist church operations at Victoria: the Victoria mission proper, and the Pakan mission to the Austrians or Ukrainians.

If the Methodist missionaries at Victoria were ultimately unsuccessful in their bid to convert and "civilize" the bulk of the native population in northeastern Alberta, it was only symtomatic of their Church's record as a whole. In the final analysis, Methodism has very little to offer the Indians. Unlike Roman Catholicism, it had a relatively short history, and was as yet unaccustomed to making compromises in order to bring the Christian message to the natives. Methodism was strictly an 18th century creation and its chief characteristic was "... its almost perfect adaptation to the chief popular cultural currents of its own day." 90 This distinction was almost certainly beneficial in the cities of eastern Canada, but on the western prairies it was of very little worth. Until the turn of the century, Victoria middle class values were largely antithetical to life in western Canada.

The Ukrainian Immigrants and the Methodist Church

If, at Victoria, the "sense of mission" diminished somewhat following the departure of the McDougalls, it was vigorously renewed at the turn of the century with the influx of immigrants from east-central Europe. Methodism in general was awakened to the so-called "European problem" as early as 1898 when twelve thousand Austrians arrived in western Canada. 91 The Church's initial reaction was to oppose the entrance of this foreign element into Canadian society on the grounds that it represented merely the vanguard of a great influx of Europeans which

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was anti-British and anti-Protestant in sentiment. 92 The Church was forced to change its tactics, however, when the Canadian Government made it clear that immigration of this sort would continue. The Church now accepted, albeit reluctantly, the Galician presence in the west, and concentrated all efforts on keeping their numbers from filling the ranks of Roman Catholicism. In 1898 the General Board of Missions noted that: 93

This field should receive the immediate attention of the Missionary Society, there being about six thousand Galicians and Bookevanians [sic] who are without a priest or missionary. The Galicians are not in every respect favorable to becoming Roman Catholics but will become such if no other denomination will provide them with the gospel. The Bookevanians belong to the Greek Orthodox Catholic. These people are in our midst to stay and it would be a good in- vestment to place a man among them who could minister to them the gospel of Christ in its simplicity.

By 1901, apprehension concerning the Austrian presence had reached such a pitch that*a committee was appointed with the express purpose of initiating work among the foreigners of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. 94 In the same year Reverend Charles H. Lawford, M.D., was appointed missionary to the Austrians at Pakan.

Before proceeding with an analysis of Methodist work among the Ruthenians at Pakan, it is perhaps appropriate that the conditions which prompted the large scale emigration from the Ukrainian speaking areas Of east-central Europe be outlined. An examination of the social, political, and economic pressures under which the peasants laboured in their homeland, will hopefully lead to a better understanding of their settlement patterns in the west and what their exact contribution was to the post-1900 Canadian cultural scene.

For those familiar with the course of Ukrainian history, it will perhaps come as a surprise to learn that the country has a long, albeit lamentable, past. Historians of Ukrainian culture claim that the Kievan state was founded in the mid-9th century by dukes of Varangian origin and that it served as the bulkward of Christian culture in the east until the Tartar invasions of 1237-1241. Thereafter, unfortunately, the state enjoyed but brief periods of freedom. From the 14th to the mid- 17th centuries, the Polish nobility exploited the Ukrainian peasants and for two centuries thereafter the Russian aristocracy performed the same function. The chaotic situation resulting from World War One followed for

(The picture of Dr. and Mrs. C. H. Lawford occupies page 38.)

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What is of particular relevance to this study, is the state of the Ukrainian agricultural economy at the turn of the century. Regrettably, it was not very advanced. In the eastern Ukrainian lands, serfdom had only been abolished in 1861 (in the Ukrainian territory controlled by the Austrian empire, serfdom was abolished in 1848) and in its place the peasants were forced to pay redemption payments for the land they received and for the fees and services which the gentry lost. In addition, the peasants did not possess their land according to the principles of private property as known in the west; rather, the land, when redeemed, became the property of the ancient village or mir. The village as a whole was responsible to the government for the redemption payments and for the collection of fees from individual members of the mir. To ensure that peasant society remained more or less unchanged, the government also forbade the sale of land to persons outside the commune. This tended to discourage the investment of outside capital and so retarded agricultural improvements and the growth of wealth.

By the late 1890s, the situation had improved very little. In both the eastern and western Ukrainian lands (the latter under Austro-Hungarian rule--Galicia, Bukovina, and Sub-Carpathia; the former under the domination of Russia) landlordism was still the basic social arrangement and opportunities for advancement rare. Land was becoming increasingly difficult to purchase and heavy taxes and high prices for industrial and consumer goods were yet additional burdens which the peasants were forced to bear. In proportion to all of this, agricultural production was low and prices far from commensurate with the time and effort expended. It stands to reason, then, that under such circumstances the Ukrainian peasant was attracted by the prospect of free land in Canada. The exact nature of the Ukrainian immigration into the Pakan area, namely, village origin, numbers and time of arrival, will be dealt with in chapter nine. For the purposes of the topic now under consideration, it is sufficient to note that by 1906 the Ukrainian community numbered some 250 families, most of whom were followers of either the Greek-

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Orthodox or Greek Catholic faiths. 96

For Reverend Doctor Lawford, the arrival in the Pakan area of a large number of European immigrants constituted primarily a religious problem. He was neither impressed by nor conscious of their material progress, nor was he overly concerned with their "foreign" conduct, provided of course, it did not overstep the bounds of decency. He considered his newfound charges as children still ignorant in the ways of the Lord, and ostensibly his sole mission in life was to give the foreigners the "true religion" and guide them on the path to salvation.

While proselytizing was not considered fashionable at the turn of the century, the circumstances at Pakan did not permit a strictly evangelical approach to the religious question. The majority of immigrants were solidly Orthodox in their beliefs, and tradition dictated that salvation was attainable only through the sacraments as administered by a priest. Therefore, only by competing for their denominational affections could Lawford hope to bring about a change. Initially, this tact brought little in the way of results. The Sunday services were well attended, but never did the immigrants come forth to request admission to the Methodist Church. Increasing the frequency of religious house calls was also unproductive. The Ukrainians were hospitable and appeared to . be receptive to the message the Doctor was preaching, but their ultimate loyalty still lay with the traditional churches. 97

The turning point in the mission's fortunes came in 1908 when Orthodox and Catholic priests began ministering in the Pakan area. Lawford held a very low opinion of both clerical groups and he was determined that the immigrant population would not reassert their old church allegiances, a bondage he considered worse than any African slavery."98 In the Missionary Bulletin he explained further why proselytism must continue: 99

Our religious work has been leading us up to the point where questions bearing on the difference in our systems of religion have to be met . . . now it seems to be our duty to declare the whole counsel of God, and thus set forth as clearly as possible the Gospel teaching, even where it opposes custom and doctrine, by many thought so essential to salvation.

In 1909, the Doctor's rejuvenated campaign against Orthodoxy bore fruit. Metro Ponich, a twenty-one year old immigrant who had previously served Lawford as an interpreter, was received into the Methodist Church.

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His eighteen year old companion, Tarranty Hannochko, was given the same privilege. 100 Both were eventually licensed as local preachers and in June 1915 Ponich was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Church. His first tour of duty took him to Andrew, Alberta, where he ministered to the predominantly Ukrainian community. 101

By 1910, twenty-five people of Ukrainian origin had entered the Methodist Church at Pakan. Ponich and Hannochko were officially credited with the conversions, although it has been argued that Lawford probably won an equal number of adherents. 102 By the end of the year, an ardent convert, one Nikolai Goligun, had also fitted up half of-his house as a place for divine worship. Members of the community contributed lamps, coal oil, etc., and Sunday attendance was reportedly in the neighbourhood of twenty-five to thirty people. 103 In 1911, another Ukrainian farmer donated four acres of land northeast of Pakan for a Ukrainian Methodist Church and cemetery. 104 Building materials and labour were subsequently subscribed by other Methodist adherents, and in 1912 the church was opened for public worship. It was to serve the Ukrainian community in Pakan for several years to come (see Plate No. 9).

It is impossible to assess Lawford's missionary record at Pakan without reference to his medical career. Several, if not most, of the Ukrainian settlers only became acquainted with Methodism because they frequented the Doctor's hospital, or were visited in their homes by either Lawford or one of this Methodist medical missionaries. It is certainly fair to say that had Lawford not been a doctor, but merely a well-intentioned missionary, his accomplishments would have been far less noteworthy.

In 1904, Reverend Doctor Lawford noted that medical work was "...the one thing used of God to prevent us from being defeated in our  efforts to gain entrance to the people." 105 He was well aware that the east-European immigrants were set in their religious ways and that conversions could not be expected without constant exposure to Methodism. Therefore, when he attended to the ill at Pakan, medical care was usually supplemented by rather generous doses of religion. He visited and/or preached to his patients regularly, and more often than not provided them with copies of the Scriptures written in their own language. 

(The pictures of Rev. D. M. Ponich and family, and the Pakan Ukrainian Methodist Church circa 1912 occupy pages 42 and 43, respectively.)

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If they were illiterate, he instructed one of his assistants to read to them. According to the Doctor, the work of saving lives was not be be differentiated from that of saving souls.

In 1906 Lawford began petitioning the General Mission Board of the Methodist Church for a new hospital and house. The present accommodations, the old McDougall residence, he argued were inadequate, whereas new facilities would also evoke a positive response from the Ukrainian immigrants. 106 An additional reason for constructing the hospital, although it was not articulated by Lawford himself, was the Catholic monopoly of hospital construction in northern Alberta. Doctor Harry R. Smith, an Edmonton layman and supporter of Lawford's proposal, commented on this point in a letter to Reverend James Allen in Toronto. He warned of their monopoly and argued that: 107

. . through this agency they win a great many Protestant children and young adults to their faith and I think our church is very slow and far behind the times in this practical branch of Christian work. I do not know what the men in the east need but I do know that out here a little practical Christianity as far as could be demonstrated in a hospital ward has far more weight than all the preaching that all the ministers combined can do.

Eventually the powers that be within the Methodist Church were convinced of Lawford's need and in April 1907 plans for the four thousand dollar "George McDougall Hospital" were approved. 108

From beginning to end, construction of Pakan's second hospital was under the direction of Doctor Lawford (see Plates Nos. 10, 11 and 12). Lumber for the framework was secured "at a very moderate price"109 from Edmonton, and a local settler, one Henry Nelson, built the stone foundation. 110 The work was completed by the end of November 1907, and the following month the hospital was opened to the public. When it was officially opened in February 1908, it was reported to be staffed by Doctor Lawford and three nurses, two from the Public Hospital in Edmonton, and one from the Women's Missionary Society. 111 The following is a brief description of the building extracted from the Twenty-seventh Annual Report of the Women's Missionary Society of the Methodist 112

Its structure is fine, the balconies at the back overlooking the river. The hospital is a square white building, heated by steam and with modern conveniences including a force pump and a lift. The floors are oiled and the basement floors are painted.

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Once the George McDougall Hospital became operational, Lawford made it the centre of his medical and religious work. The construction of new facilities by no means lightened his work load, but at the same time he was thrilled at the prospect of attracting more and more Ukrainians. By 1910, he was able to argue, with some conviction, that the actual number of foreign patients he had put through the hospital more than justified the initial expenditure. "Thus through our hospital," he reported, "we reach about three times the number of people we could by our Sabbath services alone." 113 With the religious objectives of hospital work in mind, Lawford explained further the value of his labours at Pakan: 114

Our hospital work is not alone a work of saving life and lessening suffering and deformity, our constant aim is to provide for the souls of these people. To this end we furnish all patients who can read with a copy of the Scripture in their own language; this the foreigners never fail to use.

My assistant, Metro Ponich, has had many opportunities of reading the Scripture to those who cannot read for themselves, and of speaking with much acceptance the truths which point out man's need and God's salvation. On Sabbath evenings a short service is held in the hospital when the conditions of the patients and other circumstances will permit.

The personal factor is perhaps the greatest factor for good in our hospital work. Patients come in, say, for a week; morning and evening I visit them. Christian nurses are in constant touch with them and when they return to their homes, they carry with them the feelings of friendship and regard which go far toward opening the way for future work.

That Doctor Lawford's hospital campaign yielded a few Ukrainian converts to Methodism is an accepted fact. Beyond this, however, little is known for sure. It would appear that he was not regarded by all as a competent surgeon, 115 and presumably doubts of this nature affected his missionary work. It is also conceivable that the Ukrainian immigrants looked askance at a man who tried to promote an alien religion under the guise of providing medical services. For all but the most convinced and loyal Methodists, then, Doctor Lawford's achievements at Pakan were in no way unique. He was merely one of many medical missionaries who attempted to bring medical science and a particular brand of Christianity to the immigrants of the Canadian west. A second contributing factor to the Doctor's moderate success at Pakan, was his familiarity with Canadian ways. During the course of 

(The pictures of the George McDougall hospital occupy pages 46 - 47. Picture of the stone foundation of George McDougall Hospital, 1907 occupies page 48.)

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an ordinary day he was frequently called upon to render advice on practical matters such as the assembly of farm machinery, the payment of bills, the formation of school districts, etc. 116 The Ukrainian immigrants may have been reticent in accepting his Protestant religion, but when it came to the problems involved in running their homesteads his council was both respected and eagerly sought. The demands on his time are perhaps best illustrated by an example. The following is an account of the Doctor's activities on February 2, 1905: 117

Case 1.-Three Austrian farmers, from about three miles, asking me to write Edmonton Land Office for permits for logs to cut into lumber for their homes.

Case 2.-Austrian, from about eight miles, for medicine for his wife, also to have letter written re land he wishes for his farm. 

Case 3.-Young man (Metis) with suppurative middle ear disease. 

Case 4.-Two Austrians, one to get medicine, the other to get letter written. Both from this neighbourhood. 

Case 5.-Austrian, from twelve miles distant, tooth extracted, treated one prior to filling. 

(Dinner) P.M.

Case 6.-Austrian to see about money due him for work for the Canadian Pacific Railway, for which I had previously written. From about thirteen miles.

Case 7.-Canadian settler, from about twenty miles distant, to have tooth extracted. 

Case 8.-Austrian settler, from six miles south, to get instructions how to proceed to conduct business in forming school district. 

Case 9.-Two Austrians, from twenty miles east, for me to write re homesteads.

 Case 1O.-A trustee of the Greek Church ten miles east for me to write re logs they wish the government to give them for their Church. 

Case 11.-Austrian, accident on hill, team ran away, came for one of my horses to overtake his. 

Case 12.-A trustee of another Greek Church, to have me write a list of men and the number of logs they were contributing to their church, and write re the grant of land they desire. 

About 11 p.m. Good-night.

Obviously, Lawford's secular activities were extremely burdensome, and it is of course questionable whether or not such work furthered his missionary ends. The point to be made, however, is that only by gaining the confidence of the immigrants in temporal matters could he hope to influence them in the spiritual field.

What, then can we conclude from this analysis of Doctor Lawford's work among the Ukrainians? Was it a success or have the patrons of Methodism merely inflated his record in an effort to justify the time

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and effort devoted to the "foreign" cause. The truth, it seems, lies somewhere in-between. In terms of absolute numbers, Lawford and his Church gained very little from the continental European immigration into Pakan. However, if Canadianization was viewed as a byproduct of the Methodist presence in the west, then the Doctor's efforts were at least moderately successful. By the 1920s, many Ukrainian settlers at Pakan had been partially assimilated into Canadian society, and the prospects for the future were equally as bright.

Lawford's record, of course, is not blemish-free. His rather condescending attitude toward the Ukrainians, and his refusal to learn the language, seriously hindered his work. The former can be viewed as an outgrowth of his dislike for the Orthodox clergy. Upon first encountering these churchmen, he seriously doubted their ability to save souls and was even more critical of their moral character. In an article which appeared in the Missionary Bulletin in 1910, he cited the case of a drunken priest and concluded that: 118

It is certainly a case of the blind leading the blind. Think of the absurdity of a man, in the name of religion, conducting a so-called religious service, the wind-up which is the drinking of two gallons of whiskey by the priest and the people. The priest became so intoxicated that he could scarcely remain on his feet and pleaded with his parishioners to help him home.

That Lawford was outraged at the sight of a drunken priest is certainly understandable, but to assume that an entire community was similarly devoid of dignity was a gross exaggeration. The Doctor was also prone to criticize the clergy's habit of soliciting funds from their parishioners. 119 In response to a question regarding St. Peter's obligations to the fold, Lawford sarcastically commented that "Yes, Christ told Peter to feed the sheep, but He never said to fleece the sheep." 120 it only stands to reason that behaviour of this sort would not endear the missionary Doctor to his Ukrainian charges.

Perhaps the most difficult problem Lawford had to cope with, how- ever, was the Methodist religious culture itself. His was a faith characterized by simplicity of worship, adherence to a strict code of conduct, and an ardent desire to Canadianize, elements which initially held no particular appeal for the European immigrants. The tradition- bound Ukrainians disliked the Protestant service because it differed so dramatically from the ritual and formalism of the Orthodox mass, and as

(plate 13 and 14 occupy pages 51 and 52 respectively.)

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far as conduct was concerned, their life style in eastern Europe was hardly in keeping with that outlined in the Methodist Discipline. Not only did the latter forbid brawling and "gaudy" dress, but it also banned "dancing, playing at games of chance, encouraging lotteries, attending theatres, horse-races, circuses, dancing parties, patronizing dancing schools . . . and taking such, other amusements which are obviously of a questionable or misleading moral tendency." 121 Considering that dancing and playing at games of chance had been an integral part of Ukrainian life for centuries, it was unlikely that they would give up such pleasures simply because the Methodists believed they bring you into undesirable associations, make dangerous acquaintances, stir up evil passions and lead to sinful and dissipated habits." 122 Continuous pressure to Canadianize the immigrants also boomeranged to the detriment of the Methodists. Most Ukrainians were perfectly willing to learn the English language, but few looked with favour on the Church's effort to completely assimilate their community. Yielding totally to Canadianization was viewed as being unpatriotic to the mother race and religion, and few immigrants were willing to risk losing caste with their own countrymen. 123 As one Ukrainian United Church minister noted, the Methodist religious program was far more social than spiritual: "they . . . offered more Canadianism than Christ ." 124 

In addition to his Church's ideological difficulties, Lawford also had to cope with the rampant materialism which attended Alberta's economic boom. Many immigrants came to the province, not for educational advantages, religious privileges, or the comforts of a home, but merely to make money. 125 Greed, pettiness, and avarice invariably accompanied this rush for dollars and acres, and for Lawford such examples of religious indifference were as repellent as the immigrants' professed Orthodox faith. Unfortunately, the material side of life was -far too attractive for some and the Doctor was unable to interest them in "other and higher things." 126

Ironically, for all of Lawford's civilizing intentions and the grim and primitive conditions under which he imagined he laboured, it was the modern railroad which eventually determined the fate of the Pakan mission. When the Canadian Northern Railway completed the line to Smoky Lake in 1918, both the settlement and the Victoria and Pakan missions found

(start of page 54)

themselves isolated from the mainstream of activity, and it was but a few short years before the inevitable decay set in. In 1921 Victoria and Pakan were removed from the Methodist list of missions, and 1922, the George McDougall hospital and residence were moved to Smoky Lake. 127 Not unexpectedly, Doctor Lawford also went to Smoky Lake where he opened a drugstore and medical office. He remained there until 1944 whence he retired to Edmonton. 128

Today, there is little formal Methodist/United Church activity at Pakan. Apart from the 1906 church, in which an annual service is still held, and the graves of the McDougall children, the mission's identity has completely disappeared. Yet to close this chapter by merely noting the physical remains of the mission would be unfair. Sixty years of Methodist labour has not gone unnoticed. As Lawford explained in his memoirs: 129

Some may question whether this work was worth the lives given to it? . . . for those who know the facts; and set a right value on the character of the Nation we are building, the answer is Positive.

 

On to chapter IV
Return to the Index of Les Hurt's Occasional Paper 7
Return to the Missionary Index
Or Return to the Smoky Lake History Archive

 Used with permission of Les Hurt and Alberta Community Development.

103. Missionary Bulletin, Vol. 7, p. 192. Cited in Wenstob, p. 91.

104. Missionary Outlook, February 1911. Cited in Emery, p. 278. The English speaking residents of Pakan were also serviced by a new Methodist church built in 1906. "The building was erected by Edward Anderson. All the lumber used was sawed and planed by hand and donated by the people of Pakan and the Victoria settlement. The pews were made of fir, and were bought and donated by the Ladies Sewing Circle." Frank E. Mitchell, A History of Pioneering in the Pakan District, p. 17. The cost of constructing the building was $175. The building is still standing and is located on River Lot 6 just north of the old H.B.C. clerk's residence. See Plate Nos. 13 and 14.

105. Missionary Bulletin, 1904, Vol. 2, no. 1, p. 203. Cited in Emery, pp. 270 - 271.

106. Emery, p. 271.

107. Home Mission Reports, Dr. H. R. Smith to Rev. James Allen, April 5, 1907. Cited in Emery, p. 271.

108. The new mission house, built in conjunction with the hospital, was constructed at a cost of $1500. Annual Reports of the Missionary Society, 1905 to 1908. See Plate No. 15.

109. Missionary Bulletin, Vol. 4, pp. 23 - 24. Cited in Wenstob, p. 89.

110. Mitchell, A History of Pioneering in the Pakan District, p. 16.

111. Wenstobe, p. 89. Lawford was later assisted in his medical work by Dr. C. F. Connolly. However, Connolly was fired by his superior for smoking and drinking in public. Emery, p. 106. For brief periods from 1909 to 1911, Lawford was assisted with his missionary work as well. Both Reverends J. K. Smith and W. H. Pike were temporarily stationed at Pakan. They were there to learn the language and acquaint themselves with Ukrainian customs.

112. Dawne Touchings, The Winnipeg Trail: A Review of the Trail to 1920 (Unpublished manuscript on file with Alberta Culture, Historic Site Services, Edmonton, Alberta, 1974), p. 59.

113. Missionary Bulletin, 1910, Vol. 7, no. 1, p. 56. Cited in Emery, p. 272.

114. Ibid.

115. In 1914, R. J. Maddox of Lamont accused Doctor Lawford of malpractice. In the end, the charges were not proven, but the incident left some doubts as to the Doctor's medical abilities. Home Mission Reports, Rev. T. C. Buchanan to Rev. James Allen, July 18, 1914. Cited in Emery, p. 274.

116. Missionary Bulletin, 1904, Vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 202-204. Cited in Emery, p. 269.

117. Missionary Bulletin, 1905, Vol. 2, no. 3, p. 606. Cited in Emery, p. 270.

118. Missionary Bulletin, 1910, Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 52-53. Cited in Emery, pp. 266-267. Reverend D. M. Ponich also confirms that at least on one occasion a Russian Orthodox priest was too inebriated to perform the church service. Interview with Rev. D. M. Ponich, Edmonton, Alberta, March 30, 1977.

119. Lawford levelled the same criticism at the Catholics.

120. Cited in Wenstob, p. 96.

121. Cited in Emery, p. 87.

122. Ibid.

123. T. C. Byrne, "The Ukrainian Community in North Central Alberta" (M.A. thesis, University of Alberta, 1937), p. 48.

124. Ibid.

125. Cited in Emery, pp. 19-20.

126. Ibid.

127. The buildings were moved by steam engines, and the entire project supervised by A. I. Perry. A Century of Progress. An Historical Study of the Waskatenau, Smoky Lake, Warspite, Bellis, Vilna, and Spedden School Communities. (The County of Smoky Lake No. 13, 1967), p. 2.

128. Dr. C. H. Lawford, A Short History of Pioneer Life in the Western Provinces from 1879 and Mission work of the United Church in the Pakan District (Unpublished manuscript found in Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Calgary), p. 7.

129. Ibid., p. 8.