Robin Faber’s memoir offers glimpse into Shaunavon’s past

Posted on October 6, 2025 by Ryan Dahlman

Shaunavon Standard

The Grand Coteau Centre’s recent Coffee Chat gathering was highlighted by a compelling historical presentation featuring a voice recording by one of Shaunavon’s early residents.

The presentation, which included a recorded memoir by Robin Faber in 1988, was created in the lead-up to the town’s 75th anniversary. It was accompanied by a spectacular slideshow of early photographs from the community. The presentation was assembled by Kelly Attrell, Collections Manager at the Grand Coteau Centre.

“It’s a cassette recording that Robin did for Shaunavon’s 75th anniversary,” explained Attrell. “It was based on written accounts she had done before. I just took the cassette recording, which we had digitized, and set what she was saying to coordinate with the photos from our collection.”

The presentation is approximately 25 minutes long, slightly edited from the original 30 minutes that Robin had recorded on the cassette tape.

“Robin knew a lot about the town’s history – and she was here from pretty much the start,” added Attrell. “The recording covers the early history of Shaunavon, including the first lot sale and the early businesses. She basically covered the town from 1913 to 1988, but the real focus was on the early years.”

“It’s also a personal story about Robin, how she came to Shaunavon, and some of her experiences in the community,” added Attrell.

Robin’s father came to Shaunavon to open an insurance business in the fall of 1913, as the town was being formed. He returned home to collect his family and came back to Shaunavon later that year to take up permanent residence.

Faber, a former contributor to The Shaunavon Standard’s “Year’s Gone By” column (1985-1992), chronicled the town’s history from its beginnings in 1913. The recording features plenty of firsthand accounts from Robin, who grew up in the community and spent most of her life here. She died in 1997 at the age of 89.

She attended her first day of school in the fall of 1914. 

“I started school in the fall of 1914 in the newly built one-room building on the site of the present school,” Robin states in the recording. “It was set up to hold a classroom of 40 to 50 students. Imagine the consternation when 99 students registered on the first morning. My first month at school was spent in that crowded room with a teacher at the front and one at the back, and the students were crushed three to a bench. However, by Thanksgiving, a room had been added.”

But Robin, who went on to become a legendary teacher in Shaunavon herself, covered more than just the community’s educational history. She talks about almost every aspect of the town’s history, touching on things like the first sale of lots for Shaunavon (staged in Gull Lake), the community’s first election, the decision to construct wooden sidewalks, Saturday night dances, coal mining, special events, and prominent citizens and businesses. She also talks about devastating fires, including a blaze in the summer of 1918 that destroyed 18 businesses, and the flu pandemic that same year. (Note: The Shaunavon Standard is the only business from 1913 that still exists in the community.)

Robin also talks about the town’s quick growth. It was incorporated as a village in 1913 but was declared a town the following year due to its growing population. According to Faber, the town ultimately reached a population peak of about 3,000 people, although that number had dropped to just over 2,000 by the time of the 75th anniversary in 1988.

Faber also clarifies the origins of the town’s name and its correct pronunciation, with more emphasis on the last part of the name, “avon.” 

The presentation garnered an extremely positive response and much discussion from those attending this month’s Coffee Chat. A councillor attending the event suggested it should be shown at a council meeting, and Grand Coteau officials are looking at ways to extend access to the presentation. The presentation could be used for school tours, and there are already plans to launch it on the Grand Coteau’s YouTube channel.

“It’s a good short history of the community,” said Joanne Gregoire, Director of the Grand Coteau Centre. “The photographs just help make it that much more engaging. Kelly did a great job of coordinating the pictures with the recording.”

“Robin was a self-proclaimed institution in Shaunavon,” said Attrell. “And she definitely lived up to that billing.”

“I’ve tried to tell you the highlights of Shaunavon’s early history,” Robin concluded in her recording. “Something of its past and present economy and of changes wrought through 75 years. I’ve spoken a little of the wonderful work done by churches, its clubs, its lodges, and the community-minded organizations. I hope I have given you a small insight into its lively past and the spirit that has imbued its sons and daughters, so that wherever they roam, Shaunavon is still home.”