From the Archives of Western Newspapers

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

April  27, 1894 – Moose Jaw Times

A young man, who shall not be named, went east to get married and returning home to Regina by train thought he’d give his friends, who he knew would be waiting on the platform, the slip. He changed off the express at Sudbury, travelled to Moose Jaw and then hopped on a train to Regina so he could arrive on an eastbound rather than a westbound train. However, another Regina passenger was on the express and when the young man arrived home, a day later than expected, he was greeted by a full brass band and a host of friends. The young man admitted the joke was on him.

Public school inspector J.L. Hughes has put together a collection of stories from schools, including some answers given by students: Food passes through your windpipe to your pores, and thus passes off your body by evaporation through a lot of little holes in the skin called capillaries. Things which are equal to each other are equal to everything else. In Austria, the principal occupation is gathering Austrich feathers. Climate lasts all the time, the weather only a few days. Blood is purified in the lungs by inspired air.

April 30, 1908 – The Frank Paper

The board of trade in Frank has been successful in another endeavor, this time getting mailboxes at the post office with the assistance of Postmaster Lang and Deputy Cruikshank. When the idea was first proposed, the pessimists said the idea was of no use as the government would never grant them, but the effort was made and the boxes were put up last Friday. It should be noted, they are only for those who are unable to get letters in the mail before the post office closes in the evening, all others should continue to mail their letters as usual during opening hours.

A rumour ran through the Pass on Monday evening about new information arising about the murder of Constable Willmett that occurred on April 5. A man had burned a shirt with blood on it as he didn’t want to get in trouble with the police, but after investigation, it turned out the man and his wife had a dispute and she hit him over the head with a stove poker. There is no new information on the Constable Willmett case and the force of the police has been increased by three men in addition to detectives.

Ambrose Oliver, a labourer employed around Frank, has been sentenced to six months on the charge of stealing a clevis from a plow and selling it.

April 27, 1910 –The Cayley Hustler

If you are up at 4 a.m. and your eyes are good enough, you will be able to see the comet.

A burning straw pile started a fire in the Hazlemere district last week. It ran for three miles before farmers could stop it, some suffering heavy losses. The opinion is growing that stack fires should be prohibited at this time of year as they are liable to get away with disastrous results.

Settlers arriving in Canada from the USA relay odd stories being passed on by trainmen, commercial travellers and merchants on the North Dakota line. They see the best class of farmer is moving to Canada and wish to deter them. Notwithstanding the stories, crowds of settlers continue to head for the Canadian west and say the treatment they receive from Canadian officials at the boundary is beyond anything they anticipated.