From the Archives of Western Newspapers

Posted on August 27, 2026 by Sunny South News

By Samantha Johnson
For Southern Alberta Newspapers

August 22, 1883 – The Prince Albert Times and Saskatchewan Review

The scheme for the incorporation of the town of Edmonton has gone under due to a lack of interest by residents. 

Two doctors recently met for a duel in Virginia. They each fired a harmless shot and were subsequently reconciled. 

Miss Kate McDarby recently ran the Calumet slides and chute on a crib. Not a few river men have shown the white feather at this place. 

Five tons of iron fell on a man at the bridge works in Hamilton. The man got off with a broken leg.

August 20, 1914 – The Oyen News

Mr. M.M. McDonald left town on Monday morning to join the 105th regiment in Saskatoon, which has volunteered for active service. Owing to his sudden departure, many of his friends did not have an opportunity to say goodbye. Those who knew of his leaving assembled at the station to give him a send-off and a lusty cheer went up as the train pulled out taking our first volunteer from this town. 

The censorship of the British authorities on the movements of the allied forces on the continent is so strict that little authentic news is being received in this country. Equal secrecy guards the movements of the British fleet in the North Sea.

The Health Department wrote a letter to the News informing the public that typhoid season is approaching. Last year, 166 people died of typhoid and, as it is a preventable disease, it is hoped the number this year will be lower. Typhoid is a communicable disease and is chiefly transmitted through flies and contaminated water. A vaccine is now available that offers protection for 18 months, although all other precautions should be taken also. 

August 24, 1916 – The Munson Mail

Premier Sifton of Alberta is visiting England and has learnt two boys – Lt. Jack Turner-Bone and Lt. Spencer Kerby – from Calgary were among the first to join the Imperial flying service. Friends as children, both completed degrees in engineering prior to the war. They paid their own way to England so they could join the flying service. Turner-Bone died at Dunkirk and Kerby was invalided back to Canada after being overworked due to not enough pilots at Gallipoli. 

The Channel tunnel project is being revived in England along with being earnestly discussed in France. At a lecture recently in Paris, it was argued a tunnel could provide a rapid and economical way for British troops and their supplies to reach France without fear of enemy submarines. Additionally, it would liberate some of the fleet and restore to the merchant marine a great number of units. 

To soldiers and sailors, easily read wrist watches are of vital necessity. Celluloid faces are too flammable, a metal grill over the face a hindrance and a closed hunting case a nuisance. British makers have produced a clear unbreakable glass crystal and are working day and night to supply the urgent demand for military watches.