Tidbits of Alberta

[hayseed]

Still the best thread ever, thanks for all the contributions, love it!!

[Red Bullets]

In spring of 1948 the Atlantic No.3 oil well near Devon blew and spewed oil & gas for 6 months seeping a million barrels of crude all over surrounding farms as far away as 3 miles away. After six months the well caught on fire. And then burned black smoke for 2 months.
This is a good article on the well.
https://resource.aer.ca/stories/blas...-atlantic-no-3

I can't imagine the air quality with this burning for 2 months. I know my folks, living 4 miles away, told me that they could polish a silver spoon and it would be black in a day...from the silver oxidizing .

This tidbit is from some family film footage that no one has seen. My uncle took this footage with his super 8 movie camera in September or October of 1948. He did get amazingly close to the well site. It is only fire but shows the volume and velocity the fire burned at... for two months straight.

An AO exclusive video posted on youtube by me just for AO's folks to enjoy. Well, maybe not enjoy but look at a snippet of the past. 71 years ago.

https://youtu.be/CecZQ_lfM4A

[Bigwoodsman]

Those are a couple of cool videos Red.

Thanks for sharing.

BW

[Red Bullets]

Game farming took off in the 1980's but back in the first two decades of the 1900's ungulates were being used domestically.

Things you don't see anymore.
Some of these pictures are from Alberta.
*The Moose team with wagon is W. R. Billy Day with Pete and Nellie at Edmonton Exhibition in 1910-1911.
*The single moose with the travous - picture was taken in 1901 close to the old fort Edmonton.
*The guy milking the elk- picture from 1910 in Alberta.
*The team of elk with the cart- the elk's names are Thunder and Buttons.
*The single elk cart is from 1929.

The other elk pictures are just cool. Unknown origins.

[Red Bullets]

In past posts I have mentioned the logging that went on around the province. With logs being floated down the creeks and across lakes. I see there is a great two part article written that I thought I would share. This article may give a person a different perspective and appreciation of the the forested areas we see and go to today. Enjoy. Some great old Alberta pictures in the write up too.

Part 1.
https://albertashistoricplaces.com/2...es-in-alberta/

Part2.
https://albertashistoricplaces.com/2...nOpu_qG0weCJ3E

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Game farming took off in the 1980's but back in the first two decades of the 1900's ungulates were being used domestically.

Things you don't see anymore.
Some of these pictures are from Alberta.
*The Moose team with wagon is W. R. Billy Day with Pete and Nellie at Edmonton Exhibition in 1910-1911.
*The single moose with the travous - picture was taken in 1901 close to the old fort Edmonton.
*The guy milking the elk- picture from 1910 in Alberta.
*The team of elk with the cart- the elk's names are Thunder and Buttons.
*The single elk cart is from 1929.

The other elk pictures are just cool. Unknown origins.

Great pictures Red,I'm wondering why they didn't cut the antlers off? Especially the saddled elk with rider.,,thanks.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

In 1883 the paddlewheeler Northcote got stuck at Victoria Rapids on the NSR 70 miles upstream of Edmonton. Special made scows went and created a low water channel by removing many boulders from 500 lbs to 5 tons so the Northcote could get upstream. The river run to Grand Rapids was stopped shortly after and the Northcote offered services up to Edmonton. In 1899 a flood took the Northcote downstream past Saddle Lake area never to be seen again.

Just reading through old posts and realized I made a mistake.
Victoria Rapids on the North Sask River were 70 miles downstream of Edmonton. Not upstream.


Also, A big thank you to everyone that has contributed to this thread. Reading through the tidbits again I realize that our history is alive and well thanks to the people that keep the stories alive.

I really want to acknowledge Jack Hardin's contributions. I'd bet Jack has a vast knowledge of Alberta's past that would popcorn worthy around the campfire.

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Not to re-hash info I may have posted earlier...just to add and just to get a perspective of size of the flocks of the now extinct passenger pigeon that once blackened the skies over the parklands of Alberta, and most of Canada. I find it amazing.

There were large flocks and I mean large. Farmers are definitely lucky they were killed off. Crops wouldn't have a chance if the passenger pigeons were still around.

This is an observation that was made in the 1860's by a person stateside regarding the flocks in relation to how much the birds consumed. I not sure if the flocks were as big in Alberta because Western Canada was just a summering ground but they most likely were similar to the south.


The observation....

"To form a rough estimate of the daily consumption of one of these immense flocks, let us first attempt to calculate the numbers of that above mentioned, as seen in passing between Frankfort and the Indiana territory. If we suppose this column of pigeons to have been one mile in breadth (and I believe it to have been much more) and that it moved at the rate of one mile in a minute, four hours, the time it continued passing, would make its whole length two hundred and forty miles. Again, supposing that each square yard of this moving body comprehended three pigeons; the square yards in the whole space multiplied by three would give 2,230,272,000 pigeons! An almost inconceivable multitude, and yet probably far below the actual amount."

Stateside, where there were more people, wagon loads of them were sent to market, where they sold as low as twelve cents per dozen to a high of 50 cents a dozen. In 1869, from the town of Hartford, Mich., three train car loads of dead pigeons were shipped to market each day for forty days, making a total of 11,880,000 birds. It is recorded that another Michigan town marketed 15,840,000 in two years.

The last passenger pigeon was recorded in Canada on 18 May 1902 at Penetanguishene, Ont. Specimens were last taken in 1898 at Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba and in 1899 at Scotch Lake, NB.

Also they were wiped out because they only laid one egg and the rate they were killed the pigeons couldn't repopulate quick enough.

This is totally mind boggling, thanks again Red for sharing.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by Fish along

Great pictures Red,I'm wondering why they didn't cut the antlers off? Especially the saddled elk with rider.,,thanks.

Good question. I would think just for handling purposes they would have cut the antlers off. For the rider maybe the antlers were the handlebars and brakes. Or maybe like nature's roll cage or for hiding behind when on the gallop while bushwhacking.

[Fish along]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Good question. I would think just for handling purposes they would have cut the antlers off. For the rider maybe the antlers were the handlebars and brakes. Or maybe like nature's roll cage or for hiding behind when on the gallop while bushwhacking.

I was thinking, with that elk especially if it threw it's head back it could probably hook the rider,n ot sure though never rode an elk before for that matter I never rode a horse either lol. I suppose though it's possible, he may not have had the tools to cut them off,as they are tough and hard to cut,a hacksaw would be nice, and an ordinary handsaw wouldn't cut it easily it would become dull in seconds I think.

[Red Bullets]

Sunnyvale school district ...

In 1900 land taxes on district lands were assessed at 2.5 cents per acre. By 1917 the taxes were assessed at 12 cents an acre.

In 1910 a 22' x 26' new school house cost 800.00 to build. The carpenter earned ten dollars per week plus board, and his helpers earned twelve cents per hour.

[Red Bullets]

In 1902 & 1903 it cost one dollar and twenty cents for a cord of dry wood. Green word was ninety five cents a cord. People that went to schools and businesses to light fires in the morning earned thirty cents a week.

[nimrod]

Found this, way back in Alberta's history

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkHNiH-6VuE

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by nimrod

Found this, way back in Alberta's history

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkHNiH-6VuE

Thanks for posting this Sheldon. I will be making popcorn tonight and watch it in full. The forests we see today are just slivers of the past.

The internet is great for finding Alberta's history.

[Red Bullets]

In 1903 or 1904 the British American Fish Company secured the rights to commercial fish Lesser Slave Lake. A Mr. Butterfield went to the lake and test netted and it was found to be a viable industry. In his nets he had ample whitefish, walleye/pickerel and trout. I cannot confirm what kind of trout. I know there was some kind of s salmon/trout to 35 lbs in the lake at some point back in the day.

The British American Fish Company invested 50K for their operations at Lesser Slave lake. At that time the company expected to take out 50 train car loads of fish per winter sending the fish to Minnesota, Chicago, Toronto and other big cities in the USA and eastern Canada. They had 30 men in employ to complete the task. About a dozen professional net fishermen were brought from the Lake Winnipeg fisheries and the rest locals. The first car load of fish was expected in Edmonton in January 1904.

So an industry was born including making the shipping boxes locally. And supplies needed for the fisheries operations were bought in Edmonton and not shipped in even though the company headquarters were in Selkirk Manitoba. Just the nets were brought in from the east. At this stage I am not sure how long this company operated at Lesser Slave lake.

And then there was the mink farmers that set up at the lake. By the late 1950's there were about a hundred families involved in mink farming around the lake. They needed fish to feed the 50,000 mink they pelted every year.

In 1958 there were 180 commercial fishing licenses issued for the lake, plus 110 fur farm fishing licenses around Lesser Slave Lake too. Millions of pounds of fish were harvested annually. These two industries contributed almost 600K annually to Alberta's economy from Just Lesser Slave lake up to the 1960's.

This history now makes me wonder. Because the commercial fisheries were stopped recently and there are fewer mink farms Lesser Slave lake should maybe once more be teeming with fish. It would be nice if we could introduce some gerrard trout into LS lake too.

[Red Bullets]

An odd wartime tidbits...
In 1942 the National Research Council created a warship built of ice. It was created on an Alberta lake. Patricia lake in Jasper national park. It was kept frozen on the lake in 1943 and was eventually allowed to melt back into the lake.
~~~
In 1944 incendiary balloon bombs were released from and by Japan with the intent of the bombs floating over forests in BC and Alberta and starting forest fires. In 1945 one of these balloon bombs was found near Provost by a couple of boys and fortunately did not detonate during the prods they gave it. Over the course of the next year or so four more of these bombs were found around Alberta. None had caused much damage.

[Red Bullets]

The good old days...

May 25th, 1894
In South Edmonton a man names Williams was charged with stealing 10.00 dollars from a Mr. Sharples. He plead guilty in court and was sentenced to 6 months of jail with hard labor.

[Red Bullets]

Also in 1984 there was a report from Lesser Slave lake about a FN trapper. The man's name was Kapemwaywechew. He had only 5 steel traps to set. On his first round of checking his set traps the next day he had caught 3 silver foxes and 2 superior cross foxes.

*This was reported on because he earned between 3 and 5 hundred dollars which was a large sum of money.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Also in 1984 there was a report from Lesser Slave lake about a FN trapper. The man's name was Kapemwaywechew. He had only 5 steel traps to set. On his first round of checking his set traps the next day he had caught 3 silver foxes and 2 superior cross foxes.

*This was reported on because he earned between 3 and 5 hundred dollars which was a large sum of money.

Error* I meant to put 1894, not 1984. For a trapper to make 3 to 5 hundred for 5 foxes in 1894 was newsworthy.

[Red Bullets]

Sept 11, 1754, Anthony Henday stepping into what is now Alberta. That night he noted in his journal that a FN man traveling with him killed 8 elk that day for their party. Buffalo were everywhere.

[Red Bullets]

Back in the early 1900's a man working in a garden in Bremner, between Sherwood Park and Ft. Saskatchewan, found a bronze medal with the date of 1753. It was 4 inches in diameter and a 1/4 inch thick. Typically worn around Jesuit priests necks. Some Jesuit priests did come west with La Verendrye in 1763. The metal was last held by a man in Camrose and probably in his family's heirlooms now.

[Red Bullets]

A man known as "English Charlie" was panning and sluicing the North Saskatchewan river in the 1860's and hand mined $2000.00 worth of gold. Gold was 16 dollars an ounce so he had sluiced 125 ounces. He was able to sluice an ounce a day from some of the sandbars in the Edmonton area.

He invested his 2K of gold in rum in hopes of making a good profit from the FN people. Unfortunately for him the FN people just took his rum.

[Red Bullets]

An interesting story about a bighorn ram from just south of the border in Montana... Wonder what ever happened to it...

One of the first people of the Flathead First Nation that passed by a fur trade place called Ram's horn Encampment had a legendary hunt.
He had wounded a bighorn ram that was as large and stout as a common horse. The ram turned on the hunter and he ran behind a large old tree.
The Bighorn rammed the tree so hard he got his head stuck in the trunk. The man then finished off the ram and took the body but left the head stuck in the tree.
It was said that all FN people who passed that way celebrated the tree that still had the rams head stuck in it years later.

[Bigwoodsman]

Red, you are a wealth of knowledge!

BW

[FXSB]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

The Edmonton Calgary trail was named in 1872. From 1883 to about 1893 the stage coach ran.

The stage coach ride from Fort Edmonton To Fort Calgary took a few days and cost 25 dollars each way. (a man's wages then were 2 dollars a day)

In the 1960s parts of this trail were still visible at creek crossings just beside highway one North of Carberry Manitoba.

[FXSB]

There was a body discovered in a cesspool SE of Edmonton It was never identified. He was named Cesspool Sam.

[Red Bullets]

A couple hunting stories from our foothills.

A Paul Band FN community member told a story about his grandmother’s second husband getting attacked by a bear. In defense he fought back and ripped the bear’s jaw apart with his hands, killing it instantly.

He told another story about an event that occurred near Nordegg where a man unknowingly stood on top of a grizzly den. The grizzly jumped out and ripped the man’s arm off and the small dog that was with the man bit the bear and ran back to town. People saw the blood on the dog from the attack and the dog led the people back to his owner and saved him. From that day on the man was nicknamed ‘Old George Bear.’

[Red Bullets]

Regarding some fish stockings that were attempted...

1959 golden trout into crowsnest and kananaskis areas.

1961 kokanee were introduced to Calgary's Genmore reservoir. unsuccessful.

1964 to 1968 kokanee were tried in Phillips lake by Pincher Creek and Narrow Lake by Athabasca. unsuccessful

1970 coho salmon were released into Cold lake. They were released as fry into the Medley river and meant to migrate down to Cold Lake. Too many coho were being caught in the cisco nets.

1977 Island lake north of Smoky lake had small mouth bass introduced. They did not do good and a remnant population was there for a few years but are now probably all gone.

[Jayhad]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

He plead guilty in court and was sentenced to 6 months of jail with hard labor.

First of all Red these sore excellent thank you for the education.

Secondly how serious is HARD LABOUR in 1894, sheesh I wonder if that was a death sentence

[liar]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

In 1903 or 1904 the British American Fish Company secured the rights to commercial fish Lesser Slave Lake. A Mr. Butterfield went to the lake and test netted and it was found to be a viable industry. In his nets he had ample whitefish, walleye/pickerel and trout. I cannot confirm what kind of trout. I know there was some kind of s salmon/trout to 35 lbs in the lake at some point back in the day.

The British American Fish Company invested 50K for their operations at Lesser Slave lake. At that time the company expected to take out 50 train car loads of fish per winter sending the fish to Minnesota, Chicago, Toronto and other big cities in the USA and eastern Canada. They had 30 men in employ to complete the task. About a dozen professional net fishermen were brought from the Lake Winnipeg fisheries and the rest locals. The first car load of fish was expected in Edmonton in January 1904.

So an industry was born including making the shipping boxes locally. And supplies needed for the fisheries operations were bought in Edmonton and not shipped in even though the company headquarters were in Selkirk Manitoba. Just the nets were brought in from the east. At this stage I am not sure how long this company operated at Lesser Slave lake.

And then there was the mink farmers that set up at the lake. By the late 1950's there were about a hundred families involved in mink farming around the lake. They needed fish to feed the 50,000 mink they pelted every year.

In 1958 there were 180 commercial fishing licenses issued for the lake, plus 110 fur farm fishing licenses around Lesser Slave Lake too. Millions of pounds of fish were harvested annually. These two industries contributed almost 600K annually to Alberta's economy from Just Lesser Slave lake up to the 1960's.

This history now makes me wonder. Because the commercial fisheries were stopped recently and there are fewer mink farms Lesser Slave lake should maybe once more be teeming with fish. It would be nice if we could introduce some gerrard trout into LS lake too.

i have been told lake trout in the past .