Introduction

   Sara West
   A. Y. Jackson
   David Paton

Sara West

"Fernie Mountain" oil, 1947 Mary Menduk

Little known to most, Sara E. West, an early Irish immigrant, was one of Fernie’s earliest local artists. Her oil canvas paintings generally depicted flowers although she did paint several pictures of the Elk Valley landscape including portraits of Fernie Mountain, the Wigwam and Lizard Creek.

Born in Ireland in May of 1874 Sara West left behind her job as a governess along with a sister and brother to come to Fernie in 1907. While she was here she spent most of her life in the house on the corner of Howland (Fourth) Avenue and Cox (Fifth) Street, behind the present post office in Fernie. Beautiful flowering bushes circumvented Sara’s home, and as an ardent gardener she maintained a beautiful English country garden for many years.

Sara West in her yard, 1946 Jacqueline Letcher

Sara was a wonderful artist, as well as a skilled pianist. She played the organ for the United Church of Fernie and shared her talents with those around her by teaching piano to many students in Fernie and Coal Creek, including Jacqueline Letcher (Wyman), Anne McKay (Pennington) and Florence Phillips. She began to teach music in 1907 and continued to do so for nearly fifty years.

Notebook: left side Jacqueline Letcher	Notebook: right side Jacqueline Letcher

Sara began by giving lessons after school in one of the classrooms, once her students attained a certain level she would then continue to teach them in her home, charging only one dollar per lesson. Miss West

Piano folder cover: petunias Jacqueline Letcher

was different to other piano teachers in that she prepared her students for the McGill University exam, rather than the exam for the Royal Conservatory of Music. Jacqueline Letcher, one of her former students,

can still recall a piano examiner coming all the way from Montreal to test her and other students of Sara’s. In 1952 Miss West received an honorary fellowship from the McGill University for having prepared students in piano examinations for over forty years.

Sara was never married. Having very little income, she supported herself by teaching piano and selling her paintings. Although she was not well off Sara always gave something of herself to others. By painting her students’ music folders, she did so without spending much money. Following the fire of 1908 Miss West, seeing the distress of Fernie residents, took it upon herself to set up a one room temporary school where she taught the children until a new school was rebuilt.

In 1953 Sara West moved to Calgary. She died in her resident nursing home four years later on March 11, 1957 and was buried in Queen’s Park Cemetery.

Panzies [untitled] oil, Florence Phillips	Sunflowers [untitled] oil, early 1950’s Jacqueline Letcher

Introduction		A. Y. Jackson