Tucked inside this issue, you will find the Western People Centennial Special Edition.
It is our salute to the milestone reached this year by Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Our front page feature on Fort MacLeod, Alta., and photos on pages 62-63 are a taste of what’s inside the special edition.
When we developed the plan for our
centennial project, we decided to concentrate on the people of these two prairie provinces. It just seemed logical.
Toward that end, reporter Karen
Read Also
Topsy-turvy precipitation this year challenges crop predictions
Rainfall can vary dramatically over a short distance. Precipitation maps can’t catch all the deviations, but they do provide a broad perspective.
Morrison travelled to various towns in each corner of Saskatchewan and Alberta, asking people to talk about their century farms, their histories and their communities. We invited young people to write about the next 100 years in agriculture and we asked readers to provide photos of western people.
As all the material flowed in, our layout editor, Catherine Rumancik, designed a unique scrapbook theme in which to present it to you.
It was a joy and a humbling experience to be temporarily entrusted with many photographic heirlooms. As we looked through the accumulated mementos provided by readers, we were struck anew by the courage and perseverance of the people who founded Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is our hope that the same realization will come to those who examine readers’ photos within the centennial supplement.
Along with photographs came letters and family histories. Space constraints limit our ability to show all the bounty loaned by prairie people, but our website at www.
producer.com will include a wider range.
George Almusa of Margo, Sask., sent dozens of beautiful photographs, the product of his photographic hobby in the earlier days of the farm.
“My dad, Toivo Almusa, homesteaded here in 1904. … He threshed in this area for the next 25 years. We have his pictures and negatives but there are no dates on them so we have to guess.”
Christine Hansen of Vulcan, Alta., sent 15 photos with detailed captions, depicting farm life in the Brooks, Vauxhall and Enchant areas. She was among many who sent multiple photos and took obvious care in preparing information for our use.
“When I saw your ad about the special edition, the photo of my grandmother standing on her horse came to mind immediately,” wrote Shirley Campbell, of Argyle, Man. See it on page 37 of the supplement.
A few people mentioned their cameras and their photos “sans thumbs,” as requested in this space back on April 21, which provided a few smiles.
Thanks to all of you for your contributions to this project. We hope you enjoy it, and that you celebrate the 100th anniversaries of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
