MADELINE IZOWSKY, 1885-1979: A POLISH WOMAN IN WESTERN CANADA by Carol Lynn Box B.A., University of Northern British Columbia, 1999 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in GENDER STUDIES © Carol Lynn Box, 2003 THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA January 2003 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. National Library Biibiiothèque nationale 1*1 of Canada duuCanada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre OurSie Noirs référence The author has granted a non­ L’auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive hcence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibhothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribua ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L’auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neitiier the droit d’auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author’s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. 0-612-80668-5 Canada APPROVAL Name: Carol Lynn Box Degree: Master of Arts Thesis Title: MADELINE IZOWSKY, 1885-1979: A POLISH WOMAN IN WESTERN CANADA Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Robert W. Tait Dean of Graduate Studies UNBC Supervisor: Dr. M ^an n e Ainley Professor, Women’s/Gender Studies and History Programs UNBC Committee Member: Dr. Si Transken Assistant Professor, Social Work Program UNBC Committee Member: Dr. Karin Beeler Associate Professor, English Program UNBC f h ' ___________________________ Committee Member: Dr. Theresa Heal y Adjunct Professor, Women’s Studies Program UNBC External Examiner: Dr. Han Li Associate Professor, Psychology Program UNBC Date Approved: ABSTRACT The purpose of my research is to contribute to a more balanced history of pioneering in Western Canada particularly Round Hill, Alberta and Prince George, British Columbia. In a broader context, 1 add to the literature about non-British, European immigrant women in twentieth-century Canada. In this thesis, using a feminist biographical method, I explore the life course changes of Madeline (Mach) Izowsky (1885-1979) who was bom in Poland and immigrated to Canada in 1897. After her marriage to John Izowsky in 1904, she spent several years in various mining communities in Alberta and British Columbia, moved to Prince George, B.C. in 1914, and settled there with her family. My thesis discusses how Madeline Izowsky managed her often overlapping, multiple challenging roles as a Polish immigrant, business woman, wife, mother, grandmother, and widow. In the final chapter I reflect on completing a feminist biography and its impact on me personally. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Illustrations V Acknowledgement vi Introduction 1 Chapter One Feminist Frameworks 8 Feminist Theory 8 1 ) Feminisms 8 2) Feminist Historiography 10 3) Thirdspace 15 4) Immigrant Societies 18 Methods 19 1 ) Biography and Feminist Biography 19 2) Reflexivity 23 3 ) Interviews and Photographs 24 4) Fieldwork 26 Chapter Two Childhood - 1885-1904 30 Chapter Three Mining Towns of Alberta and British Columbia, I904-19I4 57 Chapter Four Prince George, 1914-1939 71 Chapter Five The Later Years, 1939-1979 92 Chapter Six Autobiographical Reflections 111 Selected Bibliography 123 Appendix A - Research Ethics Board Clearance 136 B - Map of Poland 137 C- Radymno, 1918 138 D - Elizabeth and Francizek Mach 139 E - Map of Alberta 140 Ill F - Homestead Map 141 G- Statement of Francizek Mach, 1904 142 H - Map of British Columbia 143 I - Lot Purchase Receipt, 1919 144 J - City of Prince George, Municipal Tax Receipt, 1919 145 K- Izowsky and O’Rourke store ad, 1950 146 L - Application for Registration - Province of British Columbia, 1948 147 M- Canada Registration Board Cards i/n/o Madeline and John Izowsky, 1918 148 N- Sample of letter by Madeline Izowsky, 1977 149 O- Biography as Lace Work 150 IV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page I ) Bill Banack’s farm, Round Hill, Alberta, August 2001 ..........................................42 2) Round Hill landmark. Round Hill, August 2001 ................................................. 44 3) St. Stanislaus Church, Round Hill, August 2001 ................................................... 49 4) The pump at St. Stanislaus Church, Round Hill, August 2001 ............................ 50 5) The author, with Lake Demay in the background. Round Hill, August 2001 ... 52 6) Madeline (Mach) Izowsky, Round Hill, c. 1904 ................................................... 58 7) Mines and houses at Bankhead, Alberta, c. 1912 and 1922 .................................. 61 8) Izowsky family portraits, Camrose, Alberta, c. 1908 ............................................. 64 9) Hosmer, British Columbia, c. 1910 ........................................................................... 67 10) Prince George, British Columbia, c. September 1914 .......................................... 73 II ) Izowsky family, 1741 - 7* Ave, Prince George, c. 1914 ...................................... 75 12) Josephine O’Rourke, Lorraine, Jackie, and Madeline Izowsky Prince George, c. 1935 ............................................................................................ 82 13) J.M. Izowsky’s and O’Rourke Ladies and Childrens Wear, c. 1950s .................84 14) Madeline Izowsky, Jackie, and Lorraine, Prince George, c. 1933-34 ............... 86 15) Mach family gathering, Gasport, New York, c. June 1937 ................................ 88 16) Madeline and John Izowsky with their extended family. Prince George, c. 1945 ...................................................................................................................... 96 17) Madeline Izowsky and her first great-great granddaughter Tara, Prince George, May 16, 1976............................................................................... 103 18) Madeline Izowsky, Prince George, 1965 .............................................................106 19) Gravestone located in the Prince George Cemetery, August 2001 ................... 110 ACKNOWLEGEMENT I wish to express my thanks to those who have helped me during the production and completion of my thesis. To my committee members Karin Beeler, Theresa Healy, and Si Transken for allowing me the freedom and space to create in my own direction. To my thesis advisor Marianne Ainley for your ongoing support, direction and mentoring. This project could not have been completed without your constant endorsement of the validity of my thoughts. To Barry Wong and Dave Gerritsen for your computer technical assistance in producing the pictures and appendices for this thesis. To Eleanor and Stan Harbin, Diane and George Van Doren, Tina and Stu Simpson for room and board on my research trip to Alberta; Marilyn Waingarten for sharing family data and photographs; my informal editing board Robert Knight, Lorraine Knight, and Alaine McEachnie for your insightful suggestions. To my parents Lorraine and Dene Knight for their unswerving belief in my abilities. To my children Tara Box and David Box, and grandson Lynden Tretiak for your unconditional love and support. To my husband AI Box for his emotional and financial support of all that is connected to thesis research. VI Until lions have their own historians, tales o f the hunt will always glorify the hunter. - African proverb mTRODlCTlON As the new millennium approached, the Prince George Citizen published a series of articles titled “Millennium,” which emphasized the accomplishments of local business people who had contributed to the growth and prosperity of Prince George. ' It soon became apparent to me that the business people’ being featured were in fact white business men and other others’ were not even mentioned. The newspaper articles constructed a historical picture of the Prince George business community but excluded pioneer business women, Chinese people, and other non-whites. There are limited sources and references to rural British Columbian women as evidenced in an article by Theresa Healy in “Finding Women in British Columbia: A Select Bibliography.” Of nearly three hundred contemporary sources only a handful represent rural women and according to Loma Townsend “this omission of rural women from the historical record has changed little since 1992.”' Additionally, in the 1970s, a Prince George historian, Keith Gordon, noted that the history of B.C. has been created on a Vancouver/Victoria axis. This has negated the history of the Central Interior and its place in the province’s total historical picture. ^ The contradiction between my knowledge of some women’s involvement in business and the Citizen's historical representation of the Prince George ' Prince George Citizen. “Millennium Series,’' January 1999-December 1999. ^ Loma Townsend, “When a Woman was Only a Woman, But a Good Cigar Was a Smoke: Quesnel Women’s Perspective on Early 20'*’ Century Marriage,” in E-X-P-A-N-D-l-N-G Boundaries: Historical Essays on Northern B.C. 's Rural Women,