“There’s a Fire in the House!” - Arson at the Sovereign Hotel

Sovereign, Sask. prior to the 1915 fire that destroyed the hotel (far right).Source

“Afraid of what?” Inspector A. W. Duffus, RNWMP, asked chambermaid Molly Kelly, a witness at the preliminary hearing of William Shinbane. The former owner of the Sovereign Hotel was charged with setting fire to his own property on March 29, 1915. “I thought there was going to be a fire,” was Molly’s answer, reported by the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix on November 11, 1915. “What made you think that?” queried the inspector. “Oh, it was common talk among the employees that there was going to be a fire at the hotel,” Molly testified. “Mrs Mitchell the cook said that she did not think Mr. Shinbane would set fire to the house until his wife went to Winnipeg where she was expected to make a visit in a few days.” (Mrs. Anna Shinbane was pregnant with her second son, Berel Shinbane, who was born in Winnipeg on June 2^nd, several months after the fire.)

Headline in the Saskatoon Daily Star, Nov. 10, 1915

The chambermaid had been so nervous that she went to bed fully clothed on the night that fire destroyed the Sovereign Hotel . She had only been working at the hotel for two weeks but the gossip among the other employees that the hotel was going to burn down made her nervous. Sure enough, in the early morning hours of March 29^th she woke up to the smell of smoke coming through the transom window of her third-floor room. She managed to rescue her trunk and escape from her room unharmed. The Shinbane’s 4-year-old son, Edward (Ted), was not so fortunate. The toddler was badly burned on his legs and posterior during the fire. 

The Shinbanes

Source: Sovereign: Mileposts to Memories, 1981

William Shinbane was born to Jacob and Leah Shinbane in Vilna, Russia in 1886. He came to Canada as an infant, settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba where his father ran a general store. He married Anna Schwartz on January 24, 1911 in Winnipeg. After their wedding, the couple planned to settle in Lemberg, Saskatchewan where William’s brother Morris lived. By 1915, they were the owners and operators of the three-story hotel at Sovereign, built in 1912 by Chris Hoeschen, brother of Ben Hoeschen, manager of the Saskatoon brewery. And, by November of the same year, William was charged in incendiarism (arson) for torching his own property. Sovereign is located 26 km southeast of Rosetown on Highway 15.

Insurance Companies Balk

Saskatoon Daily Star, March 23, 1915

On March 29, 1915, the Saskatoon Daily Star reported that there had been “a small epidemic” of hotel fires in Saskatchewan after Premier Walter Scott announced two weeks earlier that Prohibition was coming to the province starting on July 1^st. These fires on licensed premises were viewed with great concern by the fire insurance companies operating in the province. “Every insurance company has been dreading a general outbreak of fire among the hotels since Premier Scott made his announcement,” a company representative told the Daily Star. “We saw it coming and most of us believe that this is only the beginning. All we can do is to make the closest investigation possible in every case.”

 

Star-Phoenix, April 22, 1915

By April 22, six hotel fires in the province, including the one at Sovereign, were under investigation by Fire Commissioner R. J. McLean. Several fire insurance companies cancelled all their hotel policies in the province, while others scaled down their risks. “Some [companies] state that under no circumstances will they insure hotels for more than two-thirds of their estimated value,” one insurance company representative told the Star-Phoenix, “while others put the limit at 50 percent. Still others decline in future to carry any insurance of hotels whatever.”

Preliminary Hearing

On November 4, 1915, William Shinbane was arrested in Winnipeg and brought to Saskatoon for trial. His preliminary hearing began on November 10^th, and the testimony given at the three-day hearing, such as that from Molly Kelly, provides a revealing glimpse into the operations of a small-town Saskatchewan hotel prior to Prohibition. 

Star-Phoenix, Nov. 11, 1915

Sam Musik, the Sovereign Hotel’s porter and furnace man testified that on the night of the fire, he had made up the furnace fire and tended to two dogs that were kept in the cellar. At about 2:00 a.m., he awoke to sound of his employer calling, “Sam! Sam! Fire!” His room was thick with smoke so he only had time to grab his coat, hat and shoes before exiting the burning building via a rope through the window of his room. When he got to the ground, another hotel employee loaned him a pair of pants. After the fire had done its damage, Musik testified that Shinbane came to him and said, “Sam, you keep quiet, my father has lots of money and you won’t lose a cent.” Shinbane owed Musik over $300 in back pay. The porter also testified that he had presumed the two dogs in the hotel’s cellar had perished in the fire, but that two days later a man named Henry Mitchell told him that he had gone down to the cellar at about 11:30 p.m. and taken out the dogs. When Musik told his employer, Shinbane responded, “Sam, you keep quiet.” Shinbane gave Musik $30 for a train ticket to Winnipeg, but when he asked for the $335 still owed to him in back wages, Shinbane told him he could not pay him until he secured the money that was coming to him from the insurance companies.

Bohemian-American Cook Book., 1915. Source

Mrs. Mitchell, the hotel’s cook, barely escaped the hotel fire with her young daughter. She was awakened by Mr. Shinbane calling to her outside her room. “Mrs. Mitchell, for God’s sake get up, there’s a fire in the house.” The cook had no time to dress as her room was already filled with smoke. She lost all her belongings, including $200 in her trunk. She testified on November 11^th that when she got outside to the street, she heard Molly Kelly accuse Shinbane of setting fire to the place, but she didn’t hear his response. Questioned about how business conditions were at the Sovereign Hotel, Mrs. Mitchell stated that Mrs. Shinbane had frequently volunteered that business was “very bad.” She also testified that for about a week prior to the fire, the Shinbanes “had been busy packing up the hotel bed and table linen and the curtains and that these were stored in boxes on the landing” when she went to bed on the night before the fire. The smoke was so thick as she descended to the lower floor that she could not see whether the boxes were still there, but she did not run up against them during her escape.

Sylvester (Sid) Herrick, hotel boarder and handyman, testified that on the night of the fire he had been in Molly Kelly’s room until midnight. “Was there any talk of the possibility of a fire in the hotel while you were up in Miss Kelly’s room,” P. E. Mackenzie, the Crown prosecutor asked. “Yes,” was Herrick’s answer. He also stated that there was a small tank of gasoline at the back of the building which was used for gas-lighting purposes in the hotel. “We were all waiting for it to explode,” he said. All of the witnesses for the prosecution stated that they could smell gasoline as they exited the burning building.

Henry Thomas, representing the eleven insurance companies who held policies on the Sovereign Hotel and its contents, testified on November 11^th that the total insurance on the building, furnishings, liquor and cigars was $23,900. “He said that since the fire the accused had submitted schedules of the values of the loss which totaled $34,946.25,” the Daily Star reported. “That while the policies were made out to William Shinbane, the losses were payable to the Hoeschen-Wentzler Brewing Company, Saskatoon, and to Jacob Shinbane to the extent of $13,000 to the former and $10,900 to the father of the accused.”

Saskatoon Daily Star. Nov. 11, 1915

Despite defense lawyer Donald Maclean’s statement that there was not sufficient evidence to connect the accused with the fire, Inspector Duffus bound Shinbane for trial at the Supreme Court of Saskatchewan. Duffus said that while there was no overwhelming presumption of guilt, there was, in his opinion, enough evidence for the case to go to a jury. 

What Happened?

Star-Phoenix, Nov. 12, 1915

And this is where the case goes cold. So far, I have not been able to find any newspaper story or other reference which can tell us what happened as a result of Shinbane’s trial. (Prior to 1918, there was a Supreme Court of Saskatchewan, but 1915 legislation created a new Court of King’s [now Queen’s] Bench to take over the trial functions of the Supreme Court, which was abolished effective March 1, 1918. Thus, I need to do more digging if I am to discover the Shinbane case records.) Based on what I learned (see below), it looks like William Shinbane got off. Maybe his case didn't even go to trial. His brother, A. M. (Mark) Shinbane, fresh out of law school at the University of Manitoba, attended William's preliminary hearing. Mark went on to have an illustrious career as a lawyer in Winnipeg. Click here to learn more. Perhaps the Shinbane family found a way to maneuver through the court system and help William, Anna, Teddie and Berel get back on their feet again.

William's brother, A. M. Shinbane at U of M, 1915. The Manitoban.

Here’s what I do know. By 1916, according to the Canada census, William and Anna Shinbane and their two boys were living in Swan River, Manitoba, where he worked as a general merchant. In the early 1920s, the family moved to Los Angeles, California. The US census for 1930 shows Shinbanes still living in LA where William worked as a building contractor. Two of his brothers, Hyman and Morris, also lived in LA. William Shinbane died on June 29, 1931 and is buried in Los Angeles.

Record of Shinbane's border crossing, 1923. Source: familysearch.org

The hotel at Sovereign was not rebuilt after the 1915 fire.

©Joan Champ, 2019

Hotel Wynyard: “A City Hotel in a Country Town”

Hotel Wynyard, c 1926. Source

John Oswell Lewis must have had considerable confidence in the future of the hotel business in Wynyard when he built a three-storey brick hotel on the southwest corner of Bosworth Street and Pacific Avenue - now Avenue B East - in 1925 at a cost of $40,000. Prohibition had just ended in Saskatchewan the year before, so perhaps Lewis hoped to open a drinking establishment in the new Hotel Wynyard. (The Town of Wynyard was also optimistic, contributing cash plus tax concessions for the construction of the hotel on the express understanding, the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix reported on March 3, 1932, that a provincial courthouse would be built in the community. The distinctive Weyburn courthouse was completed in 1928.)

Ad in the Star-Phoenix, January 25, 1930

Lewis, who also owned a hotel in Wadena, opened the 30-room hotel in 1926, but quickly put the business up for sale or lease. No buyers stepped forward, so from 1931 to 1935, Lewis rented the Hotel Wynyard to a Mrs. Allingham.

Beer Parlour Meets Resistance

Star-Phoenix, April 20, 1935

Controversy arose in 1935 when the Government of Saskatchewan allowed hotels to sell beer by the glass. The new legislation, passed on January 22, 1935, allowed communities to vote on whether they wanted a beer parlour in their local hotel. Temperance supporters in Wynyard circulated a petition in early April opposing the issue. 

Lewis promptly closed his hotel. His action so aroused the

Star-Phoenix, May 8, 1935

businessmen of Wynyard that, on May 7, 1935, over 30 of them met to pass a resolution calling upon Mr. Lewis to reopen the hotel. “It was pointed out,” the Star-Phoenix reported on May 8^th, “that Mr. Lewis had erected a hotel here which was an asset to the community in every respect and that he merited the support of the people.” The businessmen called for an early plebiscite in connection with the beer parlour. They also met with Lewis who agreed that “if the businessmen would circulate a petition among the citizens pledging their support and cooperation,” the hotel would be reopened for business. 

Encouraged by the support of Wynyard business community, Lewis enlarged the hotel, adding seven more rooms and a beer parlor at a cost of $10,000. “Many thirsts were allayed Friday when the new beer parlor in the Hotel Wynyard was formally opened,” the Star-Phoenix announced on September 10, 1935. “From Bosworth Street a double door and inlaid tile entrance greets the eye, while inside there is a spacious room with lofty ceiling and beautiful inlaid linoleum.” 

Labour Dispute 

In 1940, the Hotel Wynyard passed under Mr. Lewis’ estate to his daughter, Mrs. M. B. Grieve and from that time until 1953, the Grieves owned and operated the hotel as Hotel Lewis. A heated labour dispute arose that same year between employers and employees in the hotel and restaurant business in Wynyard. A negotiating meeting was held in March at which it was revealed that some employees were required to work as long as 70 hours per week, while the lowest rate of pay was less than $3 per week and the highest less than $6. “Employees of the Wynyard Hotel objected to living conditions,” the Star-Phoenix reported on April 18, “claiming that the staff quarters in the hotel, located in the basement, were not suitable.” 

Star-Phoenix, March 13, 1940

A tentative agreement was reached in March, setting a minimum rate of pay of $10.50 per week and a maximum working week of 54 hours under the provincial Industrial Standards Act. However, when it came time to ratify this schedule, the employers refused to sign. They claimed that they were intimidated by threats at the negotiating meeting in March, and that the negotiating meeting had been improperly called. On September 4, 1940, the Regina Leader-Post reported that provisions of Saskatchewan’s Minimum Wage Act would be applied to several towns, including Wynyard.

Post-1950 Changes

In 1953, Artwal Hotel Ltd. purchased the property. It was managed by Walter Thorfinnson under the name Artwal Hotel until 1960. The hotel was purchased about 1970 by Benito Falasca and Victor and Helen Bodnarchuck. They sold it to Lorrie Roslinski about 1975. The hotel was owned by Jack and Sybil Demaere from 1982 to 1986. Other owners included John Hawryluk, who changed the name back to the Hotel Wynyard; Mrs. Adeline Ryhorchuk; and the Szydlowski family, including parents Mike and Marie, and sons Theo, Richard, David and Greg. 

Exterior renovations to the Hotel Wynyard, 2005. Source: Facebook

Interior renovations to the Hotel Wynyard, 2005. Source: Facebook

In 2010, Richard Szydlowski advertised that the Wynyard Hotel was for sale for $899,000. The hotel featured an updated licensed beverage room with a 157-person capacity; major additions and renovations to main floor completed in 2005; 12 guest rooms on the second floor, with a common full bath; and a two-bedroom living quarters with suite on 3^rd floor, plus more guest rooms. The hotel was for sale again in 2013 on Kijiji, listed for $925,000. Today, the bar is called The Wrecking Bar & Grill.

The Wynyard Hotel, May 23, 2019. Joan Champ photo

©Joan Champ, 2019