Museum Musings: Tekla “Tillie” Pawluk

Prince Albert Historical Society

A member of the Historical Society asked a simple question on Family Day which led to the research for this column.  “Where,” he asked, “was the Savoy Café”.  That did not take long to answer.  The Savoy Café first showed up in the 1913 Henderson’s Directory, and continued through until the 1945 edition.  (There was no Henderson’s in 1912; nor was there one in 1946.)  But the question concerned the location of the café.  It stood on River Street West, with an address of 19 – 21.  A picture from 1927 showed it clearly as occupying both buildings.  Originally owned and operated by Samuel Kortas and Basil Bougeon, it was owned and operated for many years after the Great War until the mid-30s by S. H. Thoms, after which it was operated by Ray Quon, and ultimately by Fling Mah who closed it in the mid-1940s.  Long time Prince Albert resident, educator, and historian, Art Loucks, referred to the Savoy Café as being the very best eatery in Prince Albert.

Why then did this question lead to a column on Tillie Pawluk?  What had prompted the question was the fact that the Society member recalled having eaten off of Savoy Café plates when he ate at Tillie’s Coffee Bar (also known variously through the years as Tillie’s Take-out Service and Pizza House, and Tillie’s Pizza House).  And that obviously required further investigation.

The first restaurant in the building which became Tillie’s was Ching’s Coffee Bar.  Albert and Alice Ching opened it in 1951.  They ran it for a couple of years before selling it to J.J. Middlebrooks, who ran it as The Rex Coffee Bar until selling the building to Tillie in the late 1950s.  We had surmised that the owner of the Savoy Café might have passed on the china from his restaurant to the owner of Ching’s, perhaps via an auction sale.  However, the time lapse between the closure of The Savoy and the opening of Ching’s would appear to preclude this.  Regardless, the dishes somehow managed to end up at Tillie’s.

Tillie was born on July 11, 1910, in Stojanow, Austria (now a Ukrainian community).  The independent minded woman whom we knew in Prince Albert definitely displayed her independence as a young woman.  She left her birthplace and came to Canada, arriving in this country on January 10^th, 1931.Unfortunately, we do not even know the name of her birth family, and little is known about her prior to her marriage to George Pawliw in September, 1935.  George worked at the Burn’s meat packing plant, and the couple lived in the 500 block of 18^th Street West.  Together, they had a son William.  As a young adult, he moved to California, where he married and raised his family.

Tillie may have worked as a single woman in Prince Albert, but at what employment it is unknown.  We do know that in 1953 and 1954 she was employed by Earl Foy as a ‘presser’ at his Prince Albert Cleaners on 9^th Street East.  There is no record of her employment in 1955, but in 1956 Tillie was working as a maid at the Holy Family Hospital.  In 1957, she had obtained employment at Gunnar’s Delicatessen and Take-out in the unit block on 13^th Street West.  Many of the generation who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s still reminisce about spending their hot summer days swimming at the Memorial Pool and going to Gunnar’s afterwards for a bag of hot fries.  Tillie had a reputation as having a soft heart – those who did not have the wherewithal to buy fries often received a little something gratis!

It was while working for Gunnar Bjornholt that George and Tillie purchased the coffee shop at 261 – 16^th Street West.  Although not a large café, much like the food available at Gunnar’s, Tillie’s drew a large and loyal clientele.  Her food was tasty, and the servings were plentiful.  Tillie mixed her own patties for the burgers (reputed to be the largest served anywhere), the fries were home grown and cut onsite, and many of the vegetables came from her own garden. 

Tillie ran her own restaurant, but continued working at Gunnar’s.  In fact, when Gunnar retired in the early 1960s, Tillie bought the business from him.  She continued to do so until the mid-1960s, at which point she sold out and Gunnar’s was replaced on 13^th Street by Bud’s Men’s Wear.

It wasn’t just the food which attracted customers to Tillie’s.  In an odd sort of way, people found the atmosphere in the restaurant to be attractive.  Part of it would be the décor.  It was always clean, but certainly could not be described as fancy.  One never knew exactly what you would see there, or how Tillie would behave.  One customer, entering the restaurant in muddy boots, was given the mop and told to clean the floor.  Another, who objected to Tillie’s cat sitting on the counter, was chased from the restaurant long before his order appeared.  Tillie swung the broom at him, yelled for her waitress (the often beleaguered Doris) to grab a sharp knife from the kitchen, and advised the man that he should never darken her door again.

There was no point going to Tillie’s if you were in a hurry.  Orders were cooked one at a time, and should you try to get in and out in a hurry by ordering in advance, Tillie would still wait for you to arrive before putting in on the grill.  Oh, and don’t ask for ketchup.  Tillie seemed to find such a request to be a slight on her cooking, and even if you could manage to snag a foil package from the waitress, you were certain to be charged for it.  But regardless of what came to be considered the ‘floor show’, the food, whether burgers and fries, pizza, or Tillie’s special Ukrainian food, it would always be enjoyable.

Tillie loved to garden.  She grew most of her own vegetables, although she had to buy potatoes from local farmers.  She also loved her flower garden.  Perhaps more than her garden, Tillie also loved animals.  She seldom was without a cat, and she adopted and looked after numerous dogs through the years.  But most of all, even given her rather explosive nature, Tillie loved and had a sincere concern for people.

George died in local hospital on July 7^th, 1972 at the age of 60.  Tillie carried on with the restaurant until 1987, at which time she retired.  She died in Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon on May 22^nd, 1988.  She was survived by her son William of Laguna Beach, California, as well as three grandchildren, Jamie, Jill, and Terry (all of the United States) and two great-grandchildren, Jeffrey and Brittany, as well as by a brother, two sisters, and a special niece, Mary Swystun.

Her restaurant was purchased by the Kinsmen Workshop, where Meals-on-Wheels were prepared.  It later evolved into the Star Restaurant (now the 40^th Street Grill) prior to being moved to 40^th Street East.  Somehow, it seems fitting that Tillie’s business establishment would come to serve such a worthwhile purpose.

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