Herman Gustason arrived in Canmore from Finland in 1900 to work for the Canmore Coal Company. His wife, Alexandra, followed him a year later. Their first home was located between the Mine and the road, and was built on supporting timbers. The nearby Company store had a team of horses to pull the delivery wagon. They were easily spooked and sometimes, as they ran past the Gustason house, they knocked the timbers loose beneath the children’s bedroom. By 1912, when the house became too small for the growing family, a new one was built on 7th Street, opposite St. Michael’s Anglican Church.
In 1915, the sixth child, Maimie, was born and younger brother, Jack, arrived two years later. Both have lived in Canmore through their lives. An older sister, Ann Oughton, now 93, presently lives in Mayerthorpe, Alberta.
The Finns of Canmore had a regular community of their own. They operated three sauna bathhouses in town. For ten cents, you could linger as long as you liked and enjoy a water bucket shower before leaving.
Maimie and Jack enjoyed their school years. They recall using only one scribbler at a time, and the problem was to find the ten cents required to buy a new one. At first, the students had to pay for their books, but eventually, the Miners’ Union contributed to school expenses. Both Maimie and Jack won the Bennet medal in 1929 for ‘general proficiency’. They agreed their favourite teacher was Tom Bailey.
The Gustasons kept a horse in their backyard. It was Jack’s job to ride the horse everyday to pick up the town mail at the railway station and deliver it to the post office, near the old Mine office. Jack recalls how the train engineer would deliberately ‘toot’ the engine whistle to startle the horse and rider. Every Sunday evening, the town residents gathered at the railway station to greet the passenger train from Calgary. Jack also worked at the local pool hall and Maimie worked for fifteen years as a chambermaid at the Y.M.C.A.
In the early days, the mines didn’t always work well and would have to be closed down, and sometimes strikes lasted a long time. Money was hard to come by and times were tough for miners’ families. The Company store extended credit, but debts were hard to pay off. When the Gustason children would ask their father if he had any cash left over, he’d reply he guessed he had “enough for a couple of wagon wheels”. Through the bad times, the close-knit community were there for each other, one big family.
In 1945, Maimie married John Piper, a “dumper” at the Coal Mine tipple. He had emigrated from England at fourteen, later serving five years in the Army Medical Corps in World War II. They lived in a house which had been originally built in Georgetown and moved to its present location at the bottom of Hospital Hill (now Three Sisters Drive), Maimie’s home to this day.
Jack never married, and continued living in the family home on 7th Street. He was always a keen golfer and took over the position of secretary- treasurer of the Golf Club from Cliff Dewis, in the early 1930’s. At that time, the nine hole course was situated west of 10th Street, where the Bow River Lodge is now located. Jack recalls there were four crossovers of the Mine railway tracks on the course. He became the “jack of all trades”, collecting green fees, membership dues and cutting the grass. He found time to play lots of golf and is especially proud of winning the Canmore Miners’ Cup in a tournament. He also chuckles about beating George Heath once, the best local golfer.
When the Town decided to develop the golf course property, Jack, Bill Cherak and Mr. Duke headed to Edmonton to strike a deal. They returned with $1,000 and the promise of land for a new course. Jack stayed on, responsible for course maintenance. Charlie Carbol used to be greenskeeper and Jack looked after the fairways, finally retiring in 1982. Around that time, the second nine hole course was constructed at the present club location, and Jack and Maimie were the ‘ribbon-cutters’ at the official opening. Both are life members and continued to play golf until 1997. The annual Jack Gustason Tournament continues to commemorate his considerable contribution to golf in Canmore.
Maimie’s husband, John, died in 1972. Their son, Ricky, is in the Air Force, stationed in Cold Lake, Alberta with his wife and three teenagers.
After the Gustason family home was sold to the town for a parking lot development, Jack moved into his sister’s home. Together, they’re enjoying a quiet, but satisfying retirement. They like to reminisce about the good old days, fondly recalling the July 1st celebrations when Vic Lewis and his band performed on the bandstand in the Park, the walk-on golf games when no one needed a tee time, the friendliness of knowing everyone on Main Street, and the solidarity of a close community.
Herman and Alexandra and Jack Gustason and Maimie (Gustason) Piper
Miners’ Golf Cup 1933 Jack Gustason
In Canmore Seniors at the Summit, ed. Canmore Seniors Association, 2000, p. 111-113.
