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Sustained Opposition to Black Immigration

Dr. Jennifer Kelly

Newspapers frequently reported negatively on the arrivals of Black immigrants from the United States, including the Edmonton Bulletin, Edmonton Journal, and Calgary Eye Opener. The first group of Black peoples to arrive were noted rather disparagingly by one newspaper, “It was in 1908 that the first party arrived from the cotton fields of Oklahoma and settled along the Grand Trunk Pacific, the largest settlement being at Chip Lake.”

After the Pisces Bathhouse Raid: John Kerr – Dance for Gramma

Darrin Hagen

In the years before John Reid launched his career as owner of Flashback, Edmonton’s first gay disco, he worked cleaning…

After the Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Michael Phair – LGBTQ2S+ Activist and Community Leader

Darrin Hagen

As of this writing, Michael is one of the few men charged as a “found-in” to speak publicly on the…

After the Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Dr. Henri Toupin – Dignity in the Eye of the Storm

Darrin Hagen

Henri Toupin was born in Legal, Alberta, on March 15, 1923. He acquired his B.Sc. in 1947 from the University…

After the Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Millie – I’m Number One

Darrin Hagen

Paul Chisholm’s first contact with another gay man occurred as he hitchhiked out of Saskatchewan in the late 1960s. Legend…

The Pisces Bathhouse Raid: Igniting Four Decades of Activism

Darrin Hagen

After the Pisces Health Spa opened in Edmonton in 1978, word spread quickly that it was the best-kept gay bathhouse…

Against the Law: the 1988 Nurses’ Strike

Josephine Boxwell

“The government can make all the laws they want, but they can’t stop people from going on strike… You could…

The Tamale & Pupusa – A Culinary Journey To Canada

Amrita Gill

I remember the first time I met Elba, mother of my close friend Yazmin (or Yaz as friends and family…

Committed to Community: Hilwie Hamdon and The Muslim Ladies’ Association of Edmonton

Dr. Nadia Kurd

Edmontonian Hilwie Hamdon (née Taha Johma, 1905-1988) was a community leader and founding member of the historic Al Rashid Mosque, the…

History of the Edmonton Branch of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, 1911-1966

Brandi Goddard

Craftwork, as a hobby, has seen a resurgence of popularity recently. Knitting for example, has become a social act with…

Alfred Carrothers: Early Edmonton’s Crooked Confidence Man

Dr. Aidan Forth

The owner of any historic home will wonder about the generations that have lived within its walls. When I recently…

Queen Elizabeth II Planetarium: The Crown Jewel in Coronation Park

Tracey L. Anderson

Royal Beginnings Coronation Park is a 35-hectare park in west central Edmonton. It was named to honour Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953…