Happy Halloween

I hope you are finding safe and fun ways to explore Halloween this year. As a western Canadian writer of public history, I certainly love research. One Alberta archive that has presented a great look at Halloween in the past is the City of Edmonton Archives.

This is a site that both adults and children might enjoy. So, grab a bowl of candy corn, molasses kisses or your favorite Halloween confection and learn about the past. We don’t have to research only the serious issues of the past. We can learn about fun times, too.

On the website, look for Halloween in Edmonton: 1900-1950. The archive offers information and photos of costumes, Halloween icons, parties, pranking, trick and treat, as well as a bibliography. So check it out. https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/edmonton_archives/halloween-in-edmonton.aspx

Below are two photos taken a number of years ago when we were travelling in the U.S. at Halloween.

Pop YYC Book Launch

One of the exciting opportunities in Calgary during 2020 was the project by Sheri-D Wilson as Poet Laureate for the city. The subsequent book is entitled YYC POP: Poetic Portraits of People. Her competition led to a book focusing on individuals who portrayed the identity of our city.

On the back cover, the description of the project is:

If a city is characterized by the people who live there, as Calgary transforms, it is important to acknowledge who we are as we grow and change. With this idea in mind, we [Sheri-D] asked members of our community to write about someone who represents or captures the essence of Calgary as we are today.

It was fascinating to be part of this project, which offered puzzles for readers. We submitted our compositions about people we admired, without naming the individual. Your job as reader is to identify the subject of the work.

As part of her book launch on Saturday, Sept. 26th, I’ll be presenting a poem about an individual who was very influential for me. The event is from 2:00 to 5:00, and my poem will be 3:50-4:00 on Zoom. On Sunday, the launch continues from 2-5, and friend Shirlee Smith Matheseon is presenting at 2:30-2:40.

Also, other well-known Calgary writers are included in the book and an online exhibit, which I’m sure you’ll find it fascinating.

For more information on presentations or to buy the book, go to Frontenac House Publisher https://www.frontenachouse.com/ and scroll down. The Zoom link, meeting ids and passcodes are on the  website for each day.

Heritage, Rodeos and the Bar U Ranch

Happy Heritage Day! Of course, all of August is a great time to continue celebrating of our heritage. So, why not enjoy the rodeo next weekend at the Bar U Ranch. On August 9th, you can experience the best in Alberta ranch history and take in a  rodeo, too. What combination!

Local cowboy competitions held at various ranches were the real beginnings of rodeo and stampedes throughout the West. The popularity of those community events, which appeared earlier in the USA and spread to western Canada by the last half of the 1800s, was inevitable.

The Bar U Ranch National Historic site is where this old-time, ranch rodeo will be held. Initially owned by the North West Cattle Company, eventually, George Lane purchased all of the holdings of the Bar U. As early as 1893, for the summer agricultural fair in Calgary, George Lane organized a steer roping, and one of his cowboy competitors was John Ware. A black cowboy, Ware worked at the ranch and was known as an outstanding bronc rider. In the steer roping competition, he roped and tied his steer in 51 seconds. Clearly, the Bar U has a long and proud history of rodeo and ranch-related competitions.

Located in Alberta’s scenic foothills, about a 90 minute drive southwest of Calgary, the ranch is west of the junction of Highway 22 and 540. Once you arrive, you will have lots of opportunities to learn about the history of the ranch. Celebrating its 20^th year as a Parks Canada historical site, the Bar U is the only national site to commemorate our ranching history.

It remains a working ranch of about 148 hectares (367 acres) with a small cattle herd, saddle horses and some Percherons work horses. As such it is part of our living history. Yet, at one time, the ranch could boast of 160,000 acres of grassland, crucial for grazing the 30,000 head of cattle and 1,000 head of Percherons. Of course, that meant work for countless cowboys. Once the round-ups were done and other work manageable, it was time for the cowboy competitions. But which cowboys and ranches could claim to be the best of the bunch? Serious competition decided bragging rights.

Today, teams of cowboys from various ranches compete in events such as broke horse racing, wild cow milking and team sorting. The winners take home Bar U silver buckles.

That day, I’ll be signing books at the gift shop, so if you plan on attending the event, be sure to drop by and say, “Howdy” or even just “Hi.”

For more information, go to http://www.friendsofthebaru.com. For great photos, click on the photos

Calgary: A Week Celebrating Our History

Historic Calgary Week is on the horizon, and 2015 is the twenty-fifth anniversary of event. So, what a great year to participate in the vast array of scheduled programs!

As a nonfiction author, I need knowledge or “content” for my writing. Western Canadian history is an important to my work, but also, that history has also been an inspiration to me. Yes, nonfiction writers are certainly content providers. However, ideally, the content we choose will not only be interesting to our readers, it will fascinate us as writers and support our future goals.

See the Famous Five statues downtown or attend the Walk & Talk for these amazing women at Heritage Park, July 28.

For me, filling my head with our history is a way of providing options and opportunities for me in the future. Sometimes writers work within the context of their own time and place; sometimes they need a sense of the past or other geographical locations. Yet, for writers who set at least some of their works in western Canada during the early days, attending events during Historic Calgary Week is a great way to discover or rediscover the way things were.

From July 23 to August 3, writers, history buffs, visitors and locals will be treated to a glimpse of  the “insider” stories from days gone by. Topics are so varied, I can’t begin to list them all. However, whether you are interested in effects of the ice age or prefer tea and a talk at the Palliser Hotel, the options are extensive. Tour our cemeteries and gardens. Check out Bricks, Business and Bowness or Salute to the Stones of Signal Hill. With all that alliteration, clearly, writers are being welcomed. In fact, if you are interested in our lesser-known stories of murder and misdemeanours, spend your Friday evening enjoying that tour. It, too, might just inspire the writer within. However, for this and some other events, you will need to pre-register.

For more information, go to http://www.chinookcountry.org and check out The Week At A Glance for an overall schedule. More information can be found in the online or printed “pamphlet” of detailed descriptions. Events are scheduled throughout the city, and a few are hosted in surrounding communities.