The Penhold Memorial Hall in 1950, with a number of its original members from the Penhold Women's Institute. (Supplied)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

a century later

100 years of history for Penhold Memorial Hall

Nov 7, 2019 | 4:23 PM

For 100 years, the Penhold Memorial Hall has stood strong on what is now Fleming Avenue.

Originally operated by the Penhold Women’s Institute, the building was built to honour local soldiers who served and fell at the Somme and sold to the Village of Penhold in 1945 as a war memorial.

“It was a big undertaking for a small band of women in a town with a floating population. A public meeting was called (in January 1919),” says local historian Stewart Ford, who’s great uncle and grandfather provided lumber for the hall through their company Stewart Brothers.

“Mrs. H.R. McDougall once again made her plea. The men were not very encouraging. They thought it a fine idea if Mrs. McDougall could devise ways and means of financing it, and if she could, they would help. So, she went to work.”

Money was ultimately raised through canvasing, dances, teas, plays, socials, fairs and bazaars, and six months later it was complete. The build cost $7000.

Provincial Funding

New welding space open at Olds College for CACI students

8h ago

PLEDGE SIGNING CEREMONY

Red Deer Polytechnic joins growing movement to improve addiction recovery supports on campus

8h ago

STREAMING NOW

Red Deer local launches video podcast highlighting Indigenous resilience

10h ago

“The Hall was officially opened on October 31, 1919 with a grand masquerade ball. 225 guests were fed, with music by the Great War Veterans Association orchestra providing the music. The evening earned $175.00 in cleared receipts,” Ford shares.

Over the years, the hall played host to numerous events, including the Penhold Fair beginning in 1921.

Among others, a vaudeville show was first staged there in 1922, and the United Farmers Party held meetings at the hall. During WWII, the hall was an entertainment centre, Ford tells, for the Airmen at RAF Penhold. It was also home to the Penhold School’s Christmas concerts.

After the war, it remained a social hub, hosting many a dance, and was also used by the #7 Markerville Air Cadets. Later, a shallow trench was dug in the building’s basement to be used as part of a shooting range for the cadets.

(Google Maps)

In 1972, the hall’s interior was renovated by the newly formed Lion’s club, Ford says.

“In the 1980s, the Penhold Lions Club undertook the construction of a 50’ x 80’ addition to the north side of the hall. A 40 foot opening was made in the north wall of the existing hall to connect the two floors. A modern kitchen was obtained from the Red Deer Industrial Airport for the east end of the addition and enlarged washrooms were placed along the west wall,” says Ford.

“The new addition provided space for as tables and chairs leaving the dance floor in the original hall available for dancing, without having to pack away the tables and stack chairs. Later a deck, covered with a lean-to roof, was constructed on the south side, providing a sheltered outside space.”

A hardwood floor and air conditioning were installed in the 1990s.

Perhaps the Memorial Hall’s most important piece was the original drop stage curtain, which in 2003 was discovered in the building’s mezzanine. It required restoration which was quoted at $35,000, which the Town didn’t have a budget for, according to Ford.

In 2006, Ford himself contacted the Canadian War Museum to gauge its interest in procuring and possibly restoring the curtain. Ford made a contribution towards the restoration, which finally occurred in 2015.

“The restored curtain was shipped to Penhold where it was installed in the Multiplex in time for the November 11 Armistice ceremony,” Ford recalls. “At the end of its six-month stay in Penhold, the curtain was returned to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.”

The museum has since agreed to display the curtain at some point in 2020.

Today, the museum is still used for social events such as weddings, and serves as a lasting reminder of the sacrifices made by Canadian men and women who served in the armed forces.

Stewart Ford will be speaking about the Memorial Hall during the town’s Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday, which starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Penhold Multiplex.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter here. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.