Calgary Board of Education Celebrates 125 Years

New Central School (later James Short School) 1907

Postcards from the Past, PC 854

In the next few years we are going to see a plethora of anniversaries being celebrated.  The years at the beginning of the 20^th century were a boom time for Calgary.  Between the 1901 census and the 1911 census, the population of Calgary grew from around 4000 to around 44, 000.  With the population growth came the establishment of important and lasting institutions and the construction of many fine buildings.  The Calgary Public Library was built in 1911 and officially opened on the first day of 1912.  The beautiful sandstone City Hall building was completed.  In 1912 we celebrated our first Stampede.  The street railway, our first transit system, was built in 1909.  The period between 1900 and 1912 was one of major importance in the building of our city. 

 One organization, however, was already celebrating a significant anniversary in 1910.  By that year the Calgary Board of Education was already 25 years old.  On March 2, 1885 the Calgary Protestant Public School District No. 19 was formed by an order of the Executive Council of the North West Territories.  A school had existed in Calgary before this time but it was funded through subscription, not through taxation.  At the time of its formation, the Calgary Protestant Public School District No. 19 had 70 students and met in a small building on 9^th Avenue and 5^th Street SE.  In no time the size of the student population had overwhelmed the school and space was rented on the second floor of a building on 8^th Avenue E. owned by I.S. Freeze.

The student population continued to grow and the Board was forced to issue a debenture for the construction of a purpose-built school in 1887, which would become Central School, on 1^st Street W north of 5^th Avenue.  By 1893, it, too, was overcrowded.  Throughout these early years of its existence, the board was plagued by a shortage of classroom space necessitating the rental of rooms in various locations including the Alberta Hotel.  In 1893 plans were put in place to build a new school, which would be called the South Ward School.

South Ward School, 1958

Alison Jackson Photograph Collection AJ 23 13

Growth continued to be matched by the growth of the student population and, therefore, a growth in the school system.  Some of those magnificent sandstone schools were built to meet the demand of the burgeoning population.  We have pictures of many of those schools in our Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library, which can be accessed through the link on the left.  We also have some very good histories of education in Calgary, such as From Slate Pencil to Instant Ink and From Slate to Computer by McLennan.  We also have the 1906 annual report of the newly formed Province of Alberta, Department of Education.  These are all available in the Community Heritage and Family History Room at the Central Library.  The Calgary Board of Education has put up a really good PowerPoint presentation about some of their historic schools.  You can see it at this link:  http://www.cbe.ab.ca/125thCelebration/index.htm

Happy Anniversary CBE.  Here’s wishing you another 125 years.

Celebrating the Bow

 River of Light by D. Hayes

August 21, 2010

This summer, Calgarians have been invited to celebrate the beautiful river that runs through our city.  As part of the City’s commitment to protect and sustain our natural resources, including our rivers, an innovative public art project was launched that involved six artists each directing a project to allow citizens and visitors to reflect on the beauty and significance of the Bow River.  One of the projects, River of Light, wrapped up on Saturday with a unique show, as hundreds of lighted spheres were released to float down the river from Edworthy Park to the lagoon at Prince’s Island.  I watched this water-borne procession from the Bow River pathway, near the osprey nest in Broadview Park.  The display was beautiful and I was happy to be a part of a very large crowd of people who had gathered to pay homage to the river that has been described as “the spine” of our city.  If you want to read more about this project, which was designed by Createmosphere, you can visit the blog at http://creatmosphere-source.blogspot.com/p/home_09.html.  

View from Mount Pleasant, ca. 191_

Postcards from the Past, PC 267

 As the Celebration of the Bow has revealed, when people look at the Bow, they see different things.  For example, “when lumberman Isaac Kerr looked at the river, he saw a city” (The River Returns  by Armstrong, Evenden and Nelles).  Watching the spheres float, and noticing the speed of their travel and the efforts by the kayakers to keep the flow going, I was reminded of the log drives that, every spring, brought trees from west of the city to the sawmill of the Eau Claire Lumber Company, founded by Kerr and Peter Prince.  While log drives are not as artistically pleasing as a flotilla of lighted orbs, they are beautiful in their own way.  (I loved the song “Log Driver’s Waltz” as recorded by the McGarrigles and animated by John Weldon for the NFB.) 

Log Jam on the Bow River, ca 1910

Postcards from the Past, PC 141

I was always astonished that we had a lumber industry here in Calgary.  There are very few trees in this city that were not planted by the inhabitants but because of the rich forests that lay to the west and the mighty Bow River, which provided the perfect transportation system, Calgary was the lumber supplier to the area, and Eau Claire Lumber was the major player.  You can see photos of the Eau Claire Lumber Company and its companion company, the Calgary Water Power Company, in our Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library.  There is an excellent chapter on the lumber industry in Calgary called “The Wooden River” in the book The River Returns, which is available at many of the branches of the Calgary Public Library.  There is also a history of the Eau Clair Lumber Company written by T. M. Schulte based on the reminiscences of an employee of the company, Theodore Strom.  It is in the Local History room, call number 333.7932 SCH.

Documents from the Eau Claire Lumber Company are at the Glenbow.  You can view the timber surveys online from this finding aid:

 http://www.glenbow.org/collections/search/findingAids/archhtm/eauclaire.cfm

I have always lived within walking distance of the Bow and I am delighted by this initiative to celebrate its importance to the city.  Please feel free to share your comments about your feelings for the Bow by clicking on the Comments link, then on “Click here to join”.  You will become a member of our online community and will be able to post comments on anything you read here.

Museum of the Highwood

High River CPR Station, 1963

Alison Jackson Photograph Collection AJ 78 19

 In a sad and ironic twist of fate, while we were celebrating Historic Calgary week, a much valued and beloved historic site was suffering.  The Museum of the Highwood, in High River, was damaged by a fire which started in the early hours of Wednesday July 28.  Thankfully, the fire was contained to the roof and attic of the structure.  The collections were damaged slightly by smoke and water but archival material and photographs, stored in a vault, were unaffected.  Members of the museum and archives community in Alberta pitched in with residents of High River to give their time and expertise to rescuing the collections.

The Museum is housed in the old High River train station which has a connection to Calgary.  In order to build the Palliser Hotel, the two existing station buildings which comprised what was the third Calgary CPR station would need to be removed.  In order to do that a new station was built and the two smaller sandstone buildings dismantled.  One would provide the material for the station at Claresholm and the other for the new station at High River.  Interestingly, both stations are now being used as museums. 

 The Imperial Limited Arriving in Calgary, 1909

We are lucky to have photographs of the two train stations while they were still in use as stations.  These photos are from the Alison Jackson collection and date from the late 1950s or early 1960s.  Alison was correct in her assessment that these buildings might one day be under threat of demolition.   

Railway stations were being demolished in startling numbers as passenger train traffic declined.  The efforts by the communities of High River and Claresholm have preserved an important piece of the history of the railroad in Western Canada.  In far too many places, the old stations were lost. 

Claresholm Train Station, 1965

Alison Jackson Photograph Collection AJ 86 12

 For readers interested in the history of the building (and demolition) of stations across Canada, there is a great book in our BSSS collection called The train doesn’t stop here anymore: an illustrated history of railway stations in Canada by Ron Brown   We also have a great collection of books relating to the railway and its role in the west in our Community Heritage and Family History collection here at the Central Library.  One of my favourites is a description of the workings of the Calgary Depot by Ross Taylor, who worked there for many years.  The book is called Through these doors: a look at the workings of the Canadian Pacific Railroad Calgary Depot, 1940-1966.  It is a wonderful collection of memories, photographs and drawings that give a behind-the-scenes look at life in the Calgary station.  

In addition to the books, we have a great collection of photographs and postcards in the Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library, accessible on the left hand side of this page.  You can use the search terms “railway” and “railroad” and “train” to find hundreds of railway related pictures.  Have a look.  And remember, if you are a railway buff, or if your family, like mine, came out to work on the railway in the west, we have lots of very interesting stuff here.  Drop in and see us sometime.

Plus 15 Walkway System

   Plus 15 to Penny Lane, 8 Avenue SW, 5 St & 8 Ave SW

Judith Umbach Photograph Collection

             Calgary’s Plus 15 System is synonymous with the downtown core.  It is an extensive 16 kilometer public skywalk network of 57 bridges, designed to protect pedestrians from inclement weather and help reduce congestion on the streets.  To get a better sense of how large the Plus 15 System really is, if you could rearrange all the skywalks into a straight line the walkway would be longer than 159 football fields placed end-to-end.  Harold Hanen, who is “credited with being the father of Calgary’s plus-15 system” [“Striving for an affinity,” Calgary Herald, Sept 23, 1984], designed the network of 15 ft high walkways - hence the name Plus 15 - in the late 1960s. 

                The first official Plus 15 bridge, which connects the Westin Hotel to Calgary Place across 4^th Avenue S.W [PAM FILE 388.41 CAL 1999], was built in 1970.  However, this bridge was not the first pedestrian bridge built in Calgary.  The first pedestrian bridge in Calgary is thought to be a bridge that connected the New Calgary Market (129 – 7^th Avenue SW) to the Arcade on 8^th Avenue [“Calgary Stock Exchange,” http://corporate.heritageproperty.ca/OngoingProjects/SeventhAvenue/tabid/81/Default.aspx].

                If you are interested in learning more about the Plus 15 system, including the project’s architect Harold Hanen, the library has a wealth of resources for you to consult.  We have a newspaper clippings file, local history books, pamphlet files, and historical maps of the Plus 15 system, as well as biography clippings file on Harold Hanen.  In addition, we have historical photographs of the Plus 15 System in the Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library.  I found the map “1987 Calgary - Downtown Business Area” (Calg 34) to be particularly interesting as it shows what businesses were in the buildings connected by the Plus 15 system in 1987, as well as proposed Plus 15 & C-Train  routes.  For instance, did you know that there was a Plus 15 connecting a Dairy Queen to the Chevron Plaza on 5^th Ave and 4^th St S.W. in 1987? 

(Photograph of the Arcade is from: http://corporate.heritageproperty.ca/OngoingProjects/SeventhAvenue/tabid/81/Default.aspx)

This Blog Won a Lion Award!

I am delighted to tell you that the Community Heritage and Family History blog has won a Lion Award in the category of Advocacy and Awareness.  This means a lot to me and my colleagues because it lets us know that, first, you are reading us J and second, that our postings are helping to promote a knowledge and appreciation for the heritage of this beautiful city. 

The Lion Awards are given out every two years by the Calgary Heritage Authority to recognize citizens and groups who have endeavored to support heritage conservation in Calgary in any capacity.  The Advocacy and Awareness Award, in particular, is given to people or groups who advocate or promote the preservation of a heritage site or who work to increase public awareness of heritage issues.  We are very proud to have been chosen for this award.  Thank you to the Calgary Heritage Authority and thank you to everyone who follows us on this blog.  Also, thanks to our colleagues in the heritage community.  We have been warmly welcomed by all the people we encounter at the various heritage events in the city and we get some of our best ideas from them.  There is an impressive community of people working to preserve our heritage – many of whom work behind the scenes and get little recognition.  So, thanks to you.  Without you there would be no heritage to write about.

We had a great time at the awards ceremony.  The keynote speaker, Reid Henry, director of Calgary Arts Development , spoke about the Artscape Wychwood Barns in Toronto which was an inspiring look at the reclamation and revitalization of the historic Wychwood streetcar repair barns.  It gave me hope that similar solutions could be found for some of the heritage industrial sites in our city.  Have a look at the Wychwood site:

http://www.torontoartscape.on.ca/places-spaces/artscape-wychwood-barns

After the awards we were given a tour of the Water Centre building architect Leslie Beale.  The Water Centre is one of those buildings that will endure, becoming a heritage structure in time.  It is quite an astonishing achievement.  It is a LEED gold building that is both people and environmentally friendly (not to mention, architecturally stunning) and we very much enjoyed our tour.  After the tour we were able to mingle with authors, advocates, architects and others involved in heritage preservation and restoration in this city. 

The Lions are named for the iconic Centre Street Bridge lions, one of which graces the front entrance to the Municipal Building.  I thought I would include a couple of photographs of one of the lions from when it was living on the Centre Street Bridge.  This photo is from the Alison Jackson Photograph Collection which is housed here at the Central Library and is accessible through our Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library (see the link at the left)

 Centre Street Lion

Alison Jackson Photograph Collection, AJ 1253  ca1950s

So, thank you all for your support and “Yahoo!”

AJ 1255

Central Memorial Park

Central Park prior to Planting

This week is Historic Calgary Week.  We here in the community heritage and family History department at  Calgary Public Library are doing some things to celebrate (see our earlier blog  entry about that) but there are loads of other things going on as well.  One we’re particularly interested in is the Central Memorial Park Walking Tour on Tuesday July 27 at 7:00 pm.  Heritage architect Lorne Simpson will be leading the tour of the newly restored park.

We have an attachment to the park as our first library sits proudly at the east end.  It might not have been so had some members of City Council had their way.  The matter was put to a plebiscite and on August 12, 1908, the site in Central Park was chosen over Sharple’s Corner by a vote of 193 to 157.  I don’t know exactly where Sharple’s Corner was, but the Sharple’s Block was at 123 8 Avenue East.  (If that’s the case, we would have started out very close to where we ended up!).  At the same time the good people of Calgary voted 336 to 115 to give $20,000 to build the new library.  At the time the library was built, Central Park was just an uncultivated green space originally set aside as a park in 1899.  When the library’s chief librarian first saw it in 1911 he said it was “an unsightly wilderness of sand and scrub.”  This may have been partly due to the construction work on the library, but planting had not begun (see photograph above), though the bandstand was in place by 1909.

Early in its history the park had been used as a tree farm by the city.  In 1899 maple trees were brought from Brandon Manitoba and sold for 15 cents to Calgary ratepayers.  In 1901 other varieties of trees were brought in.  There was a windmill to pump water and a man hired to take care of the trees in the park (and on the boulevards).  By 1912, however, Central Park was a showpiece.  Plans, some of them carried out, included a South African War Memorial and two large fountains and plantings in front of the library that included a statues of Amazons.  Now, the fountains did not come to pass, although the plumbing for them was discovered during the excavation of the garden for its renovation and the fountain was finally built during that restoration.  The South African War Memorial and the Amazons, however, were put up in the garden.  The memorial remains but the Amazons have disappeared.  One can only wonder at the reaction to the half-naked ladies in the garden was, although it is possible that because it was in front of a cultural institution, it may have been tolerated, much as the statue of David at the top of the stairs in the Memorial Park Library was tolerated.  (The story was told to me by a lady who used to visit the library when she was a child.  She loved the fancy washrooms and the naked man at the top of the stairs!)

Central Park, ca. 1910s

Postcards from the Past, PC 961

The park has been restored to its original glorious state and is a very important feature in the neighbourhood.  I have heard Lorne Simpson talk about the park and I can highly recommend his walking tour.  For more information you can visit the Chinook Country Historical Society website where you can look at the brochure as well as a schedule of events.  http://www.chinookcountry.org/  Historic Calgary Week is a great opportunity to get to know your city.  I hope to see you at some of the events.

From Aalborg to Zip: A Look at the Library’s Biography Clippings Files

Newspaper Office, Daysland Alberta

Postcards from the Past, PC 841 

Newspaper articles are a great resource when conducting genealogical and historical research.  Not only can newspaper articles be a source of biographical information for a specific person - such as his or her date of birth or death, marital status, or profession - but they can also provide a snapshot of the public opinion of that person at a specific point in time.

                It is very easy to search for newspaper articles from The Calgary Herald in Canadian Newsstand (an electronic database available through Calgary Public Library’s E-Library).  Simply enter the name of the person you are researching into the search box and the database will retrieve relevant full-text articles.  Unfortunately newspaper articles published prior to 1988 are not indexed in this database, which means that researchers looking for older articles need to manually scroll through the library’s collection microfilmed copies of The Calgary Herald (August 31, 1883 - current) to find relevant articles.  However, if you are looking for newspaper articles on a notable person (for example, a sports figure, an artist, a businessperson, etc.) from Calgary or Southern Alberta, I would recommend checking the library’s biography clippings files collection.

                We are in the process of adding records for the biography clippings files to the library catalogue, so I have had the chance to look through the files to see the wealth of information that can be gleaned about a person from newspaper articles.  For instance, did you know that former Prime Minister Richard Bedford Bennett had a sweet-tooth?  According to “The Death of A Great Canadian,” an article which appeared in the June 28, 1947 edition of The Calgary Herald, Bennett was so fond of candy that “when doctors advised cutting down his consumption of candy, he took to hiding chocolates in drawers, filing cabinets, and behind books on the bookshelves, where conscientious secretaries wouldn’t find and confiscate the forbidden sweets.”  The biography files are also extremely useful when a formal biography has not been written on a person.  For example, I wanted to know more about Nelson Skalbania, the man who brought the Flames hockey team to Calgary, but no formal biography has been written about him; I was able to learn more about his business dealings through the articles in his biography file though. 

                You can search for biography files in the library catalogue by entering the name of the person you are looking for and the phrase PAM FILE i.e. Hansen AND PAM FILE.  We have not yet gotten the chance to enter in all of the biography clippings files, so do not worry if you cannot find a file for a well-known person from Calgary or Southern Alberta in the catalogue: we most likely have one!  Please come visit us at the Reference Desk on the 4^th Floor (Humanities) at the Central Library, we have a master list of biography clippings files that we can check for you.  We would love to help you with your questions!

                I hope that you take advantage of this great resource; you never know what you could discover about a notable person from the newspaper articles in his/her biography clippings file!

Historic Calgary Week 2010

 Felix, Eva and Jo

Postcards from the Past, PC 1935

Historic Calgary Week is just around the corner.  As usual, there are going to be loads of great programs at all kinds of historic venues in the city.  And also, as usual, we here in the Community Heritage and Family History Room at the Central Library are going to present a program highlighting some of the research we have been doing here and also some of the resources that we have used.  This year our program is Ancestors and their Attics.  Rooting through our historic postcard collection we came across three personal postcards that were pictures of a family on the front porch of a house somewhere in Calgary.  Using readily available resources, we were able to track down the family and their house and we will present our findings on Wednesday July 28 from 1:30-4:00 PM in the Community Heritage and Family History room at the Central Library.

 We are also going to be at the Lougheed House Ride Through Time event again this year.  We will be in the downstairs ballroom with our display from the CHFH collection.  We always have a great time at Lougheed House.  The ballroom is next to the library (so we feel right at home) and we always get to meet hundreds of folks who are interested in the history of our beautiful city.  And the venue could not be more beautiful.  The restoration of the Beaulieu has brought it back to its original grandeur and there is no better way to get a feel of how the pillars of Calgary society lived at the turn of the 19^th century.  The gardens are also very, very lovely and have also been restored to the way they were at the time the family lived in the house.  It is a privilege to participate in the Ride Through Time and we look forward to it every year.  This year it is on Saturday July 24 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.  Come down, have a look at the gardens and the house and drop by to say hello.

Stampede Parade 2010

The Booking Bronco

Calgary Public Library

 It is Stampede Season again.  And, once again, Calgary Public Library is a proud participant in the Calgary Stampede Parade.  Our “Booking Bronco” (see above) is ready for action and our staff will be walking the route, some of them dressed up as characters from books.  This gives us  a different kind of opportunity to meet our friends and customers and it is one we look forward to every year.  Watch for us this Friday and if you’re on the parade route, give us a YAHOO!!!

 Both Calgary Public Library and the Stampede are approaching important anniversaries.  In 2012 we will celebrate the first 100^th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede and of Calgary Public Library.  Calgary in 1912 must have been quite a town.  The pride and optimism that fueled calls for a public library for this fine city also found expression in the Calgary Stampede.  This is a dichotomy that continues to define Calgary to this day.  We know how to celebrate our origins in the rural and ranching communities and the rugged entrepreneurs that started the city and we also value our more refined cultural institutions like libraries.  (Not that we’re that refined – watch for us in the parade and you’ll see what I mean.  Library employees can Yahoo with the best of them).   Our library has one of the highest per capita usage levels in North American and our Stampede is the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.  We certainly don’t do things halfway.

Parade day marks the dividing line between business as usual and a pancake munching, bbq lunching debauch.  It was ever thus, as the pictures below illustrate.  The first postcard is from the 1908 Dominion Exhibition, which gave Guy Weadick and the Big Four the idea for an annual version of this grand annual party.  It shows a log cabin, being hauled through the streets of Calgary.  The second photo is of the Pendleton Band and it is from the first Stampede parade in 1912.  These two pictures are from our really great collection of Stampede postcards.  You can find them all in the CHFH digital library by clicking on Browse and then typing in “stampede parade”.   

 Dominion Exhibition Parade, 1908

Postcards from the Past, PC 630

 Pendleton Band, Stampede Parade, 1912

Postcards from the Past, PC 284

We also have a great collection of books relating to the Stampede.  One of my favourites, that really goes a long way toward explaining  this seeming anomalous annual event, is Icon, Brand, Myth by Max Foran.    You can find this and other titles in our catalogue by searching for the subject “Calgary Stampede History”. 

 So YAHOO to you and Happy Stampedeing.

Endangered Places

Cecil Hotel, 4th Avenue and 3rd Street SE

Postcards from the Past, PC 947

Buildings play an important role in our understanding of history.  They are tangible evidence of the people that went before us and how they lived.   Buildings often mean more than just the stones and mortar that went into their construction.  There are memories and stories and maybe even ghosts.  We hold in our hearts our childhood home, our schools, places we worked.  They become the physical representation of the memories created there.

Calgary has its share of historic buildings.  Many of the buildings are still in use, often serving a function other than the one they were built for, but still providing useful (and often beautiful) space for many different activities.  McDougall School here in Calgary is one example of this.  It was originally built as the Normal School, where teachers went for training.   In the 20’s it became an elementary school and its name was changed to McDougall School.  Declining enrollment forced its closure but it was restored and in 1987 it was opened as the Alberta Government Centre for Southern Alberta.

Not all historic buildings are so lucky.  There are several sites under threat of demolition right now in Calgary.  The Calgary Heritage Initiative keeps its eye on local buildings that are under threat and uses its website (among other methods) to keep the public informed.  Check it out:  http://www.calgaryheritage.org/

The Heritage Canada Foundation identifies historic sites at risk in their magazine Heritage (available in the Community Heritage and Family History collection at the Central Library).  Some of the buildings are saved and some are demolished and end up in the landfill.  A new television series, called “Saving Places,” launched by the Heritage Canada Foundation and PTV Productions, aired its first episode on the History Channel on June 12.  The premise of the program is the “saving of Canada’s heritage, one building at a time.”  Each episode will document the hands-on restoration of one of Canada’s most desperately endangered historic buildings.   The first episode featured the restoration of the Skookumchuck Church (Church of the Holy Cross) built entirely of wood by native craftsmen in 1905.  Years of flooding by the Lillooet River have undermined the structure and put the church at serious risk of collapse.  The story of its physical restoration is very interesting but the story of its restoration to its community is inspiring.  Future shows will feature the Tilting Post Office in Newfoundland and the Homer Watson House in Kitchener, Ontario.  You can see the trailers for the shows at www.savingplaces.ca

The Community Heritage and Family History Collection at the Calgary Public Library has lots of great resources for researching old buildings.  In addition to the pictures in the CHFH digital collection, we have old directories, maps, clippings, articles, and promotional materials showing the great potential of Calgary.  We are also preparing a program for Historic Calgary Week which will highlight items in our collection suitable for researching buildings and their owners.  It will be called “Ancestors and their Attics” and will be at the Central Library on July 28^th at 1:30.  (To see more about Historic Calgary week, keep an eye on this blog or check out the Chinook Country Historical Society website:  http://www.chinookcountry.org/)

Calgary Brewing and Malting, Inglewood

Postcards from the Past, PC 1376

Aboriginal Awareness Week

This week is Aboriginal Awareness Week in Canada.  Yesterday I took a stroll into Olympic Plaza (another one of the perks of working at the Central Library) and watched some of the events that celebrated the theme “Power of Youth, Wisdom of Elders.”  There were young dancers and drummers in their traditional costumes, young people that carry the pride of their ancestry and the continuation of the old ways into the new millennium.  I also listened to the speech by Narcisse Blood, who brought the wisdom of his elders into the debate on the relationship of man and nature in this new, commercial world. 

In this blog I talk about our built environment, the historic buildings that are under threat or have been repurposed.  I also talk about genealogy, which celebrates the past and our ancestors place in that past.  I often think I have my head buried in the past with only passing concern for the future.  But watching the young people celebrate their past and listening to Narcisse talk about moving into the future, using the wisdom of the past, I came to the realization that one is inseparable from the other.  I know it is a cliché to say that those who don’t remember the past are doomed to repeat it, but I believe that not only is there a very great chance that we won’t learn from what we know of the past, but that if we don’t learn, there may not be a future.  Originally I had posted an entry this week about endangered places but listening to Narcisse’s speech, I realized that the First Nations people in this area of the country had already lost their places.  The grasslands that supported the people are gone along with the buffalo which was hunted to near extinction in a very short period of time.  Narcisse passed on the wisdom of his grandfather, who, rather than be impressed by his grandson’s catch of nine beautiful whitefish, admonished him to only take what he needed.  This, possibly, is the way we need to approach what we have.  This applies to places, to people, and to things.  Let’s use only what we need.  Let’s fix what we have and celebrate our successes.  Let’s bring the past into the future and learn from what both our youth and our elders have to tell us.  To quote Narcisse:  “Greed is not an option.”

The Calgary Public Library has lots of resources for anyone who is interested in the history of the first peoples of this area.  There is a very good collection in the Community Heritage and Family History section of the Central Library including some early accounts by explorers who were among the first to encounter the people who lived in this area. 

Sarcee Camp

Postcards from the Past, PC 849

The Rivers that Shaped Calgary

At the Junction of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, Calgary

Postcards from the Past, PC1308

The Heritage Roundtable on Thursday is going to be about “The Rivers That Shaped Calgary”.    Iris Morgan will talk about city river lots in 1883, John Gilpin will talk about the history of Calgary’s drinking water supply before the construction of the Glenmore Dam, Bill Longstaff is going to tell us who is the Scollen of the newly named Scollen Bridge and Harry Heffler is going to talk about the Bow River Weir and the Harvie Passage.  This is all going on at the beautiful new Water Centre.  For details you can check the Calgary Heritage Association website:   http://www.calgaryheritage.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=905&sid=beb6ad8dac1144c2df66c47ffbeec0d8   The site includes a link for registration.

I’ve written before, I think, on the rivers of Calgary, or more specifically, on the floods in Calgary.  But the theme of this week’s Heritage Roundtable got me thinking about the importance of the rivers in Calgary’s history.  After all, we are a city with a district called Bridgeland – obviously, there is some importance attached to the rivers and the crossing of them. The earliest settlement of Calgary was established at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers.  Fort Calgary was built in 1875 in what is now the east side of the city but at the time, and until the CPR decided to situate further west, it was the hub of settlement in this area.  There is a reason that City Hall is in the east end of Calgary, that was, in the early years, where the action was.

It is possible that the decision to establish the settlement where the Bow and the Elbow meet was in keeping with the encampment of the First Nations people who would settle there for the winter.  The bluffs around the city, carved by those very rivers, were suitable for use a buffalo jumps and the water was clear and clean and necessary for life.  The Elbow River still serves as the source of our drinking water, which is some of the best in the world.  This was not always the case.  Before the construction of the Glenmore Dam, the city’s water was delivered via a gravity feed system from somewhere near Twin Bridges to a reservoir in what is now the Richmond Green golf course.  Reports of small fish and other things coming through the taps prompted the building of a proper dam and water treatment system that still serves part of the city.

The history of the library was also affected by the river running through our centre.  Alexander Calhoun felt it was necessary to establish Calgary’s first branch library on the north side of the Bow because the inhabitants of that side of the city were cut off from the “city proper”.

I can’t imagine what life would be like without those marvelous rivers.  I remember lazy summer afternoons drifting down the Elbow, skipping school to swing on the rope in what is now Lindsay Park, but was, then, just scrub land.  I love the summer walks in the Weaselhead area, watching the swallows building their nests on the bridges and visits to the pelicans at the weir in the Bow.  The Bow and Elbow rivers have played an important role in many aspects of the growth and development of Calgary and they have provided the inhabitants of Calgary with some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Bow River and Irrigation Canal, Calgary

Postcards from the Past PC143

In addition to the historic images of the rivers in and around Calgary available in our Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library (link is on our homepage and to the left of this entry), we have a number of different books that have interesting information on the history of water in Calgary.  Max Foran's Calgary: an illustrated history has a very good account of the founding of the city, as well as information about Calgary's water supply.  From Prairie to Park by Morris Barraclough, which is available in the collection At Your Service: part 1 includes a very detailed history of Calgary's parks including the attempts by early horticultural pioneers such as William Pearce to bring irrigation, and therefore the ability to grow trees, into the city.  We also have two books by John Gilpin on order for the collection:  Elbow Valley: a People Place and Builders and Benefactors: the Story of Calgary's Parks and Open Spaces.  both are listed in the library catalogue and, so, you can place a hold on either or both.  We are looking forward to reading them ourselves.

New stuff at the Canadian Genealogy Centre

The Canadian Genealogy Centre, for those of you who are unfamiliar, is provided by Library and Archives Canada to make searching for Canadian ancestors much easier.  It is free to use and has a wide variety of information available.  You can access it through this site:  http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/index-e.html

There are several sections and I highly recommend to anyone who is starting their research to have a look at the “How to begin” section.  You can also use the “Ancestors Search” function to search all of the indexed databases available at the CGC.  However, not everything is indexed yet and sometimes you will just need to search as you would with microfilm.  This is true of the new addition, the Form 30A which documents arrivals by ship between the years 1919-1924.  These forms were to replace the large manifests that had previously served as records of arrival.  The advantage of having each passenger fill out a form is that when they were filmed, they could be arranged in rough alphabetical order.  This makes browsing a lot easier than with the manifests.  The cards also included more information than the manifests, including, sometimes, a place of birth.  Ancestry has indexed these records and you can search them through the library’s subscription to Ancestry LE (only in a library branch, though).  You can also browse by name ranges.   You can also access the images through AncestryLE but the images on the Canadian Genealogy Centre website seem clearer.  Keep in mind that the form 30A was in official use from 1921 to 1924 but that some ports started using it in 1919 and some not until 1922.  Also keep in mind that passengers continuing to the US were not required to fill in a card.  Sometimes there is overlap and people appear in the form 30A and also in the passenger lists.

15th Light Horse Band

Postcards from the Past, PC 1264

Another addition to the databases in the Canadian Genealogy Centre is service records for soldiers, nurses and chaplains who served in the First World War.  These records, when they are uploaded, are attached to the attestation papers that were previously available on the “Soldiers of the First World War” database.  They are being added in an “on demand” fashion which means that if someone requests access to the records, once they are digitized they are uploaded to the database.  This is a fairly common way for archives to enhance their databases within the constraints of budget and staffing.   I did some poking around in the database and found some very interesting stuff.  The young gentleman whose record I checked had been treated in hospital for a fairly personal problem I’m not sure he would have wanted his family to know about but, hey, all is fodder for the genealogist, right?  The Soldiers of the First World War database is also linked to Ancestry LE but only the attestation papers appear.  So, if you find someone in Ancestry in the Soldiers database, have a look at the Library and Archives Canada website to see if there is more information.

One more addition to the Canadian Genealogy Centre website that might be of interest is the list of headings for all of the Canadian censuses (censi?) from 1851 on.  This can be accessed under the heading “Most Requested Records” by clicking on Census or by clicking on “What to Search” in the blue bar on the left of the page.

So, keep the Canadian Genealogy Centre top of mind for Canadian research.  They are always adding guides (check out the new guides for Ukrainian, Finnish and German researchers – click on What to Search: Topics> Ethno-Cultural and Aboriginal Groups) and new databases.  This is THE place to start for beginning researchers and a good place to check for new and interesting databases.

Remember, if you have any questions about genealogy, we’re always ready to help.  You can call us at 403-260-2692 or email us at hum1@calgarypubliclibrary or come down and talk to us.  We have our genealogy Saturdays on the last Saturday of the month with coaches from Alberta Family Histories Society providing one-on-one coaching from 10-noon and the Genealogy Meet-up from 2-4 all at the Central Library on the 4^th floor.  We also like to get comments and suggestions from our readers so please let us know what you think or what suggestions you have for future posts.  To leave a comment, click on the title of the article and scroll down the page.  There is a comments box there and we would love to hear from you.

Shaganappi Golf Course

Sometimes, when you see something every day, you actually stop seeing it in any real sense.  Such, for me, is the Shaganappi golf course.  I have passed it at least once a day nearly every day of my adult life.  I grew up and still live in the west side of the city and I travel down Bow Trail nearly every day.  I had stopped seeing the golf course.  Now, of course, it is hidden behind the construction for the new leg of the LRT but it is still back there.  I have had occasion recently,  to gather some of my friends and neighbours around me to reminisce and my next door neighbor reminded me that she is a fifth generation Calgarian and told me the story of her grandfather, Joe Ferguson, who was the pro and the man responsible for the care of the Shaganappi golf course for many , many years.  I was intrigued, especially when she told me that Joe actually lived on the golf course.

This picture is from Morris Barraclough's book and was given to him by Joe Ferguson.  It shows the opening of the new municipal golf course in 1916:

 From Prairie to Park, page 59

This, of course (and my friends are well aware that I am mining their conversations for blog inspiration) caught my fancy.  Several years ago a donation was made to the Community Heritage and Family History collection.  It consisted of notes and a manuscript of Morris Barraclough’s From Prairie to Park: Green Spaces in Calgary, which was part of the Century Calgary publications for the centennial of the founding of Calgary in 1975.  I knew Morris had interviewed Joe and had documentation on the history of Shaganappi Park and golf course.  It proved to be a treasure trove.  Excerpts from the Superintendent’s report on Shaganappi from 1905 show that the 80 acres on the west side of the city, which were a gift from the Dominion Government,  were considered unsuitable for park purposes but could be improved for field sports.  In fact, in 1914, a 9 hole golf course was proposed, both for the purposes of enjoyment but also as a means to increase the revenue of the street railway, which ran out that way.  By 1915 an 18 hole golf course built, sort of.  2,153 people teed off between August 7^th (the date of its opening) and November 30 when it closed for the winter (really!)  The following year it opened in March and some of the greens and tees were relocated on the advice of the players.  William Reader, then parks superintendent “loaned a number of chairs and tables (my personal property) for use at the Club House, without expense to the city except for cleaning at their return.” That year 7582 people teed off at Shaganappi.  In 1917, shortly after opening in March, the course burned over and the pro from the Banff golf course was called in to re-plan it.  It became a very popular course and by 1920 it was seeing nearly 15,000 golfers a season.  Golfers so loved it that on fair days in the winter, although the course was officially closed, golfers could come out to play.

The Shaganappi municipal golf course will celebrate its 100th anniversary very soon.  It is very satifying to see that he course is still in use.  Many of us who grew up near Shaganappi remember wheeling off on our bikes with two or three clubs slung across our backs to hack away on the municipal course.  Many of my friends became life-long golfers and now take their kids to Shaganappi to knock around a few balls.

Morris Barraclough's great history of parks in Calgary is available at the Calgary Public Library.  It is called From Prairie to Park: Green Spaces in Calgary and is included in the Centennial Calgary volume At Your Service Part 1.   The items so kindly donated by his family are in the process of being added to the collection.

I am always looking for ideas for this blog.  Do you have any historical or genealogical subjects you would like to see written about?  Pop your suggestion into the comments at the bottom of this page and we'll do our best to round up a photo and write a short article.

The LION Awards

 Alison Jackson Photograph

I have been fortunate to be involved with the  Calgary Heritage Round Table, an umbrella group for organizations and individuals  passionate about Calgary and its heritage.  The enthusiasm and growing attendance at meetings such as these shows the increasing interest in heritage issues in Calgary. I see this interest too, not just in "old" buildings but a desire to capture and preserve the stories of its people reflected on a daily basis here at Calgary Public Library through the customers who visit our Community Heritage and Family History collection.  

 Are you one of these impassioned individuals concerned about Calgary's heritage or do you know of an outstanding person or organization who is making a difference?   Here's an opportunity to support heritage conservation by recognizing citizens and groups who have undertaken initiatives, of any scale in Calgary.  The Calgary Lion Awards, is your chance to recognize them publicly. As it says on the Lion Awards website  " Historic preservation is part of good city building and community identity. Historic resources serve to enhance our perspective, understanding and awareness of our past and help us build a sense of identity and pride in our local communities."  Show your pride in taking the time to nominate outstanding individuals or groups. Awards will be given in the following areas:  Building Restoration, New Building Design, Community Revitalization, Landscape, Advocacy and Awareness, and Heritage Trades People/Craft People.  

For more information, go to the City of Calgary website http://calgary.ca/lionawards  The nomination deadline is Wednesday May 28. 2010 and the awards will be presented July 28, 2010 at The Water Centre, 625 25 Ave S.E. 

Want to know more about the iconic Centre Street lions?  Check out this wonderful Alison Jackson photograph and some background information on the bridge and lions from our Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library:

http://cdm280501.cdmhost.com/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p280501coll7&CISOPTR=1003&CISOBOX=1&REC=6