Robin Hood

Moose Jaw is missing one of its heroes.

The Parrish and Heimbecker grain terminal stands at the north end of the 4th Avenue Bridge.  But if you look closely at the shadow under the P&H logo you will see the pentimento of a ghostly figure.

Photo courtesy Corey Bond

For most of the 20^th century, as you approached the bridge your eyes locked onto the great man of Sherwood Forest staring brazenly back from the east wall, arrow nocked and bow string pulled.  The facility used to be one of Moose Jaw’s biggest employers, the original Robin Hood flour mill where the famous blend of all-purpose flour was developed in 1900 by miller Donald Mclean.  The nearby Tees and Persse company turned out more than 15,000 flour bags a day for the mill, bags that were recycled to make everything from curtains to clothes.

It’s perplexing that in a town plastered with murals, Moose Jaw let Robin Hood fade away. His popularity is deathless - there have been at least five movies about him as well as the feisty TV series. 

And Moose Javians fondly remember Robin's steely gaze, as we found when we asked for pictures on the Moose Jaw Dayz Facebook page. 

"No matter where I was, he was shooting his arrow at me," Pat Toombs recalled.  "Kinda like the Mona Lisa smile."

Shirley Tasker Smith also has fond memories of Robin.  

"I remember as a child standing up in Dad's car as we would go over the bridge," she wrote.  "I would pretend I had a bow and arrow and point it at Robin."

Many people talked about their parents working at the mill.  And Jim Johnson said he used to go up to the top of the building to catch pigeons.

"I used to walk the ledges with no fear.  No wonder I became an ironworker!"

And of course every time we crossed the bridge we had to sing the Robin Hood theme song.

LINKS:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MooseJawDayz/