Alberta History 1919-1925

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Jasper Alberta's Historic View

1919

The Coal Branch that lies about forty miles east of Hinton, Alberta is almost abandoned except for the fire that never dies. In the coal mines near Cadomin, fire broke out and the Canadian Dominion Development Company could not extinguish it. You can still see green grass in December above the area of the fire that never dies. Nearby are the famous Cadomin Caves discovered by the miners.

The Alberta Tar Sands again hit the news when Gordon Smith of Queen's University proclaimed they were the greatest known oil reserves on the face of the earth, able to supply the whole world for the next two thousand years.


1920

Few Albertans are aware of the emergence of the Alberta Ku Klux Klan this decade as an offshoot of the Ontario Orange Order. The Ontario Orange Order was a offshoot of the Protestant Orange Order of Ireland founded in 1795. The original mandate was to further Protestantism and loyalty to the English Crown. The Canadian version targeted the Indians, Metis, French, Catholics and, in general, the suppression of non Anglo-Saxon immigration into Canada. The American version targeted the Blacks. Other groups affiliated with or supportive of the KKK ideals were the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire. This Red Necked view of Canada was encouraged and fueled by George Exton Lloyd, the Anglican Bishop, who worried about the Mongrelization of Canada and urged to keep Western Canada British.

Few Albertans are aware of the emergence of the United Farm Women in Alberta in 1916, led by Irene Parley who guided its policies and direction. In 1921 they had 4,536 members and stood for the 'Rights of the family' and 'Equality for women', provided they were not poor, sick, a visible minority or feeble-minded, who should be sterilized. Irene Parley moved on to the Alberta Government and to the University of Alberta Board of Governors to spread her beliefs supporting eugenics and sterilization. She is one of the infamous five who campaigned vigorously for eugenics and sterilization in Alberta.

Oil is discovered at Fort Norman near Great Bear Lake, North West Territories. This year Alberta took the first steps to study the Athabasca Oil Sands at Fort McMurray by forming the Alberta Research Council and hiring a young scientist, Karl Clark. The Alberta Government reports the discovery of mineral fields in the Fort McMurray District. At a depth of 650 feet they showed 30 feet of pure salt.

October 28: The railway finally arrives at St. Paul de Metis. The population is five hundred with another six hundred farming nearby. (I)-James Brady is still the town secretary and treasurer but most had departed the vicinity due to the bad blood with the French Roman Catholic Church.



1921

Royalite Oil Company is incorporated as a subsidiary of Imperial Oil Limited. They bought the controlling interest in Calgary Petroleum Products Company Limited. This sets the stage for the creation of ESSO Resources Canada Limited in 1978.

This year C. J. Hammond, a partner of the California syndicates, holds six thousand acres of tar sands six miles below Fort McMurray on the east bank of the Athabasca River. He is returning to California with 1,000 pounds of tar sands for testing in their Santa Marie refinery. Hammond says removing the overburden is the biggest economical problem.

Herbert Greenfield, United Farmers of Alberta, is elected Premier of Alberta 1921-1925.

Some say the first automobile arrived in Myrnam this year.

March 28: Two planes, the Vic and Rene, left Edmonton heading for the Imperial Oil Limited oil well sixty miles from Fort Norman. It is a historic mission claimed to be the first sub-arctic flight ever attempted in Canada. After many problems, the Vic and Elmar Fullerton arrived June 2, 1921 at Fort Norman (Wells).

June 1: The population of the west is: Saskatchewan 757,510, Manitoba 610,118, Alberta 588,454, B.C. 524,582, NWT 7,988 and Yukon 4,157.

July 18: The United Farmers of Alberta won the Provincial elections, forming the government until 1935.







1922

At this time the first British Empire woman police magistrate, Judge Emily Murphy of Edmonton, in a speech, stated the control of the Nations would be wrested from Anglo-Saxon people unless the drug habit is strangled. This comment is interesting because it documents the belief that the Anglo and Saxon tribes have perpetuated, which is their superiority over other tribes of the world. These type of dogmatic beliefs and values would lead the world into a Second World War. Judge Emily Murphy would be oblivious to her contribution towards the next war.

CJCA in Edmonton and CFAC and CFRN in Calgary are turned on and many families acquired or built crystal sets.





1923

Imperial Oil Limited opens an oil refinery in Calgary, Alberta.

May 2: Edmonton, Filumena (Florence) Losandro (Lassandro) born 1901 Italy, a bootlegger in Crowsnest Pass is executed for murdering a police officer April 11, 1923 and is the only female put to death in Alberta, and only the 5th in Canada.

October 29: The United Farmers of Alberta, with its' thirty five thousand members, formed the Alberta Wheat Pool.



1924

The first road is cut from Edmonton to Fort Assiniboine.

May 31: The frustrated Saskatchewan farmers in Regina form the Co-op movement by achieving a fifty one-percentage acreage sign-up.

August 5: Edmonton, the old Ochsner Brewery established in 1894 then called Strathcona Brewing and Malting Co. in 1907. In 1924 it was named the Northwest Brewing Company.



1925

John Edward Brownlee, United Farmers of Alberta, is elected Premier of Alberta 1925-1934.

Jasper Alberta's History