Large land owner John Hole

In 1887, pioneer John (Jack) Hole filed on a homestead in York Colony that had first been first entered by E.W. Bull. John Hole is the one to have obtained title to this land - NW Section 16, Township 27 Range 2 West of the 2nd Meridian, as well as the South West of Section 16. In a few years he had become a large land owner, operating as a grain grower and rancher. In the early 1900s, he also operated a livery barn in Yorkton. In 1905, he moved to Yorkton and opened a John Deer Implement business, all the while he kept on farming. He was known as a friendly person and one with a sense of humour. He is also remembered for having ridden his horse into the Balmoral Hotel Bar - a place he frequently visited as did lots of men of his day! It was also not an uncommon joke for some guys to ride their mount into a hotel bar to liven up the town a bit. Then, according to one story, his wife Jane would often boldly enter the bar and "talk" him into leaving. This was rather brazen on her part, as women were not allowed to enter bars in those years. All these shenanigans provided gossip and laughter for the town's people and one reason the stories have survived. John aka Jack died in 1907, Jane died in 1944.

Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,

Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]