‘A Barber’s Collection’ a love letter to North Battleford

“In the summer of 1997, I worked as a groundskeeper on the old grounds of the Saskatchewan Hospital,” said Speer during the launch party at the Armoury Brewing Co.

“This novel, it’s centered around the escape of a violent criminal patient and looks at kind of the history of the treatment of the mentally ill, of mental illness – all the good, bad and ugly that has happened – through this vast architectural marvel of this institution.”

The idea for the story ruminated for years before Speer finally set about his writing journey in 2012 and the result was a weaving a “tragi-comic historical” narrative of unique characters together with plotlines taken from true moments in the institution’s collective memory.

Armoury Brewmaster Jackson Tady and Robin Speer show off their Madhouse Mead. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

Jim Bence, who helped bring the novel’s cover of a rendering of a traditional barber’s pole and the cracked head of a Greek horse sculpture to life, said he was glad to be along for the ride. It was a chance conversation over a pint of beer that led to their creative partnership, Bence explained.

Speer had told Bence that he had written a book –“Saint Lazarus Day and Other Stories” which was published in 2020. After learning about a follow-up project being in the works, Bence said he’d love to offer a submission for consideration.

“He’s like, ‘Yeah no.’ He said, ‘Just do it,’” Bence said, noting getting the gig sight unseen took him by surprise. “That’s when the real fun stuff started.”

The illustrator explained that while speaking with the author, he was trying to draw out Speer’s vision.

“When you write something down, there’s that vision in an author’s of what this looks like, and what things spell like and how people talk and how they dress, those small, nuanced pieces of what makes characters come alive,” he said.

Bence’s job was to become a “faithful translator.”

The novel is also getting some attention in Hollywood as author Leslie Zemeckis, also a literary critic, documentarian and wife of Director Robert Zemeckis, is currently reviewing it. Actor Eric McCormack, who has connections to the author through Speer’s work with the Canadian Cancer Society, is also showing his support.

“I think we’re going to have more from them and more of those sorts of blurbs and reviews and endorsements hopefully in the weeks and months to come,” said Speer.

Throughout the evening, family, friends and even some local dignitaries joined in toasting the new book with the Madhouse Mead – a special brew created by Speer and Brewmaster Jackson Tady – using saskatoon berries and honey.

“I didn’t expect here to be a lot of honey flavour but there is,” he said, noting they made the small batch to tie into the book in a unique way.

The story itself is set during de-institutionalization – roughly 50 years ago – and although it began as a series of short stories, it quickly became apparent it needed to be much more.

“At some point I realized that the landscape, the setting, the characters, they were one and the same,” he said, of the change in structure.

Speer explained the history of the institution is full of colour and throughout his research, he discovered at one time, the population was over 2,000 by the late 1940’s and the operations that existed on the grounds.

People toast to the new book ‘The Barber’s Collection.” (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

“There were dozens of acres of irrigated orchards on the base of the river valley – such a beautiful, pastoral, idyllic physical geography in the North Saskatchewan River Valley,” he said, noting the juxtaposition of the natural splendor that set the backdrop for the horror found within.

“It was a pioneering institution in the use of lobotomies and ice-cold baths and electro-shock,” said Speer. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) treatments were also used on patients.

As the book began to take shape, capturing the visual heart of the story became Bence’s focus.

“I don’t know how many drawings I sent him and paintings and all different styles,” he said of the impressionist, abstract versions.

“After so many iterations of different drawings and whatnot – it was funny ‘cause the one that’s on the cover was one of the last drawings that I did.”

Now that the book has made its debut and the mead has been drunk, Speer hopes that the community will embrace his offering, his “love letter” to the community.

“I know that there are many folks at the launch party tonight here in North Battleford that have ties to the institution,” he said.

“It’s been here as long as the town has and so that history, it’s written down in history but, this is a fun, wild novel version of that.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On X: jls194864

by Julia Lovett-Squires

‘A Barber’s Collection’ a love letter to North Battleford

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