Just a Gal from Glidden: I ain’t afraid o' no ghost
BY KATE WINQUIST
kate@yoursouthwest.com
When I had assigned Joan Janzen to do a story about the Kerrobert Courthouse turning 100 years old, I had no idea that it would turn into so much more.
I must admit that my only recollection of Kerrobert is back in my high school basketball days, and those memories weren’t all that pleasant. We generally came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard and were battered and bruised as we got back on the school bus and made the 48 km trek back to Kindersley.
Joan was quick to get back to me with a story and sent some submitted photos from the Kerrobert & District Museum. After reading through Joan’s article, I was immediately intrigued by the history of the century-old landmark. I love historic buildings. The architecture is so impressive. I can only imagine what it would have been like to sit in a courtroom in Kerrobert back in the early 1920s.
PHOTOS
The Hanbidge Building where Robert and his brother Jack ran their law firm. It has now been turned into a residence.
The Hanbidge Exhibit at the Kerrobert Courthouse
Robert Hanbidge
Then I read something that intrigued me even more - rumours of the Courthouse being haunted. How cool is that? And a murder trial that was defended by none other than future Prime Minister John G. Diefenbaker. An old skull locked in the basement evidence room. Whispering voices, orb sightings, streaks of light. I decided that I needed to make that 48 km trip and see this impressive structure for myself.
It didn’t take me long to find the focal point in the community. The building with its beautiful historic park surroundings is now home to the Town of Kerrobert municipal offices. I took a few photos of the outside of the building, knowing that this would be my front-page feature. Upon entering the main foyer, I was in awe of the staircase that stood before me. I used the hand sanitizer that was set out and awaited my turn to enter the Town Office. Two friendly faces greeted me as I introduced myself. They immediately asked if I wanted to go upstairs, even though the museum area was closed to the public due to COVID. They invited me to check out the basement as well, although mentioning that some people are scared to go down there by themselves while others won’t go at all. “Maybe another day,” I said.
I was left to wonder on my own, checking out the old courtroom, which has transformed into an art gallery. The judge’s bench, jury box and judge’s chambers were all worth the trip. There have been orb sightings as well as shadow people sightings in all of these areas. I didn’t feel anything unusual as I made my way down the courtroom foyer to the witness room. On the door was a sign that said Hanbidge Exhibit. Why did that name sound familiar to me?
Robert Leith “Dinny” Hanbidge joined his brother Jack’s law firm in Kerrobert in 1914. Hanbidge would serve on Kerrobert town council and later became mayor. He won a seat in the Legislature in 1929 and acted as Conservative Party whip throughout Premier James Thomas Milton Anderson’s five-year term. He returned to his law practice after being defeated in 1934 but continued to participate in Conservative Party activities. In 1958, Hanbidge won the Kindersley riding and repeated in 1962. John Diefenbaker was a prominent friend of Hanbidge, and in 1963, he accepted Diefenbaker’s invitation to become Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan, a position he filled from 1963-1970.
As you enter the lawyer’s foyer, you will find two more rooms - the old law office and law library, which are now the Veteran’s Room and Masonic Room/Grocery Store. There has been an apparition ghost sighting at the foyer entrance, so they say. Again, I did not experience anything unusual.
I made my way back down the staircase and thanked the ladies at the Town Office for letting me look around.
I left the Courthouse feeling good about what I had accomplished. I called up an old highschool friend of mine and former KCS Kobra basketball point guard, that calls Kerrobert home. We had a great visit and toured around the community before I headed back to Kindersley to work the night shift.
I downloaded my photos and decided to do a bit more research on ghosts of the Kerrobert Courthouse. What I uncovered blew my mind!
I came across an article from Global News from 2018 about paranormal history at Saskatoon’s Western Development Museum (WDM). There have been sightings of a lady dressed in red looking out into Boomtown Street, a little girl wearing a pinafore, and a spirit of a little boy named Daniel. A local production company, Bamboo Shoots shot the first episode of its paranormal show “The Other Side” at the WDM. They kept running into a spirit that identified themselves as “lucky.” When they returned to film a second episode, the investigators made contact with the spirit, and he gave them his real name. Who was the spirit? None other than Robert Hanbidge, Kerrobert’s former mayor and Saskatchewan’s 12th Lieutenant Governor!
I plan on making another trip back to the Kerrobert Courthouse, but this time I will go into the basement. Perhaps my old basketball buddy will join me.
- KW