Stories

Stories categorized: People

Architect Doris Tanner: What did she do? Work and life in fine balance

Cheryl Mahaffy

It’s 2003, early in the new millennium but regrettably late in the story I’m aiming to tell. Doris Tanner died…

Margaret Crang: the AOC of #yegcc circa 1933

Bruce Cinnamon

When Margaret Crang won a seat as an alderman in the 1933 municipal election, she set the record as the…

Judi Singh: A Black & South Asian musician from 1950s-70s Edmonton

Poushali Mitra

Last year, while exploring South Asian music history in Edmonton, I randomly searched “Singh + artist + 70s Edmonton” and…

The Porter: Building a Better Canada for All

Donna Coombs-Montrose

The Canadian National Railway Pullman train bustled through the Rocky Mountains on the way from Vancouver headed for a stop…

The Last Black West: Oklahoma Freedmen Seek Refuge in Alberta, Part 1

Dr. Russell Cobb

Advertisements promoting the “Last Best West”—a frontier open to all pioneers—have become an ingrained part of the Canadian national mythology.  Like…

The Last Black West: Oklahoma Freedmen Seek Refuge in Alberta, Part 2

Dr. Russell Cobb

Read The Last Black West: Oklahoma Freedmen Seek Refuge in Alberta, Part 1. As we noted in Part 1, early…

Jake Superstein: A Man for All Faiths

Debby Shoctor

During one of the most tumultuous times in European history, Jake Superstein was born in Pinsk, Poland, into an Orthodox Jewish…

A Brief History of the Edmonton Jewish Community

Debby Shoctor

Edmonton, Alberta was first incorporated as a town in 1892. At that time, there were about 700 permanent residents. Founded…

The “Grand Lady of the Métis:” Dr. Anne Anderson’s mission to preserve the Cree language

Bruce Cinnamon

When Dr. Anne Anderson was born on a river lot farm east of St. Albert in 1906, she was so…

Rev. Robert Rundle: The Missionary and his Cat

Neil Cramer

The history of missionaries as they relate to the development of post-contact Canada is long, complicated, and often very emotional,…

Pashtuns in Edmonton: A Brief History

Riaz Mehmood

Pashtun people represent a small, yet vibrant segment of the Canadian cultural mosaic. Prior to 1978, there were approximately 1,000…

The Other Side of Emily Murphy

Terry Jorden

Shortly after entering Emily Murphy Park, which sits on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River between Groat Bridge and…