From the Archives of Western Newspapers

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspaper

January 19, 1894 – Moose Jaw Times

Undoubtably the harshest fought municipal election closed in Calgary on January 15. A torchlight procession led by a brass band celebrated the triumph of the successful candidates with W.F. Orr winning a majority for mayor by 24 votes.

The Soo Line Railroad has added new vehicles to their Boston Express. The Torgan vertical plane coupler, which combines safety and convenience, can be added or taken from trains without disturbing the passengers. Anyone who has been in a sleeper and experienced the rocking made by coupling and uncoupling cars will appreciate the change. Within a few days, all passenger trains for the company will be equipped with this device.

In New Jersey, George Harvey was celebrating his golden wedding anniversary and was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. After kissing one of the latter on the head, a hair became stuck in his throat, which resulted in a severe coughing spell. The result was a burst blood vessel with Mr. Harvey dying a few minutes afterward. Mrs. Harvey fell unconscious on hearing of the death of her husband and it is feared she will not recover from shock.

January 20, 1910 – The Edmonton Capital

In 1905, when Edmonton became a city and the capital of the newly formed province of Alberta, the total debenture debt was $506,049. On October 31, 1910, the city’s debenture debt totalled $5,928,205.

J. Cohon was in the police court this morning on a charge of assault. A dispute arose over a broken window and Cohon put Mr. Goodman out of his shop. Cohon claims Goodman was interfering with his dealing with a customer. Goodman claimed Cohon had a weapon in his hand, which turned out to only be a shoe. The charge was dismissed.

Another huge deputation of farmers waited on the government to ask for redress of grievances. Over 500 dairy farmers from Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec made up the deputation and were asking for cheese buyers to be licensed by the government in the same way wheat buyers in the west are licensed.

January 25, 1912 – Carlstadt
Progress

A big convention of farmers is taking place in Calgary this week with a new constitution, hail insurance, seed grain and elevator systems among the topics under discussion.

Six big dams are to be built on Lake Newell, five miles south of Brooks. All the material will be freighted out from Brooks by wagon this summer, allowing those with teams to have abundant employment. Hundreds of teams will also be required for the irrigation ditches.

Thirty American fishing vessels, with a combined cargo of herring worth $850,000, are imprisoned in ice floes off the coast of Newfoundland and threatened with destruction. In response to an appeal from the Collector of Customs, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury has ordered the revenue cutters Androscoggin and Gresham to their assistance.