I THEN & NOW I
Paved with
BY GLORIA LOITZ
The northeast section of St. Albert yields some fascinating local vanguards
MEMORIES
IN THIS FINAL instalment of
Edward Way
Escallier Place
T8N’s look at St. Albert’s street names, we journey back in time to learn about the various chapters of historical people who contributed to the character of the city. These are but a few of the roads named in their honour visible on street signs in the neighbourhoods east of St. Albert Trail and north of the Sturgeon River.
This has been thought to be named after Edward Van Lersberghe, who immigrated to Villeneuve in 1920 with his wife Maria after his three brothers had already settled in the area. The couple farmed throughout the Great Depression on a few different plots of land and eventually retired in St. Albert.
French widower Hippolyte Escallier arrived in St. Albert before 1917 and brought his three grown children with him. One of them, Blanche, married a man named Michael Hogan and went on to teach school in Legal.
A secretary for the City of St. Albert, Kathy Evans earned the distinction of a street name in her honour. A highly respected administrator, she started off in the engineering department and then transferred to the city transit sector.
Bellerose Drive This drive was named in honour of Octave Bellerose, son of Oliver Bellerose, whose family settled near the Sturgeon River after moving from Quebec in 1833. Octave was known as one of the best horsemen around and established a school on his farm in 1886. A decade later, the Métis Association elected him president; much of his time was spent lobbying the federal government for the issue of transcripts beholden to Métis children.
Eastbrick Place At one time, several locals worked for this brick foundry, which warranted a road to be named after it.
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Evans Place
Everitt Drive Harry Keith Everitt was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and a councillor in Sturgeon County. Born in 1923, he became an MLA in 1959 and served his constituency for three terms. He died Aug. 26, 2015 at the age of 92.
Étoile Crescent North
Emery Court Sister Zoe LeBlanc Emery was one of the three Grey Nuns who arrived in St. Albert in 1863. Under her charge, the Grey Nuns established a hospital, orphanage, boarding school and a home for the elderly. She worked as a nurse and a teacher until her death in 1885.
The St. Albert Star was a bilingual newspaper also known as L’Étoile de St. Albert, which inspired this stellar street name. It operated in the city from 1912 until 1914.
