Kathleen McClelland was born April 7, 1907 in Moose Jaw to Samuel “Ernest” Milburn McClelland and Ida (Battell) McClelland. She taught in various rural Saskatchewan schools from 1932-1938 and then in Moose Jaw from 1938-1970. She died in 1988 in Moose Jaw.

Samuel “Ernest” Milburn McClelland was born January 4, 1877 in Moose Jaw. He married Ida Battell on October 4, 1904. Shortly after their wedding, the couple left for a honeymoon in Ontario and stayed in Toronto until 1906. Ernest taught in Moose Jaw until 1917 when he was offered the school inspector position. He worked as a school inspector until 1942. Ernest lived at 160 Ominica St. West from 1907 until his death on July 28, 1961.

Ida (Battell) McClelland was born May 16, 1879 in Wicklow, Wentworth County to Martha Battell Brubaker and Henry Battell. Her family moved west to Moose Jaw on a wagon train in 1882. They were one of the earliest pioneers of the Saskatchewan District. Ida was a homemaker and had three children: Kathleen (1907-1988), Milburn (1909) and Laurella (1912-1993). Laurella was a doctor and worked in preventative medicine in the United States. Ida died March 13, 1966 in Moose Jaw.

Rella (Brubaker) Hunter was born February 8, 1895 to Martha Battell Brubaker and John Henry Brubaker. She was Ida (Battell) McClelland’s half-sister and Kathleen McClelland’s aunt. She married Harold B. Hunter and taught at the Alexandra Public School in Moose Jaw until her retirement in 1941. She lived in Vancouver until 1961, when she returned to Moose Jaw. Rella died September 28, 1966.

Henry and Martha Battell lived together in Moose Jaw. Henry, and their daughter Bertha, were both struck by lightning and killed. Martha remarried John Henry Brubaker. She died September 2, 1903.

Samuel McClelland was born January 12, 1833 in Ireland. He travelled to Peterborough, Ontario when he was about 15 to be with his sisters. He worked as a blacksmith. McClelland married Mary Milburn on April 1, 1856. Mary (Milburn) McClelland was born June 20, 1835. The couple moved to Bobcaygeon and by 1860s had opened a blacksmith shop and general store. They are considered one of the founders of Methodism in Bobcaygeon. They had nine children, seven daughters and two sons, the youngest being Samuel “Ernest” Milburn McClelland. Samuel McClelland died on November 21, 1920.

Duncan Alexander Mackenzie was born in 1892. His wife, Mary Irene Mackenzie, was born in 1894. They resided in the Stelcam district. Duncan died October 1, 1957 and Mary died August 28, 1980. They are both buried at the Rosedale Cemetery in Moose Jaw.

A.M. Logan was born in Carleton County, Ontario in 1855. He homesteaded in the Manitou district of Southern Manitoba in 1879. In 1881 he returned to Ontario and on Feb. 22, 1882 married F.L. Hayes. They returned to Manitoba. In 1904, Mr. Logan and several of his sons moved to the Central Butte, SK district (Bridgeford area) and took up homesteads. Mrs. Logan and the other children joined them in 1909. The Logan children were Wilbert, Albert, twins Norris and Hardy, Ormond, Victor, Wilfred and one daughter Pearl.
Mr. Logan was a member of the Loyal Orange Lodge, No. 338 for nearly fifty years, and a member of the Independent Order of Foresters, No.135, of Manitou. He died on Feb. 22, 1928 at his home in the Central Butte district. His sons Albert, Hardy, Norris and Wilfred all served in World War I. Hardy was killed overseas in 1916 while serving with the 5th Artillery Brigade. Norris married Jane Ellis, his English war bride. He passed away in Central Butte on Dec. 11, 1976 at age 80 years. Jane died on July 10, 1978. Wilbert resided at Kindersley and Albert in Estevan. Pearl never married. She came to Moose Jaw in 1948 and passed away there on Oct. 22, 1976 at the age of 83 years.

Kenneth “Ken” Lee was born in Avonlea, Saskatchewan on December 29, 1925. Lee moved to Moose Jaw in 1946 to enroll in the Teacher’s College at the Moose Jaw Normal School. He then was hired on at the Moose Jaw Empire School where he worked as vice-principal for six years. Lee also worked at William Grayson School and Alexander School before returning to Empire School to work as principal for ten years. Lee retired from teaching on June 30, 1982.

Lee began his involvement in square dancing in 1947 in physical education classes he was taking as part of his education degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Ken became a square dance caller and served that role in numerous clubs. He was also involved in the Sprigs O’ Heather girls Pipe Band.

Ken and Joyce Lee married and had three daughters.

Ken Lee died August 17, 2002.

Walter L. Joyner was born in Gloucestershire, England. He emigrated to Canada and spent a number of years in the retail industry in Quebec and Ontario. In 1911, he took a trip west to explore possible sites for a retail store. In his opinion, the best choices were Fort Edmonton and Moose Jaw. He chose Moose Jaw. He returned in 1912 and purchased the business of J.M. MacLeod (or M.J. MacLeod in some sources) on the west side of Main Street between Manitoba and River.
The building had been built by M. McBride in 1892 after the previous structure had been destroyed by fire. Another source says the building was constructed by William Chalmers (other sources refer to a James Chalmers) in the 1880's and it survived the fire of 1891. The date of purchase is unclear but at some point , a second floor was added to Chalmers’ building and both were joined to became what Moose Javians knew as Joyner’s - Chalmers’ half in the north and McBride’s half was the south portion. A third, one story section south of McBride’s portion was also incorporated into the business at some point.
Walter Joyner reopened the store on June 13, 1912 and during the next few days sold much of the existing stock of merchandise at sale prices. After using these funds to pay MacLeod, he had little left for operational or personal expenses. His personal contacts with eastern suppliers allowed him to obtain merchandise on credit until his cash flow improved. It was one of the largest family owned and operated department stores in Western Canada. The store was nicknamed “The People’s Popular Purchasing Place”.
His wife, Ellis Virginia Joyner arrived in late June 1912 with their four children. Two daughters, Maude and Alice and two sons, Charles and Frank both served overseas during the First World War, but Charles was killed. Frank returned and later took over the store from his father. Walter died in 1944, followed by his wife in 1948.
Frank Edward Joyner was born in Ottawa in 1897. He took over the family business from his father and operated it for many years. He served on the Moose Jaw City Council and was involved with numerous charitable, sports, business and veterans organizations including the Boy Scouts and St. John Ambulance. He and his wife Lillian had two daughters and a son, Ted, who took over the business from Frank. Frank Joyner died in 1983.
Ted Joyner operated the business until ca. May 1994 when he sold the stock and fixtures (with the exception of the cash cable car mentioned below). His wife Kathy and daughter Kelly were also involved in the family business. Their son Jay studied law and engineering.

In the days of malls and retail franchises, Joyner’s Department Store was one of the largest remaining family department stores in Canada. Joyner’s also became one of the largest Canadian distributors of blue jeans, selling in smaller quantities to smaller stores who could not afford the bulk purchases of major chains.
Joyner’s became a tourist attraction in later years as it had one of only two working electric cable cash carrier systems in Canada. Small metal boxes would be attached to a cable by floor staff to carry cash and sales receipts from each department to a central counter. Change and customers receipts would return the same way. Installed by Walter Joyner ca. 1915, it continued to operate while other businesses switched to pneumatic systems and later to cash registers.
Joyner recognized the importance of the cable cash carrier system to Moose Jaw heritage so it was not sold and remained in the building and was used by later occupants.
The building and contents were among the businesses destroyed in the January 1, 2004 fire that burned the southwest corner of Main and River Streets.