The HISTORY OF THE MAGNOLIA HALL SOCIETY AND THE BUILDING OF THE HALL
by Gene Campbell
An excerpt from the book
“Magnolia – The First Hundred Years”
After the Magnolia School was opened in 1911, as the only public building it also served as a community center. However, after the war, there was a desire and need for a dedicated community hall. In a remarkable example of civic leadership for such a small hamlet, the Magnolia Hall Society was organized under the auspices of the Society Act of the Alberta Government. The Society Act provided a framework in which by-laws and a constitution were accepted. Duties were spelled out, and board members nominated and elected. Shares were issued and sold to raise funds.
The hall was a wooden structure, built on a knoll, south and slightly west of the store. Originally it was a single room structure. During construction, Adeline Fowler recalls that a dance was held with only the floor in place, with light supplied by lanterns suspended along the perimeter.
An addition was built, probably in 1931. Ivan Brown recalls helping, or as he says, “getting in the way”. Making use of the hillside to the south end, a kitchen and stage were added. The kitchen was accessible by a ground level door on the east side. There was a dumb waiter that allowed prepared food to be raised to the hall floor.
Above the kitchen was a stage. On the northeast was the entrance with cloak racks. On the northwest, accessible from inside, was a woman’s bathroom, and cloakroom. Heating was by a pot-bellied wood stove just inside the north entrance, and by a wood-fired cook stove in the kitchen. North of the hall was a small shed that housed a 32-volt generator that provided lights for the hall.
The designers of the stage, Earl Dawson, Frank Entwistle, Roy Brown and Mr. McArthur must have had some knowledge of the theater. The stage was raised about 36 inches above the dance floor, for good audience viewing (and to accept the food). The back of the stage was completed with an attractive permanent varnished wooden screen. This screen had three narrow doors for the actors to exit or enter, which allowed a smooth transition between acts. The front of the stage had small walls for the prompter to stand behind, hidden from the audience. A curtain was installed to close off the stage at the conclusion of an act. On the east side, a set of stairs provided access from the dance floor to the stage and down into the kitchen.”
THE NEW HALL –
by Eric Brown
An excerpt from the book
“Magnolia – The First Hundred Years”
The Hall Board decided in the early 1970’s that the time was long past for a new hall. Through both major fundraising efforts and government grants, enough money was acquired to do the job. In the summer of 1972 construction began in earnest. Most of the work was volunteer supervised mainly by Frank Randak and Frank Kelly as both men had much experience in building construction. John Glerrup, a professional bricklayer, was hired to lay the cement blocks, which he did at a cut rate.
I was among those to volunteer, helping with the roof and the pouring of insulation in the ceiling. During the time of working above the ceiling I slipped and put one foot through the Gyproc, nearly dropping a sheet on Frank Kelly who was working below. It seems the Browns were determined to leave their mark on the hall as Dad nearly drove a hand-operated packer through the wall a few months earlier while preparing the floor for concrete.
The hall was open to the public in time for the Christmas Concert that year, but the official opening did not take place until the summer of 1973. The old hall was torn down in the winter of 1973. The last dance to be held in the old hall was that honouring Allen and Brenda Walker on their 25th wedding anniversary in July of 1972, and the first dance in the new hall was the wedding dance of Eric and Isabella Brown in April of 1973.
The new hall originally had a wooden annex on the west end, but it deteriorated after a few years and the main body of the hall was extended westward in the 1980’s to make way for a larger kitchen and larger dance area. The Magnolia Hall today is considered by outsiders to be a very nice, well-built, medium sized hall and is in great demand for weddings and family reunions. (May, 2000)