From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on November 20, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

November 19, 1881 – Edmonton
Bulletin

The thermometer registered 23 below on Friday morning. Winter seems to have set in for keeps and the sleighing is very good.

The Hudson Bay Company’s eastern line cuts about nine feet off the corner of the Ross Hotel. Mr. Ross has notified the company to move their land out from under his establishment as it was put there without his knowledge or consent.

H. Thompson had both hands and feet frozen on Tuesday night as he was driving a load of grain from Frank Provost’s house to his place at Cut Bank Lake. His boots were frozen to his feet and had to be cut off.

A turnip raised in Oak River, NWT, measured 36 inches in diameter.

November 18, 1914 – The Claresholm Advertiser

Destruction of the British cruiser Pathfinder, along with other vessels by mines, has provoked much discussion regarding protection against them. The British admiralty has long been investigating equipment for the explosion of mines. More than one thousand devices for this purpose have been offered in England, but all effective equipment has been found to be so heavy as to retard the speed of the vessels.

Mr. Townsend, art editor of London Punch, is ambidextrous. His drawings are done with the left hand, but he writes letters with his right. He is left-handed as a billiard player, but right-handed as a card dealer. When he plays cricket, he is a left-handed bowler and a right-handed batsman.

The driver of a bridal party swerved to avoid a child and ran into a wall after rice being thrown got into his eye. The bride and bridesmaid jumped from the vehicle, but the best man, chauffeur and bridegroom were pinned underneath the car after it overturned. Only superficial injuries were received and once the torn dress of the bride was repaired, the party continued by horse conveyance to the church.

November 17, 1921 – Stony Plain Sun

With a threatened loss of the Edmonton market, owing to the irregular train service, the local milk producers are trying to arrange a truck service to deliver their product to the city. Sunday morning’s train from Vancouver was 70 minutes late.

Some sixty new communities have come into existence in the past year in BC, bringing the total number up to 2,209. The new settlements are primarily created by the occupation of land by soldiers settling.

Four men narrowly escaped drowning in Prince Rupert when a closed automobile they were riding in plunged over the wharf and sank in the harbour. The men were trying out a new car and the driver was going too fast to stop it in time. They fought their way out of the closed car while under water.