May 26, 2018 — GREENWOOD, BC (BG)

Among the interesting historic relics from Greenwood's early days are the fine clocks and pocket watches that were sold here by A. Logan & Co. in the early 1900's. Although we found little information about A. Logan & Co., the Greenwood Museum has some very interesting photos and birth/death records for the principals. In fact, these historical footprints lead us to a rather amazing and epic story in Canadian history.

There are a number of A. Logan & Co. watches of various sizes and types held by Greenwood residents today. Pictured above is one of them, a small gold-filled pocket watch. This is a Swiss private label watch with the name 'A. Logan & Co., Greenwood B.C.' printed on the dial (face). On the back is a beautiful crest design with shield, flame and two flowers in a Celtic-style knot — perhaps a fraternal or heraldic design.

While it's not known for certain, A. Logan himself was probably not a watchmaker. More likely, A. Logan & Co. was a jewelry shop selling timepieces made by various Swiss and other European watchmakers. In the following Boundary Creek Times advertisement, which ran in the February 26th and March 5th, 1909 editions, we see A. Logan & Co. offering Regina brand watches, advertising them as the 'Best in the World'. This probably wouldn't be the case if Logan himself was a watchmaker… surely he would be making the 'world's best'!

Regina pocket watches are described in Wikipedia:

"Regina pocket watches were a brand of pocket watches made by Omega that were popular in the early 1900s. The name Regina Pocket Watch was originally trade marked by LOUIS MAIER in Bienne Switzerland in 1888. The name was then trademarked by Omega in 1911 indicating that they bought the company at that time. The faces and mechanisms were imported into New York and assembled with cases in Ontario for sale mostly in Canada.

Individually stamped production runs were made for a small fee. The result is that many Regina watches have the name and town of a vendor on their face. One watch has been traced to the Arcola Jewelry store in Arcola Saskatchewan."_[1]

The conclusion that A. Logan & Co. was a jeweler rather than watchmaker is supported by the following, from The Canadian Encyclopedia:

"The manufacture of clocks and watches in Canada may have begun as early as 1700; however, practising watch and clockmakers through the 18th and much of the 19th centuries did not make the movements. A watch or clock mechanism would originate in England, continental Europe or the US, arriving in Canada as an ebauche (basic, unfinished movement). This was finished by the local horologist, and would thus bear his initials or signature, or the stamp of his silversmith. From these beginnings, retailers of clocks, and especially watches, were closely associated with silversmiths and jewellers. This arrangement was logical as the 2 groups were dependent on the same market and required one another's skills." _[2]

Visiting the Greenwood Museum, you will find a beautiful Regulator clock on the wall at the end of the main counter (pictured above). 'Regulator' clocks were used as master timepieces against which other clocks and watches were set. They were commonly used by railroads, but it's not known if the Regulator in the Greenwood Museum was used by local railroaders. Sometimes the word 'Regulator' was just painted onto standard clocks as a sales incentive.

In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, the Canadian Pacific Railroad published a list of railroad-approved timepieces. _[3] Of course, it was the clock works, rather than the face or casing that was being approved, to ensure proper timekeeping. At least one pocket watch sold as a private label by A. Logan & Co. was railroad approved. This one is described as 'a Louis Brandt grade CCR, 19-jewels (Omega), railroad approved in Canada at the turn of the 20th century'. _[4-5]

In addition to the Regulator clock, the Greenwood Museum has some other very interesting pieces of the A. Logan & Co. story, on the more personal side. A. Logan "and company" refers to the fact that the enterprise was owned by an uncle and his nephew: Albert "Bert" Logan and the younger Austin Logan.

Albert Logan was born in Quebec in 1878. It is not known when he arrived in Greenwood, but he was likely part of the large migration of eastern Canadian professionals and skilled labourers who headed west to take advantage of the mining boom.

His nephew, Austin J. Logan was also born in Quebec, at Chateauguay in Howick, 1886.

While living in Greenwood, Albert and Austin were active with local sports and social activities. Albert served as a team executive for the Greenwood hockey team. He is pictured above in a team photo (back row, left).

Pictured below is the Greenwood Citizens Band in which young Austin played. He was 20 years old at the time of this photo, c. 1906. Austin died young, from Tuberculosis. He left this world at age 26 while under care at the Tranquille Sanatorium in Kamloops, November 10, 1912. That same year, Albert Logan traveled to Edmonton, Alberta, where he eventually opened another jewelry shop. Albert was still in Greenwood as late as 1914. According to the Greenwood Museum, he was still advertising A. Logan & Co. in the Ledge that year, and also participated in a Greenwood Gun Club trap shoot in 1914.

A previous article in this journal, entitled "Greenwood's WWI Contribution", mentioned that gold watches were given to Greenwood men returning from the Great War, circa 1918. These watches may not have come from A. Logan & Co., who appears to have left Greenwood sometime before this date. There was another jeweler operating in Phoenix at the time, who perhaps supplied the watches.

The giving of gold watches to returning Canadian servicemen had become something of a tradition. In a report published by the Milton Historical Society of Ontario we see pictures of small gold-filled pocket watches very similar to the A. Logan & Co. watch pictured at the top of this article.

The Death of Albert Logan

Albert Logan died at Little Red River, Alberta in 1928, at the age of 51. His obituary was published in the Greenwood Ledge newspaper on January 17, 1929: _[6]

Between his departure from Greenwood and the time of his death, Albert Logan not only operated his Edmonton jewelry shop, he also worked for at least three other companies, including Lamson & Hubbard and the Hudson's Bay Company.

FORMER GREENWOODITE DEAD AT LITTLE RED RIVER
Greenwood Ledge - January 17, 1929

"Residents of Greenwood heard with sincere regret the news of the death of Albert (Bert) Logan at Little Red River on December 20th. Confirmation of the death was received in Greenwood this week by Mrs. Helen Thomas in letters from Mrs. Jake Saunders of Moosejaw, Sask., and Mrs. Howard Stevenson of Mundare, Alta., both former citizens of Greenwood. The late Mr. Logan was 51 years of age. Prior to moving to Edmonton he was in the Jewelry business in Greenwood. Mr. Logan was married four years ago. Mrs. Logan will remain in the North until spring. The following is from an Edmonton paper:

"Prominent in local business circles some thirteen years ago and also a crack trap shooter, Albert Logan, Hudson's Bay factor at Little Red River, who died on December 20, of diphtheria, is mourned by many old friends in this city.

Details of Mr. Logan's illness are contantained in a leter that Adam Esch, an old friend of the deceased, has received from the grief-stricken widow. This letter had been handed to the two fliers, Capt. Wop May and Lieut. Vic Horner at Fort Vermillion and was brought back by them on the return flight to this city.

Mr. Logan, familiarly known to his friends as Bert, lived in the interior of British Columbia for a number of years, in a town near where Mr. Esch was located. About 1912, Logan came to Edmonton and entered the jewelry business, opening a place on 101 street. During those early years here, he took a lively interest in trap shooting and was a member of the champion city squad.

In 1916, Mr. Logan went north, having accepted a post with the Lamson-Hubbard company. From that time on he was in charge of different posts and later acted in a similar capacity for Kenny McKenzie. For the past two years, Logan had charge of the Hudson's Bay company post at Little Red River and had intended to come out to Edmonton next spring.

From the letter just received, the man contracted diphtheria and was seriously ill for twelve days. His wife gave him every possible attention and sent the call for a doctor. When medical assistance arrived after four days' time, due to the difficult means of transportation in the north country, it was found that the serum was not effective in checking the disease. Logan died on December 20, after a brave fight against the malady.

On Christmas eve, the factor was buried, the first victim of the disease which even then threatened epidemic form."

While Albert Logan's obituary conveys the gravity of the situation, there is a far more dramatic story associated with his illness and death. This is hinted at in the closing line above: Albert was "the first victim of the disease which even then threatened epidemic form."

According to the obituary timeline, Albert took ill with Diptheria around December 4th. Sixteen days later the anti-toxin serum arrived, but it did not prevent his death. In fact, Albert's was the first death in what was feared could become a deadly Diptheria outbreak. Flying into action to prevent it, local leaders initiated what became known as the 1929 Mercy Flight.

This epic story of efforts to warn officials of an impending Diptheria outbreak, to safely dispatch Bert Logan's dead body, and to arrange for the transport of serum that would stave off an epidemic of this highly infectious disease, is truly a chapter of Canadian history. It involved not only Greenwood's own Albert Logan, but also one of Canada's most famous aviators, Wop May, a World War I hero and the last man to do battle in the skies with ace German pilot, von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron.

There is an excellent telling of the story of Bert Logan's demise and the high drama that followed at The Wop May Chronicles. Strangely enough, that story ends with a picture of a pocket watch.

The story is also told in the following clip from a National Film Board of Canada piece on Wop May:

nfb.ca,

Last update: August 17, 2016

Thanks to Doreen MacLean at the Greenwood Museum for taking time to share many details, including the birth/death records for Albert Logan, which helped us connect the dots to the Little Red River and the Mercy Flight of 1929.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Regina Pocket Watches

[2] Clocks and Watches in Canada - The Canadian Encyclopedia

[3] Railroad Time: Railroad Pocket Watches and the CPR by Harold Clitheroe, Feb 9, 2000

[4] Private Label Watches - National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Message Board

[5] Railroad Approved Watches - National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors Message Board

[6] Albert Logan's Obituary - The Greenwood Ledge, p. 1, January 17, 1929