Two reverends walk into a Barr, sounds like a bad joke, or a loose description of the Barr Colonists that arrived in Lloyd over 100 years ago.
I’ve always loved hearing about disputes between individuals, for some reason, despite being in an industry full of facts and thorough research, I love trashy gossip.
Beautifully, my two passions collided as I learned about the disdain Rev. George Exton Lloyd held for Rev. Isaac Montgomery Barr, or “I.M. Barr” to Lloyd.
The two were on a collision course as Barr wrote to Lloyd about his plans to bring a colony to Canada.
Barr was an individual who was confrontationally adverse.
“Barr reacted as he was going to react again and again in his life. When the going became difficult, he backed away from confrontation,” wrote Barr’s biographer, Hele Reid in All Silent, All Damned.
It wasn’t just one incident that fragmented the two holy men’s relationship.
Lloyd recounted a story of Barr having all the flour on the boat made into bread, charging 10 cents a loaf, nearly twice the cost in town. Barr eventually lowered the price, but the damage was done.
Another iconic incident that soured Barr in the minds of many was the blanket incident. Blankets had been stashed deep inside the ship’s hold, but the people needed them on trains. Lloyd distributed them when a voice yelled over his shoulder, “What are you doing with my blankets?”
It was Barr, and he was described in Bordering on Greatness as, “looking just like a spirit drunk man.”
Barr was voted out of the colony following a meeting of 140 colonists and Lloyd became the new leader of the group.
My favourite fact of the hatred Lloyd held for Barr was related to how he referred to him. Nearly 40 years later in his memoir, Lloyd still referred to Barr as “I.M. Barr.” Leaving out his reverend status and his first name.
Lloyd was appalled by Barr’s disorganization and was utterly disgusted by his drinking. Both men have been honoured in Lloydminster, having things named after them, but Lloyd’s hatred for Barr was everlasting, and that’s beautiful.
Read more: Opinion: Battleford’s dark history
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