Moose Jaw

History

Cree and Assiniboine people used the Moose Jaw area as a winter encampment. The Missouri Coteau sheltered the valley and gave it warm breezes. The narrow river crossing and abundance of water and game made it a good location for settlement. Traditional native fur traders and Métis buffalo hunters created the first permanent settlement at a place called "the turn", at present-day Kingways Park.

The confluence of the Moose Jaw River and Thunder Creek was chosen and registered in 1881 as a site for a division point for the Canadian Pacific Railway, whose construction was significant in Confederation of Canada. The water supply there was significant for steam locomotives. Settlement began there in 1882 and the city was incorporated in 1903. The railways played an important role in the early development of Moose Jaw, with the city having both a Canadian Pacific Railway Station and a Canadian National Railway Station. A dam was built on the river in 1883 to create a year-round water supply.

Marked on a map as Moose Jaw Bone Creek in an 1857 survey by surveyor John Palliser, two theories exist as to how the city got its name. The first is it comes from the Plains Cree name moscâstani-sîpiy meaning "a warm place by the river", indicative of the protection from the weather the Coteau range provides to the river valley containing the city and also the Plains Cree word moose gaw, meaning warm breezes. The other is on the map of the city, the Moose Jaw River is shaped like a moose's jaw.

Military presence

The area surrounding Moose Jaw has a high number of cloudless days, making it a good site for training pilots. The Royal Canadian Air Force under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan established RCAF Station Moose Jaw in 1940. Following the war, the RCAF remained in the community and used the facility for training pilots through the Cold War. The facility changed its name to CFB Moose Jaw in 1968 and it is currently Canada's primary military flight training centre and the home of 431 (Air Demonstration) Squadron (aka the "Snowbirds").

CFB Moose Jaw's primary lodger unit is "15 Wing". In the Canadian Forces Air Command, the lodger unit is frequently referred to as 15 Wing Moose Jaw. The base usually holds an Armed Forces Day each year.

The Saskatchewan Dragoons are a reserve armoured regiment with an armoury in the city's north end.

Royal presence

Moose Jaw has been visited by many members of the Royal Family. Edward, Prince of Wales, who owned a ranch in Pekisko, Alberta, visited in 1919, 1924, and 1927. Prince Albert, future king and father of Queen Elizabeth II, paid a visit in 1926. King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth (later known as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) visited during the Royal tour in 1939. Queen Elizabeth II first visited in 1959, and has come to the city a few times since.

The Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) became Colonel-in-Chief of the Saskatchewan Dragoons of Moose Jaw on visiting Saskatchewan in 2003, when he congratulated the regiment on its "contribution to Canada's proud tradition of citizen-soldiers in the community." Involved in peacekeeping operations in Cyprus, the Golan Heights, Bosnia and Croatia, the regiment has also provided aid during floods and forest fires in the prairies. The Prince returned to visit his regiment in 2006.

The Earl of Wessex also inaugurated the Queen's Jubilee Rose Garden in Moose Jaw on his visit in 2003. Other royal connections to the city include King George School and Prince Arthur Community School, both named for members of the royal family. Before it shut down and became the separate Cornerstone Christian School, the South Hill school was formerly named King Edward Elementary School.

Climate

Moose Jaw's climate is transitional between semiarid and humid continental (Köppen BSk and Dfb, respectively) Moose Jaw's winters are long, cold and dry, while its summers are short, but very warm and relatively wet. The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of -12.3 °C, while the warmest is July, with a mean temperature of 19.3 °C. The driest month is February, in which an average of 11.1 mm of precipitation falls, while the wettest month is July, which brings an average of 63 mm. Annual average precipitation is 365 mm.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Moose Jaw was 43.3 °C (110 °F) on 5 July 1937. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −47.8 °C (−54 °F) on 4 February 1907.

Government

Moose Jaw City Council consists of an elected mayor and 6 city councilors. From 1881 to 1903 the community was represented by a Town Council and thereafter by City Council.

Moose Jaw City Hall, on the 2nd floor at the old Moose Jaw Post Office (c. 1911), has been council's home since the late 1960s

Provincially the city is represented by two MLA and federally by one MP.

Demographics

Moose Jaw's population was 32,132 according to the 2006 census, which showed virtually no increase from 2001.

Economy

Moose Jaw is a city of 33,000 at the intersection of the Trans Canada Highway and Highway 2. A Snowbird aerobatic jet and Mac the Moose are large roadside attractions of Moose Jaw on the #1 highway at the tourist info center. Moose Jaw Trolley Company (1912) is still offering trolley tours of Moose Jaw. Temple Garden's Mineral Spa, Tunnels of Moose Jaw, and History of Transportation Western Development Museum. are major sites of interest of this city. The juncture of Moose Jaw and Thunder Creek produced the best source of water for steam engines, and Moose Jaw became the CPR divisional point. Large capacity concrete grain terminals are replacing the smaller grain elevators which were numerous along the highway, sentinels of most communities along the route. Improved technology for harvest, transport and road construction have made the large inland terminals more viable economically. The rural governing body around Moose Jaw is Moose Jaw No. 161 which serves 1,228 residents (2006 census) which includes the Moose Jaw, Canadian Forces Base. Meat-processing plants, salt, potash, urea fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia and ethanol producers abound in this area with easy transport access to the Trans–Canada Highway.

The Town 'N' Country Mall is the only indoor shopping centre in Moose Jaw.

Many retailers and grocery stores operate in Moose Jaw. These include Federated Co-operatives, Safeway Inc., Giant Tiger, Canadian Tire, Real Canadian Superstore, Walmart Canada, Staples, The Brick, MKarr's Furniture, Peavey Mart, Shoppers Drug Mart, PartSource, Mark's Work Warehouse, Liquidation World, Your Dollar Store With More, Dollar Tree, Home Hardware, Castle Building Centres Group and Westrum Lumber. The fourth Army & Navy Stores store in Canada operated on Main Street from 1933 to 2000. Beaver Lumber had a location on High Street until the company was bought by Home Hardware and the store was converted to Castle Building Centre.

In 1917, a group of local residents banded together and purchased enough automobile parts to build 25 cars. These were to be manufactured under the name Moose Jaw Standard. Each member of the group was able to receive a car, but no further buyers were found, and production did not continue.

Visual Arts

The Moose Jaw Art Guild is a community arts association made up of local artists dedicated to exhibiting, educating and fostering appreciation for visual arts.

Museums

Moose Jaw is home to one of four Saskatchewan Western Development Museums. The Moose Jaw SWDM museum specializes in the history of transportation and has a Snowbirds gallery.

The Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum is south of Moose Jaw on Sk Hwy 2. The car club at Moose Jaw agreed to the restoration of Tom Sukanen's ship at their museum site. Tom Sukanen was a Finnish homesteader who settled near Birsay and hoped to travel home again on his ship he assembled near the South Saskatchewan River. The Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum features a typical village replete with pioneer artifacts and tractors, cars and trucks restored by the Moose Jaw car club, and is run by volunteers.

Attractions

Tourist attractions include the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, The Moose Jaw Trolley, the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort, Captain Jacks River Boat Tour, The Western Development Museum, Casino Moose Jaw and the Murals of Moose Jaw. Every July, the four-day Saskatchewan Festival of Words showcases top Canadian writers in a wide variety of genres. The Snowbirds flight demonstration team is based at CFB Moose Jaw, south of Moose Jaw in Bushell Park, where the now defunct airshow was performed from every summer.

There are many parks in Moose Jaw. Crescent Park is located downtown and features a creek, picnic tables, library, art museum, playground, outdoor swimming pool, water park, gymnasium, tennis court, lawn bowling field and an amphitheatre. Casino Moose Jaw and Temple Gardens Mineral Spa are across Fairford St. E. and 1st Ave. NE. from Crescent Park. "Wakamow Park" follows the Moose Jaw River and features both natural and maintained areas. There are many trails throughout the park for hiking and cycling as well as picnic tables, barbecues, a burger restaurant and two playgrounds. There is also an RV park, known as River Park Campground, which was founded in 1927 and is the longest running campground in North America. Canoe and kayak rentals are available across the road from the campground.

Old Wives Lake, a saline lake is 30 km southwest of the city on Highway 363. Buffalo Pound Lake a eutrophic prairie lake is 28 km north on Highway 2 and is the city's water supply. Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is on the south shore and can be accessed by Highway 202 and Highway 301.

Tunnels of Moose Jaw

A network of underground tunnels connecting buildings in downtown Moose Jaw was constructed beginning around 1908. They were originally built as an underground steam system that was abandoned. The tunnels were used to hide Chinese railway workers escaping persecution during the Yellow Peril or unable to pay the government-imposed head tax. Entire families lived in the tunnels and worked at above-ground businesses in exchange for food and supplies. The tunnels became a hub of renewed activity in the 1920s for rum-running during Prohibition in the United States. They were reported to have warehoused illegal alcohol that was then shipped to the U.S. via the Soo Line Railroad. The tunnels were also used for gambling and prostitution, all without interference from the corrupt police chief. There has long been anecdotal evidence American mobster Al Capone had visited Moose Jaw or had interests in the bootlegging operations. Although no written or photographic proof exists of Capone's presence, several firsthand accounts from people in Moose Jaw who claim to have met him have been documented. Capone's grandniece also confirmed he had been in Moose Jaw prior to his 1931 conviction for tax evasion. In the 21st century, the city capitalized on this notoriety to restore the tunnel network into the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, a tourist attraction that opened in June 2000.

Sports and recreation

Like most Canadian cities, hockey has played a large part of Moose Jaw's sporting culture, yet baseball has also been an important part of Moose Jaw since its first days as the city won territorial championships in 1895. Most recently, the 2004 Junior All-Star team (age 13/14) won the Canadian Championship and became the first team from Saskatchewan to win a game at the Little League World Series.

Notable sports teams of Moose Jaw include:

Defunct sports teams

Education

Local institutions include 5 high schools and 15 elementary schools. The schools are in the Prairie South School Division and the Holy Trinity Catholic Schools.

École Ducharme offers preschool to grade 12 and is the only Francophone school in Moose Jaw. École fransaskoise de Moose Jaw offers French Immersion from preschool to grade 9.

Moose Jaw is also home to the Moose Jaw Campus of the Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

Transportation

Moose Jaw Municipal Airport is 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) east northeast of Moose Jaw. CFB Moose Jaw's airfield is also used by civilian aircraft, with civilian operations at the base referring to the facility as Moose Jaw/Air Vice Marshal C.M. McEwen Airport.

Moose Jaw Transit provides local bus service.

Health care

Moose Jaw Union Hospital, part of the Five Hills Health Region, was the main health care provider for the city since 1948, but it closed in 2015 and replaced with Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital in the city's northeast end.

Providence Place is seniors home in the city.

Security

The Moose Jaw Fire Department (est 1906) is a fifty-seven member fire and rescue service which provides fire suppression to the city and CFB Moose Jaw. It has 2 stations (North Hill Fire Station (Headquarters) and South Hill Fire Station. It is also contracted out to CFB Moose Jaw to provide structural fire suppression services.

Ambulatory (EMS) services is provided by Five Hills Health Region which operates an EMS station in Moose Jaw and non-emergency services are provided by St. John Ambulance.

The Moose Jaw Police Service provide policing with fifty four sworn members for the city and hold both municipal and provincial jurisdiction, and is in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Media

Print

Radio

Television The only television station local to Moose Jaw is CKMJ-TV channel 7, an analogue repeater of CTV station CKCK-DT Regina. Moose Jaw was previously served by CHAB-TV, a television station that existed from 1959 to 1969.

In popular culture

In the fictional Harry Potter universe, Moose Jaw is the hometown of the professional Quidditch team the Moose Jaw Meteorites, which are considered one of the most accomplished Quidditch teams in the world. However, in the 1970s they were threatened with disbandment due to trailing fiery sparks from the end of their brooms during victory flights. Today, their games are considered a popular wizard tourist attraction.

In the 1977 movie Slap Shot, Guido Tenesi's character Billy Charlebois comes from Moose Jaw.

In the 1980 movie Atlantic City, Susan Sarandon's character Sally says her late husband's family is "in Moose Jaw, near Medicine Hat."

In the 1980 movie The Apple, the protagonists, Alphie and Bibi, hail from Moose Jaw.

In the television show "The Simpsons" S10E11, Springfield's baseball team the Isotopes threaten to move to Moose Jaw after lack of fan support.

In season 5, episode 2, of the Canadian Show Heartland - Jack and Tim go to visit Tim's son in Moose Jaw.