In 1920, W. H. Convey sold his interest in the building and businesses to John Boyd. This necessitated a change of name to Sallows & Boyd. When Frank Sallows died in 1924, his son, Ariel Franklin Sallows, inherited his father's share in the building and businesses. When John Boyd died in 1937, his brother George inherited his share of the Sallows & Boyd enterprise. When George died in 1949, his son Jack took possession of his interests in the businesses. Like his father, Jack achieved remarkable success in business, particularly as owner and president of Boyd Brothers Chevrolet Ltd.
Ariel Franklin Sallows was not an average citizen. He was a corporate lawyer, and also the city solicitor for a substantial part of his legal career. Long-time city lawyer David Conroy noted Sallows never married, was somewhat eccentric, possessed a dry sense of humour and was highly successful.
Connie Wilson, Ariel Sallows' secretary for a number of years, added Sallows lived in a mansion in Riverview overlooking the river valley. She also related he cared deeply for his mother whom he looked after. Al Edworthy, who worked with Robert F. McDonald at the funeral home on 103rd Street, confirmed Ariel Sallows was a private person, was chair of the library board for many years, and travelled extensively as he got older. Ariel Sallows died in 1984.
Although their names were prominently displayed on the building and they owned the furniture and funeral businesses, Ariel Sallows and John Boyd were not directly involved in managing either business. However, Sallows did wield considerable influence. Connie Wilson remembered he was in regular communication with manager Robert McDonald, from his office on the second floor of the Craig Building. John Boyd acted as a silent partner.
Funeral Home Moved
Sallows and Boyd moved the funeral home from its original location on 11th Avenue to 103rd Street in 1943. In 1952, Robert McDonald negotiated with Ariel Sallows and Jack Boyd to separate the ambulance, funeral and furniture businesses and to acquire an interest in the funeral home. The name was changed to Sallows & McDonald Funeral Home. Sallows retained a controlling interest in the business but Robert McDonald owned shares and continued as business manager and funeral director. McDonald's son, David joined his father in the business in 1954. His second son, Robert Ross, joined his father and older brother in 1956, as did the youngest son, Bruce, in 1964.
For the purposes of this article, the story on the funeral business ends here. Over the years and decades, Sallows & Boyd and Sallows & McDonald funeral homes, and especially Robert McDonald and his sons, provided an eminently professional, dignified and essential service to the Battlefords and area.
The furniture business continued to operate as Sallows & Boyd Furniture Store from 1920 to 1952. Over the years, the store developed a diverse product line, selling not only high quality furniture and appliances but radios, sheet music and records as well. From 1952 to 1965, it conducted its business as Sallows & Boyd Furniture Store Ltd.
After Robert McDonald's departure in 1943 to manage the funeral home on 103rd Street, a succession of store managers were hired to run the business. Perhaps the most notable of these was Glen Dempsey, a hard-working, talented and popular man.
Sallows & Boyd Furniture operated from the original building until Dec. 31, 1965 at which time it was sold to Don Grant who continued to operate the business from the same location as Avenue Furniture until June 30, 1969.
CJNB Radio
The most illustrious tenant to conduct its business from the Sallows & Boyd Building was CJNB Radio. A number of confident and optimistic local investors formed CJNB on Jan. 28, 1947. Space was leased on the second floor of the Sallows & Boyd Building. Access was by means of stairs from a ground-level outside door at the front of the building.
The radio station occupied most of the second floor. However, Dr. Russel conducted a medical practice from the south side of the second floor (next to the radio station), as he had for a number of years before CJNB arrived on the scene. A dentist's office was also located here for a period of time.
The Sallows & Boyd Building was the location of the original broadcasting studios. CJNB signed on with 250 watts of power at a frequency of 1240. This was increased to 1000 watts in 1951 and to 10000 watts in 1958.
Harry Dekker was hired as general manager of the station in 1954 and remained in that capacity until his passing five decades later. Later, 50 per cent of the business was transferred to the Dekker family.
The name Harry Dekker has been synonymous with CJNB over the years. But managing the radio station was also a family enterprise. Harry's wife, Christine, was with him from the beginning in 1947. Harry and Christine created the Double Dekker Breakfast Club, one of only a few husband and wife radio programs in Canada. The couple's engaging manner, informative content and humour attracted legions of loyal listeners from the Battlefords and surrounding area, and made the radio show the most popular in the province.
During CJNB's tenure at the Sallows & Boyd Building, Harry Dekker not only brought CJNB to the community, he also brought the community to the radio station. For example, Don Speer and Bob Kenny recalled their Sunday school class gathering in the CJNB studios Sunday mornings in 1955 to sing live over the radio. It was a unique experience for the children, and it was well received by the community. Bruce McDonald remembered that, as a child, he climbed the stairs to see what was happening in the studio, but was somewhat frightened by the number of people coming and going. Bruce also recalled a live, locally produced show of upbeat music called Auntie Eileen's. Fred Walker added that CJNB Radio also organized and broadcast the Associated Commercial Travelers talent shows from the Co-op Hall in the adjoining building during the '50s.
Detailing the legacy of Harry Dekker and Christine Dekker, and the extraordinary successes of the Dekker family and CJNB, is beyond the scope of this article. So, to conclude, CJNB moved to new facilities on 100th Street in 1959. Dekker's oldest son, David, joined his father as business manager in 1975. Son Harry Michael is the host of the popular Dekker Breakfast Club.
Since 1947, CJNB has been an integral part of the community - "the voice of the Battlefords" - a source of news, sports, weather, agricultural information and community events.
To be continued ...
