Canada Travel: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan?s ?Friendly City,? captures spirit of old Prairies

Shannon Leahy

Special to the Star

MOOSE JAW, SASK.?At first, I blame it on the ?parlour splits.?

Was I really looking at a penis sheath, a dried out gourd from New Guinea, hanging on a restaurant wall in Moose Jaw?

?That?s the owner?s son,? says our server, Heidi, as she hands me a two-for-one ?parlour split? shot special, and points to a photograph of a tall Western man surrounded by short, smiling men and women. ?I don?t know what it was, but he just loved visiting Papua New Guinea and living with the Pygmies.?

Storytellers are everywhere in Moose Jaw. That morning at Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort, our coffee binge is interrupted by a server wanting to know if we like CBC Radio. We?re told the hotel?s Morningsides Caf? is a tribute to the late Peter Gzowski, who broadcast his last Morningside radio program here on May 30, 1997.

On the caf? wall overlooking the sapphire-blue mineral pool, a small plaque attests to the CBC icon?s love of Moose Jaw, a city Gzowski called ?the most Canadian of all cities.? By the time our coffee break is over, we know Moose Jaw is Saskatchewan?s ?Friendly City,? which explains why citizens are such shiny, happy Canadian people.

The stories perking at Hopkins Dining Parlour are just as sweet, but spooky too. The 1905 mansion is one of the most haunted places in Saskatchewan.

Minnie Hopkins, the home?s original mistress, is believed to still linger here and regularly bangs doors, levitates candlesticks and throws food around. But some servers and ghost hunters believe Minnie isn?t the only spirit to blame for all the hijinks happening at the Hopkins mansion, a structure built the same year that Saskatchewan became a province.

One night, an unseen trickster collected all of the freshly laid table utensils and created an elaborate crucifix of forks, spoons and knives on the stairway.

Not surprisingly, staff seldom, if ever, stick around after they?ve shut off the lights and locked up for the night. The few brave souls who?ve dared glance back at the restaurant have seen a woman looking down at them from the third-floor window. Sometimes a dog, a cocker spaniel believed to be Minnie?s beloved pet, joins the ghostly vigil.

We know none of these strange tales when we decide to sit directly beneath Minnie?s favourite perch and dine outside on the Hopkins?s quiet, tree-lined patio.

When I visit the ladies? room (later revealed as Minnie?s favourite stalking grounds!), I?m amazed by the dozens of autographed posters and cards from Canada?s iconic Snowbird pilots, who train in Moose Jaw and clearly party at Hopkins. Do Snowbirds see dead people?

Outside, it?s a cool night and the restaurant?s twinkling lights and flickering candles add a warm, festive vibe that makes Heidi?s roster of Moose Jaw stories a tad less chilling.

?Minnie Hopkins was considered a bit of a teetotaller,? Heidi explains, ?but Moose Jaw was where people came to drink in those days. We were considered the ?sin capital of the Prairies? because we had everything.?

What did ?everything? mean in Moose Jaw? Girls, gambling, guns and bootlegging starting from 1882 when pioneers first arrived, right up until the 1920s when this ?little Chicago? was a favourite haunt for big city gangsters, most notably Al Capone, who supposedly used Moose Jaw?s underground tunnels as part of his rum-running operation and as a hideaway from Prohibition super agent Eliot Ness.

But gangsters aren?t the bee in Minnie?s ghostly bonnet. Her supernatural disdain for drink is legendary among staff, especially since the ghost doesn?t always wait for darkness to show her feelings about the spirits being served in her house.

Heidi gives an involuntary shudder as she recalls carrying a large tray of drinks for a party on the third floor one night.

?I was reaching over to give a customer his drink and felt a poke in my ribs, so strong and sharp, it hurt a little bit and I almost dropped the tray.?

After that charming story, we bolt inside and snuggle up in the cozy Victorian-style parlour. With the promise of a final parlour split, we accept Heidi?s dare to watch Minnie?s 2003 television debut on Creepy Canada.

When the episode gets too creepy, I stare at the penis sheath on the wall and think about friendly Pygmies and Peter Gzowski, not Minnie and her deliciously scary dining parlour.

JUST THE FACTS

ARRIVING West Jet and Air Canada offer daily flights to Saskatoon and Regina starting from $135. Moose Jaw is a scenic two-hour drive southeast from Saskatoon and 45 minutes west of Regina.

SLEEPING Temple Gardens Mineral Spa Resort is in the heart of Moose Jaw and within walking distance of the city?s best shopping, dining and sightseeing. The 179-room hotel is famous for its rooftop, 43C geothermal pool, posh accommodations and adjacent access to Casino Moose Jaw. Standard rooms and luxury Jacuzzi suites range from $155 to $435 per night. templegardens.sk.ca. Capone?s Hideaway Motel overlooks busy train tracks and a heritage CPR Station, now an 11,500-square-foot liquor store. Located at 1 Main St., the rustic motel offers 24 rooms and kitchenettes (most are non-smoking) from $69 to $99 per night.

TOURING Free guided tours of the Hopkins?s house are available from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. Stroll along Main Street and visit the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, an entertaining underground spectacle that recreates ?The Chicago Connection? and the horrific working conditions of early Chinese immigrants labouring in laundries in the ?Passage to Fortune? tour. Each interactive tour is 50 minutes and well worth the time and money ($23 plus tax for both tours). tunnelsofmoosejaw.com.

DINING Hopkins Dining Parlour is located on a quiet side street (65 Athabasca St.) five blocks from the Tunnels and a leisurely walk from Temple Gardens. Don?t be misled by the 25 flavours of chicken wings; Hopkins also serves chicken cordon bleu and filet mignon. Be sure to order a ?parlour split,? two shots for the price of one, served in one glass or two. Dinner for two with pre- and post-dinner cocktails plus dessert, $78 plus tip. hopkinsdining.com. Bobby?s Place Olde World Tavern serves traditional pub grub plus more than 40 brands of single malt and blended scotches. Ignore the tavern?s seedy location beside the bus station and Salvation Army. Ask staff to tell you Bobby?s life story. Closed Sundays. Join Bobby?s Place drinking team on Facebook. 63 High St. E. (behind the Temple Gardens parking lot).

Shannon Leahy is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Her trip was subsidized by Tourism Saskatchewan.

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