Herbert Botsford Hall, possibly one of the coolest old-timey names I’ve ever heard. Sorry if that’s your name today, but hey, at least your name’s cool.
When talking about H.B. Hall, I was surprised to see an article refer to him as “the other colonist.” At the time, I knew nothing about him outside of the store he ran.
Read more: Column: A drink too many
Hall was born in 1866 in Rothesay, N.B. He grew up on the east coast and eventually married Laura Parks and had three children. He was married by a familiar face in 1890, the old Rev. George Exton Lloyd.
It was the same Lloyd who asked Hall to move out west to Lloydminster, stopping short of Hall’s original plan of going to Red Deer.
It was off for the Hall family; they packed a pair of railroad cars, half with household requirements and the other with horses and his purebred Hereford cattle.
Once they got to Saskatoon, they went with a farm wagon and horses, taking two weeks in transit with their household items.
Originally, he was going to settle in the Southminster District, intending to farm on a homestead. He wanted his children to get an education, so he moved to the town. He was educated at an agriculture college in Guelph, Ont., not far from my hometown.
Hall noted that Lloydminster had a lack of supplies and services, deciding it would be a good idea to start a general store.
He found partners in George Scott of Edmonton and Dr. W. Amos, and thus, Hall, Scott and Co. opened in early 1904.
It was only a couple of years later that the business was divided, with Hall running a grocery and dry goods store in 1906. The store was 25 feet by 60 feet, with a second storey eventually added with identical dimensions.
The fire of 1929 claimed the Hall business, and it was eventually rebuilt in brick. Hall’s son Stephen entered the business, and it became H.B. Hall and Son Ltd.
In 1964, the business was sold to the local co-op, ending a long history of Hall family stores in Lloydminster.
I found it funny that Hall’s store was described as “Always representing the best in British tradition.” Hall was a fifth-generation Canadian, but it appeared he understood his largely British clientele.
He was also well-known for his leadership in the city, serving as overseer of the town for two terms as mayor. He was also a member of the Masonic order; I don’t know much about his involvement with the secret society, but with a name like Herbert Botsford I can only imagine he was their leader.
Many leaders in Lloyd had interesting histories. I look at the story of Hall as more than just the other colonist and more than just a mayor. He was dedicated to the community and even gave up land he had acquired with a pair of partners to better the city.
Read more: Column: Movin’ to the groovin’
