The Dirty Thirties

A Warm Welcome for Bishop Murray

Bishop Murray, a Redemptorist, was appointed the first Bishop of the Diocese Saskatoon. When he arrived at the CPR station in 1934, a tremendous dust storm had blown up, but despite that fact, he received a warm welcome from his new flock. This hospitality characterized his whole time as bishop in Saskatoon.

Bishop Murray was loved by the people, and he managed to bring together and solidify the Saskatoon Diocese in times of great despair. But he wasn’t alone! During the 1930s, the Sisters of Sion ran The Academy of Our Lady of Sion. They were known to accept farm produce in lieu of tuition and room and board payments, and they did not turn students away for lack of funds.

At St. Thomas More College, which was opened in 1936, and which came to be regarded as Bishop Murray’s greatest accomplishment, the Basilian Fathers provided breakfasts and healthy lunches for those students who had only the funds for tuition. The following stories illustrate the kind of dedication and Christian service that members of the religious orders exhibited in the Diocese’s history.

Edeltrude’s Efforts

The legend of Sister Edeltrude is that she was a Sister who, in the Great Depression, owned one big pot, one big tub, one big towel and one big Rosary. And that was all she needed to run a summer Catechism class for the Catholic children who lived in the country, and did not attend Catholic schools. During the regular school year, and the Sisters of Sion taught day students and resident students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 at the Academy of Our Lady of Sion. (The photo at right shows a group of Sisters.) Every summer, from 1934 until 1961, between 180 and 220 children would come into Saskatoon, board at the Academy, and receive instructions in Catechism and the sacraments.

During the Depression years, when there was no money to run this program, Sister Edeltrude worked tirelessly to keep it going. She asked the children to bring whatever they could afford; some brought wheat, some vegetables, some a little meat or sugar-whatever their families could spare. Besides giving them their Catholic instruction, she managed to care for their other needs as well. Everyday, she would make up a big pot of soup to feed the children. Once a week, they all got their clothes washed in that big tub and, like it or not, they all got a bath, even if many of them had to share the same water and the same towel. And every night, Sister Edeltrude would put them to sleep by reciting the Rosary. In very tough times, those children had a little reprieve from the harshness of life in the Thirties.

The Teachers Ran Out of Food . . .

Although the Ursuline sisters did not come into Saskatoon until 1953, they, like the Sisters of Sion, were dedicated teaching sisters who educated children in academics and music throughout winter and summer. The Ursulines often taught in little teacherages in outlying areas to Saskatoon, and each Ursuline was assigned a companion (who was usually a teenage girl) to live at the teacherage with her. During the winter in the Depression, times were lonely and scary for these young women.

One winter, things were particularly tough, and one of the Sisters and her companion ran out of food in the middle of the week. As soon as school was finished on Friday, they set out for the next teacherage, which was four or five miles away. Extremely hungry and tired, they walked through deep snow banks and cold winds in the middle of winter. Finally, when they arrived at their destination, they were excited to see that although there was no other food to be had, a local farmer had dropped off some delicious smelling home-made sausage. They couldn’t wait to cook it! But then, they realized that it was Friday, and Catholics were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays! Cold, hungry and tired, they went to bed. But they set their alarms for midnight, at which time, they got up, cooked the sausage and enjoyed every last bite!