From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on June 18, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

June 16, 1883 – Prince Albert Times and
Saskatchewan Review

A meeting was held on short notice to discuss a letter received from the government superintendent of the telegraph line between Humboldt and Qu’Appelle. The government are calling for tenders on a line between Prince Albert to where the present line between Battleford and Humboldt crosses the South Saskatchewan River. The people of Prince Albert are expected to supply and deliver the poles for the line free of charge. The poles must be placed 60 feet apart and the letter advises the proper route the line should follow.

The Winnipeg Times states Lt. Gov. Dewdney should receive the honour of knighthood. A man who combines in himself the power of both Lt. Gov. and Council; thus, never calls his council together. A man who breaks treaties at will, who pays or refuses to pay the accounts of his department as it suits his pleasure, who disregards the rights of all squatters and interferes with the selling of their land because it would lessen the value of that part of his private and exclusive domain. He is able to locate future capitals, not where they will be most convenient to the great mass of his loyal and humble subjects, but where they are contiguous to where he holds land in a private capacity.

The editor of the Armenian Review, published in Constantinople, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for printing disloyal articles.

June 15, 1911 – The Bassano News

The new depot is nearly finished and a fine new school is almost ready. Then a dozen or so houses are going up and the sound of the hammer predominates. Bassano is not an ordinary little town, it is well-known as the liveliest on the map between Medicine Hat and Calgary. In a few short years it will be a town of considerable importance.

There will be a splendid settlement on the land in the northwest corner of township 22 range 17 when the ready-made farms there are settled upon. This year 50 sections are being cropped and fenced and the farm owners being brought in are a desirable class of settler. They bring money into the country and are usually well-educated and can readily adapt themselves to different conditions. These farms are 15 miles from Bassano and this centre will be the market town for these settlers.

Some folks aren’t quite sure where Berry Creek is. The way to find us is to take the main trail out of Bassano going northeast and follow as long as you can see beer bottles beside the trail. When the bottles get few and far between, then finally stop altogether, you are here.

June 16, 1920 – The Macleod Times and
Macleod Weekly News

A series of meetings will be held in Southern Alberta to discuss the soil drifting problem that has become a serious menace to farmers. The first meeting was held at Nobleford on Tuesday last. One speaker noted how it was interesting that the Mennonites in Manitoba discovered, as many other farmers had, that winter rye was a crop that withstood the winds better than anything and has allowed land to be reclaimed that would otherwise have been hopelessly damaged. The other most interesting note was farms with greater diversity and extensive alfalfa fields suffer less damage.

The Al. G. Barnes Circus paid a visit to Macleod on Friday. They were late arriving from Medicine Hat and didn’t get fully unloaded until 11 a.m. As a result, the street parade was cancelled. Large crowds turned out regardless, with folks coming in from Claresholm, Pincher Creek and Granum, and everyone appreciated the performance. The circus loaded up immediately afterwards as they were anxious to get started on their journey to Calgary.

A 25-foot weather shed attached to the stables of W. J. Noble was picked up by the sheer force of the wind and deposited on the banks of the Little Bow stream with a mowing machine sitting on top of the demolished building. How the machine got there is a mystery.