Veterans should be honoured for their service, but they were not all unblemished heroes. James Pettigrew, a former resident in what is now Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, is one of those veterans with a tarnished past. In January 1916, 36-year-old Private James Pettigrew enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) of the First World War… Continue reading An Unlikely Hero
Category: Homesteaders
Historic Calgary Week 2024
“Community Builders” is the theme of Historic Calgary Week 2024, which is put on by the Chinook Country Historical Society (CCHS). Although based in Calgary, the society seeks to preserve and share the history of Alberta from Olds to Nanton. The 34th annual Historic Calgary Week runs from Friday, July 26 to Monday, August 4… Continue reading Historic Calgary Week 2024
Arthur Bottom
Prior to the invention of commercial passenger planes, the only option for intercontinental travel was by ship. For many of Glenbow’s former residents, their ocean crossing to Canada was a rare, perhaps unique, event. However, Arthur Bottom sailed the world for nine years before he gave up his seafaring lifestyle and came to Glenbow. At… Continue reading Arthur Bottom
Ernest & Alice Silvester
In today’s Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, sandstone was quarried for important government buildings. At the turn of the last century, the people who came to work at Glenbow were strong, industrious and determined. The Silvester family exemplified these traits. The Silvesters were a striking couple. Ernest (Ernie) was over 6 feet tall and more than… Continue reading Ernest & Alice Silvester
Hugh & Christy Ann McLean
Located in Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park are the remains of Glenbow Quarry. The Quinlan-Carter company ran this sandstone quarry during its heyday, from 1909 to 1912. Hugh McLean was their community-minded carpentry foreman. Hugh had come west in 1890, and while homesteading near Edmonton, he had built churches and schools, as well as wooden bridges… Continue reading Hugh & Christy Ann McLean