More Photos from Edgar Boland

More from the Boland Collection

In our recently published newsletter, we wrote about the donation of photos and other articles related to St. Patrick’s School. This small collection belonged to Edgar Boland, who was principal from 1933 to 1943. It contains black and white photos of:

• St Patrick’s School, staff, students, hockey team
• The cast of The Chinaman ca 1935
• Members of CA-BO-GI Club ca 1935

Boland was also involved with the documenting of the Parish history and played a significant role in other cultural events in the community.

• Banquet at the Fraser Hotel
• Handmade programs of St. Patrick’s Day Banquet, for example
• Souvenir booklets of St. Patrick’s Church Silver Jubilee 1913 — 1938,  Jubilee 1913 – 1963, Diamond Jubilee 1913 – 1973, 75th Anniversary 1913 – 1988

We received a scrapbook as well. 

Today we’ll share the highlights of the collection. If you can help identify any of the people in the pictures, please leave a comment.

St. Patrick’s School

Boys’ Hockey at St. Patricks

Here are a couple more of the hockey photos – unfortunately, we do not have dates or names. We don’t know Boland’s role with the team, besides that of photographer – he was possibly the coach as well.

CA – BO – GI – Club (Catholic Boys and Girls Club)

Life in the Community and Cultural Events

Boland was actively involved in the community and took part in several cultural events. He wrote and directed school plays and organized a “Progressive Dinner” held at the Fraser House.

Interestingly, several of the pieces in the collection can be tied to the Fraser, so much so, I had to wonder if he lived there. For the moment, the only address we have for him is at 8 Miller Ave in 1928. He was a boarder, and the house sat opposite St. Patrick’s Church, at the corner of Cobalt Street and Miller Avenue. 

Insight into Edgar Boland

Boland’s scrapbook contains the usual clippings that one would expect – stories about his teaching career, the occasional item about the town itself when it was profiled in the media. Several pages are devoted to the plays he wrote, directed, and produced, including “The Chinaman” (see more, below.) He also followed the careers of the Royal Family as well as the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church. 

One particular item is worth sharing here, because it offers insight into his sense of humour and his creative mind. Printed on heavy card stock, and neatly folded is the menu for a “Progressive Dinner Party” that was held in assorted rooms throughout the Fraser House. To wrap up the evening, guests proceeded to the home of Mme. Downey, for coffee and cigarettes. She lived at the banque imperiale. 

Cast of the Chinaman

We can find no information about this particular production – it’s possible it was a play written and directed by Boland. Fortunately, most of the pictures were captioned. We’ve been able to determine that the cast was made up of several Cobalt people, and given the presence of the Fraser House owners Marie and Alex Fraser, we wonder if the production was mounted at the hotel. 

While studying the photos of the cast, we found it odd that most of people in the pictures were named – except for one actor – a soldier. Take a close look at the man – and compare to the photo at the head of this post – is he Edgar Boland?