Alberta History articles from January 2003

Alberta History archives from January 2003

Beginning of Calgary: the Isaac S. Freeze letters 1883-84.
January 1, 2003... Introduction In the early 1880s, Isaac Sanford Freeze, a 35-year-old storekeeper from Anagance, New Brunswick, heard about the opportunities that existed in the Canadian West. Deciding to see for himself, he joined another local man,...

One: off to the west.(Letters of Isaac S. Freeze)
January 1, 2003... When Freeze left New Brunswick, the Canadian Pacific had not yet been completed. He travelled across Canada to Sarnia, Ontario, then through the United States via Chicago. At St. Paul, he went north to Winnipeg. Freeze, with his four...

Two: arrival in Calgary.(Letters of Isaac S. Freeze)
January 1, 2003... In later years, when asked by a reporter why he stopped in Calgary, Freeze responded, "Calgary looked good to us and we considered that some day it would be the one city of the west. Everything was in bloom at that time, and we considered this...

Three: open for business.(Letters of Isaac S. Freeze)
January 1, 2003... In his absence, VanWart had built a small wooden frame store on the east side of the Elbow River in the middle of the tent village. There was a controversy as to where the town would be located. The CPR was reported to be laying out a townsite...

Four: trip to the Rockies.
January 1, 2003... Almost everyone who arrived in Calgary wanted to visit the Rockies, which could be seen clearly in the distance. Not only that, but there were stories about gold and silver discoveries near Castle Mountain, and that the mountains were rich with...

Five: winter, 1883-84.
January 1, 2003... Although the winter began with a cold snap in November, the weather moderated, with a number of cold spells early in 1884. In February the Calgary Herald stated, "The severe weather of the past week has continued with scarcely any break and we...

Six: epilogue.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Although Freeze's wife and two children arrived in Calgary on April 9, 1884, it was not the happy occasion that the merchant had envisioned all winter. During the arduous journey, his four-year-old daughter Edna had become ill and died three...

CKUA: Radio Worth Fighting For.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... by Marylu Walters. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 400 pp., illus., paper, $29.95. Since 1927, CKUA has been an institution in Edmonton and all of Alberta. Known for its excellent music, insightful interviews, and all around good...

Great Canadian Political Cartoons, 1915 to 1945.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... by Charles and Cynthia Jou. Moody's Lookout Press, 3378 W 39th Ave., Vancouver, BC. 232 pp., lavishly illus., paper, $39.50. A few years ago, these authors produced a fine volume of cartoons dating from 1820 to 1945. They have now come up...

A World Apart: the Crowsnest Communities of Alberta and British Columbia.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... edited by Wayne Norton and Tom Langford. Plateau Press, Box 283, Kamloops, BC, V2C 4K6, 212 pp., illus., paper, $23.95. This collection of articles is well named, for surely the Crowsnest Pass has been neglected in much of the historical...

Blackfeet Tales from Apikuni's World.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... by James Willard Schultz, edited by David C. Andrews. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 227 pp., illus., bound, $34.95 U.S. One of the most notable and gifted writers of fiction and semi-faction about the Blackfoot Indians was James...

Empire of Dust: Settling and Abandoning the Prairie Dry Belt.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... by David C. Jones. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 316 pp., illus., paper, $29.95 The University of Calgary Press has brought out a new edition of Jones's classic study of the rise and fall of the dry belt area north and east of Medicine...

Before Fences: Tales from the Midway Ranch.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... by Frederick William Ings. Privately printed. Available from Linda Homburg, 2026B--2nd Avenue NW, Calgary, T2N OG5. 185pp., illus, paper, $20.00. This book was excellent when it first came out in 1980, and the reprint is just as good today....

Banff Town Warden: the Journals of Walter H. Peyto, Rocky Mountain Park, Banff, 1914 to 1922.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... edited by David W Peyto. Peyto Lake Books, #59, 3302-50 St. NIE, Calgary, T3A 2C6, 242 pp., illus., paper, $19.95. This book contains the daily entries of Walter Peyto while he patrolled the Banff townsite and area. He was constantly on the...

Earth Elder Stories, by Alexander Wolfe.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... Calgary: Fifth House Limited. 104 pp., illus., paper, $12.95. Alex Wolfe, an Ojibwa, describes in story-teller fashion, the life of his people. These are accounts of his own life and that of his tribe. It is a fine book on Native life and...

Our Equine Friends: Stories of Horses in History.(Book Review)
January 1, 2003... by Grant MacEwan. Calgary: Fifth House Limited, 246pp., illus., $21.95. A reprint of MacEwan's 1964 volume about horse types and individual horses.

Building for the Future: a Photo Journal of Saskatchewan's Legislative Building, by Gordon L. Barnhart.
January 1, 2003... Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 122 pp., lavishly illus., colour, paper, $29.95. A photographic record of the construction and furnishing of the Legislative Building.

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2003... In the last issue we listed William Wonder's book Frontiers and Settlers at $39.95. It should have been $24.95. Sorry, Bill.

Donations.
January 1, 2003... Historical Society of Alberta September 1 to December 15, 2002 Voyageur ($100 to $499, benefits 1-4) William Baergen, John Galloway, Hugh Dempsey, Don Hepburn, C.E. (Ted) Cooke, Bob Shore, and Jean Johnstone. Explorer ($25 to...