Editor’s note: The banner image above featuring James Hargrave family, Medicine Hat, Alberta ca. 1887-1888, is courtesy of the Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.
Author Julia Stanski is a scholar and recent MA History grad from the University of Alberta. Her research centers on western Canadian women’s history in the Victorian and Edwardian periods.
Written by: Julia Stanski
If you think about women’s history in relation to Alberta, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the Famous Five, a group of women whose activism earned Canadian women the legal status of “persons” permitted the rights and privileges of “qualified persons,” including the possibility of being appointed to the Senate. Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney: these are names that most Albertans have seen before, in social studies textbooks and on statues and parks. But today, I want to introduce you to another woman from Alberta’s past: Lillian Adkins.
She was not a famous author or speaker. There are no statues of her. But many Albertans can trace their roots to women like her. Lillian spent roughly five years of her youth working as a domestic servant in what became Edmonton.
Do you know a person or group in your community helping to support Alberta’s history and heritage? It could be a local historical society helping preserve a physical piece of local history; a researcher publishing a book or article; or a member of the community who’s shown long-term leadership and contribution to the preservation and presentation of Alberta’s history. If so, consider nominating them for a 2026 Heritage Award.
Presented by the Government of Alberta, the Heritage Awards recognize individuals, non-profit organizations, corporations, municipalities and First Nations and Metis settlements for their significant contributions to the protection, preservation and promotion of Alberta’s heritage. Heritage awards are presented every two years.
The Heritage Awards are divided into three categories:
Heritage Awareness Recognizes research, publications or public engagement projects that have deepened our understanding and promoted greater awareness of Alberta’s heritage.
Heritage Conservation Recognizes projects that demonstrate excellence in the protection and management of palaeontological and archaeological resources; conservation of a Provincial Historic Resource, Municipal Historic Resource or Indigenous Historic Place; or identification, protection and management of historic places
Outstanding Achievement Recognizes an individual’s or organization’s exemplary long-term leadership and contribution to the preservation and presentation of Alberta’s history.
Take a look at the information and fill out a nomination form. And to get a sense of the scope and range of nominations across the province, check out past winners of the Heritage Awards.
The nomination period begins March 1 and closes June 1.
People, dogs and wolves have had long and complex relationships, ranging from cooperation to competition. Alberta’s rich archaeological record includes many canids (mammals including dogs, wolves, coyotes and foxes), and understanding canid age at death can provide insights into their relationships with Indigenous people and how they vary geographically, temporally, and by species.
For example, assessments of dog age at death could be informative about how past people cared for their working animals as they aged beyond their prime years. In cases where dogs appear to have been kept primarily for use as food resources, ageing data could reveal how such populations were being managed, with individuals perhaps being slaughtered around 1–2 years of life once they reached full adult body size. Relationships with wolves also might be more fully understood with age-at-death information, particularly in North America, where they are often found in mass bison kill assemblages. Ageing data might reveal if whole packs were killed while scavenging human prey or if primarily young and inexperienced individuals met their fates in such settings. Finally, age-at-death information can be important for assessing aspects of canid life histories, including animals’ rates of tooth loss and fracture and their relationship to diet, but also experiences of degenerative joint disease and trauma. Despite their importance, methods for ageing archaeological dog and wolf remains are relatively limited.
Crown height measurements for each of M1, P4, and M1. A (lingual view of M1) shows measurements M1-1, M1-2, and M1-3. B (buccal view of M1) shows measurements M1-4, M1-5, and M1-6. C (buccal view of P4) shows measurement P4-1. D (lingual view of P4) shows measurements P4-2 and P4-3. Source: Megan Bieraugle.
Editor’s note: The banner image above is courtesy of the Royal Alberta Museum.
Written by: Devon Owen Moar
At first glance, the illustration appears simple: a bird, carefully rendered, set within its landscape. There is no dramatic gesture or overt narrative—there is only close attention. Feather by feather, stroke by stroke, the image invites the viewer to slow down and really look. It is both an artwork and a record, capturing not just the likeness of its subject, but a way of seeing that is central to the natural sciences and natural history museums.
This work, now part of the Royal Alberta Museum’s collection, was created by Frank L. Beebe, a self-taught naturalist, illustrator and falconer whose career bridged art and science. Beebe’s illustrations were never meant to be decorative alone; they were tools for understanding, shaped by careful observation and extensive field experience.
Before photography became the dominant way of documenting the natural world, scientific illustrators played a vital role in how knowledge was recorded and shared. People like Beebe translated hours of study into images that could educate, inform and endure. This kind of work helped shape how museums studied and presented the natural world.
This single illustration offers a point of entry into Beebe’s broader world, rooted in western Canadian landscapes and museum and illustrative practices, and reminds us of the important, and often unsung, role illustrators play in connecting science, art and public understanding.
Framed painting of a male Sooty Grouse by Frank L. Beebe. Source: Royal Alberta Museum, H25.28.1.
The work that prompted this research is a framed painting depicting a male Sooty Grouse. It is signed in the bottom right corner by the artist, Frank L. Beebe. The grouse is shown mid-display, its body fully puffed with its yellow throat air sacs inflated and tail held upright—a striking posture associated with courtship. Beebe situates the bird within a carefully rendered landscape: a moss-covered rock forms the backdrop, while long grasses, white and yellow flowers (likely avalanche lilies) and a fallen leaf help situate the foreground.
Editor’s note: Learn more about the history and heritage of Black Albertans from the Royal Alberta Museum.
Written by: Michael Gourlie, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta
Since the 1960s, the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) has acquired kilometres of records, millions of photographs and thousands of hours of audiovisual recordings about the lives and activities of Albertans. While Alberta’s Black community is underrepresented among these archival holdings, it faces a similar challenge to other groups. For every famous individual whose life is documented in detail in numerous sources, there are dozens of other individuals who remain nameless and forgotten until someone researches their stories.
Among the famous individuals found in the PAA’s holdings is John Dee (Johnny) Bright. Born in Indiana in 1930, he attended Drake University on a track and field scholarship, which led to a remarkable collegiate football career marked by several National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records as well as a national profile. His senior year in 1951 was also notable when he was the target of a racially motivated assault on the playing field during a game with Oklahoma A&M University (now Oklahoma State University), an incident documented in a Pulitzer Prize winning series of photographs. While some on-field rules changed because of the incident, the opposing team and its university administration denied any wrongdoing for decades and only apologized for the incident in 2005.
File OS.1843: Johnny Bright, 1954. (Frank Oliver Studios fonds, PR1992.0261/1096, OS.1843). Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.
He graduated from Drake University in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science in Education, specializing in physical education. He was the first pick chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1952 draft, but fearing his treatment in the National Football League, he chose to emigrate to Canada and play for the Calgary Stampeders. He was traded to Edmonton in 1954, where he primarily played offense. Bright set several Canadian Football League (CFL) records, helped the team win the Grey Cup in 1954, 1955 and 1956, and was named Edmonton Athlete of the Year in 1959.
Editor’s note:The banner image above, courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Alberta, depicts a polar delivery truck advertising its Squeeze and Shamrock Ginger Ale brands, 1928. Abe Pearlman is standing between the trucks.
Author Bruce Dawson holds a MA in History from the University of Saskatchewan and is presently the Manager of Historic Places Policy and Programs for the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport in Saskatchewan. He is also a long-time collector of soda pop memorabilia, with a particular interest in Polar Aerated Water Works and other bottlers from Calgary and Lethbridge.You can read the full version of Bruce’s article in Alberta History.
Written by: Bruce Dawson
Did you know that soft drink manufacturing in Alberta began over 135 years ago? Many of the early manufacturers were family-run businesses that developed a significant industry in the province while helping to shift the perception of soft drinks from being a medicinal or specialty product to being an indispensable item for the masses. A significant part of this story is Calgary’s Polar Aerated Water Works.
In 1914, William Denby and Gordon Goodison established a bottling plant at the corner of 11 Ave and 12 Street East. Their back cover advertisement on the 1914 Henderson’s Directory stated that they were a “manufacturer of all kinds of soft drinks and distilled waters.” By this time, soft drinks had transitioned from association with pharmacists and medical treatment to become a status symbol amongst the upper and middle class. Calgary had at least three soft drink manufacturers already, led by the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company, which had been producing soft drinks for over 20 years. The owners named their new company Polar Aerated Water Works and, by May of 1915, registered a patent for their logo, described as, “a representation of a polar bear on a float of ice with icebergs and setting.” The company used this logo for the remainder of its history. Denby left the firm in 1915 and Goodison stayed on as sole owner, with several family members working for the company over the next decade.
Written by: Ronald Kelland, Geographical Place Names Coordinator
The Dr. McMillan Residence, a somewhat unprepossessing yet significant home in Claresholm, has recently been designated as a Provincial Historic resource and is now listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places.
View of the Dr. McMillan Residence from the south, showing the main, residential entrance and the secondary, clinic entrance. Source: Historic Resources Management, Alberta Arts, Culture and Status of Women, 2024.
On Second Street West, at the western fringes of Claresholm’s downtown district, beside a church and amongst several more recent commercial buildings, stands the Dr. McMillan Residence. The house has provincial heritage significance for its association with the provision of medical services in Alberta and for its design, being a combination of private, residential space and professional, medical clinic space.
Editor’s note: The banner image above is the Calgary Pressed Brick and Sandstone Company plant, Brickburn, Alberta (ca. 1916-1920 [CU1136164] by unknown). Image courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.
Written by: Sam Judson and Lindsay Amundsen-Meyer, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary
To most Calgarians, Edworthy Park is nothing more than a city park with a large and popular off-leash area for dogs, rocky ‘beaches’ along the Bow River and meandering biking and walking trails that folks enjoy throughout the year. What most users of the park do not realize is that Edworthy Park has a remarkable history: numerous pre-contact Indigenous archaeological sites within the park; the presence of a Métis winter camp in the late 19th century; the eventual establishment of one of the Calgary area’s earliest homesteads by Thomas Edworthy; and Edworthy’s operation of a sandstone quarry on the land in the early 20th century. There was even a 20th century brick factory within the park and its associated village (Brickburn) to the west. As you’ll learn, the students and staff of the University of Calgary archaeology field school and Public Archaeology Program discovered these many layers of history are present across much more of Edworthy Park than previously known.
Location of Edworthy Park, within the City of Calgary. Source: Lindsay Amundsen-Meyer.
Written by: Ronald Kelland, Geographical Place Names Coordinator
Remembrance Day, November 11, is the day Canadians honour and memorialize those who gave their lives while in military service. While honouring all Canadian service personnel this Remembrance Day, this year RETROactive is drawing attention to a few geographical features named to commemorate casualties of the Second World War. Following the Second World War, the Province of Alberta, through collaboration between the Geographic Board of Alberta and the Geographic Board of Canada began naming geographical features, mostly lakes, for decorated military personnel from Alberta that were casualties of the Second World War. This is the story of two of those individuals.
Located approximately 35 kilometres northwest of Bonnyville is Conn Lake.
The lake is named for Leading Steward James Conn. Born at Hillcrest, Alberta on December 7, 1914, Conn was the son of John Robert (died 1921) and Lillian Maude Conn (died 1916). At some point, James and his siblings moved to Quebec and by 1932 James Conn was living on University Street (now Robert-Bourassa Boulevard) in Montreal.
At the outbreak of the war, James Conn was a waiter with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Conn enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in August 1943 and trained at Navy Reserve Divisions HMCS Montreal (now HMCS Donnacona) and at Winnipeg with HMCS Chippawa and at Ottawa with HMCS Carleton. He served a short stint on HMCS Stadacona, a steam yacht that had been acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1915 and was used as a home waters patrol vessel during the Second World War. On October 17, 1944, he reported to HMCS Esquimalt at the rank of Leading Steward.
HMCS Esquimalt was a Bangor-class minesweeper operating out of the port of Halifax to hunt enemy submarines and keep approaches to the harbour clear of mines. Named for the Township of Esquimalt on Vancouver Island, she was launched in 1941 and was originally assigned to patrol duties off Newfoundland and was transferred to Halifax in September 1944. On 15 April 1945, Esquimalt sailed on a patrol to hunt a German U-boat that was suspected to be in the waters near Halifax. At approximately 6:30 a.m. on the morning of April 16, with the lights of Halifax visible on the horizon, a torpedo from German U-boat U-190 struck Esquimalt on its starboard, flooding the engine room and causing a loss of power. In less than five minutes, and before a distress call could be sent, Esquimalt rolled onto her starboard side and sank beneath the surface.
Sources differ regarding the number of sailors lost in the sinking of HMCS Esquimalt, with a range of 39 to 44 crew perishing that night either going down with the sinking vessel or of exposure in the frigid waters awaiting rescue. Six hours after the sinking, survivors were picked up by Esquimalt’s sister ship, HMCS Sarnia. Twenty-seven of Esquimalt’s crew survived. Leading Steward James Conn was not one of them
HMCS Esquimalt, 1944. Source: Department of National Defense.
RETROactive 