1920s

Senior portrait of a young white woman with dark hair wearing a high-collared dress. Text read “Miss G. Misener.” It is the senior photo of Geneva Misener from Queen’s University.

“More than a prize scholar or bookworm”: The Leadership and Legacy of Dr. Geneva Misener

Pamela Young

Geneva Misener, the University of Alberta’s first woman professor, was a pioneering Classicist and tireless advocate for women’s rights. Born in 1877, she earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, co-founded the Canadian Federation of University Women, and promoted women’s education, suffrage, and sport. Though underrecognized today, her enduring legacy reminds us that individual resolve can drive lasting social change.

: A three-storey brick cell block is connected to a workshop and another large industrial building with two tall chimneys. There is a large hole in the side of one of the buildings suggesting it had started to be dismantled and/or suffered structural damage. A tilled farm field that would have been worked by prisoners is in the foreground.

Hard Times in the Alberta Penitentiary, 1906-1920

Matt Ormandy

The Alberta Penitentiary operated on Edmonton’s River Lot 20 from 1906 – 1920, where Clarke Stadium is today. It was the first federal prison in Alberta. One constant in prisoners’ lives was unpaid hard labour, from mining coal to farming potatoes.

Maud Bowman: The leader who kickstarted the Art Gallery of Alberta

Danielle Siemens

In the early 1920s, a resolute woman named Maud Bowman set out to start the Edmonton Museum of Arts – today’s Art Gallery of Alberta. Bowman was a somewhat unconventional model of a female museum leader. Her work is even more remarkable given the sexism she faced.

Edmonton Streetcar 33: The Highs and Lows of a Public Transit Vehicle

Adeline Panamaroff

Relying only on volunteer labour, the need to fabricate many of the mechanical and structural parts from scratch, as well as [funding grants from] which did not come on a constant schedule, this rebuild of Edmonton streetcar No.33 took over a decade to complete.

When Polio Was in Edmonton

Kassandra Milette

It was late in October 1947 that the school year finally started. It is fair to say that a start…

Wong Bark Ging 黃柏振 : A History of My Father’s Market Gardens

Ging Wei Wong 黃景煒

One hundred years ago my father stepped onto Canadian soil for the first time. It wasn’t until he passed away…

Tokens of Remembrance: Indigenous Faces in Edmonton’s Beaux Arts Architecture, 1907-1930

Cole Hawkins

Disclaimer: Due to the importance around the legal designation of Indian status, this article sometimes uses the term “Indian” to…

Early Market Gardens in Edmonton

Katherine Koller

Surrounded by rows of towering tomato, cucumber and pepper plants in a greenhouse near Edmonton, I marvelled at tapas from…

In Dark Times, Go to the Garden: Part 2

Jenna Chalifoux

With the last blast of winter gusto already forgotten and double-digit weather on the horizon, now’s the time to start…

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…

Woodward’s & the $1.49 Day Tradition

Lawrence Herzog

As a kid, I remember the downtown Woodward’s store as a treasure trove of sights, sounds, and smells. It was the…

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“More than a prize scholar or bookworm”: The Leadership and Legacy of Dr. Geneva Misener

Hard Times in the Alberta Penitentiary, 1906-1920

Maud Bowman: The leader who kickstarted the Art Gallery of Alberta

Edmonton Streetcar 33: The Highs and Lows of a Public Transit Vehicle

When Polio Was in Edmonton

Wong Bark Ging 黃柏振 : A History of My Father’s Market Gardens

Tokens of Remembrance: Indigenous Faces in Edmonton’s Beaux Arts Architecture, 1907-1930

In Dark Times, Go to the Garden: Part 2

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

Alfred Carrothers: Early Edmonton’s Crooked Confidence Man

Woodward’s & the $1.49 Day Tradition