Calgary, Alberta, Canada In 1902

 

Rummaging in a basket at a thrift store, I found a small tourist pamphlet dated 1902 touting Calgary. Published by the Board of Trade, City Council of Calgary, the little 30-page brochure was such a fun read!

"The country surrounding Calgary has been especially favored by nature in more ways than one." Then all the wonders of nature were extolled. 

"It may be safely said, for the meterological records amply prove it, that there is no place in the western hemisphere that enjoys more bright sunshine the year around than Central and Southern Alberta."

"Free homesteads may be secured within from 3 to 20 miles of the city, and improved farms and ranches can be purchased at reasonable prices."

"The capitalist will find in Calgary an interesting and profitable field for investment; the existing channels for investment are legion."

"The Calgary district offers high wages to good domestic servants. In the city of Calgary, $10 and $12 per month is the common wage for household work."

"The invalid will find in Calgary a gracing and pleasant climate to recuperate his health. The virtues of its invigorating ozone and almost continual sunshine are becoming universally extolled." 

Prices: "Butter, 18cents per pound; potatoes, 1penny per pound; eggs, 15cents per dozen; poultry, 12cents per pound; pork, 6cents per pound; beef, 2 cents per pound." 

No wonder "936 homesteads were taken up and 41,000 acres of Canadian Pacific Railroad Lands purchased during the year of 1901." (The land was purchased for $3.00 per acre.)

Did your ancestor settle permanently or temporarily in Calgary?? Sounds like a wonderful place, no? 

Beavers "Made" Canada

 In April 2023, I was blessed to take a deep dive into the history, geography, geology and culture of the far northeast corner of America,  the Canadian Maritimes and the St. Lawrence River and Seaway. Con su permisio, as they say in Spanish, I would like to share with you some of what I learned in these blog posts over the next couple of months. Hope you benefit and enjoy!

"The humble, hard-working beaver is honored on the Canadian nickel and for good reason. The beaver is an animal that was the architect of the nation of Canada," explained David, our ship's history presenter. "It was beaver fur that first drove exploration and exploitation." 

"The beaver is not leading-man material," David quipped," but is well adapted to its aquatic life. Its engineering acumen is what makes it outstanding. Its behavior comes from its genes; they are genetically programmed to build. Their ability to do it well develops over time and with practice. The longest known beaver dam is in Northern Canada and is over a mile long." 

Beavers are revered in Canada for a different reason. So what made it such a star? Its FUR! Fur trading was a big part of the economy since the first white explorers arrived. Samuel Champlain established a fur trading post in what became Quebec City in 1608. There were other fur-bearing animals but beaver were the most plentiful, were easy to find and catch. The First Nations were happy to trade beaver furs for the white man's goods. Beaver fur was the currency of the frontier. As the beaver were trapped out, people (forts, towns) moved west with them. By the 1850s, the west was "beavered out" clear to the Rocky Mountains. 

Today it's hard to realize the great demand for beaver fur. Fashion drove the industry in the early 1800s: beaver hats were "the thing." Luckily for the beaver, by the 1850s fashion was changing. Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert, wore a silk top hat and quickly beaver hats were out. The beaver's work was done; Canada was established. 

By 1867, Canada was a nation built in many ways upon the humble beaver. To honor this "founding father," the beaver is featured on the Canadian nickel. 

Canada Day Celebration Mirrors Our July 4th

 

As we celebrate American Independence on July 4th annually, our Canadians celebrate their independence on July 1st. Why? 

July 1, 1867: The British North America Act (today known as the Constitution Act, 1867) created Canada. On June 20, 1868: Governor General Lord Monck signs a proclamation that requests all of Her Majesty Queen Victoria's subjects across Canada to celebrate the occasion on July 1.

How much do we know about our Canadian neighbors? See how you do on this 20-question quiz.......  answers way at the bottom!

Canadian Trivia

1.    1. Name the territories and provinces that comprise Canada?

2.   2. Which Canadian province is officially bi-lingual?

3.    3. What are the two national sports of Canada?

4.    4. How many points are on the Maple Leaf on the flag?

5.    5. The first YMCA in Canada was opened in what city?

6.    6. Which Great Lake does not share a border with Canada?

7.    7. When is Canada Day celebrated? (Formerly Dominion Day.)

8.    8. Which spreadable good was invented by a Canadian pharmacist?

9.    9. In some Canadian provinces, doctors can give a prescription to do what?

 I 10. In 1995, Quaker Oats gave this away in their cereal boxes.

1 11. PEI residents are known by this starchy nickname?

1   12.    Which territory or province is largest?

1  13.   Curling was invented in what country?

 114.     Who is the immediate past Prime Minister of Canada?

1   15.    Who is the current P.M.?

1   16.    “Double-double with timbits” in Canada means what?

1 17.       Seal flippers are a delicacy in Newfoundland, yes or no?

        18.   What natural phenomenon in 2021 in British Columbia caused a massive marine die out?

        19.    Which Canadian city staged an elaborate ruse that Nazis were invading in 1942?

2       20.     Who is the most famous Canadian folk singer?

 

1.    Ontario, Northwest Territories, Newfoundland/Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Yukon

2.    New Brunswick

3.    Hockey and LaCrosse

4.    Eleven

5.    Montreal

6.    Michigan

7.    July 1^st

8.    Peanut butter, 1884

9.    Park passes (to get outdoors!)

10.           Hockey card

11.           “Spudheads,” for potatoes

12.           Nunavut

13.           Scotland

14.           Harper

15.           Trudeau

16.           Coffee (2sugars/2creams) and donut holes (in Tim Horton’s)

17.           Yes

18.           Heat wave

19.           Winnipeg

20.           Leonard Cohen (and you guessed Gordon Lightfoot, right?)

 

This was a game played on board the Pearl Mist by a Canadian entertainer who said he used Google to compile the list….. “so blame Google for any mistakes!”

 

Canada Day.......... Like Our July 4th

Last Wednesday, July 1st, was Canada Day. As we're such close neighbors with Canada here in Washington, we should know about their annual national day of recognition just as we celebrate our independence on the 4th of July. 

Canada Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Canada Day
Children watch the Canada Day parade in Montreal, 2004
Also called	Fête du Canada previously named Dominion Day
Observed by	Canada
Type	Historical, cultural, national
Celebrations	Fireworks, parades, barbecues, concerts, carnivals, fairs, picnics
Date	July 1
Frequency	Annual

Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada) is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of July 1, 1867, the effective date of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united the three separate colonies of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada.^[1][2] Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confédération), the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed.^[3] Canada Day celebrations take place throughout the country, as well as in various locations around the world, attended by Canadians living abroad.^[4]