Last modified: 2016-08-05 by rob raeside
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image by Arnaud Leroy, 4 December 2005
Source: City hall
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In 1882, the Toronto-based Temperance Colonization Society was granted 21
sections of land straddling the South Saskatchewan River, between what is now
Warman and Dundurn. The aim of the group was to escape the liquor trade in that
city and set up a "dry" community in the Prairie region. The following year
settlers, led by John Neilson Lake, arrived on the site of what is now Saskatoon
and established the first permanent settlement. The settlers travelled by
railway from Ontario to Moose Jaw and then completed the final leg via
horse-drawn cart as the railway had yet to be completed to Saskatoon.
In
1885 the Northwest Rebellion affected the tiny community in a variety of ways.
Chief Whitecap and Charles Trottier passed through the present day University
campus on their way to join Louis Riel's armed forces at Batoche, Saskatchewan.
Following the fighting at the Battle of Fish Creek, and the Battle of Batoche,
wounded Canadian soldiers convalesced at the Marr Residence which is today a
historic site. A few died in care and were buried in the Pioneer Cemetery near
the Exhibition Grounds.
A town charter for the west side of the river was
obtained in 1903 (Nutana became a village in that year). On May 26th 1906
Saskatoon became a city with a population of 4,500, which included the
communities of Saskatoon, Riversdale and Nutana. In 1955 Montgomery Place and in
1956 the neighboring town of Sutherland were annexed by the fast-growing City of
Saskatoon.
Neal Wilson, 9 July 2016
The berries on the hoist end are saskatoon berries, from which the city
gets its name. Plentiful throughout the praries (well, I can assume, I've
picked them myself in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba),
they were also well-known to the First Nations peoples as well.
David Kendall, 4 December 2005
It was decided that a city flag should be developed for the city’s 70th
anniversary in 1976. In 1976, city officials did not know that a city flag
design already existed. Mayor E. J. Cole was informed by a citizen that in 1952
an original design had been created by Dick Whitehead and approved by council.
It was brought to the forefront by City bus painter Henry Mirtle when he made a
painting of the flag on a piece of wallboard and hung it on display at the
transit garage and it had been hanging there for seven years.
The flag
embodies the city crest centered in a white circle. A spray of Saskatoon berries
on a background of sold green are to the left with seven golden bars to the
right. Each bar represents on of the city’s districts.
1) North Park
2)
City Park
3) Pleasant Hill
4) Mayfair
5) Caswell Hill
6) City
Center
7) Nutana
Neal Wilson, 9 July 2016
During the year 1948, the question of the City’s Coat of Arms was brought to
the attention of the City Council. It was pointed out that the design which had
been in use since being adopted by Council on January 30, 1913 was incapable of
being described in proper heraldic language and therefore could not be formally
adopted by bylaw. It was considered advisable that the City’s Coat of Arms be
properly adopted and approved and Professor A.L.C. Atkinson was requested to
design a new Coat of Arms and Crest. This was adopted by Bylaw No. 3081 and
approved by Order-In-Council N110.49 dated January 14th , 1949.
The
heraldic description of “Blazon” is:
Arms – Per chevron vert and or,
in dexter chief an open book of learning argent leathered sable, in sinister
chief a cogged wheel of six spokes in saltire and less of the third overall a
wheat ear of the second, in a base a cross and saltire voided of the least with
overall an annulet of the last encircling a bezant.
Crest - On a wreath
of the colors a lion passant guardant or holding in his dexter paw a sprig of
Saskatoon berries.
Motto – On a scroll are the words “Commerce Industry
Education”
Note – The decoration flanking the shield is purely
ornamental and is not mentioned in any blazoning. It is included (or omitted)
both in particulars and in design according to the taste of the artist.
Symbolism –
1) The background of the shield is divided into two parts, the
upper being green and the lower gold. This suggests the main agricultural
background of Saskatoon; the green of growing crops, the gold of harvest.
2)
The silver open book of learning bound in black leather, on a green field, is
taken directly from the Arms of the University of Saskatchewan and marks the
connection between the academic seat and the city.
3) The silver cogged
wheel with golden wheat war superimposed is significant of industry
predominantly connected with agriculture.
4) The eight sets of paralleled
lines on the gold background, radiating from a hub are symbolic of the
importance of Saskatoon as a railway and distribution center. The golden coin
encircled by the hub is indicative of the commercial importance of the city.
Two clipped articles from the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, likely from 1976,
document the flag design. The first clipping in addition shows a green pennant, bearing the arms
on a white disk toward the hoist and the spray of Saskatoon berries on the
remainder of the pennant. The second clipping
documents the discovery of the original flag, made by Dick Whitehead and
approved by council in 1952, attached to a wall in a transit garage.
Neal Wilson, 9 July 2016
image by Darrell Neuman, 13 May 2006
image by Randy Young, 31 October 2015
Formed in 1903, the Saskatoon Police Service is a Canadian law enforcement
agency with both municipal and provincial jurisdiction, based in the city of
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The SPS operations in cooperation with the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police. In addition to law enforcement duties at home, members
of the SPS have deployed worldwide to help train law enforcement officers in
developing countries, such as Afghanistan and Kosovo.
The armorial
bearings and flag of the Saskatoon Police Service were recorded in the Canadian
Register of Arms in June 2007. Information regarding the flag can be found at
http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1169&ProjectElementID=4116.
The flag is light blue with the SPS badge (as recorded in the Register) centered
on the field. The flag is sometimes displayed with an alternating fringe of blue
and gold.
Randy Young, 31 October 2015