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    An Edmonton Album: Glimpses of the Way We Were
    An Edmonton Album: Glimpses of the Way We Were
    An Edmonton Album: Glimpses of the Way We Were
    Ebook154 pages36 minutes

    An Edmonton Album: Glimpses of the Way We Were

    By Jo-Anne Christensen and Dennis Shappka

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    About this ebook

    This album is a collection of sentimental journeys into Edmonton’s past - a time when a dime was all that was needed to see a movie, and couples skated across the glassy surface of a frozen lake that is now gone.

    These photos illustrate many important historical events and changes in Edmonton, from its fur-trading beginnings through decades of tremendous growth. Through the lens of a camera we revisit soldiers returning home from war; the first train rumbling into town; the first school, hospital, and business; the building of the Legislature and demolition of the original fort; the desperation of the "Dirty Thirties"; and the success of the initial oil boom.

    More than one hundred and fifty black-and-white images allow us to travel back in time to revisit Edmonton’s growth and its people. Through these photos, moments in Edmonton’s past are captured eternally, rich with details that characterize the era. An Edmonton Album is the city’s memory - in pictures.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDundurn
    Release dateSep 1, 1999
    ISBN9781554880744
    An Edmonton Album: Glimpses of the Way We Were
    Author

    Jo-Anne Christensen

    Jo-Anne Christensen is a full-time writer whose previous books are the best-selling Ghost Stories of Saskatchewan and Ghost Stories of British Columbia.

    Read more from Jo Anne Christensen

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      Book preview

      An Edmonton Album - Jo-Anne Christensen

      endeavour.

      Introduction

      In 1982, a college classmate who hailed from Montreal said something that would forever change the way I viewed Western Canada. We were talking about history and she noted that, in comparison to the east, the history out here was all extremely recent. I assumed she meant disinteresting, or shallow, or unimpressive — my prairie inferiority complex was in full flower during my late teens. But, in fact, she went on to explain that she found our heritage fascinating, for one reason in particular.

      Some of the pioneers here are still walking around, she said. You have the opportunity to get stories about the settlement of this area first-hand.

      She saw not a lack of history, but a living history. I began to look at my familiar territory with new appreciation, and I never forgot my friend’s comments.

      Just last year, I experienced a similar awakening as my husband Dennis and I discovered yet another unique advantage of living on such recently turned soil. Edmonton, incorporated in 1892, is a young city, and as such, its development has been completely documented photographically.

      That’s significant, because photos provide a historical perspective that words occasionally miss. They capture nuances and seemingly inconsequential details that can be as interesting as the main subject. For example, in the 1914 photo illustrating the breaking news of World War I (page 139), you may note that every man in the crowd is wearing a hat. That visual sidebar is a bit of social history that has nothing directly to do with the Great War, but it gives you just slightly more insight into the daily lives of those who would be so affected by it. And it’s precisely the sort of detail that may be missed in a written account.

      George and Stella Shappka, circa 1947. Courtesy Shappka family private collection.

      Cameras also tend to be on hand to record our moments of leisure and whimsy — again, the stuff that tends to get lost in the bigger historical picture. For example, the 1930s-era photos in this book show that the Depression wasn’t all depressing. People still went trick-or-treating, and boating, and cared about who won the World Series. Certainly there are pictures that capture the desperate ache of poverty, and they are not to be discounted. But the whole truth is made up of many separate realities.

      However, the camera is limited in its own fashion. Some landmark events have happened with no photographer in attendance; others have simply not been visual in nature. Conversely, common and insignificant moments are often beautifully recorded. That contradictory nature of film became paramount during the shaping of this book.

      At first glance, An Edmonton Album appears to be a history book. More accurately, however, it is a nostalgic look at the city’s past. It is more your family photo album, filled with memories and highlights, than it is a meticulously researched family tree. And because it is a photo album first and foremost, we looked for stories to enhance the pictures, as opposed to the usual method of finding something visual to complement the text.

      In finding those photos and those stories, we also rediscovered our affection for this city. A measure of that is simple home-town cheerleading. We feel connected to this place, knowing that our grandparents broke land in the surrounding communities, and that our parents were among those who came to the city to live and work and build up the individual neighbourhoods.

      Dennis’s father was a veteran of World War II who returned home to marry and build a home in King Edward Park, as did so many during the post-war boom. My own parents bought a home some years later in Mayfield, an area named in honour of Edmonton’s famous pilot. The part our families played is one tremendous source of pride, but another is simply that this is a beautiful and vibrant city in which we live. Great people built this place; great dramas unfolded here; and we have what we have because of a frontier spirit that is evident to this day.

      The unfortunate thing is, we tend to overlook or underestimate the value of our own history. Most Edmontonians know more about Charles Lindbergh than they do about Wop May; more about Babe Ruth than any of

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